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Description

The Cloud guitar was first seen in the movie Purple Rain. There were four of these originally built by David Rusan, a luthier at Knut Koupee music store in Minneapolis. This unique looking instrument caught Prince’s eye as well as his fans. The originalPrince Cloud Guitar Cloud guitars were all maple, neck through construction with Love Symbol inlays at the fret markers. They had a 24 ¾” scale length with 22 medium jumbo frets and a 12” radius. They were loaded with an EMG 81 in the bridge position and an EMG SA single-coil in the neck position with one volume, one tone, and a 3-way pickup selector. The Cloud guitars had a brass nut and truss rod cover and Schaller hardware was gold-plated.

There were only the four that have been played by Prince throughout the years though there are replicas in the some Hard Rock Cafés around the world. These were built by Prince’s guitar tech at the time, numbered, and included a Certificate of Authenticity but not actually played by Prince himself.

The Current

The Current

Meet Dave Rusan, builder of Prince's iconic Cloud Guitar

Video thumbnail for Meet Dave Rusan, builder of Prince's iconic Cloud Guitar by The Current

Meet Dave Rusan, builder of Prince's iconic Cloud Guitar

The Current

The Current

Video thumbnail for Prince's Cloud Guitar - An Introduction by Nightchild Reviews - Prince Channel

Prince's Cloud Guitar - An Introduction

Nightchild Reviews - Prince Channel

Nightchild Reviews - Prince Channel

Video thumbnail for In Depth with How David Rusan Built Prince's Cloud Guitar for Purple Rain by Lets Build A Guitar

In Depth with How David Rusan Built Prince's Cloud Guitar for Purple Rain

Lets Build A Guitar

Lets Build A Guitar

Reviews

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about David Rusan's The Cloud Guitar.

Build quality

  • The original Cloud Guitar's Schaller bridge is no longer produced, replaced by the less-favored Hannes bridge.

    Source

Features and functionality

  • Prince's Cloud Guitar had a unique, narrow neck, which was specifically requested by Prince himself.

    Source

Value and pricing

  • David Rusan's "Rusan Original" Cloud Guitar is back-ordered for almost a year and costs approximately $8,000.

    Source

Other

  • Schecter has produced limited runs of Cloud Guitars, with one batch experiencing issues like paint flaking off the fretboards.

    Source

Critic Reviews

Dave Rusan: Building Prince’s Cloud Guitar - Premier Guitar

premierguitar.com

The story of Prince's original Cloud Guitar, as told by the man who built it

guitar.com

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Artist usage

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See how Prince uses David Rusan's The Cloud Guitar

Prince

Singer, Guitarist

The New Power Generation

...
Verified via Rolling Stone

In the feature pic, Prince can be seen playing his custom guitar.

More information about the guitar can be found here: http://uniqueguitar.blogspot.com/2011/09/princes-guitars.html

See how Bruno Mars uses David Rusan's The Cloud Guitar

Bruno Mars

Singer, Guitarist

Silk Sonic

...
Verified via Photo

As seen in the 2017's Grammy Awards for a tribute to Prince.

See how Rodney Sheppard uses David Rusan's The Cloud Guitar

Rodney Sheppard

Guitarist

Sugar Ray

...
Verified via YouTube

At 0:41 Rodney is seen with a David Rusan's The Cloud Guitar.

Album Usage

The David Rusan's The Cloud Guitar has been featured on the following albums:

Genre Usage

Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.

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