Any of the keys players out there have any tips on how to get that funky, trademark Prince/Time sound??

I'm mean both how to get the right sound (without buying vintage Oberheims) from the hardware?

And also how to play it techniquewise?

I kinda fake it by playing minor 7th chords...usually in a voicing that begins with the 5th on the bottom and the 3rd on top.... and either use the pitch bend wheel..... or kindo f alternate betwen adding in the 6thnote (I do this for glamorous life by playing Ebmin7chord voiced as (Bb,Db,Eb,Gb) and then add in the C natural... if that makes any sense.


But I think there are different tehcniques.

Like on "Chocolate" at the end there's one sound.....

on the live version of DMSR at The Avenue 1983 there is extensive "gimme some horns"....

then there's a different sound on the extended version of Let's Go Crazy, on the Glamorous Life part 2, and even on Sister Fate 12".

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Well, usually I use a sawtooth oscillator with the frequency filter up, maybe some resonance too, and then you have the basic "horn" sound.

Put up the lfo and the frequency slide on your modulation wheel, maybe the resonace slide a bit down. Now play those synth stabs, using at least four keys to get that thick sound. Then start bending up the modulation wheel at certain stabs to make the sound go "vibrating", if you know what I mean. That basicaly how we do it with Bumper.

Of course it still helps to have the right synthesizer, but you can get decent results with softsynths too. Try the Pro-53 synth for example, you can get it at Kazaa or DC++. If you like it, of course buy the original version.