What is that sound?
Does anybody know what they used for that thumping drum sound under the main title? It definitely sounds like a processed drum, but this was long before the days of sophisticated electronics.
shareThis has been a subject long ago on this board before all the old pages were removed. I don't think a good answer was ever found. Today I did an internet search and found a reference that says the music at the opening for High Noon was performed by guitar, accordion and novachord. A what? Yes, a Novachord invented by Hammond (of organ fame) in late 1930's. It was an electronic synthesizer that looked like a really large spinet piano and weighed over 500 lbs.
Google "Novachord High Noon" and see what you think. To me, the music was perfect for the film. The rhythmic drumming sound sounded like an old steam train rolling along the tracks.
Thanks for the tip about the Novachord. My dad had some 78s from the 40s which featured that strange instrument!
shareI'd imagined that the sound was produced by a wobble board, perhaps subsequently distorted, but I defer to better informed sources. (The wobble board was a gizmo popularized by Rolf Harris, the now disgraced Australian entertainer, in the 70's, but very possibly invented years before.)
I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken.
That's what I first thought of back in the 1970s when "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" by Rolf Harris was popular on the radio. Must be that sound. However, the wobble board, while similar in sound and beat to "High Noon" does sound higher pitched....more of a "whoooop-whoooop sound.
Thanks for posting the name of that instrument (Wobble Board) as I have wondered for years just what is that sound. Check out this link to hear it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D-LmRNdQiQ