Tone library / Prince & The Revolution / Purple Rain

Purple Rain amp settings — Fender Champion 20

The Prince & The Revolution guitar tone for “Purple Rain”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 20 with a Squier Affinity Stratocaster. Studio version, Purple Rain album (1984) — recorded live at First Avenue, August 3, 1983

Original rig

Hohner MadCat (Tele copy with modified pickups) → Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive → Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ with Bag End D12-M cabinet

Singing, vocal-like lead tone with heavy sustain, mid-forward overdrive, slight sag and bloom on note attacks

Amp settings — Fender Champion 20

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	7
Bass	4
Mid	8
Treble	5
Presence	0
Reverb	0
Master	6

Don’t have a Fender Champion 20? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →

Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE6 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Overdrive Pedal (Boss SD-1 or TS-style clone)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned. Essential for this tone. The Champion 20's gain alone won't deliver the singing sustain; an SD-1 ($50 new) or Joyo Vintage Overdrive ($30) stacked into the amp's drive will get you there.

Drive 6 · Tone 5 · Level 7

Why these settings

The Mesa Mark IIC+ is mid-heavy and compressed with tight low-end — the opposite of your Champion 20's Fender-voiced scoop. Compensate by pushing mids to 8 (vs the original's ~5-6) and pulling treble down to 5 to avoid the Fender's ice-pick highs. The Champion's solid-state gain is harsher than tube saturation, so rolling tone knob to 6 smooths it. Without an overdrive pedal, you'll get distortion but not the vocal sustain — the pedal is critical here.

PRO TIPPrince's solo sustain comes from his fretting hand — he barely picks during long notes, using hammer-ons and vibrato to keep notes alive. Practice wide, slow vibrato from the wrist, not the fingers, and let notes bloom rather than attacking hard.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Fender Champion 20. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play

More tones for the Fender Champion 20

She's goneStealheart Heart sheaped boxNirvana So Far AwayAvenged Sevenfold Harvester of sorrowMetallica ParanoidBlack sabath Basket caseGreenday

Find your amp

Browse

Fender Champion 20 settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Purple Rain on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Squier Affinity Stratocaster tonesSAME GUITAR Tone libraryEVERYTHING

Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.