Hey guys, I'm wondering if anybody knows what drum machines and/or effects Prince uses on songs like "Electric Chair" and "Glam Slam" to give the toms such a thwack! I just love how they're so hard, you know? Like a sledgehammer coming down on your head lol

I know he uses the Linn drum, but I can't imagine the Linn having toms that aggresive as I've looked at some demo's on youtube. If it is the Linn he's using on those songs then surely he must be applying some kind of effect to the toms to give them more impact? I know he pans the drums to make them sound thicker but I feel the impact they give is down to the drum machine itself.

(Another example of the kind of pounding drum machine sound i'm going after is Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson, I know its annoying when they get compared but thats the only other song I can think of that has the same "thwack" of the drum)

I'm really trying to go after that heavy drum machine sound in my own music so any help with what drum machine is being used or what effects are being applied would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Edited 1/5/11 19:02pm]

I don't know if those songs have the Linn on them or not. Some distortion, however, properly applied, may do the trick. He used to run the Linn through all sorts of effects. Flange, distortion, overdrive, delay, phaser, ocatve... etc.

He's famous for the Linn LM1.

To make it Thwack compression is another option he could have used...with a fast attack and fast decay makes the front of the hit becomes ear bleedling hard.

The studio i worked at had an LM1 and i used to play with it all the time...so exciting making the same beats he did.

One of the effects used here is gated reverb, also known as the 'Phil Collins' effect...