What is the instrument on this record?

February 19, 2023 1:24 PM

The song is Xalis by Étoile de Dakar, from 1978. And from about 2:11 to 2:38, there’s a sound I was curious about. Is it an electric guitar? If so, what makes it sound like that?
posted by Bloxworth Snout to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

It's a guitar - maybe a slide guitar run through distortion and a bit of reverb.
posted by Brent Parker at 2:17 PM on February 19, 2023

electric guitar, no slide, onboard tone turned down, processed with distortion, wah (at one setting, not pedal manipulated, for the notch filter), and an attack/decay.

and very good hands.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:38 PM on February 19, 2023 [2 favorites]

I think it's electric guitar with a slide, wah or filter, and a volume pedal or rolling the volume knob for a slow attack.
posted by ovvl at 3:49 PM on February 19, 2023

I'm not an expert but it sounds like a talk box to me, whatever else is going on. They were popular at the time and it gives that formant/vowel sound that is a little bit like wah pedals but human-generated.
See eg Snarky Puppy on Tiny Desk here for an interesting modern usage putting one on a synth; you can really see the guy using his mount the shape the sound. Idk what other classic examples there are, there's a decent section on notable uses at the Wikipedia link above, eg Pete Frampton used them famously.

I may be wrong in this instance of how the sound is achieved, there are often multiple routes of fx and that lead to similar outputs. Modern formant synthesis is a thing now, but I don't think it was then, and I bet you will be interested in music made with talk boxes based on the sound sample given.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:30 PM on February 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

That sounds a lot like an EBow on an electric guitar. I'm not positive that it is, but it sure sounds like it.
posted by bananana at 5:35 PM on February 19, 2023

There's no slide it's fingers on a fretboard. The guitarist is manipulating the volume knob on the guitar and I think j_curiouser is right, it's run through a wah pedal that isn't being moved. That's what gives it that slight throaty/deadened tone.
posted by mani at 10:31 PM on February 19, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I think it’s the lack of attack which made me wonder what was going on. I feel like it has the tone of an electric guitar but I can’t hear the actual moment the note is played. It sounds more like I expect a guitar to sound when he gets onto a faster section towards the end.

I don’t have the guitar knowledge to judge the accuracy of anyone’s answers but I can sort of hear how deft control of the volume might have that effect? Whatever the exact answer I appreciate all your time and if nothing else you’ve given me some youtube rabbit holes to go down!
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 1:20 AM on February 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yup, seconding spitbull - that's an envelope filter. Quite possibly a Mu-Tron III. If you listen in headphones/ear pods it's especially clear that the tone of the guitar alters as the notes sustain.

Introduction to Envelope Filters.

Envelope filters are also commonly referred to as "auto-wahs", although they're technically slightly different. Auto wahs change the tone at a rate set by a knob on the pedal, envelope filters depend on your playing to change the tone.

as would compression, also possibly in use here.

Yeah, the cleanish guitar parts at the beginning of the tune are WAY compressed.

(Bonus guitar nerdery - I'll also second spitbull that the player's using a fuzz pedal. Which, yes, is a kind of distortion, but guitar players tend to differentiate between different methods of generating distortion because they sound and react to your playing differently. From Dunlop.com: Overdrive vs. Distortion vs. Fuzz. Fuzz pedals were some of the earliest and most common guitar effect pedals.)
posted by soundguy99 at 6:24 AM on February 20, 2023 [3 favorites]

The lack of attack and the tone of the sustain are what reminded me of the EBow sound. Example
posted by bananana at 7:15 AM on February 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks again! I pretty much asked the question on a whim but I’m glad I did, it’s been interesting!
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 9:22 AM on February 20, 2023 [1 favorite]