thebanishedone said:

novabrkr said:

It was the type of sampler stuff that had been "hot" several years ago already. I was too young to have any such impressions at the time myself, but you're probably "right".

fairlight sampler?

Yes, probably, but the model's irrelevant in this case. The way those sounds were used wasn't really anything new by 1987.

Not that I don't like the song itself.

thebanishedone said:

I don't care whether the synth-sounds he used ever sounded dated, as they all come full circle and are being regarded 'classic' these days. But I couldn't ever stand the incrdeible snyth-kitsch that made up huge parts of Controversy and, most awfully, 1999. That album is such a stopper for me due to the synth-sounds he used. Everytime I try to put it on, I think: Give the guy some taste. From the mid 80's onwards he used the Synclavier a lot, which had a reasonable pre-set-sound-library. But I often wondered, why he didn't use it to a greater extend for experimenting with sounds or finding and sampling his own distinct sounds. Some of his most brilliant songs would have sounded accordingly if he had better taste in sound. But then again, that was Prince. Who am I to judge on his sound-tastes? I just mostly couldn't stand them.

nonesuch said:

I don't care whether the synth-sounds he used ever sounded dated, as they all come full circle and are being regarded 'classic' these days. But I couldn't ever stand the incrdeible snyth-kitsch that made up huge parts of Controversy and, most awfully, 1999. That album is such a stopper for me due to the synth-sounds he used. Everytime I try to put it on, I think: Give the guy some taste. From the mid 80's onwards he used the Synclavier a lot, which had a reasonable pre-set-sound-library. But I often wondered, why he didn't use it to a greater extend for experimenting with sounds or finding and sampling his own distinct sounds. Some of his most brilliant songs would have sounded accordingly if he had better taste in sound. But then again, that was Prince. Who am I to judge on his sound-tastes? I just mostly couldn't stand them.

As far as we know, Prince didn't use a Synclavier.

Your post is a little bit funny to me, because you seem to be unaware that it's exactly the type of sounds used on "Controversy" and "1999" that most people commenting on threads like this one love. Analog synths are loved by synth fans in general, including professional keyboard players that just jump into any chance on getting to use them on a record.

novabrkr said:

nonesuch said:

I don't care whether the synth-sounds he used ever sounded dated, as they all come full circle and are being regarded 'classic' these days. But I couldn't ever stand the incrdeible snyth-kitsch that made up huge parts of Controversy and, most awfully, 1999. That album is such a stopper for me due to the synth-sounds he used. Everytime I try to put it on, I think: Give the guy some taste. From the mid 80's onwards he used the Synclavier a lot, which had a reasonable pre-set-sound-library. But I often wondered, why he didn't use it to a greater extend for experimenting with sounds or finding and sampling his own distinct sounds. Some of his most brilliant songs would have sounded accordingly if he had better taste in sound. But then again, that was Prince. Who am I to judge on his sound-tastes? I just mostly couldn't stand them.

As far as we know, Prince didn't use a Synclavier.

Your post is a little bit funny to me, because you seem to be unaware that it's exactly the type of sounds used on "Controversy" and "1999" that most people commenting on threads like this one love. Analog synths are loved by synth fans in general, including professional keyboard players that just jump into any chance on getting to use them on a record.

As far as I know, Prince did indeed use the Synclavier. Pat Metheny commented on that fact.

I am not trying to find any common ground here. I had stated an opinion, that's all. What are you trying to tell me? Analogue snyths can sound wonderful, depending on the sounds one uses. So do digital synths, such as the old Synclav. Ain't that funny?

nonesuch said:

novabrkr said:

As far as we know, Prince didn't use a Synclavier.

Your post is a little bit funny to me, because you seem to be unaware that it's exactly the type of sounds used on "Controversy" and "1999" that most people commenting on threads like this one love. Analog synths are loved by synth fans in general, including professional keyboard players that just jump into any chance on getting to use them on a record.

As far as I know, Prince did indeed use the Synclavier. Pat Metheny commented on that fact.

I am not trying to find any common ground here. I had stated an opinion, that's all. What are you trying to tell me? Analogue snyths can sound wonderful, depending on the sounds one uses. So do digital synths, such as the old Synclav. Ain't that funny?

How would Pat Metheny be some kind of an expert on what keyboards Prince used in the 1980s? They never worked together. Even if Prince had used a Synclavier in some of the other studios that he sporadically worked in, there were no Synclavier systems in his own studios as far as we know. Many of the same sounds the synclaviers were capable of producing could be done with the FM synthesizers and samplers that were released a little bit later. My guess is that the Pat Metheny comment you are referring to (I'd like to get a link, btw), has had him simply guessing Prince used a Synclavier. In any case, Synclaviers were not an essential part of his productions in the 1980s.

You're entitled to your opinion on what you think sounds good or not. I just found it funny how "ruthlessly" you called the sounds used on those albums "kitsch" and "tasteless" when I know that the analog synth fans on this site would find such comments nearly insulting.

novabrkr said:

nonesuch said:

As far as I know, Prince did indeed use the Synclavier. Pat Metheny commented on that fact.

I am not trying to find any common ground here. I had stated an opinion, that's all. What are you trying to tell me? Analogue snyths can sound wonderful, depending on the sounds one uses. So do digital synths, such as the old Synclav. Ain't that funny?

How would Pat Metheny be some kind of an expert on what keyboards Prince used in the 1980s? They never worked together. Even if Prince had used a Synclavier in some of the other studios that he sporadically worked in, there were no Synclavier systems in his own studios as far as we know. Many of the same sounds the synclaviers were capable of producing could be done with the FM synthesizers and samplers that were released a little bit later. My guess is that the Pat Metheny comment you are referring to (I'd like to get a link, btw), has had him simply guessing Prince used a Synclavier. In any case, Synclaviers were not an essential part of his productions in the 1980s.

You're entitled to your opinion on what you think sounds good or not. I just found it funny how "ruthlessly" you called the sounds used on those albums "kitsch" and "tasteless" when I know that the analog synth fans on this site would find such comments nearly insulting.

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Prince's synth sounds on 1999, combined with the Linn programming (mixed with live drums) literally DEFINED the Minneapolis sound!!!

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So not sure what the hell you're talking about!

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I think Prince used a Fairlight sampler, not the Synclavier post Parade.

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UPDATE: Just looked up on Wikipedia and Vintage Synth and I was right. Prince used Fairlight. No mention of him using Synclavier

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[Edited 12/2/17 6:14am]

Slightly off topic, but boy did Depeche Mode have incredible taste in electronic sounds. I've been listening to a lot of their 80's albums and they hold up better than anything today.