What is that sound?

Dooey Jo · Post by **Dooey Jo** » 2005-06-27 09:27am

I'm looking for a certain sound that's sometimes used in music. It's a strange metal bell-like sound. I think it's most famous for being used in GoldenEye (both the movie and the game. The real game by Rare). I've tried searching for it, but it's hard considering I don't even know what the thing is called. I stumbled across an intrument called the waterphone. This sounds absolutely nothing like what I was looking for, but it has got to be the weirdest sounding thing ever contructed. Not to mention I've heard one of those on a tape with scary music for a Dracula role playing-thing (but I thought it was violins or something).

Well, anyway, does anyone know what this bell sound is called and/or where I might find it? I want to try use it in some of my little compositions, that's why I'm asking for it.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-06-27 10:49am

Not sure quite what you're referring to in GoldenEye... any other examples?

Off the top of my head:

Uh, bells
Xylophone
Steel drums
Chimes (the orchestral kind you hit with a hammer - very bell-like)
Gong?

Dooey Jo · Post by **Dooey Jo** » 2005-06-28 03:25pm

I've heard it in a few other movies, but unfortunately, I cannot remember which ones... I think it was in some movie about nuclear power plants having meltdowns all over the world because of the Y2K bug (it started in Sweden, too, for some reason). But I'm not sure about that.

But I did manage to extract a sample from GoldenEye, the movie. I fixed it up a bit, but there is still quite some background noise. Here it is.

It doesn't sound like any steel drum I've heard. I've never heard orchestral chimes, do they sound something like the sample? It might be a xylophone, though, if it's a very very low tone. Or maybe the sound is synthesized entirely. That could complicate things...

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2005-06-28 03:31pm

Hm, that's a hard sample to tell from. From what I can hear, it sounds like it's got a bit of a wah or something (not my area of expertise), hard to tell what's under it though.

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2005-06-28 03:42pm

I think it's probably synthed, myself. It could be a water-percussion instrument, but it's not one I'm familiar with.

It's definitely not chimes, metallophone, or vibraphone. They all sound a good bit different. Xylophone and marimba are both wood, so they're out. I've never heard steel pan sound like that, although a really really badly damaged one might get the warble, but not the distortion.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2005-06-28 04:38pm

Thats an electronically made sound. Get Cubase or something like this to make this sound.

Saurencaerthai · Post by **Saurencaerthai** » 2005-06-28 09:12pm

This is synthesized sound.

Dooey Jo · Post by **Dooey Jo** » 2005-06-30 08:14am

So it is synthesized? Carp! Oh well, guess I'll have to make it myself then...

Edit: That typo is so funny, I'm gonna let it stay!