what drum machine did prince, sheila e and colonel abrams use?

Linn LM-1 maybe

Yeah, that was Prince's favourite drum machine.

He first used it on Controversy, heavily featured it on 1999, and kept using long after more sophisticated drum machines took the markets.

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Also check out "I love you" Stephen Duffy

definitely a Linn, which wasn't obscure, and in the 80s was more popular then 909s or DMXs. May have been a linndrum though.

what's the difference between the LM-1 and the LM-2? apparently the latter was way more popular but didn't sound quite as good. does anyone know if either of these have been made virtual for ableton?

Apparantly part of the distinctive sound of the snare on these Prince related records was due to putting it through an Eventide harmoniser and pitch shifting it a bit - a similar trick that Tony Visconti used on the snare sounds on "Low" in '77. Not tried it myself, but sounds possible.

article on Linn LM-1 and Oberheim DMX
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun/22/linn-oberheim-drum-machines

"[...] the Drum Computer became a bourgeois must-have object"

Yes indeed. My parent's LM-1 took pride of place on our mantelpiece c. '81, and was the focal point of many a cheese and wine party.

Here is the synth god of ILM STARRTRREEKKMAANN!

For Sheila E: I was listening to glamourous life and I actually listened at the drum sound. I would say LinnDrum but i actually heard that Prince used the DMX much more often than thought. I think for Glamourous Life it may have been DMX for Kick and Snare but the LinnDrum for the precussion.

For Colonel Abrams: I was listening to "Im not gonna let you". What i think was used in that was both the LinnDrum and the DMX. I say this because there is a video of a guy who calls himself "Harlemnightproduction" who recreates famous drum patterns(Look that name on Youtube) he created that particular one but didn't have the Kick and Snare. It was only the precussion. I came to the conclusion that the Kick and Snare was from a DMX and the precussion from a LinnDrum.

http://www.truveo.com/colonel-abrams-im-not-gonna-let-you/id/2429137593

Here's the "video" (Mainly a homemade production) You can hear the Kick and Snare does not sound like a LinnDrum but more DMX like. The LinnDrum was used for the precussion.

The Linn made it possible to change the pitch, which was very essential for a lot of Prince stuff. A lot of playing around with the pitch there for sure.

Well i was listening to "trapped" and here's what i think was used.

"Trapped" used a sidestick precussion from a LinnDrum. The Kick, Snare and Clap i think are from a DMX. I think this because during the chorus when there is the fill-in sound. The clap comes and it sounds like a DMX. You could argue that the clap could be a LinnDrum with the clap worked to sound flat but to me it sounds more DMX like. The bongo sounds are real. Those sounds were on the LinnDrum or DMX.

Also the technique of using two drum machines to get a unique sound took off at this time. Pre-Midi i heard it was a bitch to sync the timing so you could program the drum patterns to it. Midi however it was not only possible but automatic. Even you could program patterns in one and get another to follow.

Prince also used effects pedals on the drum machines pretty often.

what type of effects?

is it just me or is the drum machine in "something in the water" edited really weirdly? towards the end of the track the hi-hat sounds abruptly stop but it sounds more like a tape edit rather than programming.

could also be triggered gating

what type of effects?

The Boss Flanger was a favourite. You can hear it clearly in When Doves Cry.

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