I remember reading that he went over to a new set of computerized tools for his music for the lotusflow3r set. He seems to be incorporating these tools more and more with each new album and finding some very creative ways of altering sounds/vocals/instruments without going overboard.

peace

[Edited 10/18/10 10:54am]

Protools?

Pro Tools I believe. Have been working with it myself a little.

It's ProTools. He went kinda crazy on it with MPLSOUND but yeah he's found much better and creative ways to use it now I think. 20TEN is all done in ProTools and it sounds good. Also Rich Friends is very obviously all digitally produced. I think Prince should try Reason sometime.. I'd like to hear what he comes up with using its instruments and tools

I concur with Jake: it would be cool to hear what Prince comes up with in Reason

Cool, thx all yeah it was Pro Tools I was thinking of, and yes, Rich Friends and definitely very heavy on the digitization side. Cool tune, a bit repetitive, but I like it. Parts of the guitar remind me of Lemon Crush a bit......queue it up, you will hear it

[Edited 10/18/10 16:31pm]

imo protools is evil lol and if thats what he's using then no wonder his current output sounds 'sterile'.

it just doesnt breathe. protools sucks the life out of music. cant stand it. terry lewis should do jail time for recommending it to him.

i agree that reason is better. great virtual rack, like a digitalized studio. great sounds and easy to use.

apparently reason record is rockin too.

VenusBlingBling said:

Pro Tools I believe. Have been working with it myself a little.

Ohhhhh?? What've you got?

ProTools is simply a software recording system. It's for managing the tracks and assigning compression units, mixing, etc. So pretty much , it is what you do with it. There's not any pre-prescribed "digital" sound that comes attached to it. The mics you use, and the amps, instruments, effects and the pre-amps, and etc etc etc etc that you use make much more difference in the sound.

Personally, I prefer real music by real musicians.

Prince was mixing with Pro Tools over 10 years ago... what do you all mean recently? Autotune as an effect on background vocals?

gamera said:

ProTools is simply a software recording system. It's for managing the tracks and assigning compression units, mixing, etc. So pretty much , it is what you do with it. There's not any pre-prescribed "digital" sound that comes attached to it. The mics you use, and the amps, instruments, effects and the pre-amps, and etc etc etc etc that you use make much more difference in the sound.

Thank U. I'm glad I read before I post.

Well put.

~G

ufoclub said:

Prince was mixing with Pro Tools over 10 years ago... what do you all mean recently? Autotune as an effect on background vocals?

True.

The 'Rainbow Children' album is one of the warmest sounding Prince albums ever, and it was mastered in ProTools. Sounds like it was recorded to 2" tape.

~G

robinhood said:

imo protools is evil lol and if thats what he's using then no wonder his current output sounds 'sterile'.

it just doesnt breathe. protools sucks the life out of music. cant stand it. terry lewis should do jail time for recommending it to him.

I concur but it is ot so much protool as his choice of bland, singular synth sounds and boring beats, with the exception of the last track that however only last 3 minutes and stops when it gets going..

20ten has some funky guitar tho.

--

[Edited 10/19/10 10:00am]

Giovanni777 said:

ufoclub said:

Prince was mixing with Pro Tools over 10 years ago... what do you all mean recently? Autotune as an effect on background vocals?

True.

The 'Rainbow Children' album is one of the warmest sounding Prince albums ever, and it was mastered in ProTools. Sounds like it was recorded to 2" tape.

~G

Femi Jeyi told me personally (at a celebration) that he fought to mix that album differently. More traditionally than what Prince likes. And it was all mixed in Pro Tools. The instruments were recorded on tape, but everything was then bought into Pro Tools for editing and mixing. Even before that album. For over 10 years. Maybe the past 15 years.

ufoclub said:

Prince was mixing with Pro Tools over 10 years ago...

really? hmm. cuz he said in an interview not long ago that Terry Lewis had suggested he use it.

Jakeasaurus said:

It's ProTools. He went kinda crazy on it with MPLSOUND but yeah he's found much better and creative ways to use it now I think. 20TEN is all done in ProTools and it sounds good. Also Rich Friends is very obviously all digitally produced. I think Prince should try Reason sometime.. I'd like to hear what he comes up with using its instruments and tools

I hear plenty of tape hiss on 20ten. I doubt it's pro-tools. I've spoken with some of his engineers and they say he likes to record drums and vocals on tape and other stuff on the computer. Who knows? My ears tell me there was some tape involved on 20ten. By contrast, there's not one bit of tape hiss on Scrotus Flow3r.

What digital plugins is he using is the real question.

I would love to snatch up that lavaux synth

robinhood said:

ufoclub said:

Prince was mixing with Pro Tools over 10 years ago...

really? hmm. cuz he said in an interview not long ago that Terry Lewis had suggested he use it.

Prince also said he was retiring in 1986!

I personally saw Pro Tools at Paisley Park in 2002, with a session opened. And met Prince's Pro Tools expert kid (not really a kid, but a guy in his 20's) worker bee. And talked with both him and Femi Jeyi about production with Prince. Using Pro Tools.

I've used Pro Tools since 1998.

ufoclub said:

robinhood said:

really? hmm. cuz he said in an interview not long ago that Terry Lewis had suggested he use it.

Prince also said he was retiring in 1986!

I personally saw Pro Tools at Paisley Park in 2002, with a session opened. And met Prince's Pro Tools expert kid (not really a kid, but a guy in his 20's) worker bee. And talked with both him and Femi Jeyi about production with Prince. Using Pro Tools.

I've used Pro Tools since 1998.

I would love a detailed account on that discussion.

ufoclub said:

Giovanni777 said:

True.

The 'Rainbow Children' album is one of the warmest sounding Prince albums ever, and it was mastered in ProTools. Sounds like it was recorded to 2" tape.

~G

Femi Jeyi told me personally (at a celebration) that he fought to mix that album differently. More traditionally than what Prince likes. And it was all mixed in Pro Tools. The instruments were recorded on tape, but everything was then bought into Pro Tools for editing and mixing. Even before that album. For over 10 years. Maybe the past 15 years.

I also talked with Femi about that, and thanked him 4 his work, although Joe Lipinsky did the ProTools work. That was the last time I talked with Femi... when he was working with Stevie Wonder on the 'Time 2 Love' album.

ok so do we know which albums prince used pro tools to record with?

i can handle recording onto tape then using pro tools to mix edit and master, but not to record on.

was lotusflow3r all pro tools? what about 20ten? cuz there's something about the BV's on songs like hot summer that sound pro tool-ized and no disrespect to prince but i dont like it lol

Um Prince has been using Pro tools since it was Sound Tools in the late 80's and early 90's.

Hell since the late 90's Paisley Park has been a full blow pro tools studio.

He hasn't recorded and mixed things in a full blown console since the 80's.

in 2000, he installed apples Logic Pro,

I dunno what yall talking about.

But before you talk S H I T, do some research.

Aint nothing wrong with recording in pro-tools and or logic,

With the abundance of outboard gear and plugins, Digititis is a thing of the past.

ufoclub said:

robinhood said:

really? hmm. cuz he said in an interview not long ago that Terry Lewis had suggested he use it.

Prince also said he was retiring in 1986!

I personally saw Pro Tools at Paisley Park in 2002, with a session opened. And met Prince's Pro Tools expert kid (not really a kid, but a guy in his 20's) worker bee. And talked with both him and Femi Jeyi about production with Prince. Using Pro Tools.

ok, so prince was just talking shit? again?

robinhood said:

ufoclub said:

Prince also said he was retiring in 1986!

I personally saw Pro Tools at Paisley Park in 2002, with a session opened. And met Prince's Pro Tools expert kid (not really a kid, but a guy in his 20's) worker bee. And talked with both him and Femi Jeyi about production with Prince. Using Pro Tools.

ok, so prince was just talking shit? again?

Nobody even confirmed he was talking about Pro Tools.

All I know is Prince hasn't recorded to tape in a LONG LONG LONG time. It was Dr. Fink who introduced Prince to the Digital world back in the 80's.

EmbattledWarrior said:

robinhood said:

ok, so prince was just talking shit? again?

Nobody even confirmed he was talking about Pro Tools.

All I know is Prince hasn't recorded to tape in a LONG LONG LONG time. It was Dr. Fink who introduced Prince to the Digital world back in the 80's.

ok, this is the interview i'm referring to, lotusflow3r release:

"The key to this particular aural universe, it turns out, is the ubiquitous computer platform Pro Tools. Prince avoided the system for years. One thing he's truly moralistic about is the use of artificial vocal enhancement by subpar artists, which in his view has reduced mainstream pop to a "weak diet" of sugary junk. Yet he's unlocked new elements within the very control surfaces Pro Tools employs. Using both analog equipment and digital technology, Prince has come closer to the body-altering music he wishes to make.

"I'm interested in the inner workings of music, the effect on the body," he explained. "I'm trying to understand why we respond to beats differently." His former associate, the producer Terry Lewis, helped him realize Pro Tools might help. "Terry talked me into it. He said, 'Don't think of it as a digital machine,' " said Prince. " 'Don't play by its rules.' I just took it and started flipping things."

http://prince.org/msg/7/2...nce-Part-2

maybe i understood it wrong about 'when' he started using pro tools, but seems to me he's been running analog all along as well.

robinhood said:

EmbattledWarrior said:

Nobody even confirmed he was talking about Pro Tools.

All I know is Prince hasn't recorded to tape in a LONG LONG LONG time. It was Dr. Fink who introduced Prince to the Digital world back in the 80's.

ok, this is the interview i'm referring to, lotusflow3r release:

"The key to this particular aural universe, it turns out, is the ubiquitous computer platform Pro Tools. Prince avoided the system for years. One thing he's truly moralistic about is the use of artificial vocal enhancement by subpar artists, which in his view has reduced mainstream pop to a "weak diet" of sugary junk. Yet he's unlocked new elements within the very control surfaces Pro Tools employs. Using both analog equipment and digital technology, Prince has come closer to the body-altering music he wishes to make.

"I'm interested in the inner workings of music, the effect on the body," he explained. "I'm trying to understand why we respond to beats differently." His former associate, the producer Terry Lewis, helped him realize Pro Tools might help. "Terry talked me into it. He said, 'Don't think of it as a digital machine,' " said Prince. " 'Don't play by its rules.' I just took it and started flipping things."

http://prince.org/msg/7/2...nce-Part-2

maybe i understood it wrong about 'when' he started using pro tools, but seems to me he's been running analog all along as well.

The link doesn't work,

Terry Lewis as in Jimmy Jam and Terry?

What album did terry produce?

I didn't even know they were on speaking terms, have they been forgiven?

To my knowledge, and I could be wrong

Prince Produces his own material, and has been recording and mixing in pro-tools since it came out.

The reeason Love Symbol sounds so polished is because it was done in Sound Tools, (early form of pro tools)

I'd love to see that article, because it will confirm that Prince is a liar.

I found it

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/01/one-night-with.html

It's a blog... so I dunno how accurate it is.

But yeah, P, lying through his false teeth. Because back when he was doing sessions at Record Plant, there was P tools, and Record Plant was one of the first studios to have it.

2. Pro tools is a sequencer, has virtually no effect on the sound.

The only reason tape feels warmer, is because, the audio becomes automatically compressed when being recorded to tape, whereas you have to use outboard gear or a plugin compressor in Pro tools.

3. having been to paisley park, during the celebration. I really have to question Prince's state of mind, cause every one of those rooms was equipped with pro tools.

So either that article is lying or P is lying,

somebody lying though