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FamousSounds

FamousSounds
"Famoussounds"aresoundsthathavebeencreatedorusedbysomebody,likedandthencopiedbymanyothers,andthusearneda"classic"
status.
I'dliketoopenthissectionofSynthManiautilizingasastartingpointportionsofanarticleappearedintheOctober1995issueofKeyboard
magazine,titled"20SoundsThatMustDie",inwhichtheauthorDavidBattinoanalyzesmanysoundsthathave,overtheyears,beenused,re
usedandabusedagain.Iaddedaudioexamplestothelistforthosewhomightnotbefamiliarwiththosesounds.Fromthere,I'llstartaddingmy
ownexamplesofmoresounds,includingloops.Whenpossible,audioexamplesareavailable.

KeyboardmagazineList:

SOUNDNAME

Audio
example

DESCRIPTION

1.Thesquare/trianglewavesolo

LuckyMan

Thisflutey,highlysyntheticleadsoundsurestandsout,butalready
belongstosomeone.Still,addportamentoandmaybeyou'llget
lucky,man.(Note:theauthorisreferringtothesong"LuckyMan",byEmerson,
Lake&Palmer.Emerson'sMoogsoloisregardedasthefirstrocksynthesizersoloin
history)

2.Thesampleandholdtopitchcomputer
processingeffect

Processing

"Professor,whydon'tyouaskthecomputer?"Beepoobeebeeboo
poobahpah...hasanyoneeverreallyheardacomputermakethis
noise?(Note:IusedanAlesisairSynthforthissound.)

Numbers

FeedwhitenoisethrougharapidlyclosingVCFwiththeresonance
cranked.Kraftwerkdid.Andnowmosteverytechnobanddoes.
Psheeeew!Replacethenoisewithasawtoothwaveandyou'vegot
anotheroffender,rezbass.Nowplayweteightnotesadnauseam.
Onsecondthought,pleasedon't.(Note:themp3exampleisanexcerptfrom

3.Rezzaps

Kraftwerk"Numbers",fromComputerWorld)

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4.Simmonstypesyndrum

Aburstofnoiseandasinewavethatpitchbendsdown,this
synthetictomtommayhavesinglehandedlykilleddisco.

5.RolandTR808kickdrum

TR808bass
drum

Animpossiblylowhum,thissoundcouldcrumbleconcrete.Butit
alwaysgetsabadrap.(Note:theauthorisreferringtothefactthat
theTR808wasatthetimethedefactostandardinrapmusic)Note
Inthemp3exampleIamplayingaTR808samplesetfromthe
RolandDrums&CymbalsVol.1CDROMfortheSseriesofRoland
samplers.

6.TR808cowbell

Thisclangorousnoiseneverdisappearsinamix,thoughsometimes
wewishitwould.YoucanspotitonKashif's"Ain'tnowoman(like
theoneIgot))"fromKashif,GeorgeMichael's"ALastRequest"from
ALastRequest
Faith,and"Anythingyouwant"fromEWF'sHeritage,amongzillions
ofothers.Andlet'snotforgettheTR808hihat,ashort,metallic
noiseusefulforplayingexpressionlessmachinegunsixteenthnotes.

7.YamahaDX7Rhodes

TheGreatest
LoveOfAll

TheDX7'sscreechingovertones(generatedbydigitalfrequency
modulation)punchedthroughalotofmixes.Waytoomany.Check
outanypopballadforanexampleofthiscrispyelectricpiano.(Here's
WhitneyHouston's"GreatestLoveOfAll"foraparticularlywellproducedFMballad
piano.)

8.DX7anything
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(AspecialnominationfromWillAlexander,KeithEmerson's
collaborator,programmer,andproducer.)Marimbaostinati,Wimpy
seeDX7page
brass."Super"bass.FMsoundrecentlyhadaresurgenceon
computersoundcards,butwemaybefreeofitanydecadenow.

9.EmuEmulatorIIshakuhachi
Thisbambooflutesoundisreadilyidentifiablebythesuddenupward
pitchbendattheendofthenote.Experienceitagainon
"Sledgehammer"fromPeterGabriel'sSo,"YellowstonePark"from
Sledgehammer TangerineDream'sLeParc,"LoveIsStrongerThanPride"from
Sade'sStrongerThanPride,"Wakeup,Stopdreaming"fromWang
Chung'sToLiveandDieinL.A.,andRogerWaters'RadioKAOS,
whereit'sactuallysingledoutinthelinernotes.

10.Orchestrahits

Ownerofa
lonelyheart

Abrilliantideathefirsttimetheywereused(byArtofNoise?
MalcolmMcLaren?Weforget),thesestabbingsamplesofexuberant
orchestrasbecomegrittyanddoublyannoyingwhentransposed.Will
AlexanderbelievesthehitonYes's"OwnerofaLonelyHeart"from
90125wassampledfromKool&theGang'sCelebration.Roland's
EricPersingnotesthattheoriginalFairlightorchhitendedupinalot
ofROMsets,includingonaKawaidrummachine.

Violet

Asimpleyetirresistiblesound,Soundtrackisachorused,filter
swept,sawtoothfifth.EasilyspottedonSeal's"Violet"fromSealand
GaryNuman's"America"fromNewAnger.

Catmbe

Araspymetallicvocalsamplethatblooms,thensuddenlydancesa
littlejig,thispresetopenscountlesssongs.AtthebeginningofMiles
Davis's"Catmbe"(fromAmandla)andGaryNuman's"Devious"
(fromNewAnger),it'seventhesamenote.(Yep,that'stwopresets
inarowfromNuman.HemusthavelikedhisD50,becausehealso
usedtheFantasiapresetonthesong"ColdMetalRhythm.")

Fantasia

Anevocative,mysterioussound,thiswasanotherworldlybelllayered
withasynthpad.Andusedwithwildabandon.

11.RolandD50Soundtrack

12.D50DigitalNativeDance

13.D50Fantasia

14.JamesBrowngruntsandscreams

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

"Huh!""Haaieyah!""Hitme!"Okay,settledown.That'squite
enoughhittingalready.
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15.PanFlute

Thiswindbaghasgottobeoneofthemostoverusedsolosounds.It
livesintheKorgM1,theRolandD50(asLivingCalliopeandBreathy
BehindtheVeil Chiffer),theFairlight(asSteamer),andmanyothersynths.Just
whenwethoughtitwashopelesslyoverexposed,TonyHymasmade
Noneofusare interestinguseofitin"BehindtheVeil"(fromJeffBeck'sGuitar
Shop)byplayingafterbeatchords.Addingamarimbaattack
free
producestheubiquitousM1PanMalletpreset,recentlyheardin
"NoneofUsAreFree"onRayCharles'MyWorld.

16.KorgM1Lore

Theunderwaterwindchimeythingheardonathousandcommercials.
Butwhatisit?JackHotopofKorgreports,"Originally,Michael
BreckerbroughtthesamplebackfromEngland,passedittoRobbie
Kilgore,IgotitfromRobbie,andwestuckitintheDSS1library.But
whenitcametimetodotheM1ROM,wehadtotruncatestuff,soI
gavethefiletoCharlieBrightatKorgR&D.Hereloopedit,remapped
it,andtrunc'editdown.WhenweuseditinsubsequentROMS,it
wouldkeepgettingchoppedup,andwhenyouchopupsomething
KorgM1Lore rhythmiclikethat,theloopchangessomewhat.Sopeoplewhohave
theDSS1versionwillhaveonekindofloopifanyone'slucky
enoughtohavethefilesthatRobbieandMichaelhad,that'sa
differentversionofit,andtheM1versionisdifferentfromtheM3R
version,whichiskindofsimilartothe01/WversionandtheX
version.Soitexistsinmanyforms,antit'sareallycoolsound.No
oneknowswhatitis.NoteventhepeopleatKorg."There'ssome
speculation,though,thatLorewasoriginallyaFairlightsound.

17.M1Pole
Who'dhavethoughtthattappingametalpolewouldhavesomany
KorgM1Pole repercussions?AsKimAikinnotedinaMarch'90KeyboardReport,
thePolesampleevenendedupinthePeaveyDPM3'sROM.

18.M1MagicOrgan
Aburbling,tinklingdigitalian,thissamplehasbuiltmorepadsthana
mattressfactory.JackHotoprevealsthattheoriginalsamplewas
KorgM1Magic createdinDigidesign'sTurbosynthprogram.Therewassomedoubt
Organ
thatitcouldbeloopedsuccessfullybecauseit'sarhythmic,evolving
sound,buttheypulleditoff.MagicOrganwillreturnintheROMof
anupcominginstrument.

19.GatedSnare
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AgainstAll
Odds

FirstheardonPeterGabriel'sthirdalbum,thenvirtuallytrademarked
byPhilCollins,thisiswhathappenswhenyourunadrumthrough
excessivereverbandthenchopoffthedecay.Sodon'tdoit.Inthe
example,PhilCollins'beautiful'80shit,"AgainstAllOdds".

20.Highpitchedsnare

Possiblyareactiontothedeep,spacehogginggatedsnare,thisthin,
Shedrivesme lightsounddancesthroughuntoldnumbersofpoptunes.Canyou
crazy
FineYoungCannibals?

OverusedbutNotCoolAward:Stutteringsampled
vocals(Bbbbbaby!)

Nineteen

Ican'tfinda"bbbbbaby"sampleatthemoment,sohowabouta"nnnnnineteen"
instead?The1985hit"Nineteen",byPaulHardcastle(whonowplayssmoothjazzand
isstillverysuccessful)isaperfectexampleofthistechnique.Hardcastleusedan
EmulatorIIfortheVietnamdocumetarysamples).

SynthManiaList:

SOUNDNAME

Audio
example

DESCRIPTION

DrumLoops/Breakbeats/fullgroovesamples
FunkyDrummerLoop

FunkyDrummer

Thisloophasbeenusedasthebackboneofcountless
tracks.Deservedlyoneoftheclassicbreakbeats,itopens
thefirstsampleCDoftheclassic"Datafile"trilogy,byZero
G.

Amenbreakbeat

Amenmybrother

From"Amenmybrother"bytheWinstons,thisisthe
jungle/drum'n'bassloop.

Apachebreakbeat

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

Apache

Pitchshiftitupto160bpm,andyougetagroovaliciousbeat
thatmanyajungleproducersfindirresistible.From
"Apache",bytheIncredibleBongoBand.

Theloopof'88

Anirresistibleloop,thiswasperfecttobuildupaHouse
track.Ooh!Jazz!Ooh!Yeah!Ohh!Jam!Or,whatisit
thattheysay?Thisloopisfromthesong"Think"byLyn
Collinsandwasverypopularattheendofthe'80s/beginning
ofthe'90s.

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

Ihavethisandthepreviousloopidentifiedthiswayina
doublesampleLPpackagebySimonHarris,thatcontained
manyotherloopsandsoundssuitableforscratchingand
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GirlYouKnowIt'sTrue

Theloopof'89

backbeatpurposes.P.MDawnusedthisonefortheirhit
"Setadriftonmemorybliss",wheretheyalsosample
SpandauBallet'ssong"True"!Otherexamples:Milli
Vanilli's"GirlYouKnowIt'sTrue"

RolandTR909
TheTechnoHousedrummachine.Overtheyearsits
soundshavebeeneagerlysoughtafterbyeverydance
musicproducer,andithastrulydefinedagenre.An
ThisBeatIsTechnotronic analog/digitalhybrid,itsbassdrum,snare,openhatandall
ofitsonboardsoundshaveendedupineverysamplecd
Pullover
withthenamehouse/technoonit.CheckoutTechnotronic's
"PumpUptheJam"and"ThisBeatIsTechnotronic,Speedy
J's"Pullover",andDeeLite's"PowerOfLove"fromthe
Power_Of_Love
album"WorldClique".
PumpuptheJam

RolandTR808

Mantronix
SexualHealing

TheclassicHipHopandHousedrummachine.Allofits
soundsjustlikeitssister,theTR909,arefamous:the
tight,smallsnare,thecharacteristicrimshotandcowbell,
theanalogtomtoms..andthebiggestbassdrumboomever
made.Usedbyeverybody,itssoundsarestillwidelyused
forsomanydifferentmusicalgenres.
CheckoutMantronixdoinganhomagetothisdrummachine,
MarvinGaye's"SexualHealing",

The"Stutteredit"

TheRockafellerSkank

FatBoySlim(NormanCook)andthe"BigBeat"movement
(Propellerheads,ChemicalBrothers,theProdigyetalii)were
oneofthefirsttopopularizethestutteredit(utilizinga
softwaresequencertoarrangesmallsnippetsofsounds
together).ArtistslikeBT(BrianTranseau)tooktheStutter
editfurthercreatingtheMicroedit.BTisthechampinthis
department.Justlistentoanyofhissongsandyou'llrealize
howmuchworkheputinarrangingverysmallportionsof
soundinhissequencedsongs.Intheexample,asnippet
fromFatboySlimhit"TheRockafellerSkank"aka"Thefunk
soulbrother".

The"PumpUpTheVolume"loop

Pumpupthevolume

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

CharacteristicearlyhouseloopfromMARRS'hitTR909
galore,withanalog808bongos.

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The"Whentheleveebreaks"loop

Whentheleveebreaks

NotablyusedbytheBeastieBoysin"Rhymin'andStealin'",
thisloopwastakenfromaLedZeppelinsong.

CasioVL1rhythmsandtones
Dadada
Who_Was_That?

GermangroupTrio'shit"Dadada"andDeelite's"WhoWas
That",amongothers,usethiswonderful,littlemachine.It's
actuallyacrossbetweenakeyboardandacalculator,but
the"Fantasy"toneisprettygroovy..(andyoucanmakeyour
owntonestoo.)

The"Genieinabottle"bassdrumpattern

GenieInABottle

Verycool16thdrumbassprogramminginthissong.

The"GloryBox"loop

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

Averybeautifulloop,usedinthebackgroundof
Portishead's"GloryBox",fromDummy,andTricky's"Hellis
roundthecorner",fromMaxinquaye.Scratchyvinylnoise,a
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Hellisroundthecorner

melancholicstringloop,agreatbass,Rhodeswithtremolo,
whawhaguitars...aaah,IlikeTripHop.Slickpeople,too.
Anysongisgoingtosoundnicewiththatdreamyloopinthe
background.TheoriginalmusicisfromIsaacHayes.

Thebusy1980s16thbeatprogrammed
percussionpattern

Wow..whatacrazytrackthiswas!"YouSpinMeRound"
wasahugehitforDeadOrAlivein1985,andcountless
bandsimitatedtheirarrangementafterwards.The
YouSpinMeRound(Like programmeddrummachinepattern,incombinationwithother
aRecord)
sequencedparts,wasabsolutelyphenomenalandground
breaking.Iwonderwhatequipmenttheyused.Thebass
couldbeDX7,ormaybewasobtainedwithasampler?Still
WeirdScience
agreatpartysong!:)
Thistypeofpercussionprogrammingisalsofeaturedin
OingoBoingo's"WeirdScience"

The"Rockit"

Rockit

Everythingaboutthissongisgreat:thescratches,therez
zaploop,thepercussion,andfinallythesynthsoundused
forthemelody.AndletusnotforgettheVocoder:)Herbie
Hancockduringhisrapelectronicphase.Asynthesizercult
songofthe'80s.

The"I'vegotthepower"drumloop

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I'vegotthepower

AclassicsoundfromSnap'shit:thecharacteristicbellloop
isasignaturedrumpatternortheearly'90s.

The"BlueMonday"drumpattern

Blue_Monday

TheclassicBlueMonday,byNewOrder,featuredclever
OberheimDMXprogramming.

Bass/SynthBass/BassLines
TheBrooklynBouncesynthbass

Getreadytobounce

AgreatsoundingTB303synthbassgivesthis'90shitgreat
character.Alsousedthetypicaltechnopizzicatoveryin
vogueatthetime.

The"Oh,Yeah"samples&synthbass

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OhYeah

FromgreatpioneerofelectronicpopSwissband"Yello".
Thesongwasfeaturedinseveral'80sfilmsandisafeastof
samplesmadewithearlysamplers,andpunchy80sdrum
machines.

TheARPOdyssey"biting"synthbass

Chameleon

YamahaTX81ZLatelyBass
PussycatMeow

AsplayedbyHerbieHancockin"Chameleon",from
Headhunters.Greatsynthbasssound!Asyoucantell,
quitedifferentfromtheMinimoogbass...Backinthe'70s,
theOdysseyandMinimoogwerecontendersinthe
monophonicportable/performancesynthmarket.

Thisunassuming4operatorFMmodulecontainsmany
strongsounds,andcertainlyoneofthebestisthis.For
Rap,HipHoporHouse,youcan'tgowrongbyusingit.
CheckoutDeeeLite's"PussycatMeow",________________
or_____________.

KorgMS20"Flatbeat"basssound

FlatBeat

MadefamousbytheFrenchmoviedirectorandtechno
composerMr.Oizo,thiswarblybasssoundisstrangeand
immediatelyhooking."Flatbeat"wasahit(atleastin
Europe),alsothankstotheadorableyellowpuppetthat
movedhisheadtothebeatinthesong'svideo.Mybetis
thatthissoundwillbecomeaclassicandwillappearinthe
factorypatchesofnewsynths.

The"Deutsche"Eurosynthbass
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DeutschBas

Anaggressive,highlyresonantandpowerfulsynthbass
soundthatwasverymuchinvogueduringthe1990s.This
exampleinparticularcomesfromapresetontheAlesis
QS8.

Takemybreathaway

Thiswasaverytypicalbasssoundheardinthe1980s.I
wasabletogetaGREATrenditionofitjustaddingring
modulationtothepresetsynthbassinmyCasioCZ1000!
Intheexamples,Commodores'"NightShift"andBerlin's
"Takemybreathaway".

KingTut

PaulHardcastlehasusedthistypeofbasspatch,withlots
of"bite",inmanyofhiscompositions,including"Rain
Forest"and,inthemp3example,"KingTut".

Theringmodulated/vibratobass

ThePaulHardcastlestyleProphet5bass

RolandTB303

ThemythicalTB303,akathe"SilverBox",akathe"Acid
DreamMachine",butmoresimply"the303".Agenre,Acid
Acperience
House(orAcidTechno),wascreatedaroundthismachine.
Hasspannedaseriesofemulators,bothinhardwareand
Everybodyneedsa303 software.Intheexamples:Hardfloor's"Acperience"and
FatboySlim's"Everybodyneedsa303"yes,everybody
does...oratleasta303emulator:)

The"Persuaders"synthbass

The_Persuaders

Thisistheincrediblybeautiful"Persuaderstheme",bythe
greatJohnBarryoftheJamesBond007theme.Iwas
alwaysfascinatedbythissong,sincewatchingtheshow
whenIwasachild.Thesupremelyanalog,creamy,
oscillatordetunedbassisverycharacteristic.I'mtryingto
findoutwhichsynthesizerwasusedforthissong!so,if
youknow,contactme,pleaseat

Synth/SynthPad/SynthLead
RolandJunoWhatthe...?(aka"the
Hoover")

Mentasm
Charly
Dominator

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

TheTechnopizzicatosound
Insomnia
EncoreUneFois

InaFutureMusicinterview...Faithlessrevealthatthesound
isaneditedversionofaRolandJD990patch.In"Encore
unefois"DJSashpopularizedit.

RolandD50"Pizzagogo"
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OrinocoFlow

YetanotherfamousD50preset,thisisalovelysoundthat
definesNewAgepieces.Enyaandher"OrinocoFlow"
cometomind.

RolandJP8000SuperSaw

ThesoundofeuphoricTrance

RolandD50"StaccatoHeaven"

StaccatoHeaven

OneofthereasonswhyIboughtaD50in1989insteadof
anM1.EricPersingisonetalentedsounddesigner...

DigitalNativeDance

Aninnovationatthetime,thisfamousD50presetutilized
shortloopsthatgavetheinstrumentinstantcharacter.

Fantasia

Oneofthemosteasilyrecognizablesynthesizersoundsof
alltime.It'snowbecomeastandardintheROMofmost
newdigitalworkstations.

GlassVoices

Theperfectpadformanyapplications.Haunting,dramatic,
evolving...

D50"DigitalNativeDance"

RolandD50"Fantasia"

RolandD50"GlassVoices"

KorgM1"Universe"

KorgM1Universe

Togetherwith"StaccatoHeaven",oneofmyfavoritepresets
ofalltime.

The"Popcorn"sound

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

HotButter'ssuccessisanirresistibleelectropoppiece.The
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soundprobablycomesfromamodularMoog.

ThePolymoog"VoxHumana"sound

Cars

GaryNumanusedthatPolymoogpresetforthegreatmega
analogsynthleadinhishitsong.

Minimoogin"Catherine
Parr"

TheMoogMinimoogisprobablythemostfamous
synthesizerevermade.RickWakeman(heplayedinYes)
usedit,amongotherclassickeys,inhisalbum"TheSix
WivesofHenryVIII".

Minimooglead

The"Nightinmotion"synthstab

Nightinmotion

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

FromCubic22"Nightinmotion".Thissongwasvery
popularduringtheearlynineties.Thestabisinthe"Igotthe
power"veinacrossbetweenadistortedguitarsampleand
anaggressivesynth...greatsound.

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Moog"FromtheBeginning"sound

FromtheBeginning

Differentandrichinpersonality,thissoundappears,as
usualwithELP,attheendofaprettystandardguitarsong,
andchangestheatmospherecompletely.Morerecently,
FromtheBeginninghasbecomepartoftheAlesisQS7and
8soundarsenal.

OberheimFourVoiceleadsound

PatMetheny'skeyboardistLyleMayspopularizedthissound
ahollowsoundingsquarewavewithasofttonality.

The"Worm"squigglymonosynthsound
The"EnolaGay"synthsound

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

Classic'70ssynthlead

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EnolaGay

Famoushitsongbythenewwaveband"Orchestral
ManeuversintheDark"(OMD)Thiscoolsoundwas
apparentlysourcedfromtheunpretentiousKorgmicro
preset!

The"AxelF"synth

AxelF

A1980shitforHaroldFaltermeyer.Thesynthesizers
involvedwereapparentlyRolandJupiter8,RolandJX3P,
andYamahaDX7.

TheProphet5synthpad

Intheairtonight
True

PhilCollinsfor"Intheairtonight"andSpandauBalletfor
"True"bothreportedlyusedthisgreatanalogsynthfortheir
pads.

The"I'vegotthepower"synthstab

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I'vegotthepower

Acharacteristicearlyhousestab,popularizedbytheband
"Snap".Probablyadigitallymanipulateddistortedelectric
guitarsample.

OberheimOBXa"Jump"patch

Jump

Greatanalogsynthbrass,madefamousbythesong
"Jump",byVanHalen,andbythegreatironicallyguitarist
Eddie.IrememberagreatpatchfortheRolandD50called
"OBXaJumper"thatwasanuncannyrecreation.

TheSuperDetunedSawtoothWavesound
WhoisElvis
Thisismothaf**ker

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

The"Rydeen"sound

Rydeen

FromYellowMagicOrchestra'shit,thisisacrossbetween
anorganandasynthsoundapopularcombinationinthe
late'70s.I'mnotsurewhatsynthesizer(s)wasused.
updateapparentlyitwasaKorgPS3100.

NoLimit

From2Unlimited'shitsong,thiswasatypicaldetunedsynth
Technosound.

TheNoLimittechnolead

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TheChickCoreaFM+analogfusionlead
synth

Rumble

ThiswasasoundthatChickCoreausedveryoftenduring
his"electrik"periodintheeighties.It'sbasedonFM
(YamahaTX802)mixedwithananalog(intheaudio
example,excerptfrom"Rumble",from"TheElektricBand".

Absurd

ThisisagreatsamplefoundatthebeginningofFluke'shit
"Absurd"(fromthealbum"Risotto").Iguessitconsistsof
somekindofgutturalvocalsampledwithaddedfxand
somethingthatremindsofacabasa.Greatsound.

Fluke's"Absurd"vocalsamplebassfx

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TheMacarenadelayedsynth

Macarena

SaywhatyouwantabouttheMacarena,butthesynththat
openstheBaysideBoys'superpopularremixofthesongis
veryparticularandrecognizable.

SmackMyBitchUp

LiamreportedlyusedaKorgProphecyforthisinfectious,
distortedTB303ishsynthlead.FromtheProdigy's"FatOf
TheLand".

NoCoke

Veryparticularsounding,highlyresonantsynthanddance
hallreggaebass.Exclusivelydoneonsynth.FromDr.
Alban'shitoftheearly90s.Ireceivedanemailfroma
readeranditlookslikethesynthusedwasaRolandJuno
106.

SexyBoy

FeaturedallthroughAir's"SexyBoy"(fromtheir
breakthroughalbum"MoonSafari"),thisisacharacteristic
guttural,vocallikeandvocodedsynththatgivesthesonga
roboticaura.

The"SmackMyBitchUp"distortedreso
synth

The"NoCoke"synth&bass

The"SexyBoy"vocosynth

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

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I'vealwayslovedthissongbyPropaganda.Themarvelous,
incrediblyhauntingsoftpadfeaturedinthechorusisoneof
thebestanalogsoftpadsI'veheard.I'mnotsurewhatsynth
wasusedforthis,butIknowtheyusedalotofPPG.Pure
'80snostalgia.

The"Duel"softpad

Duel

The"FadeToGrey"synthbass,fxandpad

FadeToGrey

The"BennyBenassisound"

Satisfaction

Very,verycooldancesynthlead.IsthatPWMinaction?
Intheexample,theItalianDJ'shit"Satisfaction".

The"Sandstorm"technosynthlead

Sandstorm

Darude'sdancehitfeaturesaninfectious(somewouldsay
annoying),piercingtechnosynthlead.Veryeffectiveathigh
volume.

The"Pullover"technosynthlead

Pullover

TheCars'"Let'sGo"oscillatorsynclead

Let'sgo

Atriumphofanalogsynthesis,thiswasVisage'sbighit.
Lovelyanalogstringpadthroughoutthesong.

"Pullover"wasabighitbySpeedyJintheearly'90s.
"Pullover"featuresarepetitivetechnosynthesizerlineto
whichpitchbendisapplied,overanevolvingTR909drum
pattern.
PossiblytakenfromtheProphet5"SyncII"patch,thisisagreatsounding,
characteristicpatch,withagreatresonantfiltereffect.

Vocoder
Vocoder(Kraftwerkstyle)

TransEuropeExpress

TheVocoderis..
Checkout"TransEuropeExpress",byKraftwerk.More
recently,theBeastieBoysuseditin"Intergalactic".

Vocoder(Cherstyle)

Doyoubelieve

Yes,popmegadivaChercreatedatrendapplyingsomekind
ofvocodingtohervoicein"DoyoubelieveinLifeafter
Love".It'snotclearhowtheydidit(somesaywithAntares
AutoTune...),butitseemsherproducersusedaDigitech
TalkerandaNordLead.Edit:itlooksitwasindeedAuto
Tune.

Piano/ElectricPiano
TheDreamHousepianoakathe
"Children"sound
Children

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

Thesearebasicallystandardpiano,synbassandstring/pad
soundsbathedindelayandreverb,buttheyareparticular
nonetheless.Italiandj/producerRobertMileswrotethishit
usingaKurzweilK2000to"calmdown"thekidsbeforethey
drovebackhomefromthediscos(heevenusedthegreat
K2000"Thunder"patchinthissong).Hissongalsocreated
agenre,"DreamHouse".TheRolandJV2080wouldfeature
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severalpatchesinspiredbythesesounds.

Rhodeselectricpiano
RidersontheStorm

Beautifulsoundusedbymany70'sfusionplayersandmore
recentlybyIncognitowiththeAcidJazztrendofthe90's.
Forme,"RidersontheStorm"bytheDoorsdoesit.

TheLogicalSong

AdifferentsoundfromtheRhodes,andvery,very
characteristic.Comesinfuncolors,too,likegreen.Listen
toSupertramp's"TheLogicalSong".

L.A.Piano

Glossy,highlyproducedmegaexpensiveHollywoodstudio
typesoundtypicallyproducedcombininganacousticgrand
pianowithaRhodes/FMtypesound.InthisexamplesI'm
usingthepreset"Pf:ForBallads"ontheYamahaEX5R.

RideonTime

UsedinalotofHousetracks,especiallyinthe"ItaloHouse"
genreforitspercussivetone."RideonTime"bytheItalian
groupBlackBoxwasahugesuccess.

Wurlitzerelectricpiano

Thelayeredacoustic+FMpianoaka"L.A.
piano"
KorgM1Housepiano

Keyboard
HohnerClavinet

Superstition
Chameleon

The'60sstyleharpsichord

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

playedinapop/rock,notclassical,fashion:Mancini,....F

Organ
KorgM1PercOrgan

PleaseDon'tGo

Themythical"17Organ2"presetontheM1definedHouse
musicoftheearly1990s.ListenforexampletoDouble
You'sversionofKC&theSunshineBands'sclassic"Please
don'tGo",whichwasahitinEuropeintheearly'90s.

JimmySmithstyleHammondOrgan

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

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BackattheChicken
Shack

C3vibrato,3rdharmonicpercussion,thefirstthreedrawbars
allout...thisisthesoundofjazzorgan."Backatthe
chickenshack"wasthefirstJimmySmithalbumIever
bought...andIwasimmediatelyhooked.

VoxContinental

LightMyFire

ThesoundofTheDoorsandmanyother60'sbands.
AccordingtoRayManzarek,it'sthe"Californiasound".
"LightMyFire"isoneoftheDoors'mostlovedsongs.

Farfisa

RockLobster

SimilartotheVoxyetdifferent,sligthlywarmerandmore
nasalsounding,deservedlyoneoftheclassic60'scombo
organs.

The"Won'tgetfooledagain"phased/
filteredorgansound

Won'tgetfooledagain

The"Lucyintheskywithdiamonds"intro
organsound

Lucyintheskywith
diamonds

AtthebeginningofthegreatWhosong.TheAlesisIon
offersagreatrecreationofthissound.
IrememberreadingthattheorganusedbytheBeatlesfor
theintroductiontothishitwasaLowrey.Prettycoolretro
sound.
Anawesomesounding,expressiveearlyelectronic
keyboard!DelShannon's"Runaway",TheTornadoes'
"Telstar"areexamplesofthisprecursortothemodern
synthesizer.
UPDATEFROMAREADER:"Hiyas.
YoulisttheDelShannonhit"runaway"asfeaturinga
clavoline.Ilistenedtotheaudiosampleofthepertinent
section,andI'massumingthatyourefertothehigh,reedy
sortofsolothatplays.

Clavioline

Telstar
Runaway

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

That'snotaclavoline,though.That'sasaxplayedthrough
anorganleslie.
Severalyearsago,PBSranaseriescalled"Thehistoryof
rockn'roll"andoneofthesongsittouchedonwasDel
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Shannon'srunaway.Survuvingmembersofthebandwere
interiewedanditwasrevealedthatthat'swhatthesoundwas
peoplehadbeentryinglikemadfordecadestofigureout
whatitwas,andallitwas,wasasaxthroughaleslie.
Isearchedgooglebutwasunabletofindanyonewhohad
thisinfoposted,soyourbestbetistotryandhuntupacopy
ofthatoldPBSseries,andviewtheinterviewsforyourself.
cheers
cobalt*"

Thereggaeorganver.1

NoWomanNoCry

Awesomechorusedsound,withsomehighdrawbarsoutand
leslierunning.BobMarley's"NoWomanNoCry",thelive
version,isagreatexample.

Thereggaeorganver.2

Strings
ARPStringEnsemblealsoknownas
Solina

Oneofthebestanalogstringmachinesever.

TheSolinathroughphasersound

Usedinalotofclassic"teutonicrock",or"kosmische
musik",andJeanMichelJarre.
Awonderfulsound.Trulyinnovativenotbecaseit'sthefirst
timethatsomebodyfiltersvocals,butbecauseofher
amazingoperatictechniquecombinedwithtechnology.Icall
this"Goldfrapp"sound,becauseAlisonGoldfrappusesthis
techniquewithbeautifulresults.Shesingsthrougha
microphonewhosesignalisbeingprocessedbya
synthesizerfilter(ataGoldfrappconcertinD.C.,Inoticedit
wasaKorgMS20).Yep,it'snotaThereminorasynth...
eventhoughthefirsttimesyouhearthesongs,onecan't
exactlyfigureouthowtheyproducedit..it'shervoicegoing
throughasynthesizerfilterI'veseenitwithmyeyesattheir
concert.

The"Goldfrapp"sound

LovelyHead

UPDATEFROMAREADER:"Ithinkshe'sactuallysinging
intotheMS20'scontrolvoltageinput.The
MS20isdrawingitspitchinformationfromAlison
Goldfrapp'svoice,viatheCVinput.Korg'sLegacyVST
editionoftheMS20hasapresetwhichdoesthis,andit
producesasimilareffect,particularlythe"squally"soundin
betweenthenotes,whichmustcomefromthemicrophone
pickingupnoise,orGoldfrapp'sbreath.It'soneofthose
interestingtechniquesthatislittleusedbecauseitrequires
pitchperfectsinginginordertosoundright.
Shecouldprobablyhavethesameeffectwithanotherold
CV/Gatesynthesiser,butIwonderifthedifferentvoltage
standardsmightmakeitimpossibletocontrolintheaudio
range."

The"Frampton"sound
Thefamoussoundobtainedwitha"talkbox".

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

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TheElkaSynthexLaserHarp

ThefamousLaserHarpsoundusedbyJeanMichelJarre
utilizingtheclassicElkaSynthex.

Thetypical'80scompsynth
TheProteus/2"XFileswhistle"

Propaganda,Madonna

TheXFiles

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

Choirs/Vox/SynVox
TheAnasthasiatechnochoir

Anasthasia
JamesBrownisdead

Itrulylovedthissongwhenitcameout!intheearly'90s!
BelgiangroupT99createdthistechnostandardsound
samplingthesoundofanorchestralchoir(supposedlya
recordingofTheRiteofSpringbyStravinsky)andshifting
thestartingpointofitswavesotoobtainaveryfastattack,
indispensabletoplaythecharacteristicriff.Tonsofother
artistscopiedit(forexample,LAStylein"JamesBrownis
dead")Update:readerAnderswrites:I'veboughtanold
RolandS330samplerandguesswhatifound!!Original
SystemDisknr2containssomeorchestralsound,andone
called"Ending1"isthatfamous"JamesBrownIsDead"
choirsound:)

EmuEmulatorchoir

EnjoyTheSilence
Tziganata

DepecheModeusedEmulatorsinthe'80s.Ibelievethe
choirsintheirincrediblybeautiful"EnjoyTheSilence"are
fromtheEmulatorII.Also,here'sagrittychoirsoundfrom
theEmulator,1stversion:ItalianNewWavebandLitfiba's
"Tziganata".Listencarefullyandyou'llnoticethe
"Mellotronish"choirsoundinthebackground.

Gatedchoirsequencedtriplets

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

Afewyearsagothissoundwascreatedbysomeproducer
gatingachoirsoundandutilizingahihatpatterntoopenand
closethegateandthisistheimpressiveresult.Or
maybeit'salldonewithasequencer..Anyway,"Nowhere
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Land"wasahit(inEurope,atleast)andcountlessother
tracksimitatedthistechnique.

TheFairlightSynVox

MomentsInLove
OSuperman

TheuberfamousFairlightsynvox.Thisbreathysynthetic
voicewasalsopartoftheEmulatorIIlibrary,theRolandS
seriessamplers(MaryAnnvox),andmadeitevenintheGM
standardbank.CheckoutArtOfNoise's"MomentsIn
Love",LaurieAnderson's"O'Superman"(probablynota
goodexamplebutisreminiscentofthatsound)

D50"StarTrekVoices"

TheFairlightsynvox

STARTREKVoices

Agorgeous,Fairlightesquevoxpadthatsparklesandswims
inspace.ContainedinthePND5004Rolandcard.

Shout

ThemostbeautifulandfamousCMIFairlightfactorysample,
thiswas,andstillis,widelyusedintheROMofmany
samplebased,modernerasynthesizers.Intheexample,
thesoloinTearsForFears'1984hit"Shout".

The"ICan'tWait"earlysamplersampled
vocals

Averycool1980ssong,NuShooz"ICan'tWait"featuresa
verycharacteristicvocalsample,very"Fairlightlike".An
early,lowbitrate,limitedmemorysamplerwasprobably
used.

ICan'tWait

UPDATEFROMAREADER:"Hi
imalmost40now...butihaveseen
nushoozwhentheyhavetheicantwaithit...
theycameheretomytownlaredo...
thebassplayerplayedasynthwithabasspatch...dont
knowwhatitwasbut...
iseethisone

SequentialCircuitsProphetVS
http://www.vintagesynth.com/sci/pvs.shtml
beingplayedonthemainriff....soithinkthatwasit.."

Reeds
Mellotronflutesound

PlayedpolyphonicallybytheBeatlesintheirsong
"Strawberryfieldsforever",thishauntingsoundisvery
beautiful,andtheoriginalinstrumentisstillverysoughtafter
StrawberryFieldsForever today.NoteworthyisitsappearanceintheVintage
KeyboardexpansionboardfortheRolandJV/XPseries.
http://www.synthmania.com/Famous%20Sounds.htm

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OtherMellotronsounds,likestringsandchoirsarevery,very
evocative.

The'80ssynthharmonicasound

What'slovegottodowith Thesynthusedforthisfamousharmonicasoundwasthe
it
YamahaDX7.(actually,apresetonaDX7librarycartridge).

Brass/SynthBrass
The"Wishyouwerehere"analogsynth
brass

WishYouWereHere

FromPinkFloyd'spopularsong

The"Africa"FMbrasssound

Apparently,anearlyFMsynth,theYamahaGS1,wasused
forthebrasssoundofthisfamous1980shit.

The'80s"HairMetal"synthbrass

TheFinalCountdown

Doyourememberthehit"TheFinalCountdown"from1985,
bytheband"Europe"?Thissongwassooverplayedonthe
radiothateverykindofpeople,froma4yearoldchildtothe
octogenariangrandma,werewhistlinginthestreet.Idon't
rememberwhatkeyboardswereused,butI'llfindout.
Update:severalSwedishandNorwegianreadershave
contactedmeandconfirmedthatthesynthusedwasa
RolandJX8Papparentlyapreset,"Stab..."something.

CherokeeLane

Excerptfrom"CherokeeLane",fromtheliveAlbum
"Encore".AnalogsequencerswereatthebaseofTangerine
Dream'smusicduringthe'70s.

Sequences/Arpeggios
TheTangerineDreamclassicanalog
sequencerpattern

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

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The"Ifeellove"Moroder16thsequenced
pattern

Ifeellove

Aclassicdiscosong,"Ifeellove"byDonnaSummerwas
producedbyGiorgioMoroderandisbasedonafabulous
analogsequencerpattern.Giorgiowentontoproducemany
other(synthesizerbased)hitsallthroughoutthe'80sand
beyond.

SaveAPrayer

FeaturedatthebeginningofDuranDuran'sbeautiful"SaveA
Prayer".There'salsoagreatsynflutewithpitchbending
that'sprominentinthistrack.

Hungrylikethewolf

FamouslyusedbyNickRhodesintheintrotoDuranDuran's
"Hungrylikethewolf"

GetYourFreakOn

Arepetitivekotoloop,thiswasahitforMissyElliott.A
characteristicuseofnewsoundingsampledinstrumentsin
modernhiphopproduction

TheJupiter8arpeggio

TheJupiter4randomarpeggio

Plucked
The"GetYourFreakOn"kotoloop

Misc
Thisshouldn'tprobablybehere,butI'vealwaysbeen
http://www.synthmania.com/Famous%20Sounds.htm

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The"THX"sound

curious.Doesanybodyknowwhatsynthesizerwasusedfor
thisgreatportamentoeffect?Lucas?Anybody?ANSWER:
[soundclipremovedat here'sanemailfromreaderGilles,withtheanswertothis
requestofthecopyright question:ThissoundcomesfromaSynclavier2,
owners]
intensivelyusedinSkyWalkerstudio,managedbyGeorge
Lucas(accordingtoHarmonyCentralwebsite)UPDATE:
youcanreadtherealandveryinterestingstoryabouthow
theTHXsoundwasmade(byAndyMooreronamainframe
computeratLucasFilm)hereatMusicThing

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

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