Of Prince's past and current drummers, which drum kit gave Prince's music the best tone?

Michael Bland-Yamaha

John Blackwell-Tama

Cora Dunham-DW

Sheila E -Lovesexy and SOTT tour era

Bobby Z-Dirty Mind through Hit N Run Tour era

I'm kind of partial to Bobby Z's drumming and tone from the Dirty Mind and Hit N Run era. Not hard and brash like Michael B's, but it was simple but effectve.

Interesting question. I'm of the opinion that the player and Prince's & the engineer's mic placement defined the sound for a particular period vs kit manufacturer. Of course Bobby Z's use of electronic toms and triggers are arguably the most definitive "Prince" drum sound, at least in a live setting.

Sheila's huge kit and her distinctive style made the SOTT tour unforgettable. Michael B's relentless bottom end certainly made for a signature sound during his tenure, but I'm not a fan of the way Prince insisted on loud drums as the focal point.

I'll leave it to the resident drummers on here to speak about the woods, cymbals, lambskin vs synthetic heads, etc.

Should be a good thread.

Interesting thread. I believe all of these are from Modern Drummer...

John Blackwell's setup:

Sheila's setup:

Michael Bland's setup:

Cora's setup:

[Edited 12/3/11 8:53am]

As for me, this will always be my overall favorite drummer and drum sound for Prince's music...

That said, however, there are MANY moments where Bobby's work (regardless of whether it was live drumming or a combination of sounds or whatever) sends shivers down my spine. Sheila gets my vote overall, but Bobby has more of those key moments where I would get an eargasm.

Finally, I can't think of any drummer of Prince's I didn't love. Even Kirky J. was fine by me, even though he wasn't anywhere near my favorite.

[Edited 12/3/11 9:00am]

I was watching a VHS tape of Prince performing "Fury/Beautiful, Loved And Blessed" from Saturday Night Live in 2006 and Cora Dunham's drumming left little to be desired when I first heard her type of playing. It was such stark contrast to Blackwell's playing dynamics. I'm just now starting to dig some of her performances with the NPG during her tenure. During the SNL version of "BLAB" it's in the r&b tradition and I got a kick out of Tamar doing a dance move during Prince's verse when Cora hit the tom toms, but on the other hand, Cora's playing at Coachella and Super Bowl was awful.

I understand the sound was affected by the rainy weather and her mic placing probably was the best they could do, but even at Coachella either her drum setup or mic placement wasn't very good. As a bass player, Michael B, Blackwell, and Sheila would be great to play with but with Cora you would have to go out of your way to find a pocket with her. What do you guys think?

bashraka said:

Of Prince's past and current drummers, which drum kit gave Prince's music the best tone?

Michael Bland-Yamaha

John Blackwell-Tama

Cora Dunham-DW

Sheila E -Lovesexy and SOTT tour era

Bobby Z-Dirty Mind through Hit N Run Tour era

I'm kind of partial to Bobby Z's drumming and tone from the Dirty Mind and Hit N Run era. Not hard and brash like Michael B's, but it was simple but effectve.

great topic,keep them coming

bashraka said:

I was watching a VHS tape of Prince performing "Fury/Beautiful, Loved And Blessed" from Saturday Night Live in 2006 and Cora Dunham's drumming left little to be desired when I first heard her type of playing. It was such stark contrast to Blackwell's playing dynamics. I'm just now starting to dig some of her performances with the NPG during her tenure. During the SNL version of "BLAB" it's in the r&b tradition and I got a kick out of Tamar doing a dance move during Prince's verse when Cora hit the tom toms, but on the other hand, Cora's playing at Coachella and Super Bowl was awful.

I understand the sound was affected by the rainy weather and her mic placing probably was the best they could do, but even at Coachella either her drum setup or mic placement wasn't very good. As a bass player, Michael B, Blackwell, and Sheila would be great to play with but with Cora you would have to go out of your way to find a pocket with her. What do you guys think

What do u mean Cora was awful? wasn't John Blackwell the one with problems of playing simple in the pocket?

This is an awesome topic! (Music-geek moment)

I loved Bland's sound (it was incredibly BIG). And, Sheila had a great touch, too, especially. Their sounds are probably tied for me. I love Blackwell's octopus sound (and his crisp fills), but it can be a little hyperbolic at times.

My favorite drummer's sound would probably be Carter Beauford from DMB. Heck, he might even be my favorite drummer...

Cora's drumming from 21 Nights to Coachella paled in comparison to Prince's previous drummers. Specifically, the acoustics of her kit (snare and kick drum) sounded so light. As far as John he has a background in jazz and what people call overplaying, I call good drum fills and good touches of improvised rhythm. I've seen some of John's clips at drum clinics, and I am more than happy that John is back in the fold. Where Cora's sound was atonal, John's sound has tightness to it.

The three that stand out for me are Shelia E, Bobby Z and Michael Bland.

Shelia is just talented period. I would pick her for her improvising, her ability to play different styles, and for her energy. Her solos are the best.

Bobby Z. He wasn't flashy but he did his job very well. He would have been a great Rock n Roll drummer. Very underated.

I like Michael Bland's heavy handed playing and thick sound. He kinda plays like a heavy metal drummer. I thought the drums on the Gold Experience were some of the best of any Prince album.

This might be a little off topic but i've always loved the drums on the self titled Prince album. Its not so much that the drums were super special it's just the overall production. I still think that's the best produced Prince album to date. On the album For You, the songs Just as Long as We're Together and I'm Yours have really good drums as well.

[Edited 12/6/11 22:36pm]

Prince only had one drum sound that was ever worth a damn, period.

His name was...Linn Drumm, I believe.

Bobby Z was also really great, because he played triggers of the Linn.

[Edited 12/7/11 8:31am]

I agree on the Linn drum machine, but I was talking about acoustic drumming, tones and kits. For example, I would love to know what kit Prince used for his first three albums. Just imagine if those albums were digitally remastered, you can hear just how clear the quality of his drumming was. Particularly songs like "I'm Yours", "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad", "I Wanna Be Your Lover" etc.