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Doc Brown
06-12-2013, 02:24 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqXPV6onzU0







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqXPV6onzU0
Hey all.

I have heard this theme many times and really like John Carpenter music but I could never put my finger on what the rhythm track is throughout the song??

It almost sounds like a synthesized shaker or something, I can't even describe it very well. Lol

Sounds like it could be a drum machine but I have never heard that sound in any drum machine I have ever heard. The movie came out in 1978 so choices were limited.

I don't know why but not knowing what it is has been irritating me for a while. Any ideas and or how to replicate it?

Thanks



I posted this over at kvr and no replies thus far....?

Now I am really getting curious.

Swamp Ape
06-12-2013, 03:24 PM
Carpenter used a Linn LM1 on a lot of stuff. The Junn JM-1 vst is a pretty reasonable fascimile. There's a hihat and a shaker sound to experiment with.

martygras
06-12-2013, 03:25 PM
http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/themovies/hw/hwstrk.html

It's probably a synth sound as he mentions using synth's, but not drum machines.

Oh, found some more info.
Dan Wyman here tells about the soundtrack process:
I used only the modular system Moog III: five boxes of modules, with 4 sequencers, two keyboards, and a Ribbon Controller [a touch-sensitive strip that controls pitch]. However, I may have duplicated one or two of the sfx on a Minimoog which was in the room… I had ARP 2600s, Sonic 6, that Oberheim, and other instruments… their sound did not match the quality we were looking for. I had written the Moog Modular Systems Handbook for Bob Moog, and without reservation preferred the quality of this famous instrument to any other.
http://cultureramp.com/killer-punk/

plamuk
06-12-2013, 03:30 PM
a bit off topic, but...

i love John Carpenter.

this is my tribute to John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13" soundtrack

http://music.ratsofnym.com/track/the-carpenter

http://f0.bcbits.com/img/a0597810103_2.jpg

FKAB
06-12-2013, 03:38 PM
I'm guessing here. A Roland System 100?

See Martin Ware of the Human League discuss one here!

http://www.bonedo.de/artikel/einzelansicht/human-league-being-boiled-und-das-roland-system-100.html

The sites in German, I think the first three or four videos, but jump to the third for sounds.

Wow, two posts while I was writing mine!

+1 Carpenter

Swamp Ape
06-12-2013, 03:42 PM
Since it was pre-1980, it was probably some kind of Roland. I imagine any shaker/maraca sound would get you close enough.

martygras
06-12-2013, 03:46 PM
Hello. Post #3.

Dan Wyman did the synth programming for John Carpenter. John also had help composing on Halloween.

FKAB
06-12-2013, 04:15 PM
Hello. Post #3.

Dan Wyman did the synth programming for John Carpenter. John also had help composing on Halloween.

Yep, you posted while I was replying and I didn't want to scrub after searching for that damn video! :p But curious that another poster should have the same answer.

Doc Brown
06-12-2013, 04:59 PM
Carpenter used a Linn LM1 on a lot of stuff. The Junn JM-1 vst is a pretty reasonable fascimile. There's a hihat and a shaker sound to experiment with.

Hey swamp.

I have that vsti. The thing is it was before the lm1 came out. (1978)I am following you on what a good starting point would be with the lm1 emulation.

I am just hell bent on finding out exactly what he used....

Thanks.

Doc Brown
06-12-2013, 05:11 PM
http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/themovies/hw/hwstrk.html

It's probably a synth sound as he mentions using synth's, but not drum machines.

Oh, found some more info.
Dan Wyman here tells about the soundtrack process:
I used only the modular system Moog III: five boxes of modules, with 4 sequencers, two keyboards, and a Ribbon Controller [a touch-sensitive strip that controls pitch]. However, I may have duplicated one or two of the sfx on a Minimoog which was in the room… I had ARP 2600s, Sonic 6, that Oberheim, and other instruments… their sound did not match the quality we were looking for. I had written the Moog Modular Systems Handbook for Bob Moog, and without reservation preferred the quality of this famous instrument to any other.
http://cultureramp.com/killer-punk/

Wow!

Huge score. Great reading. Neither articles explained what they used for that ticking rhythm....

The hunt goes on.

Thanks for the info.

Doc Brown
06-12-2013, 05:15 PM
a bit off topic, but...

i love John Carpenter.

this is my tribute to John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13" soundtrack

http://music.ratsofnym.com/track/the-carpenter

http://f0.bcbits.com/img/a0597810103_2.jpg


Outstanding rendition. Wasn't expecting that but pleasantly surprised. Nice work Nym!

Swamp Ape
06-12-2013, 05:19 PM
Yeah I was more responding to the part about "how to replicate it." A modular moog may have been used but unless you have one laying around it's not much help.

http://thequietus.com/articles/07784-john-carpenter-interview
This is pretty interesting. He doesn't say much about specific gear, or working with Wyman, besides
JC: God, I don't remember what gear I used in the beginning. For Assault On Precinct 13 and Halloween I worked with Dan Wyman. He taught synthesizers at USC and used old tube synths. He had to tune each one before I could play.
Neither mentions drum machines prior to 1980, so maybe it was from the Moog, but it doesn't seem too far-fetched that they had a Roland or something else laying around for percussion. That particular shaker/whatever is all over the soundtrack, but there's not much other perc besides some basic thudding kicks.

Escape from New York is where the Linn debuted in his work, and it's prominent on Halloween II.

Doc Brown
06-12-2013, 05:22 PM
I'm guessing here. A Roland System 100?

See Martin Ware of the Human League discuss one here!

http://www.bonedo.de/artikel/einzelansicht/human-league-being-boiled-und-das-roland-system-100.html

The sites in German, I think the first three or four videos, but jump to the third for sounds.

Wow, two posts while I was writing mine!

+1 Carpenter


I've never even heard of a roland system 100!

Man, there was a lot of analog gear back in the day.

plamuk
06-12-2013, 05:54 PM
hey, thanks, Doc!

Doc Brown
06-12-2013, 05:57 PM
hey, thanks, Doc!


Forgot to ask Nym cause its a given anytime we talk about AOP13 .....
What did you use for the bass synth?

FKAB
06-12-2013, 06:03 PM
Hah, Dark Star. It was shown on early evening TV here when I was a kid, I was hooked. I always loved Carpenter's synth sounds. I demo'd Schwa's "Sovtek" Olga recently, I liked the nod to the Human League's "Being Boiled" preset, which was named "Sericulture?", after the Buddhist practice of boiling butterflys to obtain a particular pigment for dyes. Go figure. Which is what the song was about also. It was quite close to Carpenter type sounds if you care to try it!

plamuk
06-12-2013, 06:06 PM
i used a painfully sculpted trillian patch for the bassline. tried to get it as close as the original as possible, minus some of the spaciousness of john's version.

i took a chance on that one - to those who don't know the original song, the bass is so boxy and methodical, kind of shoulders its way around like a riveting machine. my listeners typically expect a smoother sound from me.