[isham]

hi,

I'm also digging this subject for a few weeks now (Prince drum production tips) as I have an Lm2 and very soon the forat 9000/Lm-1 (Carl Heinz you're not alone ...)
I found this "cache" forum thread (difficult to read as in "cache" mode) -->

most important linn sound


interesting post by a member -->

There's been so many threads about the Linn, I've posted some details.

You have to actually use one to understand how the beats are created.

Here are some discoveries:

The machine is relentless and simple to use at the same time. The timing saves you time and let's you concentrate on the next idea.

Using a sampler or software is NOT the same. Any song that's used Reason Redrum or Acid or whatever, does NOT capture the essense of that machine.

The gassy sound you hear on Sex Shooter and She's Always In My Hair is the hihat with the knob that controls the decay of the hihat turned all the way to open. Then it's processed with effects.

Little Red Corvette has a shaker augmenting the open hihat effect and there is a very low rim shot in there right before it.

The "Kuh" is the rimshot, you actually have to be very precise to get that tone at times. Too low and it sounds too Jesse Johnson, too hi and it sounds stock.

Prince used a really modified version of the regular LM-1. He showed it off in Keyboard I believe in a '99 issue. He has knobs and switches on the sides.

I asked one of the repair guys and side engineers that helped Roger Linn, his name is Bruce Forat and he said that you can even add MIDI capabilites to it.

He offered to add a second row of alternate sounds with whatever sound I sampled or wanted. He just adds a switch and bam.

I think the LM-2 is triggerable but I forget.

If you used the LM-1 at the Celebration and really created a beat, you would of learned or gotten a pretty good idea how Prince created some of his classics.

I think he actually programmed patterns into a song with choruses and breaks and so forth and fingered in basic fills. Little Corvette was probably done in that manner. So it acted like a foundation for songs.

I think the Linn had a flair and sound that MIDI instruments could not capture.

My favorite song with the Linn is the released Strange Relationship, The Camille version. I would LOVE to hear the rest of that song, the fade at the end the rimshot is ALL over the place! I love it!

On Rave Un2, I don't think the engineer, Hans Blams or something could not figure out how to handle or set the machine up. And Kirky J, well, he's a good drummer, and he can program. But it's always better when Prince does it.

You can hear his skills on that album in Winding Road, there's this real funky break and you can hear the Rim Shot on there if you listen carefully.

777-9311 is probably the best of them all, second is Ballad Of Dorothy...on 777, it's really trick to figure out how the roll was done. The Linn is really dry and probably just eq'd a tad. On Dorothy, the Linn is also really dry.

One last thing, when creating beats on the Linn sometimes you actually mess up, but since the timing is so great, it's a serendipitous experience, your error can be an awesome idea!