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Thread started 08/26/05 3:37pm

DiamondGirl

ok, now the synths appreciation

The geetar and the Linn always gets praise. Seemingly the synth of Prince barely gets a mention. I loved how he created a MN sound by replacing real horns with staccato synths ( The Time!) and others. I really love Cools synth, that "dunnna nuh nunt" deep bass synth. The synths of LRC of course are etheral and like clouds. The ones from Baby Im Star are hot! I always get a kick out of the ones in Computer Blue right after the break down. They are high in timbre and seem like ghosts. A shame they are buried in the mix though. And who could forget the synth from Lady Cab Driver, battling with the guitar for supremeacy in the middle battle?
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Reply #1 posted 08/26/05 3:43pm

DiamondGirl

1999-How could I forget and leave this one out. Probably becasue it's been played to death. But regardless of that, the beauty of those synths in that song are primo Prince. Especially the beginning "sizzle"! That quick noise.
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Reply #2 posted 08/26/05 3:56pm

funkaholic1972

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I loved the "early" use of synths in Prince's music! I still think the Minneapolis sound with the Linn, the synths and the funky rhythm guitar is the best thing that ever happened in recent musical history!

Controversy is also a good example. cool
RIP Prince: thank U 4 a funky Time...
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Reply #3 posted 08/26/05 3:59pm

DiamondGirl

funkaholic1972 said:

I loved the "early" use of synths in Prince's music! I still think the Minneapolis sound with the Linn, the synths and the funky rhythm guitar is the best thing that ever happened in recent musical history!

Controversy is also a good example. cool


Oh my yes! The synths in Controversy is what Prince is all about. The "wap wab"'s beginning synths and the ones throughout are exactly Prince music. I was sort of saddened when he began to go the traditional instrumental route in later years.
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Reply #4 posted 08/26/05 4:01pm

Aerogram

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If there is one thing that is underrated by definition in this day and age, it's synthetizers. Because of the glut of bad synthetizer music, especially in the eighties, for years now people have been saying "give me real instruments", including Prince. Since they are patently maleable, synth sounds are seen as too easy. Instead, people should (and will one day) consider the artistry involved in classic synth sounds, and we have every reason to think Prince will stand out. He is one of the few that made synths sound personal. When I first discovered Prince in the early eighties, I thought his synth sounds were not as "state of the art" as they should have been, but now I understand he was using synths in a raw mode, rather than a refined one. He truly made synths more personal and less "cold", but not using them outright as polished, ultramodern instruments. That is a big part of the charm of his 80's work -- the way he made them more human and raw.
[Edited 8/26/05 16:01pm]
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Reply #5 posted 08/26/05 4:17pm

DiamondGirl

Aerogram said:

If there is one thing that is underrated by definition in this day and age, it's synthetizers. Because of the glut of bad synthetizer music, especially in the eighties, for years now people have been saying "give me real instruments", including Prince. Since they are patently maleable, synth sounds are seen as too easy. Instead, people should (and will one day) consider the artistry involved in classic synth sounds, and we have every reason to think Prince will stand out. He is one of the few that made synths sound personal. When I first discovered Prince in the early eighties, I thought his synth sounds were not as "state of the art" as they should have been, but now I understand he was using synths in a raw mode, rather than a refined one. He truly made synths more personal and less "cold", but not using them outright as polished, ultramodern instruments. That is a big part of the charm of his 80's work -- the way he made them more human and raw.
[Edited 8/26/05 16:01pm]


I've always thought he was state of the art. He was just as relevant and good as Kraftwerk and Devo and others in my opinion.
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Reply #6 posted 08/26/05 4:22pm

Aerogram

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DiamondGirl said:

Aerogram said:

If there is one thing that is underrated by definition in this day and age, it's synthetizers. Because of the glut of bad synthetizer music, especially in the eighties, for years now people have been saying "give me real instruments", including Prince. Since they are patently maleable, synth sounds are seen as too easy. Instead, people should (and will one day) consider the artistry involved in classic synth sounds, and we have every reason to think Prince will stand out. He is one of the few that made synths sound personal. When I first discovered Prince in the early eighties, I thought his synth sounds were not as "state of the art" as they should have been, but now I understand he was using synths in a raw mode, rather than a refined one. He truly made synths more personal and less "cold", but not using them outright as polished, ultramodern instruments. That is a big part of the charm of his 80's work -- the way he made them more human and raw.
[Edited 8/26/05 16:01pm]


I've always thought he was state of the art. He was just as relevant and good as Kraftwerk and Devo and others in my opinion.


I don't think his overall sound was as slick. I grant you that he wasn't the only one, but he used them as part of something far more personal and individual than a synth-pop band. His use of traditional instruments accentuated the rawness of the setting.
[Edited 8/26/05 16:22pm]
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Reply #7 posted 08/26/05 4:59pm

Aerogram

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Aerogram said:

DiamondGirl said:



I've always thought he was state of the art. He was just as relevant and good as Kraftwerk and Devo and others in my opinion.


I don't think his overall sound was as slick. I grant you that he wasn't the only one, but he used them as part of something far more personal and individual than a synth-pop band. His use of traditional instruments accentuated the rawness of the setting.
[Edited 8/26/05 16:22pm]


Perhaps one of the reasons was the fact that Dirty Mind and Controversy were basically demos.
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Reply #8 posted 08/26/05 10:21pm

prettymansson

i always loved those big FAT brass lines he would play...this is the baby that created most of those parts u mentioned "THE MINNEAPOLIS SOUND":

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Reply #9 posted 08/26/05 10:40pm

Snap

A-U-T-omatic! -- a masterpiece of synthology!! music
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Reply #10 posted 08/26/05 10:43pm

Moonbeam

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Prince's best work is chock-full of synths. nod
Feel free to join in the Prince Album Poll 2018! Let'a celebrate his legacy by counting down the most beloved Prince albums, as decided by you!
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Reply #11 posted 08/26/05 11:33pm

JesseDezz

There's nothing like a fat synth horn stab, ala "Soft and Wet" and countless other Prince jams. Coupled with some funky rhythm guitar, throbbing bass, tight drumming, some killer lead guitar and...

Please excuse me - I'm musically masturbating right now razz
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Reply #12 posted 08/27/05 5:55am

Spookymuffin

Let's Pretend We're Married and DMSR! How could you forget?! omfg headbang
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Reply #13 posted 08/27/05 9:54am

christopheries

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[/img]http://www.vintagesynth.com/oberheim/4voice.jpg[img]

The key to 1999
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Reply #14 posted 08/27/05 11:35am

christopheries

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Again...
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Reply #15 posted 08/27/05 11:41am

christopheries

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Oh, and lets not forget "The Beautiful Ones"
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Reply #16 posted 08/27/05 2:12pm

christopheries

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Bassline to let's pretend we're married....
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Reply #17 posted 08/27/05 2:13pm

christopheries

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Most of the "horns"-work on "for you" and "prince"
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Reply #18 posted 08/27/05 9:01pm

duggalolly

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christopheries said:



Again...

I want one of those.. just so I could scare the neighbors
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Forums > Prince: Music and More > ok, now the synths appreciation