Cover Story: Signature Sizzlers
THE AXE
According to maker Dave Rusan, Prince’s only demands for the first Cloud prototype were that it feature its iconic twisty shape, a bright white coat and shiny gold hardware. Rusan went with his gut and built the neck-thru body out of hard rock maple, gave it 22 frets and made sure to include EMG pickups, as Prince had mentioned them off-hand in conversation with Rusan. Initially intended as a prop for his ‘84 flick Purple Rain, Prince was an instant fan of the Cloud, and promptly commissioned Rusan for two more. It would go on to become his go-to guitar from ’84 through to ’93, and popped up a great deal here and there afterwards as well.
THE STORY First conceptualised by Minneapolis-based luthier Dave Rusan, the oddly shaped shredmaster was commissioned by Prince specifically for use in the Purple Rain film. “[Prince] and Jeff went into the back office and they talked a long time,” Rusan told Premier Guitar, “And then Jeff came down and told me, ‘Prince is going to make a movie. He needs a guitar, and you’re going to make it.’” Supposedly pulling its name from the cover art Prince And The Revolution’s 1985 album Around The World In A Day, the Cloud was designed as a way for Prince to paying tribute to childhood friend and former bandmate André Cymone, who played a similarly shaped bass in the music video for “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”. The original Cloud that Prince played excessively throughout and beyond the Purple Rain era (painted over many times, finally in a deep ‘Blue Angel’ coat) was auctioned off in June 2020, racking up a mouth-drying $563,500 – American dollars, too.
THE REPLICA
For a good while, Prince-sanctioned Cloud copies were available – albeit abnormally elusive – only by purchase in-person at Paisley Park. However, in 2019 Schecter finally unveiled the Cloud as a consumer-grade guitar with the release of two mass-produced replica models (one blue and one white, both adorned with piercing gold hardware) averaging $2,500 Down Under. You’ll have to grab one second-hand today, but rest assured it’ll be well worth the expected uptick in dollarage: Schecter’s 2019 Cloud features a premium mahogany body, three-piece maple set neck and maple fretboard, with two EMG humbuckers (an 81 in the bridge and an SA in the neck) wired to master volume and tone controls, and a three-way pickup switch. If you’re interested in something a little more one-of-a-kind, however, there are plenty of fan-made replicas floating around the market from decades prior to the official release.