Overused sounds in prog you love/hate

[Digital_Man]

Astounded no-one has suggested "Footsteps" yet.

I can only think of one example of that but it's one I think pretty much everyone on here knows.

[Mister Triscuits]

Astounded no-one has suggested "Footsteps" yet.

Receding footsteps followed by a door opening and closing.

[JKL2000]

The sound of wanking.

Endless widdly widdly

Along with the door slam, don’t forget the sound of footsteps across a wooden floor.

[Mr.Krautman]

Natural sounds are the most overused ones: surf, wind, thunder, storm , rain , birds chirping , chirruping crickets, waterfall, etc...

I know only one good use of these natural sounds in a musical production: W.CARLOS 's Sonic Seasonings.

[progmatist]

Spoken word. Sometimes I like it but it can be used too much or not appropriate. I guess I feel the same way about nature sounds in prog. If something fits the mood of the piece by all means use it but please don't force it and don't overdo it.

Bothersome when it's in a language I don't understand. I have no problem with lyrics in other languages because they're integral to the music. When it's a narration, I feel I'm missing something.

[Koreabruce]

I usually pass on any new music that includes spoken word. Some don't mind it, but to me, it's an intrusion. If you have a story to tell, do it through well-written lyrics that are sung, or just let the music alone tell the story.

[Mr.Krautman]

I know this thread is not about instruments but I must mention a few (overused) synth sounds which immediately rush me to press the player's STOP button, whatever the artist/band is:

- The Shakuhachi sampled flute sound (Roland, E-mu, etc...) The most "cliché" synth sound ever.
- The big Fairlight low-fi "Orchestra hit" sample. (DZINGG ! ! , usually followed by nothing interesting)
- (Yamaha DX7) bells/chimes sounds.
- Reverse and/or gated reverb drum(box) sounds.

There are a few exceptions but not many of them.

[JKL2000]

^ Is that the sampled flute sound that sounds like a Pan flute? I hate that!

[Mr.Krautman]

^ Is that the sampled flute sound that sounds like a Pan flute? I hate that!

YES, it is ! You can hear it in P.G's Sledgehammer and myriads of New Age synth records.
Then it was "simplified" on some synths, but using the same basic sound patch architecture (D50), sounding like a pan flute.
Instant repulsion...

[Digital_Man]

The sounds of children playing or laughing is another one.

[Mister Triscuits]

- The Shakuhachi sampled flute sound (Roland, E-mu, etc...) The most "cliché" synth sound ever.

I call that gas escaping from a burner.

[Mr.Krautman]

I call that gas escaping from a burner.

Something like that, yes. Others also called it "bottle blowing" or "glass flute", etc...

I would simply call it a terrible overused cliché.

[Nashorn]

Bothersome when it's in a language I don't understand.

Sometimes it bothers me more when I can understand it...

[Bob Drake]

Say, have I got a song for you people on my next album!
There's a song where I recorded the acoustic guitar next to a babbling brook with small waterfall, using a very sensitive stereo mic, while a rumbling thunderstorm was appoaching, surrounded by birds, crickets and insects. (I am NOT joking!)

However, I should mention - no toy piano or children sounds. Ever.

xx
BD
www.bdrak.com

[Zeuhlmate]

[bigbassdrum]

.....However, I should mention - no toy piano or children sounds. Ever.

"No clowns ..."

[Splicer]

I usually pass on any new music that includes spoken word. Some don't mind it, but to me, it's an intrusion. If you have a story to tell, do it through well-written lyrics that are sung, or just let the music alone tell the story.

Agreed. I prefer not having to be told a story or even worse, having to listen to the equivalent of a radio drama.

[Progbear]

The baby crying sound is the worst next to the H*tl*r speech sample. Ugh!

Remember the early days of analog synthesis, when everyone with their first ARP Odyssey found out they could run the noise generator through the filter and get cheesy wind/ocean wave effects? You tended not to hear much of that by the mid/late 70s, once synths got more sophisticated.

The other early analog synth cliché was using the noise generator to drive the sample-and-hold to get the "spaceship computer going haywire" sound.

[progmatist]

Remember the early days of analog synthesis, when everyone with their first ARP Odyssey found out they could run the noise generator through the filter and get cheesy wind/ocean wave effects? You tended not to hear much of that by the mid/late 70s, once synths got more sophisticated.

I find the 70s analog string sound quite grating. It's amazing what we used to think sounded realistic.

Worse than the early wind effect is an orchestra using that hand cranked drum, wrapped in a sheet of something.

[Dan Maske]

Guitar.

[Burley Wright]

Not a sound but a gimmick on some early CDs that was around for a mercifully short time: the "hidden" track. Long pause at the purported end of a CD followed by another "surprise" track. I guess if you played one in a regular single disc player you would think the CD ended only to be surprised when the "surprise bonus" track started. If you were playing the CD in a changer then you'd wonder why it didn't go to the next CD until you caught on. Another thing is all that dead air counted in the running rime of the CD so you might feel cheated when you realized what was happening.

The first example of this I can think of was Her Majesty at the end of Abbey Road which was preceded by a pause just long enough to make for a pleasant surprise. Some of the pauses were ridiculous though. Thank goodness that fad ran its course.

[Mr.Krautman]

Guitar.

All of them ?

Then, guitarS

[Mr.Krautman]

I like sitar very much but in the mid sixties, thanks to a very famous british band, it became an imperative gimmick for all psych bands and even pop bands felt compelled to include it in their songs. (Even Shocking Blue used it !)
Problem is that very few guitarists (including the one of the aforementioned famous british band) were able to play this difficult instrument properly. Then for a time we got buzzing "DZZOOOING-DZZZZOOOOING" sounds everywhere in pop records and it quickly became irritating.
Still, Sitar is a wonderful instrument when played by a competent musician.

[Soc Prof]

I find the 70s analog string sound quite grating. It's amazing what we used to think sounded realistic.

I don't think anyone thought string synths sounded realistic. They were definitely "synthy" sounding. They started off as the poor band's answer to the mellotron, and then they became their own distinct sought after sound. Polysynths eventually rendered string synths obsolete.

[Dave (in MA)]

A good counter-example, but not prog: