What instruments make these sounds?

[Digital_Man]

Not too long ago I was wondering where certain sounds come from in certain songs. Here are two examples that came to me.

The spacey sound you hear in "in the beginning" from the Moody Blues(that's the track right before "lovely to see you")on the threshold of a dream album. You hear it and it's really the only thing you hear before the "I think therefore I am.." spoken word part. I'm pretty sure it's not some kind of early synthesizer but I don't think it's an organ either.

Also, I'm not sure what sound you hear in the beginning of Genesis' "white mountain." Again, this could be some kind of keyboard but I'm pretty sure it's not an early synthesizer.

If anyone knows what these sounds are please share because I really do not know.

Also, on a related topic could someone give me an example(maybe post something from youtube)of a choir organ?

Any other sounds where you don't know what instrument is being played?

[klothos]

This Moody Blues one sounds like some processewd orchestral sample on the mellotron......Pinder could have found it on some BBC Tape or Record, possible on an early studio fx package, then used an analog filter to the board. I say this because, if you listen close, you can hear a truncation between 1:05 and 1:06 on this YT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTHoKEd-Gjo


EDIT: The "synth pad texture" at the beginning of Genesis "White Mountain" actually sounds to me like a continual flamenco-type hard strum on an acoustic guitar processed through heavy analog delay and analog filtering and then through tape echo. May be amplified/mic'd and also have a Small Stone on it, too, but its hard to tell

[trurl]

Yeah, the Moodies sound could be anything but I would guess they came from a SFX library of the day. Some of the sustained tones could have been processed organ. On White Mountain the idea of guitar is an interesting one. It could also be a Leslie cabinet with a vibrato organ run through guitar gear and heavily gated and compressed. It's not the sound Tony would typically make but since there's 12-string already there it would make sense to have it be an organ of processed Mellotron. Is there a live boot of that anywhere?

[zravkapt]

Also, on a related topic could someone give me an example(maybe post something from youtube)of a choir organ?

[Burley Wright]

What is the instrument in the solo of Prefab Sprout's "Faron Young" starting at 2:12?

[zravkapt]

What is the instrument in the solo of Prefab Sprout's "Faron Young" starting at 2:12?

Sounds like some '80s era digital synth/sampler like the Fairlight or E-Mulator.

[klothos]

What is the instrument in the solo of Prefab Sprout's "Faron Young" starting at 2:12?

In the mid-80s, the Yamaha SPX-90 Processor would have been state-of-the-art and had a Sample/Hold function so my final guess is he played the guitar part into an SPX-90, the guitar part was sampled, detuned, and processed (mainly comp and gates) all in a Yamaha SPX-90 and either triggered manually or with MTC

[Progbear]

In the mid-80s, the Yamaha SPX-90 Processor would have been state-of-the-art and had a Sample/Hold function so my final guess is he played the guitar part into an SPX-90, the guitar part was sampled, detuned, and processed (mainly comp and gates) all in a Yamaha SPX-90 and either triggered manually or with MTC

That is possible (it was produced by Thomas Dolby, and there may have been one in the studio), though I always assumed it was some kind of (keyboard) synth.

[Digital_Man]

Does anyone know what kind of synthesizer is used on some of the songs on KC's "Lizard" album? The wikipedia page lists synthesizer for Fripp and VCS3 for Pete Sinfield. I'm not sure but I think "happy family" is the only song on there with any kind of electronic keyboard/synthesizer.

[klothos]

Does anyone know what kind of synthesizer is used on some of the songs on KC's "Lizard" album? The wikipedia page lists synthesizer for Fripp and VCS3 for Pete Sinfield. I'm not sure but I think "happy family" is the only song on there with any kind of electronic keyboard/synthesizer.

The intro to Happy Family is almost certainly a VCS3...the only other "electronic" thing I hear in the song is the vocals and that sounds like Gordon Haskell got a wild hair up his ass and decided to plug his mic into Fripp's stompboxes (LOL)

[TheLoony]

Any other sounds where you don't know what instrument is being played?

Yeah, Seven Cities Of Gold from Rush. I'd swear there is Hammond organ in there a la Jon Lord type sound. I don't know if that is true and how they got it as they have never used Hammond before.

[Adrian]

One thing I've always been curious about is that processed drum sound in "Owner of a Lonely Heart" -- the break right at the beginning and coming in again before the guitar solo, where it does a call and response with the horn blasts. How did they get that sound? I've never heard anything like it before or since.

I realize this is not quite what the thread is about, since I know the sound is a drum, but it seemed like an appropriate place to ask it.

[TheLoony]

One thing I've always been curious about is that processed drum sound in "Owner of a Lonely Heart" -- the break right at the beginning and coming in again before the guitar solo, where it does a call and response with the horn blasts. How did they get that sound? I've never heard anything like it before or since.

I realize this is not quite what the thread is about, since I know the sound is a drum, but it seemed like an appropriate place to ask it.

I know there's more too it than what I am proposing but I wonder about the tuning of the drums in that. Tune the heads high and they are really stiff and tend to sound hollow but I doubt that has much to do with this.

Gods, I so don't understand how sounds are made.

[bob_32_116]

There is a solo portion in the middle of the song "Where We Would Be" by Porcupine Tree, from the album Lightbulb Sun. The majority consensus seems to be that it's a guitar, but it could be a synth, and no one seems really sure. It is, by the way, one of the best solos in their catalogue.

[trurl]

One thing I've always been curious about is that processed drum sound in "Owner of a Lonely Heart" -- the break right at the beginning and coming in again before the guitar solo, where it does a call and response with the horn blasts. How did they get that sound? I've never heard anything like it before or since.

Well, if I were trying to re-create that track I would start by running the drums (or actually, the drum sample) through a guitar amp and go from there. It also sounds like there's a flanger on it. Also it is pitched higher than the original; it would have been assigned to a keyboard (presumably the Fairlight) and they would have played it on a key high enough to speed it up to the tempo of the track and the pitch would have gone up accordingly.

BTW here's where the sample came from...

http://www.whosampled.com/sample/602...-Kool-Is-Back/

[klothos]

One thing I've always been curious about is that processed drum sound in "Owner of a Lonely Heart" -- the break right at the beginning and coming in again before the guitar solo, where it does a call and response with the horn blasts. How did they get that sound? I've never heard anything like it before or since.

I realize this is not quite what the thread is about, since I know the sound is a drum, but it seemed like an appropriate place to ask it.

The Brass Hit, Orchestra Hit, and that Drum fill you are talking about were straight off one of the factory disks of the Ensoniq Mirage ( I used to own two of these keyboards). The raw samples of the Brass Hit and that Drum Fill you are talking about were sampled directly from Funk Inc. "Kool Is Back" (fast forward to 1:48 on the video below to hear both)..... The quick zithery string/guitar arpeggio-lick was sampled into the Mirage and was played off the Mirage, not by the band and Im not sure where it or the Orchestra Hit come from although the Orch Hit was also from a factory disk and is a blend with the brass sample from Funk Inc. with another hit (my guess is that it is mixed with the hit at the end of "A Day In The Life" by The Beatles)

Go to 1:48

[trurl]

I still have my Mirage and a fairly complete disk set and that is not an original Mirage sample that I know of... I'd be shocked if it was, I don't remember them doing factory sounds of pre-existing music apart from maybe a public domain orchestra hit. Even then it would have been a copyright issue. However, the Ensoniq sales reps would sample all kinds of stuff and float it around; I have about 30 disks of hits, sfx and things I got from them. Are you sure you had that sound on a factory disk? Do you know if Trevor Horn used one? I thought they were all into the Fairlight. It would certainly make sense, they were out about the right time and were pretty affordable.

I do think I have the brass hit and I know it's on a disk I got from a rep that he made off the album.

[klothos]

I still have my Mirage and a fairly complete disk set and that is not an original Mirage sample that I know of... I'd be shocked if it was, I don't remember them doing factory sounds of pre-existing music apart from maybe a public domain orchestra hit. Even then it would have been a copyright issue. However, the Ensoniq sales reps would sample all kinds of stuff and float it around; I have about 30 disks of hits, sfx and things I got from them. Are you sure you had that sound on a factory disk? Do you know if Trevor Horn used one? I thought they were all into the Fairlight. It would certainly make sense, they were out about the right time and were pretty affordable.

I do think I have the brass hit and I know it's on a disk I got from a rep that he made off the album.

It was on one of the disks of my first Mirage....would be interesting if it was your rep's disk that they started duping as a factory standard

[klothos]

trurl - disregard my posts (sort of). I searched two seperate sources and both say that Kaye used an Emulator. However I did read one small article that said many of the keyboard parts were done by Trevor Rabin before Kaye joined while still under the name Cinema (that eventually became the new Yes), so its possible that it was a Mirage as Rabin had used a Fairlight, E-mu, and Ensoniq.... Im now betting on the Emulator

but at least at this stage of the thread, we answered the post of "what did those sounds?" .... we got Funk Inc. "Kool Is back" correct as the source material and that it was digitally sampled -- and that answers the question

[Adrian]

Interesting. I knew about the source of the orchestra hit, but I never realized the drum break (which is the part I was wondering about) came from that sample as well. I always thought it was something Alan White played.

[GuitarGeek]

Also, on a related topic could someone give me an example(maybe post something from youtube)of a choir organ?

[GuitarGeek]

The intro to Happy Family is almost certainly a VCS3...the only other "electronic" thing I hear in the song is the vocals and that sounds like Gordon Haskell got a wild hair up his ass and decided to plug his mic into Fripp's stompboxes (LOL)

I dunno how I never realized it was a synth at first, but yes, I think you're correct that it's the VCS-3. Also, the vocal is probably being processed through the VCS-3's ring modulator. The ring modulator was also used on Earthbound for the vocal on Schizoid Man and the back end of Ian Wallace's drum solo on Groon.

And I believe we also hear a bit of synth on Indoor Games as well, layered in with the horns.

[klothos]

I dunno how I never realized it was a synth at first, but yes, I think you're correct that it's the VCS-3. Also, the vocal is probably being processed through the VCS-3's ring modulator.

Ah -- even better!........or worse, depending on your point of view (LOL)

[Progbear]

Anyone know how Alberto Radius got that synth-y guitar sound on the second Il Volo album? I assume it’s Radius because Che cosa sei, his solo album which he made immediately after disbanding Il Volo, also contains that sound:





My guess is probably an EMS Synthi-Hi-Fli effects unit, same as Todd Rundgren used.

[Digital_Man]

[And I believe we also hear a bit of synth on Indoor Games as well, layered in with the horns.]

Yep, but that could very well be a VCS-3 as well.