The most unique instrument sound of the 20th century

Ray Riley · Post by **Ray Riley** » 26 Aug 2009 6:49 pm

Buck Trent ,Electric Banjo

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 27 Aug 2009 11:49 am

Ya think?

Ken Pippus · Post by **Ken Pippus** » 27 Aug 2009 12:28 pm

Eric Dolphy, bass clarinet. Nobody ever said unique meant palatable.

KP

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 27 Aug 2009 12:41 pm

Saw Buck the other night on RFD,on an OLD Porter,Love that sound,Years ago bought an album od Bucks,was disapointed,he only played reg banjo[VERY WELL] but I was wanted to hear the electric one.YOU BET CHA, DYK?BC.

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 27 Aug 2009 12:58 pm

Naturally, my first vote goes to the PSG. But, I'll also cast votes for:

The Steiner Electric Woodwind:
http://www.patchmanmusic.com/NyleSteinerHomepage.html

Here's a rather long YouTube of Kevin Braheny playing the Steiner Electric Woodwind. At times, it sounds like a violin, but not quite. BTW: This is one of my all time favorite pieces of music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2WoxRq-aeo

Another vote would go to Professor Leon Theremin's creation, the theremin. Especially the one built by Leon for the amazing Clara Rockmore:

Here is Clara Rockmore performing Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No.2 in D minor.
Note: Clara's sister Nadia Reisenberg is accompanying her on piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSBReO4MOo4

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 27 Aug 2009 2:24 pm

I vote for the Boo Boo stick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHM-TftqPco

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 27 Aug 2009 3:20 pm

Don't forget Usaaf Latif. (sp?)

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 27 Aug 2009 3:25 pm

The most unique instrument sound of the 20th Century is the electric guitar, in all its configurations and styles: hollow-body, semi-hollow, solid-body, fretted, slide, steel, bridge pickup, neck pickup, both together, single-coil or humbucker.

Theremin? Sounds very violin-like, except when used to make the radio dial sound in science fiction movies, which is arguably not music.

Bass Clarinet? The instrument itself was around before the 20th Century. Playing it in a different style shouldn't count.

Electric banjo? Sounds like a regular banjo, only louder. The banjo far predates the 20th Century.

Chet Atkins playing Boo Boo Stick? Just one of the many things you can do with an electric guitar. Sort of makes my case.

I maintain the electric guitar sounds radically different from an acoustic guitar; and the different sound and sustain has led to radically different styles and tones from anything previously heard on acoustic guitar. The electric guitar essentially defines the sound of popular music in the last half of the 20th Century. I'm not talking about jazz-box comping and polite picking, which does sound like an acoustic guitar only louder. I'm talking about R&B and R&R electric guitar - that completely new and unique combination of explosive, percussive picking and strumming combined with screaming sustain. And then add all the myriad effects of tube amp grit and distortion and compression. And then add all the varieties of all that and more you get with FX units (phasers, chorus, etc.). It's all unmistakenly electric guitar.

The electric guitar completely transformed the sound of music in the 20th Century. It's now so pervasive, and so varied that, for the question in this thread, we miss seeing (or rather hearing) the forest for the trees. By searching out some bizarre instruments like the Theremin, which have had little impact and are little used, we miss the obvious. Duh. It's the instrument we all play and hear all the time - the electric guitar.

You can slap your fingers down on the frets, or get fretless whining and wailing with a whammy bar or a slide or steel, or crank up the distortion and manipulate that, and you can do it all together. Some may consider it cheating to bring in all the different varieties of sound you can get from it - but that's part of its uniqueness. It's all electric guitar. You can make it sing like a violin, rip off individual notes like a keyboard, swell and sustain like a horn, and thunder like a massive organ. There was nothing like it before. It's unique, it's different, it's multifaceted, and it is pervasive in its impact on 20th Century music. Case closed. No contest.

Rick Campbell · Post by **Rick Campbell** » 27 Aug 2009 4:39 pm

The comb and a piece of wax paper.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 27 Aug 2009 4:55 pm

One word - MOOG

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 27 Aug 2009 6:31 pm

Actually, the Boo Boo stick wasn't a guitar - it was a defunct brand of cardboard mailing tube use as a percussion effect and heck, I wasn't remotely serious.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 27 Aug 2009 7:02 pm

Comb and wax paper - synthesizer - sort of the same sound.

Yes, the synth. is a unique modern sound. But it's kind of a generic sound. I place it a distant second behind the electric guitar, which is much more distinctive, versatile, and expressive.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 27 Aug 2009 9:33 pm

David Doggett wrote:The most unique instrument sound of the 20th Century is the electric guitar, in all its configurations and styles: hollow-body, semi-hollow, solid-body, fretted, slide, steel, bridge pickup, neck pickup, both together, single-coil or humbucker.

Theremin? Sounds very violin-like, except when used to make the radio dial sound in science fiction movies, which is arguably not music.

Bass Clarinet? The instrument itself was around before the 20th Century. Playing it in a different style shouldn't count.

Electric banjo? Sounds like a regular banjo, only louder. The banjo far predates the 20th Century.

Chet Atkins playing Boo Boo Stick? Just one of the many things you can do with an electric guitar. Sort of makes my case.

I maintain the electric guitar sounds radically different from an acoustic guitar; and the different sound and sustain has led to radically different styles and tones from anything previously heard on acoustic guitar. The electric guitar essentially defines the sound of popular music in the last half of the 20th Century. I'm not talking about jazz-box comping and polite picking, which does sound like an acoustic guitar only louder. I'm talking about R&B and R&R electric guitar - that completely new and unique combination of explosive, percussive picking and strumming combined with screaming sustain. And then add all the myriad effects of tube amp grit and distortion and compression. And then add all the varieties of all that and more you get with FX units (phasers, chorus, etc.). It's all unmistakenly electric guitar.

The electric guitar completely transformed the sound of music in the 20th Century. It's now so pervasive, and so varied that, for the question in this thread, we miss seeing (or rather hearing) the forest for the trees. By searching out some bizarre instruments like the Theremin, which have had little impact and are little used, we miss the obvious. Duh. It's the instrument we all play and hear all the time - the electric guitar.

You can slap your fingers down on the frets, or get fretless whining and wailing with a whammy bar or a slide or steel, or crank up the distortion and manipulate that, and you can do it all together. Some may consider it cheating to bring in all the different varieties of sound you can get from it - but that's part of its uniqueness. It's all electric guitar. You can make it sing like a violin, rip off individual notes like a keyboard, swell and sustain like a horn, and thunder like a massive organ. There was nothing like it before. It's unique, it's different, it's multifaceted, and it is pervasive in its impact on 20th Century music. Case closed. No contest.

I don't think so! Buck Trent's electric banjo sounded like a tele with b-bender or early cable pull steels, and sounded NOTHING like a banjo!

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 27 Aug 2009 9:39 pm

Glenn Suchan wrote:

Another vote would go to Professor Leon Theremin's creation, the theremin.

Interesting footnote. Leon Theremin's actual profession was espionage. He was a spy for the Soviet Union, an electronics expert who, among other things, designed the system that bugged the American embassy in Moscow, and who only dabbled in music as a hobby.

When his instrument became popular over here, the Soviets "allowed" him to live here ostensibly as part of some cultural program or something, but in truth he was sent here to spy on us.

Interesting that the Soviet Union no longer exists, and all of Theremin's official work is merely a footnote to history, and he will be remembered for the instrument he invented and his contribution to music.

One more example of how music is more important than politics. Politicians, world leaders, and even nations come and go, but music is forever.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 28 Aug 2009 8:50 am

Alvin Blaine wrote:I don't think so! Buck Trent's electric banjo sounded like a tele with b-bender or early cable pull steels, and sounded NOTHING like a banjo!

Well, I guess I've never heard it. I tried searching YouTube, but only came up with regular banjo stuff. Maybe somebody could post a clip.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 28 Aug 2009 9:20 am

try this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8jJq4rBsZc

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 28 Aug 2009 9:26 am

Harry Partch invented a whole new system of music and built the instruments to play it.

I think the sampler may be the most unique instrument invented though. There is not even a basic occilation or vibration used to create sound with them. The only time vibration is used is in the final perception of sound.

Mark Lind-Hanson · Post by **Mark Lind-Hanson** » 31 Aug 2009 7:56 am

More than just "electric guitar-I would vote for "fuzz guitar" {ala "Satisfaction"} Once that came in, it became {made electric guitar} a recognizable "voice" in music. Unfuzzed guitar is great & cool {of course!}, but if you want to talk about an iconic sound, I would say,
hit the distorto pedal...

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 31 Aug 2009 9:40 am

Harry Partch invented a whole new system of music and built the instruments to play it.

Bob, thanks for enlightening me about Harry Partch. I'd never heard of him before your post. I went to the cyberspace oracle (aka) Wikipedia and read that essay. Very interesting. I happened to find a website that had an interface for "playing" some of his creations. However, there was nothing on the sampler instrument you've mentioned. Here's a link to the interactive page:
http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/f ... artch.html#

I think I'd have to concur with Bob on Harry Partch's contribution of inventing a most unique 20th century collection of musical instruments, based in a very-much cutting edge approach to music scales.

See, this is one of the many things I like about the Steel Guitar Forum: A seemingly endless fount of information as purveyed by it's members.

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

Olli Haavisto · Post by **Olli Haavisto** » 1 Sep 2009 10:59 pm

Andy Greatrix wrote:Don't forget Usaaf Latif. (sp?)

Yusef Lateef

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 1 Sep 2009 11:26 pm

Well, let's not leave out the "swinette".

Andy Greatrix · Post by **Andy Greatrix** » 2 Sep 2009 4:40 am

Thanks, Olli!

Peer Desmense · Post by **Peer Desmense** » 2 Sep 2009 8:05 am

Weird instrument?

Mellotron

Moody Blues, King Crimson, Yes (Rick Wakeman)

Bob Ritter · Post by **Bob Ritter** » 3 Sep 2009 8:36 am

1. Electric guitar
2. Drum kit

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 3 Sep 2009 8:58 am

For whatever it’s worth, I wrote an article for SGW explaining how Harry Partch’s microtonal system works. I still have the file, and will send it to anybody who wants it. It’s very technical and geeky, but if you’re a theory geek like me, you might find it interesting.