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#1899 - 12/06/02 04:50 PM Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
Anonymous
Unregistered


Hi guy's,

This may sound like a daft question but i'm trying top find the name of an synth type instrument used in the 60's/70's era. Basically it looked like a type of synth but with a series of strings and the player wore a ring of metal upon their finger and moved it along the strings to obviously acheive higher and lower pitch sounds. When played it gave what be described as a ghost or high pitch sound, its used quite a lot in the album 'Moon safari' by 'Air', especially in the track 'kelly watch the stars' and i think the beach boys used it quite a lot too.
It is really bugging me because most people know what i'm talking about but cannot name it, can any one help me?

Please email me at:- Castleford@btinternet.com

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#1900 - 12/06/02 05:41 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
Soft Machine Offline
Member

Registered: 11/01/01
Posts: 141
by your description, I believe the instrument is a

Onde-Martenot

from the 1920s

[This message has been edited by Soft Machine (edited 12-06-2002).]

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#1901 - 12/06/02 05:43 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
Equalizer Offline
Member

Registered: 02/12/01
Posts: 525
Loc: Scotland
a harp.
_________________________
David

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#1902 - 12/06/02 05:43 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
Soft Machine Offline
Member

Registered: 11/01/01
Posts: 141
Live ive seen the The beach boys use
ribbon controller

and AIR used a Theremin

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#1903 - 12/07/02 07:14 AM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
Anonymous
Unregistered


Cheer's guy's i'll have a look!!

But a harp it is not, that doesnt give the sound i mentioned matey! haha...

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#1904 - 12/07/02 05:48 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
Equalizer Offline
Member

Registered: 02/12/01
Posts: 525
Loc: Scotland
Yeah, but at least it has a set of strings and if you move your fingers along the strings you'll achieve higher and lower pitched sounds!
_________________________
David

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#1905 - 12/09/02 09:27 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
danb Offline
Member

Registered: 12/28/98
Posts: 306
"Basically it looked like a type of synth but with a series of strings and the player wore a ring of metal upon their finger and moved it along the strings to obviously acheive higher and lower pitch sounds".
------------------------------------------

A typical synth doesn't have a string. Based on your description it looks like it's a slide guitar. Like the one that Don Felder (EAGLES) used in many of their songs

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#1906 - 12/10/02 02:27 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
Soft Machine Offline
Member

Registered: 11/01/01
Posts: 141
I already told the answer

it's a "Onde Martenot"

the guy said a RING, not a bottle-neck

and besides, how can it be a guitar if it has a Keyboard Danb??

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#1907 - 12/10/02 07:54 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
tekminus Offline
Member

Registered: 04/20/00
Posts: 1287
What keyboard? Nobody mentioned any keyboard and I doubt the Beach Boys used the Ondes Mertenot.

-tek

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#1908 - 12/10/02 09:35 PM Re: Searching for name of retro instrument, please help
danb Offline
Member

Registered: 12/28/98
Posts: 306
Hey Soft, I'm talking about pedal steel guitar. Some people thought it's a kind of synth and not a guitar. Obviously, Andy didn't mentioned the word "keyboard" on his post.

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