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What kind of synths did Prince and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis use back in the day? What synths were used on songs like Didn't Mean To Turn You On, Soft & Wet etc?
What were the models they used and are there any other affordable models out there that have similar "Minneapolis" sounds? Thanks in advance. | |
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christ Affordable?
if your lookin for affordable moneyapolis sound aint the right way to go about it i would assume they had everything that would be deemed vintage now Linn Drum Machine 1 Roland D-50, the Korg M1 the Kawai K1, hammond organs, Yamaha CS-80 Arp, Polymoog Opus 3 plus in the 1970's 80's alot of those cats built their own synths using those electronic mags to me the closests synths that mimick that sounds are the FM synths like Dx-70 The moogs, and the Cs-80 they're cheesy sounding but extremely pricey... your best bet is try to find a cheap yamaha toy synth from 87 on ebay if your lucky you'll find one of those for about 200 bucks but its possible that it could go up to 400 to 500 what im using now are software synths using the hell out of my minimoog [Edited 4/20/06 7:19am] I am a Rail Road, Track Abandoned
With the Sunset forgetting, i ever Happened http://www.myspace.com/stolenmorning | |
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They probably used
- Oberheim (OB-X,OB-8,OB-SX,Matrix 6/12/1000) - Sequential Circuits (Prophet-5,Prophet-10,Prophet-T8,Six-Trak) - Moog (Minimoog,Memorymoog,Polymoog,Prodigy) - Emu (SP12,Emulator1/2/3,Drumulator) - Linn (Linndrum) - Arp (Solina String Ensemble,Quadra,Omni1/2) - PPG (PPG Wave 2) - Fairlight CMI - Korg (Polysix,SM 20,SQ 10) - Roland (SH 1,Jupiter4/8,Juno 60/106,TR 808,TB 303) - Yamaha (CS Series, CP 70/80) - Rhodes (MK 1/2,Suitcase) - Hammond (B3) - Hohner (Clavinet D6) - Wurlitzer Electric Piano I probably forgot one or two, but these should be about 98 % of keyboards that were used on Prince records during the time of "Soft&Wet" etc. As for affordable models to recreate those sounds: - Any of the newer synths should be able to create the analog synth sounds from that time like synth brass etc. - More difficult: To create authentic Hammond, Clavinet and Wurlitzer sounds. For the synth sounds i really can recommend the Yamaha CSX-1 or CSX-2 models, i had both and they really deliver great sounds - you should get them on ebay for like $250; really great workstations (because thats what they are), great sounds plus knobs, filters, arpeggiator and what not - i produced entire tracks just with these machines. As for Rhodes etc - there's actually only one choice besides the original when it comes to authentic sounds while being affordable: Check out http://scarbee.com , they produce sampling cd's/VST Instruments software versions of only the famous vintage instruments like Rhodes, Clavinet etc and these are the most authentic sounds you have ever heard besides the original. And for Hammond the best bet would be the B4 VST Instrument/Standalone by Native Instruments ( http://www.native-instruments.com ) or Charlie from http://www.ultimatesoundb...ec/charlie which is a good emulation of the original as well. Hope i could help you a bit  [Edited 4/20/06 9:00am] | |
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beatz01 said: They probably used
- Oberheim (OB-X,OB-8,OB-SX,Matrix 6/12/1000) - Sequential Circuits (Prophet-5,Prophet-10,Prophet-T8,Six-Trak) - Moog (Minimoog,Memorymoog,Polymoog,Prodigy) - Emu (SP12,Emulator1/2/3,Drumulator) - Linn (Linndrum) - Arp (Solina String Ensemble,Quadra,Omni1/2) - PPG (PPG Wave 2) - Fairlight CMI - Korg (Polysix,SM 20,SQ 10) - Roland (SH 1,Jupiter4/8,Juno 60/106,TR 808,TB 303) - Yamaha (CS Series, CP 70/80) - Rhodes (MK 1/2,Suitcase) - Hammond (B3) - Hohner (Clavinet D6) - Wurlitzer Electric Piano I probably forgot one or two, but these should be about 98 % of keyboards that were used on Prince records during the time of "Soft&Wet" etc. As for affordable models to recreate those sounds: - Any of the newer synths should be able to create the analog synth sounds from that time like synth brass etc. - More difficult: To create authentic Hammond, Clavinet and Wurlitzer sounds. For the synth sounds i really can recommend the Yamaha CSX-1 or CSX-2 models, i had both and they really deliver great sounds - you should get them on ebay for like $250; really great workstations (because thats what they are), great sounds plus knobs, filters, arpeggiator and what not - i produced entire tracks just with these machines. As for Rhodes etc - there's actually only one choice besides the original when it comes to authentic sounds while being affordable: Check out http://scarbee.com , they produce sampling cd's/VST Instruments software versions of only the famous vintage instruments like Rhodes, Clavinet etc and these are the most authentic sounds you have ever heard besides the original. And for Hammond the best bet would be the B4 VST Instrument/Standalone by Native Instruments ( http://www.native-instruments.com ) or Charlie from http://www.ultimatesoundb...ec/charlie which is a good emulation of the original as well. Hope i could help you a bit
[Edited 4/20/06 9:00am] Good advice. Why go retro? Pick up a Nord Lead 3, Korg OASYS, a Yamaha MOTIF, and any new Roland and get to tweaking. | |
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Okay, thanks for your help guys.
I want to get a Linn Drum, that's definately on my to-get list. Which of the synths do you think would be a good place to start? | |
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Graycap23 said: Good advice. Why go retro? Pick up a Nord Lead 3, Korg OASYS, a Yamaha MOTIF, and any new Roland and get to tweaking. He said *affordable* is a must..
Mattyjam, i really think all you need is a Yamaha CSX1 or CSX2 and a computer with a good soundcard.The Yamaha really delivers all the basic sounds plus the analog ones, has knobs that you can use not only for modulating filters, resonance etc but also for controlling software synths in the computer.All in all it also makes a nice master controller keyboard. Which brings me to the Linn drum: absolutely no need to buy a real Linn drum, as there are zillions of software synths / sample libraries out there, even for free that have all the sounds the Linn has ever produced.Nowadays there's really no need for hardware synths (with a few exeptions), all you need is a master keyboard and a good computer. I would never spend money on a Linn drum when i can buy a whole rack of software synths for the same money. | |
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beatz01 said: Graycap23 said: Good advice. Why go retro? Pick up a Nord Lead 3, Korg OASYS, a Yamaha MOTIF, and any new Roland and get to tweaking. He said *affordable* is a must..
Mattyjam, i really think all you need is a Yamaha CSX1 or CSX2 and a computer with a good soundcard.The Yamaha really delivers all the basic sounds plus the analog ones, has knobs that you can use not only for modulating filters, resonance etc but also for controlling software synths in the computer.All in all it also makes a nice master controller keyboard. Which brings me to the Linn drum: absolutely no need to buy a real Linn drum, as there are zillions of software synths / sample libraries out there, even for free that have all the sounds the Linn has ever produced.Nowadays there's really no need for hardware synths (with a few exeptions), all you need is a master keyboard and a good computer. I would never spend money on a Linn drum when i can buy a whole rack of software synths for the same money. Beatz01 I will tend to agree with you on the software sythns but I've found that everytime time I turn around there is either a new OS or a new version of the software synth that puts me out of sync in one way or the other, which FORCES you to upgrade which ever one is out of date. I don't have that problem with my hardware..... | |
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I've got a Yamaha EX7 - the next generation after the DX series, and it's got a lot of 80's synth sounds in it - Oberheims and Moogs and stuff. I think you can get one (or the EX5, the EX7's big brother) for around $350 these days.
Got mine 3 years ago and I love it. You can get Linn Drum samples online and plug them into whatever sequencer you might have on your computer, (Reason, Fruity Loops, etc). That's the cheapest way to get your Linn action going. www.beaurocks.com Trees are made of WOOD! | |
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I believe the key synths for the fat horns sound were the Oberheims.
THere's a guy in NYC who actaully has old ones in his shop but they look borken and he wants over $1,000 for them. I got a Motif last year (the classic not the ES) and it has a couples patches called "ober-----" like Oberstuff, Obersoft etc. which are close. Also has a sound called "prohy" which is like prophet. THere is a $35 downlaod of vintage sounds which sup;p;osedly has a Prince like sound in it called 1999. i havent' buoght that yet. then you can also buy a plug in board for analog modelling. which gets you even closer to the analog sound. as for Linn.....you can get the LM-1 samples. I have an actual Linndrumm (the lm-2) which is close but not what he used on 1999 etc. though i think he used it on sheila's alubm. i might sell it. it's in the original box with manual too.  |
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beatz01 said: Graycap23 said: Good advice. Why go retro? Pick up a Nord Lead 3, Korg OASYS, a Yamaha MOTIF, and any new Roland and get to tweaking. He said *affordable* is a must..
Mattyjam, i really think all you need is a Yamaha CSX1 or CSX2 and a computer with a good soundcard.The Yamaha really delivers all the basic sounds plus the analog ones, has knobs that you can use not only for modulating filters, resonance etc but also for controlling software synths in the computer.All in all it also makes a nice master controller keyboard. Which brings me to the Linn drum: absolutely no need to buy a real Linn drum, as there are zillions of software synths / sample libraries out there, even for free that have all the sounds the Linn has ever produced.Nowadays there's really no need for hardware synths (with a few exeptions), all you need is a master keyboard and a good computer. I would never spend money on a Linn drum when i can buy a whole rack of software synths for the same money. Where could you buy a Yamaha CSX1/2? I looked on eBay and no joy.... | |
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MattyJam said: beatz01 said: He said *affordable* is a must..
Mattyjam, i really think all you need is a Yamaha CSX1 or CSX2 and a computer with a good soundcard.The Yamaha really delivers all the basic sounds plus the analog ones, has knobs that you can use not only for modulating filters, resonance etc but also for controlling software synths in the computer.All in all it also makes a nice master controller keyboard. Which brings me to the Linn drum: absolutely no need to buy a real Linn drum, as there are zillions of software synths / sample libraries out there, even for free that have all the sounds the Linn has ever produced.Nowadays there's really no need for hardware synths (with a few exeptions), all you need is a master keyboard and a good computer. I would never spend money on a Linn drum when i can buy a whole rack of software synths for the same money. Where could you buy a Yamaha CSX1/2? I looked on eBay and no joy.... ebay aint the best place to find vintage synths your best bet, is visiting musicians forums, on the net and in newspapers go to garage sales,(call up first to check if their is any musical equipment) flee markets you can get a few bargains if you look in the right place sometimes you can go to your own sam ash or guitar center (and look way in the back) plus since these synths have no retail price , you can always negotiate the price down if its too high I got my synclavier 2. , for 500 bucks, mint condition cause a guy at a flea market didn't know what he had. I am a Rail Road, Track Abandoned
With the Sunset forgetting, i ever Happened http://www.myspace.com/stolenmorning | |
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MattyJam said: Where could you buy a Yamaha CSX1/2? I looked on eBay and no joy.... Oh sorry, my fault - i got the letters mixed up.Look for either "cs1x" or "cs2x" on ebay and the spelling variations (like "cs1 x" or "cs 1x" etc). There's always quite a number of them on ebay. | |
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MattyJam said: Oh those ones! I loved that, I remember when I first tired this unit out in the 90s - I think it was the first new breed of VA synths that actually were able to recreate good 80s style funk-synth sounds. It won't deliver everything you're looking for but for the price it's one of the best I think. If you want more of a vintage sound out of it, you can record it through a miked amplifier (or an emulator that does the same job) or a tube compressor or something. VintageSynthExplorer said: It's already being used by Underworld, Bushflange, Jamiraquai, Skylab2000, Somatic Responses, and David Bowie.
I think the sounds on Jamiroquai's "Travelling Without Moving" were in many cases straight from this board. And look, if it's good enough for Somatic Responses and David Bowie, it's good enough for you. | |
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