famous sounds

14/04/2015 FamousSounds

http://www.synthmania.com/Famous%20Sounds.htm 1/27

FamousSounds"Famoussounds"aresoundsthathavebeencreatedorusedbysomebody,likedandthencopiedbymanyothers,andthusearneda"classic"status.

I'dliketoopenthissectionofSynthManiautilizingasastartingpointportionsofanarticleappearedintheOctober1995issueofKeyboardmagazine,titled"20SoundsThatMustDie",inwhichtheauthorDavidBattinoanalyzesmanysoundsthathave,overtheyears,beenused,reusedandabusedagain.Iaddedaudioexamplestothelistforthosewhomightnotbefamiliarwiththosesounds.Fromthere,I'llstartaddingmyownexamplesofmoresounds,includingloops.Whenpossible,audioexamplesareavailable.

KeyboardmagazineList:

SOUNDNAME Audioexample DESCRIPTION

1.Thesquare/trianglewavesolo

LuckyMan

Thisflutey,highlysyntheticleadsoundsurestandsout,butalreadybelongstosomeone.Still,addportamentoandmaybeyou'llgetlucky,man.(Note:theauthorisreferringtothesong"LuckyMan",byEmerson,Lake&Palmer.Emerson'sMoogsoloisregardedasthefirstrocksynthesizersoloinhistory)

2.Thesampleandholdtopitchcomputerprocessingeffect

Processing"Professor,whydon'tyouaskthecomputer?"Beepoobeebeeboopoobahpah...hasanyoneeverreallyheardacomputermakethisnoise?(Note:IusedanAlesisairSynthforthissound.)

3.Rezzaps

Numbers

FeedwhitenoisethrougharapidlyclosingVCFwiththeresonancecranked.Kraftwerkdid.Andnowmosteverytechnobanddoes.Psheeeew!Replacethenoisewithasawtoothwaveandyou'vegotanotheroffender,rezbass.Nowplayweteightnotesadnauseam.Onsecondthought,pleasedon't.(Note:themp3exampleisanexcerptfromKraftwerk"Numbers",fromComputerWorld)



4.Simmonstypesyndrum

Aburstofnoiseandasinewavethatpitchbendsdown,thissynthetictomtommayhavesinglehandedlykilleddisco.

5.RolandTR808kickdrum

TR808bassdrum

Animpossiblylowhum,thissoundcouldcrumbleconcrete.Butitalwaysgetsabadrap.(Note:theauthorisreferringtothefactthattheTR808wasatthetimethedefactostandardinrapmusic)NoteInthemp3exampleIamplayingaTR808samplesetfromtheRolandDrums&CymbalsVol.1CDROMfortheSseriesofRolandsamplers.

6.TR808cowbell

ALastRequest

Thisclangorousnoiseneverdisappearsinamix,thoughsometimeswewishitwould.YoucanspotitonKashif's"Ain'tnowoman(liketheoneIgot))"fromKashif,GeorgeMichael's"ALastRequest"fromFaith,and"Anythingyouwant"fromEWF'sHeritage,amongzillionsofothers.Andlet'snotforgettheTR808hihat,ashort,metallicnoiseusefulforplayingexpressionlessmachinegunsixteenthnotes.

7.YamahaDX7Rhodes

TheGreatestLoveOfAll

TheDX7'sscreechingovertones(generatedbydigitalfrequencymodulation)punchedthroughalotofmixes.Waytoomany.Checkoutanypopballadforanexampleofthiscrispyelectricpiano.(Here'sWhitneyHouston's"GreatestLoveOfAll"foraparticularlywellproducedFMballadpiano.)

8.DX7anything



seeDX7page(AspecialnominationfromWillAlexander,KeithEmerson'scollaborator,programmer,andproducer.)Marimbaostinati,Wimpybrass."Super"bass.FMsoundrecentlyhadaresurgenceoncomputersoundcards,butwemaybefreeofitanydecadenow.

9.EmuEmulatorIIshakuhachi

Sledgehammer

Thisbambooflutesoundisreadilyidentifiablebythesuddenupwardpitchbendattheendofthenote.Experienceitagainon"Sledgehammer"fromPeterGabriel'sSo,"YellowstonePark"fromTangerineDream'sLeParc,"LoveIsStrongerThanPride"fromSade'sStrongerThanPride,"Wakeup,Stopdreaming"fromWangChung'sToLiveandDieinL.A.,andRogerWaters'RadioKAOS,whereit'sactuallysingledoutinthelinernotes.

10.Orchestrahits

Ownerofalonelyheart

Abrilliantideathefirsttimetheywereused(byArtofNoise?MalcolmMcLaren?Weforget),thesestabbingsamplesofexuberantorchestrasbecomegrittyanddoublyannoyingwhentransposed.WillAlexanderbelievesthehitonYes's"OwnerofaLonelyHeart"from90125wassampledfromKool&theGang'sCelebration.Roland'sEricPersingnotesthattheoriginalFairlightorchhitendedupinalotofROMsets,includingonaKawaidrummachine.

11.RolandD50Soundtrack

VioletAsimpleyetirresistiblesound,Soundtrackisachorused,filterswept,sawtoothfifth.EasilyspottedonSeal's"Violet"fromSealandGaryNuman's"America"fromNewAnger.

12.D50DigitalNativeDance

Catmbe

Araspymetallicvocalsamplethatblooms,thensuddenlydancesalittlejig,thispresetopenscountlesssongs.AtthebeginningofMilesDavis's"Catmbe"(fromAmandla)andGaryNuman's"Devious"(fromNewAnger),it'seventhesamenote.(Yep,that'stwopresetsinarowfromNuman.HemusthavelikedhisD50,becausehealsousedtheFantasiapresetonthesong"ColdMetalRhythm.")

13.D50Fantasia

Fantasia Anevocative,mysterioussound,thiswasanotherworldlybelllayeredwithasynthpad.Andusedwithwildabandon.

14.JamesBrowngruntsandscreams

"Huh!""Haaieyah!""Hitme!"Okay,settledown.That'squiteenoughhittingalready.



15.PanFlute

BehindtheVeil

Noneofusarefree

Thiswindbaghasgottobeoneofthemostoverusedsolosounds.ItlivesintheKorgM1,theRolandD50(asLivingCalliopeandBreathyChiffer),theFairlight(asSteamer),andmanyothersynths.Justwhenwethoughtitwashopelesslyoverexposed,TonyHymasmadeinterestinguseofitin"BehindtheVeil"(fromJeffBeck'sGuitarShop)byplayingafterbeatchords.AddingamarimbaattackproducestheubiquitousM1PanMalletpreset,recentlyheardin"NoneofUsAreFree"onRayCharles'MyWorld.

16.KorgM1Lore

KorgM1Lore

Theunderwaterwindchimeythingheardonathousandcommercials.Butwhatisit?JackHotopofKorgreports,"Originally,MichaelBreckerbroughtthesamplebackfromEngland,passedittoRobbieKilgore,IgotitfromRobbie,andwestuckitintheDSS1library.ButwhenitcametimetodotheM1ROM,wehadtotruncatestuff,soIgavethefiletoCharlieBrightatKorgR&D.Hereloopedit,remappedit,andtrunc'editdown.WhenweuseditinsubsequentROMS,itwouldkeepgettingchoppedup,andwhenyouchopupsomethingrhythmiclikethat,theloopchangessomewhat.SopeoplewhohavetheDSS1versionwillhaveonekindofloopifanyone'sluckyenoughtohavethefilesthatRobbieandMichaelhad,that'sadifferentversionofit,andtheM1versionisdifferentfromtheM3Rversion,whichiskindofsimilartothe01/WversionandtheXversion.Soitexistsinmanyforms,antit'sareallycoolsound.Nooneknowswhatitis.NoteventhepeopleatKorg."There'ssomespeculation,though,thatLorewasoriginallyaFairlightsound.

17.M1Pole

KorgM1PoleWho'dhavethoughtthattappingametalpolewouldhavesomanyrepercussions?AsKimAikinnotedinaMarch'90KeyboardReport,thePolesampleevenendedupinthePeaveyDPM3'sROM.

18.M1MagicOrgan

KorgM1MagicOrgan

Aburbling,tinklingdigitalian,thissamplehasbuiltmorepadsthanamattressfactory.JackHotoprevealsthattheoriginalsamplewascreatedinDigidesign'sTurbosynthprogram.Therewassomedoubtthatitcouldbeloopedsuccessfullybecauseit'sarhythmic,evolvingsound,buttheypulleditoff.MagicOrganwillreturnintheROMofanupcominginstrument.

19.GatedSnare



AgainstAllOdds

FirstheardonPeterGabriel'sthirdalbum,thenvirtuallytrademarkedbyPhilCollins,thisiswhathappenswhenyourunadrumthroughexcessivereverbandthenchopoffthedecay.Sodon'tdoit.Intheexample,PhilCollins'beautiful'80shit,"AgainstAllOdds".

20.Highpitchedsnare

Shedrivesmecrazy

Possiblyareactiontothedeep,spacehogginggatedsnare,thisthin,lightsounddancesthroughuntoldnumbersofpoptunes.CanyouFineYoungCannibals?

OverusedbutNotCoolAward:Stutteringsampledvocals(Bbbbbaby!) Nineteen

Ican'tfinda"bbbbbaby"sampleatthemoment,sohowabouta"nnnnnineteen"instead?The1985hit"Nineteen",byPaulHardcastle(whonowplayssmoothjazzandisstillverysuccessful)isaperfectexampleofthistechnique.HardcastleusedanEmulatorIIfortheVietnamdocumetarysamples).

SynthManiaList:

SOUNDNAME Audioexample

DESCRIPTION

DrumLoops/Breakbeats/fullgroovesamples

FunkyDrummerLoop FunkyDrummerThisloophasbeenusedasthebackboneofcountlesstracks.Deservedlyoneoftheclassicbreakbeats,itopensthefirstsampleCDoftheclassic"Datafile"trilogy,byZeroG.

Amenbreakbeat Amenmybrother From"Amenmybrother"bytheWinstons,thisisthejungle/drum'n'bassloop.

Apachebreakbeat ApachePitchshiftitupto160bpm,andyougetagroovaliciousbeatthatmanyajungleproducersfindirresistible.From"Apache",bytheIncredibleBongoBand.

Theloopof'88(The"Ooh!Yeah!"loop) Theloopof'88

Anirresistibleloop,thiswasperfecttobuildupaHousetrack.Ooh!Jazz!Ooh!Yeah!Ohh!Jam!Or,whatisitthattheysay?Thisloopisfromthesong"Think"byLynCollinsandwasverypopularattheendofthe'80s/beginningofthe'90s.

SetAdrift

IhavethisandthepreviousloopidentifiedthiswayinadoublesampleLPpackagebySimonHarris,thatcontainedmanyotherloopsandsoundssuitableforscratchingand



Theloopof'89 GirlYouKnowIt'sTrue backbeatpurposes.P.MDawnusedthisonefortheirhit"Setadriftonmemorybliss",wheretheyalsosampleSpandauBallet'ssong"True"!Otherexamples:MilliVanilli's"GirlYouKnowIt'sTrue"

RolandTR909

PumpuptheJam

ThisBeatIsTechnotronic

Pullover

Power_Of_Love

TheTechnoHousedrummachine.Overtheyearsitssoundshavebeeneagerlysoughtafterbyeverydancemusicproducer,andithastrulydefinedagenre.Ananalog/digitalhybrid,itsbassdrum,snare,openhatandallofitsonboardsoundshaveendedupineverysamplecdwiththenamehouse/technoonit.CheckoutTechnotronic's"PumpUptheJam"and"ThisBeatIsTechnotronic,SpeedyJ's"Pullover",andDeeLite's"PowerOfLove"fromthealbum"WorldClique".

RolandTR808

Mantronix

SexualHealing

TheclassicHipHopandHousedrummachine.Allofitssoundsjustlikeitssister,theTR909,arefamous:thetight,smallsnare,thecharacteristicrimshotandcowbell,theanalogtomtoms..andthebiggestbassdrumboomevermade.Usedbyeverybody,itssoundsarestillwidelyusedforsomanydifferentmusicalgenres.

CheckoutMantronixdoinganhomagetothisdrummachine,MarvinGaye's"SexualHealing",

The"Stutteredit"

TheRockafellerSkank

FatBoySlim(NormanCook)andthe"BigBeat"movement(Propellerheads,ChemicalBrothers,theProdigyetalii)wereoneofthefirsttopopularizethestutteredit(utilizingasoftwaresequencertoarrangesmallsnippetsofsoundstogether).ArtistslikeBT(BrianTranseau)tooktheStuttereditfurthercreatingtheMicroedit.BTisthechampinthisdepartment.Justlistentoanyofhissongsandyou'llrealizehowmuchworkheputinarrangingverysmallportionsofsoundinhissequencedsongs.Intheexample,asnippetfromFatboySlimhit"TheRockafellerSkank"aka"Thefunksoulbrother".

The"PumpUpTheVolume"loop

Pumpupthevolume CharacteristicearlyhouseloopfromMARRS'hitTR909galore,withanalog808bongos.



The"Whentheleveebreaks"loop

Whentheleveebreaks NotablyusedbytheBeastieBoysin"Rhymin'andStealin'",thisloopwastakenfromaLedZeppelinsong.

CasioVL1rhythmsandtones

Dadada

Who_Was_That?

GermangroupTrio'shit"Dadada"andDeelite's"WhoWasThat",amongothers,usethiswonderful,littlemachine.It'sactuallyacrossbetweenakeyboardandacalculator,butthe"Fantasy"toneisprettygroovy..(andyoucanmakeyourowntonestoo.)

The"Genieinabottle"bassdrumpattern

GenieInABottle Verycool16thdrumbassprogramminginthissong.

The"GloryBox"loop

GloryBox

Averybeautifulloop,usedinthebackgroundofPortishead's"GloryBox",fromDummy,andTricky's"Hellisroundthecorner",fromMaxinquaye.Scratchyvinylnoise,a



Hellisroundthecorner melancholicstringloop,agreatbass,Rhodeswithtremolo,whawhaguitars...aaah,IlikeTripHop.Slickpeople,too.Anysongisgoingtosoundnicewiththatdreamyloopinthebackground.TheoriginalmusicisfromIsaacHayes.

Thebusy1980s16thbeatprogrammedpercussionpattern

YouSpinMeRound(LikeaRecord)

WeirdScience

Wow..whatacrazytrackthiswas!"YouSpinMeRound"wasahugehitforDeadOrAlivein1985,andcountlessbandsimitatedtheirarrangementafterwards.Theprogrammeddrummachinepattern,incombinationwithothersequencedparts,wasabsolutelyphenomenalandgroundbreaking.Iwonderwhatequipmenttheyused.ThebasscouldbeDX7,ormaybewasobtainedwithasampler?Stillagreatpartysong!:)ThistypeofpercussionprogrammingisalsofeaturedinOingoBoingo's"WeirdScience"

The"Rockit"

Rockit

Everythingaboutthissongisgreat:thescratches,therezzaploop,thepercussion,andfinallythesynthsoundusedforthemelody.AndletusnotforgettheVocoder:)HerbieHancockduringhisrapelectronicphase.Asynthesizercultsongofthe'80s.

The"I'vegotthepower"drumloop



I'vegotthepower AclassicsoundfromSnap'shit:thecharacteristicbellloopisasignaturedrumpatternortheearly'90s.

The"BlueMonday"drumpattern

Blue_Monday TheclassicBlueMonday,byNewOrder,featuredcleverOberheimDMXprogramming.

Bass/SynthBass/BassLinesTheBrooklynBouncesynthbass

GetreadytobounceAgreatsoundingTB303synthbassgivesthis'90shitgreatcharacter.Alsousedthetypicaltechnopizzicatoveryinvogueatthetime.

The"Oh,Yeah"samples&synthbass



OhYeahFromgreatpioneerofelectronicpopSwissband"Yello".Thesongwasfeaturedinseveral'80sfilmsandisafeastofsamplesmadewithearlysamplers,andpunchy80sdrummachines.

TheARPOdyssey"biting"synthbass

Chameleon

AsplayedbyHerbieHancockin"Chameleon",fromHeadhunters.Greatsynthbasssound!Asyoucantell,quitedifferentfromtheMinimoogbass...Backinthe'70s,theOdysseyandMinimoogwerecontendersinthemonophonicportable/performancesynthmarket.

YamahaTX81ZLatelyBass

PussycatMeow

Thisunassuming4operatorFMmodulecontainsmanystrongsounds,andcertainlyoneofthebestisthis.ForRap,HipHoporHouse,youcan'tgowrongbyusingit.CheckoutDeeeLite's"PussycatMeow",________________or_____________.

KorgMS20"Flatbeat"basssound

FlatBeat

MadefamousbytheFrenchmoviedirectorandtechnocomposerMr.Oizo,thiswarblybasssoundisstrangeandimmediatelyhooking."Flatbeat"wasahit(atleastinEurope),alsothankstotheadorableyellowpuppetthatmovedhisheadtothebeatinthesong'svideo.Mybetisthatthissoundwillbecomeaclassicandwillappearinthefactorypatchesofnewsynths.

The"Deutsche"Eurosynthbass



DeutschBasAnaggressive,highlyresonantandpowerfulsynthbasssoundthatwasverymuchinvogueduringthe1990s.ThisexampleinparticularcomesfromapresetontheAlesisQS8.

Theringmodulated/vibratobass

Takemybreathaway

Thiswasaverytypicalbasssoundheardinthe1980s.IwasabletogetaGREATrenditionofitjustaddingringmodulationtothepresetsynthbassinmyCasioCZ1000!Intheexamples,Commodores'"NightShift"andBerlin's"Takemybreathaway".

ThePaulHardcastlestyleProphet5bass

KingTut

PaulHardcastlehasusedthistypeofbasspatch,withlotsof"bite",inmanyofhiscompositions,including"RainForest"and,inthemp3example,"KingTut".

RolandTB303

Acperience

Everybodyneedsa303

ThemythicalTB303,akathe"SilverBox",akathe"AcidDreamMachine",butmoresimply"the303".Agenre,AcidHouse(orAcidTechno),wascreatedaroundthismachine.Hasspannedaseriesofemulators,bothinhardwareandsoftware.Intheexamples:Hardfloor's"Acperience"andFatboySlim's"Everybodyneedsa303"yes,everybodydoes...oratleasta303emulator:)

The"Persuaders"synthbass

The_Persuaders

Thisistheincrediblybeautiful"Persuaderstheme",bythegreatJohnBarryoftheJamesBond007theme.Iwasalwaysfascinatedbythissong,sincewatchingtheshowwhenIwasachild.Thesupremelyanalog,creamy,oscillatordetunedbassisverycharacteristic.I'mtryingtofindoutwhichsynthesizerwasusedforthissong!so,ifyouknow,contactme,pleaseat

Synth/SynthPad/SynthLead

RolandJunoWhatthe...?(aka"theHoover") Mentasm

Charly

Dominator

JoeyBeltram's"Mentasm",aswellasProdigy's"Charlie"helpedpopularizethisTechnoRavemusthavesound.HumanResource's"Dominator"isalsoagreatexampleofthisclassictypeofravesound.

TheTechnopizzicatosoundInsomnia

EncoreUneFois

InaFutureMusicinterview...FaithlessrevealthatthesoundisaneditedversionofaRolandJD990patch.In"Encoreunefois"DJSashpopularizedit.

RolandD50"Pizzagogo"



OrinocoFlowYetanotherfamousD50preset,thisisalovelysoundthatdefinesNewAgepieces.Enyaandher"OrinocoFlow"cometomind.

RolandJP8000SuperSaw

ThesoundofeuphoricTrance

RolandD50"StaccatoHeaven"

StaccatoHeaven OneofthereasonswhyIboughtaD50in1989insteadofanM1.EricPersingisonetalentedsounddesigner...

D50"DigitalNativeDance"

DigitalNativeDance Aninnovationatthetime,thisfamousD50presetutilizedshortloopsthatgavetheinstrumentinstantcharacter.

RolandD50"Fantasia"

FantasiaOneofthemosteasilyrecognizablesynthesizersoundsofalltime.It'snowbecomeastandardintheROMofmostnewdigitalworkstations.

RolandD50"GlassVoices"

GlassVoices Theperfectpadformanyapplications.Haunting,dramatic,evolving...

KorgM1"Universe"

KorgM1Universe Togetherwith"StaccatoHeaven",oneofmyfavoritepresetsofalltime.

The"Popcorn"sound

Popcorn HotButter'ssuccessisanirresistibleelectropoppiece.The



soundprobablycomesfromamodularMoog.

ThePolymoog"VoxHumana"sound

Cars GaryNumanusedthatPolymoogpresetforthegreatmegaanalogsynthleadinhishitsong.

Minimooglead

Minimoogin"CatherineParr"

TheMoogMinimoogisprobablythemostfamoussynthesizerevermade.RickWakeman(heplayedinYes)usedit,amongotherclassickeys,inhisalbum"TheSixWivesofHenryVIII".

The"Nightinmotion"synthstab

NightinmotionFromCubic22"Nightinmotion".Thissongwasverypopularduringtheearlynineties.Thestabisinthe"Igotthepower"veinacrossbetweenadistortedguitarsampleandanaggressivesynth...greatsound.



Moog"FromtheBeginning"sound

FromtheBeginning

Differentandrichinpersonality,thissoundappears,asusualwithELP,attheendofaprettystandardguitarsong,andchangestheatmospherecompletely.Morerecently,FromtheBeginninghasbecomepartoftheAlesisQS7and8soundarsenal.

OberheimFourVoiceleadsound

PatMetheny'skeyboardistLyleMayspopularizedthissoundahollowsoundingsquarewavewithasofttonality.

The"Worm"squigglymonosynthsound Classic'70ssynthleadThe"EnolaGay"synthsound



EnolaGayFamoushitsongbythenewwaveband"OrchestralManeuversintheDark"(OMD)ThiscoolsoundwasapparentlysourcedfromtheunpretentiousKorgmicropreset!

The"AxelF"synth

AxelFA1980shitforHaroldFaltermeyer.ThesynthesizersinvolvedwereapparentlyRolandJupiter8,RolandJX3P,andYamahaDX7.

TheProphet5synthpad

Intheairtonight

True

PhilCollinsfor"Intheairtonight"andSpandauBalletfor"True"bothreportedlyusedthisgreatanalogsynthfortheirpads.

The"I'vegotthepower"synthstab



I'vegotthepowerAcharacteristicearlyhousestab,popularizedbytheband"Snap".Probablyadigitallymanipulateddistortedelectricguitarsample.

OberheimOBXa"Jump"patch

JumpGreatanalogsynthbrass,madefamousbythesong"Jump",byVanHalen,andbythegreatironicallyguitaristEddie.IrememberagreatpatchfortheRolandD50called"OBXaJumper"thatwasanuncannyrecreation.

TheSuperDetunedSawtoothWavesound

WhoisElvis

Thisismothaf**ker

YetanotherTechnoclassicsound,thiswasintroducedwithPhenomenia's"WhoisElvis"andusedbycountlessothers(DigitalBoyin"Thisismothaf**ker"forexample).

The"Rydeen"sound

RydeenFromYellowMagicOrchestra'shit,thisisacrossbetweenanorganandasynthsoundapopularcombinationinthelate'70s.I'mnotsurewhatsynthesizer(s)wasused.updateapparentlyitwasaKorgPS3100.

TheNoLimittechnolead

NoLimit From2Unlimited'shitsong,thiswasatypicaldetunedsynthTechnosound.



TheChickCoreaFM+analogfusionleadsynth

RumbleThiswasasoundthatChickCoreausedveryoftenduringhis"electrik"periodintheeighties.It'sbasedonFM(YamahaTX802)mixedwithananalog(intheaudioexample,excerptfrom"Rumble",from"TheElektricBand".

Fluke's"Absurd"vocalsamplebassfx

AbsurdThisisagreatsamplefoundatthebeginningofFluke'shit"Absurd"(fromthealbum"Risotto").Iguessitconsistsofsomekindofgutturalvocalsampledwithaddedfxandsomethingthatremindsofacabasa.Greatsound.



TheMacarenadelayedsynth

MacarenaSaywhatyouwantabouttheMacarena,butthesynththatopenstheBaysideBoys'superpopularremixofthesongisveryparticularandrecognizable.

The"SmackMyBitchUp"distortedresosynth

SmackMyBitchUpLiamreportedlyusedaKorgProphecyforthisinfectious,distortedTB303ishsynthlead.FromtheProdigy's"FatOfTheLand".

The"NoCoke"synth&bass

NoCoke

Veryparticularsounding,highlyresonantsynthanddancehallreggaebass.Exclusivelydoneonsynth.FromDr.Alban'shitoftheearly90s.IreceivedanemailfromareaderanditlookslikethesynthusedwasaRolandJuno106.

The"SexyBoy"vocosynth

SexyBoyFeaturedallthroughAir's"SexyBoy"(fromtheirbreakthroughalbum"MoonSafari"),thisisacharacteristicguttural,vocallikeandvocodedsynththatgivesthesongaroboticaura.



The"Duel"softpad Duel

I'vealwayslovedthissongbyPropaganda.Themarvelous,incrediblyhauntingsoftpadfeaturedinthechorusisoneofthebestanalogsoftpadsI'veheard.I'mnotsurewhatsynthwasusedforthis,butIknowtheyusedalotofPPG.Pure'80snostalgia.

The"FadeToGrey"synthbass,fxandpad FadeToGrey Atriumphofanalogsynthesis,thiswasVisage'sbighit.Lovelyanalogstringpadthroughoutthesong.The"BennyBenassisound" Satisfaction Very,verycooldancesynthlead.IsthatPWMinaction?Intheexample,theItalianDJ'shit"Satisfaction".

The"Sandstorm"technosynthlead SandstormDarude'sdancehitfeaturesaninfectious(somewouldsayannoying),piercingtechnosynthlead.Veryeffectiveathighvolume.

The"Pullover"technosynthlead Pullover"Pullover"wasabighitbySpeedyJintheearly'90s."Pullover"featuresarepetitivetechnosynthesizerlinetowhichpitchbendisapplied,overanevolvingTR909drumpattern.

TheCars'"Let'sGo"oscillatorsynclead Let'sgo PossiblytakenfromtheProphet5"SyncII"patch,thisisagreatsounding,characteristicpatch,withagreatresonantfiltereffect.

VocoderVocoder(Kraftwerkstyle)

TransEuropeExpressTheVocoderis..Checkout"TransEuropeExpress",byKraftwerk.Morerecently,theBeastieBoysuseditin"Intergalactic".

Vocoder(Cherstyle)

Doyoubelieve

Yes,popmegadivaChercreatedatrendapplyingsomekindofvocodingtohervoicein"DoyoubelieveinLifeafterLove".It'snotclearhowtheydidit(somesaywithAntaresAutoTune...),butitseemsherproducersusedaDigitechTalkerandaNordLead.Edit:itlooksitwasindeedAutoTune.

Piano/ElectricPianoTheDreamHousepianoakathe

"Children"sound

Children

Thesearebasicallystandardpiano,synbassandstring/padsoundsbathedindelayandreverb,buttheyareparticularnonetheless.Italiandj/producerRobertMileswrotethishitusingaKurzweilK2000to"calmdown"thekidsbeforetheydrovebackhomefromthediscos(heevenusedthegreatK2000"Thunder"patchinthissong).Hissongalsocreatedagenre,"DreamHouse".TheRolandJV2080wouldfeature



severalpatchesinspiredbythesesounds.

Rhodeselectricpiano

RidersontheStorm

Beautifulsoundusedbymany70'sfusionplayersandmorerecentlybyIncognitowiththeAcidJazztrendofthe90's.Forme,"RidersontheStorm"bytheDoorsdoesit.

Wurlitzerelectricpiano

TheLogicalSongAdifferentsoundfromtheRhodes,andvery,verycharacteristic.Comesinfuncolors,too,likegreen.ListentoSupertramp's"TheLogicalSong".

Thelayeredacoustic+FMpianoaka"L.A.piano" L.A.Piano

Glossy,highlyproducedmegaexpensiveHollywoodstudiotypesoundtypicallyproducedcombininganacousticgrandpianowithaRhodes/FMtypesound.InthisexamplesI'musingthepreset"Pf:ForBallads"ontheYamahaEX5R.

KorgM1Housepiano

RideonTimeUsedinalotofHousetracks,especiallyinthe"ItaloHouse"genreforitspercussivetone."RideonTime"bytheItaliangroupBlackBoxwasahugesuccess.

KeyboardHohnerClavinet

Superstition

Chameleon

Inthe70's,itwastheFunkinstrumentparexcellence.Runthroughawahwah,it'sevenbetter.StevieWonder(Superstitious)andHerbieHancock(HeadHunters'Chameleon)surelyknewhowtouseit.

The'60sstyleharpsichord playedinapop/rock,notclassical,fashion:Mancini,....F

OrganKorgM1PercOrgan

PleaseDon'tGoThemythical"17Organ2"presetontheM1definedHousemusicoftheearly1990s.ListenforexampletoDoubleYou'sversionofKC&theSunshineBands'sclassic"Pleasedon'tGo",whichwasahitinEuropeintheearly'90s.

JimmySmithstyleHammondOrgan



BackattheChickenShack

C3vibrato,3rdharmonicpercussion,thefirstthreedrawbarsallout...thisisthesoundofjazzorgan."Backatthechickenshack"wasthefirstJimmySmithalbumIeverbought...andIwasimmediatelyhooked.

VoxContinental

LightMyFireThesoundofTheDoorsandmanyother60'sbands.AccordingtoRayManzarek,it'sthe"Californiasound"."LightMyFire"isoneoftheDoors'mostlovedsongs.

Farfisa RockLobsterSimilartotheVoxyetdifferent,sligthlywarmerandmorenasalsounding,deservedlyoneoftheclassic60'scomboorgans.

The"Won'tgetfooledagain"phased/filteredorgansound Won'tgetfooledagain

AtthebeginningofthegreatWhosong.TheAlesisIonoffersagreatrecreationofthissound.

The"Lucyintheskywithdiamonds"introorgansound

Lucyintheskywithdiamonds

IrememberreadingthattheorganusedbytheBeatlesfortheintroductiontothishitwasaLowrey.Prettycoolretrosound.

ClaviolineTelstar

Runaway

Anawesomesounding,expressiveearlyelectronickeyboard!DelShannon's"Runaway",TheTornadoes'"Telstar"areexamplesofthisprecursortothemodernsynthesizer.

UPDATEFROMAREADER:"Hiyas.

YoulisttheDelShannonhit"runaway"asfeaturingaclavoline.Ilistenedtotheaudiosampleofthepertinentsection,andI'massumingthatyourefertothehigh,reedysortofsolothatplays.

That'snotaclavoline,though.That'sasaxplayedthroughanorganleslie.

Severalyearsago,PBSranaseriescalled"Thehistoryofrockn'roll"andoneofthesongsittouchedonwasDel



Shannon'srunaway.Survuvingmembersofthebandwereinteriewedanditwasrevealedthatthat'swhatthesoundwaspeoplehadbeentryinglikemadfordecadestofigureoutwhatitwas,andallitwas,wasasaxthroughaleslie.

Isearchedgooglebutwasunabletofindanyonewhohadthisinfoposted,soyourbestbetistotryandhuntupacopyofthatoldPBSseries,andviewtheinterviewsforyourself.

cheers

cobalt*"

Thereggaeorganver.1 NoWomanNoCryAwesomechorusedsound,withsomehighdrawbarsoutandleslierunning.BobMarley's"NoWomanNoCry",theliveversion,isagreatexample.

Thereggaeorganver.2

StringsARPStringEnsemblealsoknownas

Solina

Oneofthebestanalogstringmachinesever.

TheSolinathroughphasersound Usedinalotofclassic"teutonicrock",or"kosmischemusik",andJeanMichelJarre.

The"Goldfrapp"sound

LovelyHead

Awonderfulsound.Trulyinnovativenotbecaseit'sthefirsttimethatsomebodyfiltersvocals,butbecauseofheramazingoperatictechniquecombinedwithtechnology.Icallthis"Goldfrapp"sound,becauseAlisonGoldfrappusesthistechniquewithbeautifulresults.Shesingsthroughamicrophonewhosesignalisbeingprocessedbyasynthesizerfilter(ataGoldfrappconcertinD.C.,InoticeditwasaKorgMS20).Yep,it'snotaThereminorasynth...eventhoughthefirsttimesyouhearthesongs,onecan'texactlyfigureouthowtheyproducedit..it'shervoicegoingthroughasynthesizerfilterI'veseenitwithmyeyesattheirconcert.

UPDATEFROMAREADER:"Ithinkshe'sactuallysingingintotheMS20'scontrolvoltageinput.TheMS20isdrawingitspitchinformationfromAlisonGoldfrapp'svoice,viatheCVinput.Korg'sLegacyVSTeditionoftheMS20hasapresetwhichdoesthis,anditproducesasimilareffect,particularlythe"squally"soundinbetweenthenotes,whichmustcomefromthemicrophonepickingupnoise,orGoldfrapp'sbreath.It'soneofthoseinterestingtechniquesthatislittleusedbecauseitrequirespitchperfectsinginginordertosoundright.ShecouldprobablyhavethesameeffectwithanotheroldCV/Gatesynthesiser,butIwonderifthedifferentvoltagestandardsmightmakeitimpossibletocontrolintheaudiorange."

The"Frampton"soundThefamoussoundobtainedwitha"talkbox".



TheElkaSynthexLaserHarp

ThefamousLaserHarpsoundusedbyJeanMichelJarreutilizingtheclassicElkaSynthex.

Thetypical'80scompsynth Propaganda,MadonnaTheProteus/2"XFileswhistle"

TheXFiles OriginatedfromanEmuProteus/2soundmodule(source:KeyboardmagazinearticlewithMarkSnow,xx/199x)

Choirs/Vox/SynVoxTheAnasthasiatechnochoir

Anasthasia

JamesBrownisdead

Itrulylovedthissongwhenitcameout!intheearly'90s!BelgiangroupT99createdthistechnostandardsoundsamplingthesoundofanorchestralchoir(supposedlyarecordingofTheRiteofSpringbyStravinsky)andshiftingthestartingpointofitswavesotoobtainaveryfastattack,indispensabletoplaythecharacteristicriff.Tonsofotherartistscopiedit(forexample,LAStylein"JamesBrownisdead")Update:readerAnderswrites:I'veboughtanoldRolandS330samplerandguesswhatifound!!OriginalSystemDisknr2containssomeorchestralsound,andonecalled"Ending1"isthatfamous"JamesBrownIsDead"choirsound:)

EmuEmulatorchoir

EnjoyTheSilence

Tziganata

DepecheModeusedEmulatorsinthe'80s.Ibelievethechoirsintheirincrediblybeautiful"EnjoyTheSilence"arefromtheEmulatorII.Also,here'sagrittychoirsoundfromtheEmulator,1stversion:ItalianNewWavebandLitfiba's"Tziganata".Listencarefullyandyou'llnoticethe"Mellotronish"choirsoundinthebackground.

Gatedchoirsequencedtriplets

NowhereLand

Afewyearsagothissoundwascreatedbysomeproducergatingachoirsoundandutilizingahihatpatterntoopenandclosethegateandthisistheimpressiveresult.Ormaybeit'salldonewithasequencer..Anyway,"Nowhere



Land"wasahit(inEurope,atleast)andcountlessothertracksimitatedthistechnique.

TheFairlightSynVoxMomentsInLove

OSuperman

TheuberfamousFairlightsynvox.ThisbreathysyntheticvoicewasalsopartoftheEmulatorIIlibrary,theRolandSseriessamplers(MaryAnnvox),andmadeitevenintheGMstandardbank.CheckoutArtOfNoise's"MomentsInLove",LaurieAnderson's"O'Superman"(probablynotagoodexamplebutisreminiscentofthatsound)

D50"StarTrekVoices"

STARTREKVoices Agorgeous,Fairlightesquevoxpadthatsparklesandswimsinspace.ContainedinthePND5004Rolandcard.

TheFairlightsynvox ShoutThemostbeautifulandfamousCMIFairlightfactorysample,thiswas,andstillis,widelyusedintheROMofmanysamplebased,modernerasynthesizers.Intheexample,thesoloinTearsForFears'1984hit"Shout".

The"ICan'tWait"earlysamplersampledvocals

ICan'tWait

Averycool1980ssong,NuShooz"ICan'tWait"featuresaverycharacteristicvocalsample,very"Fairlightlike".Anearly,lowbitrate,limitedmemorysamplerwasprobablyused.

UPDATEFROMAREADER:"Hiimalmost40now...butihaveseennushoozwhentheyhavetheicantwaithit...theycameheretomytownlaredo...

thebassplayerplayedasynthwithabasspatch...dontknowwhatitwasbut...iseethisone

SequentialCircuitsProphetVShttp://www.vintagesynth.com/sci/pvs.shtmlbeingplayedonthemainriff....soithinkthatwasit.."

ReedsMellotronflutesound

StrawberryFieldsForever

PlayedpolyphonicallybytheBeatlesintheirsong"Strawberryfieldsforever",thishauntingsoundisverybeautiful,andtheoriginalinstrumentisstillverysoughtaftertoday.NoteworthyisitsappearanceintheVintageKeyboardexpansionboardfortheRolandJV/XPseries.



OtherMellotronsounds,likestringsandchoirsarevery,veryevocative.

The'80ssynthharmonicasound

What'slovegottodowithit

ThesynthusedforthisfamousharmonicasoundwastheYamahaDX7.(actually,apresetonaDX7librarycartridge).

Brass/SynthBrassThe"Wishyouwerehere"analogsynth

brass

WishYouWereHere FromPinkFloyd'spopularsong

The"Africa"FMbrasssound

Apparently,anearlyFMsynth,theYamahaGS1,wasusedforthebrasssoundofthisfamous1980shit.

The'80s"HairMetal"synthbrass

TheFinalCountdown

Doyourememberthehit"TheFinalCountdown"from1985,bytheband"Europe"?Thissongwassooverplayedontheradiothateverykindofpeople,froma4yearoldchildtotheoctogenariangrandma,werewhistlinginthestreet.Idon'trememberwhatkeyboardswereused,butI'llfindout.Update:severalSwedishandNorwegianreadershavecontactedmeandconfirmedthatthesynthusedwasaRolandJX8Papparentlyapreset,"Stab..."something.

Sequences/ArpeggiosTheTangerineDreamclassicanalog

sequencerpattern

CherokeeLaneExcerptfrom"CherokeeLane",fromtheliveAlbum"Encore".AnalogsequencerswereatthebaseofTangerineDream'smusicduringthe'70s.



The"Ifeellove"Moroder16thsequencedpattern

Ifeellove

Aclassicdiscosong,"Ifeellove"byDonnaSummerwasproducedbyGiorgioMoroderandisbasedonafabulousanalogsequencerpattern.Giorgiowentontoproducemanyother(synthesizerbased)hitsallthroughoutthe'80sandbeyond.

TheJupiter8arpeggio

SaveAPrayerFeaturedatthebeginningofDuranDuran'sbeautiful"SaveAPrayer".There'salsoagreatsynflutewithpitchbendingthat'sprominentinthistrack.

TheJupiter4randomarpeggio

Hungrylikethewolf FamouslyusedbyNickRhodesintheintrotoDuranDuran's"Hungrylikethewolf"

PluckedThe"GetYourFreakOn"kotoloop

GetYourFreakOn

Arepetitivekotoloop,thiswasahitforMissyElliott.Acharacteristicuseofnewsoundingsampledinstrumentsinmodernhiphopproduction

MiscThisshouldn'tprobablybehere,butI'vealwaysbeen



The"THX"sound[soundclipremovedatrequestofthecopyright

owners]

curious.Doesanybodyknowwhatsynthesizerwasusedforthisgreatportamentoeffect?Lucas?Anybody?ANSWER:here'sanemailfromreaderGilles,withtheanswertothisquestion:ThissoundcomesfromaSynclavier2,intensivelyusedinSkyWalkerstudio,managedbyGeorgeLucas(accordingtoHarmonyCentralwebsite)UPDATE:youcanreadtherealandveryinterestingstoryabouthowtheTHXsoundwasmade(byAndyMooreronamainframecomputeratLucasFilm)hereatMusicThing

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