Did Prince ever record without a recording engineer?
In other words, could there be material in the vault that the engineers don't know about?

The forthcoming Piano & Microphone '83 is a good example as it was recorded directly to tape by Prince without an engineer or... a microphone.

Yeah, he sat at the console and recorded himself. That partyman bass clip is him recording himself. He used engineers mostly to mix crap and lug crap around for him. Set up specific stuff the way he wanted and I guess if he was at the piano or drums to hit record for him.

OperatingThetan said:

The forthcoming Piano & Microphone '83 is a good example as it was recorded directly to tape by Prince without an engineer or... a microphone.

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He's recorded an acoustic piano and his voice without a microphone?
The things I learn on the org...

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Kares said:

It was recorded to a basic tape recorder, so technically, no microphone as such. Certainly not the kind suggested by the use of the title. Prince merely recorded a very basic, lo-fi rehearsal tape, one that he didn't even bother to label.

I see you're pretty local to me. I used to buy Prince maxi-singles in the old Virgin Megastore in Norwich.

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[Edited 7/15/18 7:52am]

OperatingThetan said:

Kares said:

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He's recorded an acoustic piano and his voice without a microphone?
The things I learn on the org...

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It was recorded to a basic tape recorder, so technically, no microphone as such. Certainly not the kind suggested by the use of the title. Prince merely recorded a very basic, lo-fi rehearsal tape, one that he didn't even bother to label. I see you're pretty local to me. I used to buy Prince maxi-singles in the old Virgin Megastore in Norwich. * [Edited 7/15/18 7:52am]

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Regardless of how basic that tape recorder was, it either had a built-in microphone or one plugged into it.

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Kares said:

While that is true, Prince's original title refered to a piano and a microphone which isn't present here. It's a basic rehearsal tape on rudimentary equipment. It has little to no relation to his final tour or its title.

My understanding is that the tape recorder had a built-in mic. My point was more regarding the title or rather, how the concept is being presented to the public for this particular album.

My original point remains - there was no engineer and no standard microphone; at least the kind expected of professional performances or releases. It's a poorly recorded rehearsal tape in a vault full of treasures.

An odd choice for a first release and an awkward link to Prince's original concept.

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[Edited 7/15/18 8:56am]

OperatingThetan said:

Kares said:

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Regardless of how basic that tape recorder was, it either had a built-in microphone or one plugged into it.

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While that is true, Prince's original title refered to a piano and a microphone which isn't present here. It's a basic rehearsal tape on rudimentary equipment. It has little to no relation to his final tour or its title. My understanding is that the tape recorder had a built-in mic. My point was more regarding the title or rather, how the concept is being presented to the public for this particular album.

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Your understanding is just an assumption – and whether it was a built-in microphone or an external one plugged into the recorder is totally irrelevant. It was a microphone so I really don't know what you're trying to say...

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OperatingThetan said:

Kares said:

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Regardless of how basic that tape recorder was, it either had a built-in microphone or one plugged into it.

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While that is true, Prince's original title refered to a piano and a microphone which isn't present here. It's a basic rehearsal tape on rudimentary equipment. It has little to no relation to his final tour or its title. My understanding is that the tape recorder had a built-in mic. My point was more regarding the title or rather, how the concept is being presented to the public for this particular album. My original point remains - there was no engineer and no standard microphone; at least the kind expected of professional performances or releases. It's a poorly recorded rehearsal tape in a vault full of treasures. An odd choice for a first release and an awkward link to Prince's original concept. * [Edited 7/15/18 8:56am]

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(Isn't it funny when someone is proven wrong, instead of them posting a reply, they go back and alter their previous post...

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Anyway, you are still wrong. Contrary to your claims earlier, obviously there was a microphone.

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What's more: the title ('Piano & A Microphone') is even more appropriate in regards to this material than it was for Prince's last tour. This recording was made by just a single microphone, capturing both the acoustic piano and Prince's voice – while the similarly titled tour used a digital piano with all sorts of effects, obviously amplified only electronically, and only Prince's voice was picked up by a mic.

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Kares said:

It is possible I've spent too much time in the sun

Thanks for your replies. Someone mentioned that there are 8000 similar tapes (to the piano@microphone83), most of them unlabelled. The mind boggles.

How did he operate his home studio?

paulludvig said:

How did he operate his home studio?

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By pressing the red button.

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Seriously though: he's learned how to use studio equipment already at MoonSound. He was experienced enough to be able to record on his own should he wanted to, but of course he also had engineers he could ask to come in anytime.

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Kares said:

:)
I suppose the question really is: do the engineers combined know about all the music Prince recorded? Was there always someone else around? Or could there be hidden treasures in the vault that eas only known to Prince.

paulludvig said:

Kares said:

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By pressing the red button.

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Seriously though: he's learned how to use studio equipment already at MoonSound. He was experienced enough to be able to record on his own should he wanted to, but of course he also had engineers he could ask to come in anytime.

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I suppose the question really is: do the engineers combined know about all the music Prince recorded? Was there always someone else around? Or could there be hidden treasures in the vault that eas only known to Prince.

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I think it's safe to assume there are lots of recordings that he made totally alone, whether it was at his home studio or at Paisley or in random hotel rooms (using a portable ProTools rig and a MacBook).

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OperatingThetan said:

The forthcoming Piano & Microphone '83 is a good example as it was recorded directly to tape by Prince without an engineer or... a microphone.

I don't know what his role was during this recording, but Don Batts is mentioned as the engineer:
http://eurostore.officialprincemusic.com/uk/piano-a-microphone-1983/piano-a-microphone-1983-deluxe-cd-lp-32.html


EG

ElGorillos said:

Maybe he was involved in cleaning up the tape before release?

I think it's fair to assume the various engineers he worked with haven't heard everything he made, or were fully aware of plans for the tracks they did hear.

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I doubt though if there's much recorded to full studio standards, that could be released, that engineers weren't involved with... although WB seem intent on releasing whatever they can package up!

I wonder if there's a lot of stuff like those Sister tapes that came out (to the general fanbase) in the past year or so, they're a fascinating listen. Has anyone bothered to mix them together?

jaawwnn said:

Agreed. As with any great artist it is interesting to "look" at the sketches.