Bucktunes Posted October 27, 2001 Share Posted October 27, 2001 What the heck, let's just make this a Q&A thread for songs with mysterious sounds. Here's one that's always baffled me; On Don Henley's All She Wants To Do Is Dance - That buzzy, growling, distorted sound that starts right after the drum intro and continues through the song. Sounds kinda like a DX7 run through a distortion box. At least that's how I used to try to duplicate it, but never really nailed it. Anyone know? Peace all, Steve ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbyjoe Posted October 27, 2001 Share Posted October 27, 2001 i can't help out with some of that stuff because i'm just too young. as for a question for keys sounds, what keyboard is being played in the rosanna (by toto) solo? ...just to keep this message going for no real reason. "Consider how much coffee you're drinking - it's probably not enough." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joegerardi Posted October 27, 2001 Share Posted October 27, 2001 Jimbyjoe: Don't take this as Gospel, but IIRC, that was a Polyfusion synth. At least, that what the guys at Polyfusion told me when I was visiting their factory in Buffalo. Setup: Korg Kronos 61, Roland XV-88, Korg Triton-Rack, Motif-Rack, Korg N1r, Alesis QSR, Roland M-GS64 Yamaha KX-88, KX76, Roland Super-JX, E-Mu Longboard 61, Kawai K1II, Kawai K4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthplanet Posted October 27, 2001 Share Posted October 27, 2001 Originally posted by SWBuck1074@aol.com: What the heck, let's just make this a Q&A thread for songs with mysterious sounds. Here's one that's always baffled me; On Don Henley's All She Wants To Do Is Dance - That buzzy, growling, distorted sound that starts right after the drum intro and continues through the song. Sounds kinda like a DX7 run through a distortion box. At least that's how I used to try to duplicate it, but never really nailed it. Anyone know? Peace all, Steve Q:What do you call a truck with nothing in the bed,nothing on the hitch, and room for more than three people in the cab? A:"A car".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthplanet Posted October 27, 2001 Share Posted October 27, 2001 Originally posted by SWBuck1074@aol.com: What the heck, let's just make this a Q&A thread for songs with mysterious sounds. Here's one that's always baffled me; On Don Henley's All She Wants To Do Is Dance - That buzzy, growling, distorted sound that starts right after the drum intro and continues through the song. Sounds kinda like a DX7 run through a distortion box. At least that's how I used to try to duplicate it, but never really nailed it. Anyone know? Peace all, Steve A wild guess it could be a guitar with really heavy distortion and other processing. Or it could be a sample of something processed through distortion. Michael Q:What do you call a truck with nothing in the bed,nothing on the hitch, and room for more than three people in the cab? A:"A car".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted October 27, 2001 Author Share Posted October 27, 2001 Originally posted by jimbyjoe: i can't help out with some of that stuff because i'm just too young. as for a question for keys sounds, what keyboard is being played in the rosanna (by toto) solo? ...just to keep this message going for no real reason. I'm not sure which part was which synth. (I hear at least three different synths in that solo) But Toto had two keyboardists, David Paich and Steve Porcaro. Each of them had a Yamaha CS80, so I assume those are in the solo besides the Polyfusion. The CS80's pitch ribbon could be set to step chromatically up or down. I believe that's how they got the polyphonic glissando that closes the solo. Any more theories on the Henley song? I'd be really surprised if it was just a processed guitar. It sounds more buzzy than distorted, almost like a dirt bike with straight pipes or something. Peace all, Steve [ 10-27-2001: Message edited by: SWBuck1074@aol.com ] ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krakit Posted October 28, 2001 Share Posted October 28, 2001 OK, I've got one. I've always wanted to know what George Duke used to get the solo on the song "Fifty-Fifty" on "Over-nite Sensation" Frank Zappa and TMOI. Anyone know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted October 30, 2001 Author Share Posted October 30, 2001 What, nobody else?? I was sure this would get folks talking, especially since I've seen so many other threads on this subject. Oh well, I tried. R.I.P. Peace all, Steve ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthetic Posted October 30, 2001 Share Posted October 30, 2001 I just picked up "Thriller". Don't laugh, it's some of the best songwriting and synth playing around, plus you have to respect the best-selling album ever. So, does anyone recall what made the Big Bong at the beginning of "Beat It"? I've heard that it was a Synclavier. There is probably a Keyboard article about it back in the day, I wish they would make classic features available to subscribers on their website. Hell, I would pay extra for that. This album has really made me want to start making music again. -jl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted October 30, 2001 Share Posted October 30, 2001 The "big bong" at the beginning of "Beat It" was the Synclavier. That complete phrase was on their clear vinyl demo LP. I imagine Quincy or MJ just lifted it straight from the record. The solo at the beginning of Zappa's "50-50" is, I'm almost positive, a theatre pipe organ, complete with the glockenspiel stop, common on theatre organs. I think it's even listed in the album notes. The snarly synth in "All She Wants To Do..." has got to be a DX7. it was the hottest ax out that year. That's just a guess. The other two I'm 99.9% sure about. K. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted October 30, 2001 Author Share Posted October 30, 2001 Originally posted by ksoper: The snarly synth in "All She Wants To Do..." has got to be a DX7. it was the hottest ax out that year. That's just a guess. I think we're right about this one. Maybe I just didn't have the right distortion box. Now that I think about it, the synth on the record might have been going through a Rockman. That was a popular sounding "crunch box" at the time. Synthetic, no need to be embarrassed about Thriller. I bought it years ago just to study the amazing work that Quincy did on that album. Some of his best to this day, IMO. I think Michael really dropped the ball by not having Quincy produce his last few records. Not that they were that bad, but Q definitely has the magic touch. Peace all, Steve ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted October 30, 2001 Author Share Posted October 30, 2001 I wonder if anyone here remembers this one; On 10CC's song "I'm Not In Love" from the early -mid `70's. The song is full of the kind of breathy "Ahh" vocal sounds that we would assume was a Fairlight sample if it had come out 10 years later. But how did they get that sound that far back? It sounds so unreal, but no synths at the time could do that. Kinda creepy sounding. Was it just a heavily flanged Mellotron, or did they record multiple tracks of the guys singing like that? Rumors of this thread's death are only slightly exaggerated! Peace all, Steve ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billyb Posted October 30, 2001 Share Posted October 30, 2001 A real general question. What about Kraftwerk, especially Autobahn? I never saw any articles on them or many pictures. I believe I did see a Minimoog or two in one picture, but I seem to recall hearing they used a lot of custom built stuff. What did they use for their synthesized percussion. I think in one picture I saw one member holding some sort of drumsticks with wires comming out the end. Were they real or just a prop? There are no stupid questions but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krakit Posted October 30, 2001 Share Posted October 30, 2001 Originally posted by ksoper: The solo at the beginning of Zappa's "50-50" is, I'm almost positive, a theatre pipe organ, complete with the glockenspiel stop, common on theatre organs. I think it's even listed in the album notes. K. That sounds about right. It's not mentioned on the liner notes. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillW Posted October 30, 2001 Share Posted October 30, 2001 Originally posted by SWBuck1074@aol.com: I wonder if anyone here remembers this one; On 10CC's song "I'm Not In Love" from the early -mid `70's. The song is full of the kind of breathy "Ahh" vocal sounds that we would assume was a Fairlight sample if it had come out 10 years later. But how did they get that sound that far back? It sounds so unreal, but no synths at the time could do that. Kinda creepy sounding. Was it just a heavily flanged Mellotron, or did they record multiple tracks of the guys singing like that? Rumors of this thread's death are only slightly exaggerated! Peace all, Steve Yo, Steve-0! I seem to recall reading an interview with 10cc shortly after that song was released and they revealed that they indeed overdubbed many tracks of gen-you-wine vocals to achieve that sound. We don't need no steenking samplers! [ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: bwilcox@hcarchitects.com ] [ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: bwilcox@hcarchitects.com ] [ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: bwilcox@hcarchitects.com ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbyjoe Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 another gen-x'er question about sounds (ie. sorry i can't help with the older songs - i'm only a spring chicken): what do you reckon the synth sound is in ben fold's new song "rockin' the suburbs" - the one that does that little 2 bar riff? it sounds a lot like the 'hip-hop lead' sound of a roland xp-series, user #48 i think. of course i may be wrong. when i saw him on tv he was using a roland ax-1 but was obviously midi'ed. "Consider how much coffee you're drinking - it's probably not enough." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthetic Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Originally posted by ksoper: The "big bong" at the beginning of "Beat It" was the Synclavier. That complete phrase was on their clear vinyl demo LP. I imagine Quincy or MJ just lifted it straight from the record. I'll bet it was the other way around - NED put the track on their Synclavier demo after it was on the biggest hit of the year. It also shows up in the solo section, so I don't think they would have recorded it off the album. I gotta get some FM happening. I think there's an FS1R in my future when I get some cash going. Thanks, -jl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthplanet Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Originally posted by billyb: What did they use for their synthesized percussion. I think in one picture I saw one member holding some sort of drumsticks with wires comming out the end. Were they real or just a prop? The drumsticks were for real. They were using custom electronic percussion. (if you listen real close they don't even try to sound like drums) you have to give them credit for trying to come up with something keeping in character with the sound they were producing. I believe there was an article in Keyboard way back. Anyone collect the old issues? Michael Q:What do you call a truck with nothing in the bed,nothing on the hitch, and room for more than three people in the cab? A:"A car".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krakit Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 I've got another project for you. Anyone that can list or provide a link to the array of synths that DEVO used (and the songs that they were used on), I'd be grateful. They used many sounds that I cannot recognize on any machine. Thanks, Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted November 2, 2001 Share Posted November 2, 2001 Originally posted by Krakit: I've got another project for you. Anyone that can list or provide a link to the array of synths that DEVO used (and the songs that they were used on), I'd be grateful. They used many sounds that I cannot recognize on any machine. Many of those were Jupiter-8. I know this because I have the bank of their original programs. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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