Ableton Forum

You know, one of the most overused dramatic sound effects in TV and film: I think it's a string or something similar; a harsh, metallic sweep. Australians will know it - it's all over that ridiculous airport security what'sitsname reality show.

Does anyone have a clean version of this? I'd like to have it handy for ironic use.

I can provide a sound clip later, if needed: I have one that I recorded off of the X-Files years ago, but there are too many other sounds in the background.

Are you talking about a bowed waterphone ?
It's the sound all cheesy horror and thriller editors use to signify "spooky".
a quick google will tell you yea/nay.

I have a friend who plays one, they do more than just that typical noise. You can probably obtain the sample through knowing the name of the instrument.

Don't watch reality tv shows....but can you post the Xfiles sound so we can hear what you want ?

OK - here's the sound I'm talking about. Judging from various Youtube clips, the waterphone definitely sounds like it could potentially produce this sound, but I think this particular instance must be in every single soundtrack producer's sample library.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/23270102/XF-metal_shriek2.WAV

The waterphone is actually a pretty cool instrument

PM me your email address.....

spectrasonics omnispehere has it

Done Let me know if it's what you want....I have a few more

Thanks! Yeah, it's in the ballpark, I guess, but the one in the clip I provided is a lot more distinctive, and I'm pretty sure that exact sample has been used a lot in several films and TV shows.

If it's in a Spectrasonics product, that would probably explain why it's so widely used...

Anyways, it's not a huge deal, I'd just like to have it, mostly for fun. I've been working on a soundtrack for a while, and it's great fun to play around with cheesy sounds (and then discard them for something more original).

And I have to say, I'd heard of the waterphone, although never given it much thought, but now that I've seen and heard it in action... It's a really cool and unique instrument!

I believe that sample may be of a thing called a "blaster beam" , I shit you not.
It looks like The worlds largest lap steel (18 feet long) and is played by smashing the cap out of it with scrap metal / bowing it/ talking dirty to it.

I guess more likely for TV productions that one of these newfangled sampler instruments has a "sample" of one.

Awesome! I'll look up the "blaster beam" too. There are so many cool, exotic instruments I've never heard of.

sporkles wrote:OK - here's the sound I'm talking about. Judging from various Youtube clips, the waterphone definitely sounds like it could potentially produce this sound, but I think this particular instance must be in every single soundtrack producer's sample library.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/23270102/XF-metal_shriek2.WAV

The waterphone is actually a pretty cool instrument

Thanks for the sample. At first I thought you meant the 6 Million Dollar Man Sound.

http://youtu.be/q2zUV2Y-xdI