The Artist Known As Prince (secret technique?)

[SebastriaN]

Do you know, how does Prince achieve his famous "dirty sustained note" effect ? He seems to be the only well known guitarist using this trick, so I can't find any explanation of this technique in the Internet. Can anyone of you help me ?

Do you know what is this...? if I remember well, he uses it in the "Holy River" solo, too, but basically he uses it in almost every overdriven solo. It sounds like adding one more note to the sustained one, to make it go dirtier, or pushing the other string to the pickup ? I'd love to see you guess it :). Thank you for any comments !

[satch_master]

man i have no idea, maybe an octave effect?

I have never heard that guys songs let alone even knew he played guitar, i thought it was just a fashion statement in a world of pop music and mtv.

[EricV]

Could very well be an octaver, or an overdubbed note. I haven´t listened to "Holy River" in a while, but I liked it lots back then. I also remember that on the solo of "Dolphin" ( from "The Gold Experience" he used a lot of delay, resulting in a big sound with plenty of little noises which IMO added to the charm of the solo ), and some solos are overdubbed with a keyboard ( i.e. the solo of "Gold" )
He´s an extremely talented musician and a very cool guitar player IMO. His guitar rig is quite elaborate, by the way. In early 2000, Guitar Player magazine ran a cover story on him, and they had a diagram which was quite huge.
Eric

[Mateo150]

I have never heard that guys songs let alone even knew he played guitar, i thought it was just a fashion statement in a world of pop music and mtv.

hehe, metal cock rock or nuttin with you isn't it. Prince's fashion sense and most metal's guys fashion sense is pretty much the same, REALLY tight pants, long bitchy hair, overly flamboyant... etc.

Anyway,

http://www.prince.org/msg/15/63090

the guy has his own site with a message board, I'm sure its been discussed there if you look around.

[Los Boleros]

Do you know, how does Prince achieve his famous "dirty sustained note" effect ?Well I can remember the song, "When Doves Cry". I'm guesing that, that sound was a Harmonizer set at -1200 cents. The solo also sounded as if it was recorded at a slower speed and then played back at normal speed to give the shred effect. Although he is not known for his guitar riffs, he is an out-standing writer and a gifted performer and showman.

[mattblack850]

That particular solo sounds to me like he's using the following:-

Compressor/sustainer, Chorus, Distortion, A "Harmoniser" of some sort and a Delay. Sorry I can't be more specific, but the effect you're talking of is definately a harmoniser of some sort.

[satch_master]

hehe, metal cock rock or nuttin with you isn't it. Prince's fashion sense and most metal's guys fashion sense is pretty much the same, REALLY tight pants, long bitchy hair, overly flamboyant... etc.

Anyway,

http://www.prince.org/msg/15/63090

the guy has his own site with a message board, I'm sure its been discussed there if you look around.



hehehe thats the ****. I like the "long bitchy hair", throw some jeans on and a smelly big old leather jacket and thats my metal fashion sense. Actually i havent got the long bitchy hair yet but its growing!

[SebastriaN]

Thank you for your answers ! So you say it's a harmony that's overdriven (the "dirty sustained note") ? I am going to experiment a little :-)

Btw. Have you noticed that Steve Vai's "For The Love Of God" is strongly inspired by the "Purple Rain" solo (especially the slides ;-) ?

Have a very nice day !

[Bizarro]

Sometimes it's a unison bend which isn't quite bent perfectly (on purpose) to get that warbly sound.

FYI: Prince is a GREAT guitarist. He can make the guitar say anything he wants it to say. And his funk chops are completely out of this world. In Minneapolis he used to go around and play in a power funk trio and blow people away. Seriously. He can play any instrument (just about...) at a "pro" level, and was signed to a great recording contract which recognized his genius when he was still a teenager.

[Mateo150]

Sometimes it's a unison bend which isn't quite bent perfectly (on purpose) to get that warbly sound.

FYI: Prince is a GREAT guitarist. He can make the guitar say anything he wants it to say. And his funk chops are completely out of this world. In Minneapolis he used to go around and play in a power funk trio and blow people away. Seriously. He can play any instrument (just about...) at a "pro" level, and was signed to a great recording contract which recognized his genius when he was still a teenager.

Amen N Halleluyah... I'd like him more if he weren't so... ya know, Prince like. Kinda hard to see past all that.

[ashc]

Amen N Halleluyah... I'd like him more if he weren't so... ya know, Prince like. Kinda hard to see past all that.

If I was that talented I would probably be that eccentric as well..

[EricV]

I think when I was a teen, I didn´t like the whole image thing he has, but once I looked past that, I really started to appreciate what his music and talent.
"Purple Rain" to this day is one of my all-time favorite songs, and there is SO much great music in his back catalogue to check out. One of my favorite albums is "The Gold Experience" ( I think that was the title ). That is such a cool album, and so versatile:
The opening track is a funk-song and grooves like crazy. "Endorphinmachine" is a rock-song, and really should surprise the people who only know Prince-songs like "Get Up" or something. The scream he does at the end is really amazing
"Shhh" is a soul-style ballad, very relaxing. "The Most Beautiful Girl" is a rather popular song that I didnt like that much at first. But what amazes me about it is that in the break ( in the middle ), he shows off his vocal range. Goes from some REALLY low notes to some insanely high ones.
"Dolphin" starts off as a ballad, and then gets faster. I always loved the solo, cuz it sounds as if he was just playing from the heart without worrying about noises or whatever.
Later, there is a tune that starts off with a walking-sound, and then you get to hear this "clean sound to die for" ( really awesome clean funk guitar sound ).
And "Gold" is a really cool pop-song with a really climatic solo at the end.
That album I really listened to a LOT once I got it.
Oh yeah, the album after that ( If I remember correctly ) was "Emancipation", that 3-CD-thing ( which also had the aformentioned "Holy RIver" on it ). The day before that came out, MTV showed a concert from his studio, where he played a bunch of the songs live, including a really amazing version of "One Of Us" ( that Joan Osborne song that was a hit in the mid-90s... he covered it )
Really great show, and he did some killer-playing
Sorry for rambling =)
Eric

[ashc]

Agreed! My comment wasn't clear - English sarcasm. But I feel the same, when I was a teen I was influenced by an artists image/genre etc, but now I dont care. Prince is an awesome talent and he can be as crazy as he wants as far as I'm concerned. I really liked that story of when Steve Vai jammed at paisley park :D

[progg]

I think when I was a teen, I didn´t like the whole image thing he has, but once I looked past that, I really started to appreciate what his music and talent.
"Purple Rain" to this day is one of my all-time favorite songs, and there is SO much great music in his back catalogue to check out. One of my favorite albums is "The Gold Experience" ( I think that was the title ). That is such a cool album, and so versatile:
The opening track is a funk-song and grooves like crazy. "Endorphinmachine" is a rock-song, and really should surprise the people who only know Prince-songs like "Get Up" or something. The scream he does at the end is really amazing
"Shhh" is a soul-style ballad, very relaxing. "The Most Beautiful Girl" is a rather popular song that I didnt like that much at first. But what amazes me about it is that in the break ( in the middle ), he shows off his vocal range. Goes from some REALLY low notes to some insanely high ones.
"Dolphin" starts off as a ballad, and then gets faster. I always loved the solo, cuz it sounds as if he was just playing from the heart without worrying about noises or whatever.
Later, there is a tune that starts off with a walking-sound, and then you get to hear this "clean sound to die for" ( really awesome clean funk guitar sound ).
And "Gold" is a really cool pop-song with a really climatic solo at the end.
That album I really listened to a LOT once I got it.
Oh yeah, the album after that ( If I remember correctly ) was "Emancipation", that 3-CD-thing ( which also had the aformentioned "Holy RIver" on it ). The day before that came out, MTV showed a concert from his studio, where he played a bunch of the songs live, including a really amazing version of "One Of Us" ( that Joan Osborne song that was a hit in the mid-90s... he covered it )
Really great show, and he did some killer-playing
Sorry for rambling =)
Eric

According to a hardcore Prince fan I once knew "One of Us" was written by Prince.

And yes, he's an awesome guitarplayer and musician. Too bad about his hairstyles throught the years. Really depressing =)

[EricV]

According to a hardcore Prince fan I once knew "One of Us" was written by Prince.


Uhmmm...nope. That song was written for Joan by Eric Bazilian, a former member of the Hooters ( yes, I did check that with the credits on both the Prince-CD and the Osborne-CD )
I heard her and Bazilian were quite honored that Prince did cover that tune.

He did write ( at least ) two other popular songs for other artists though... "Nothing Compares 2 U" ( big hit for Sinead O´Connor ) and "Manic Monday" ( Bangles ). But I am sure there are way more
Eric

[AyKay]

*more random stuff*

Prince discovered Eric Johnson, I believe.

[forgottenking2]

"Discover: What they <record companies> do to you when you make them a lot of money"

- Steve Morse

[EricV]

Someone has been reading "open ears", huh ? =)
Eric

[forgottenking2]

Yup! Everyone should have a copy of that I tell ya :D

[SkinnyDevil]

I really liked that story of when Steve Vai jammed at paisley park

What story?

Yes: Prince is an incredible talent. Probably showing my age that I have "Dirty Mind", "Controversy", "1999", "Purple Rain", "Around the World...", and "Sign..." all on vinyl!

"Diamonds & Perals" is a staple in my car stereo (it's on cassette - hahaha!), but must admit that I found his work somewhat spotty after about 1990 or so. Both "Chaos..." and "Rave..." have some cool guitar work, as do several other CDs, but a lot of his stuff struck me as lukewarm at times.

[ashc]

The story as I remember it (accuracy not guaranteed), Steve Vai was invited to come and jam at PP and when he turns up the Revolution guys are there but no Prince. Steve works up a song he's been working on with the Revolution guys - these guys are all top guys so theres no issues getting it together. Anyway, Prince never shows up but there is like some smoke glass control room at the back somewhere - is in there - who knows?

Sometime later this song turns up on a Prince record (credited I believe to Mr Vai.)

In case this is about 80% fabricated from my addled mind I'd better go off and check how much of it I remembered correctly.

[Skyport]

The reason Prince isn't more appreciated/acknowledged as an all-round great guitarist is probably the same reason (albeit to a lesser degree) that many guitarists today can't appreciate the genius of Hendrix - they listen to the leads and figure since it wouldn't be too hard for a typical shredder to play, there can't be anything special about his playing, and the fact that he's an amazing funk rock rhythm guitarist is largely ignored after they've passed judgement on his lead guitar work.