[paulb09]

Two sources:

- YouTube: YouTube - Assassin's creed Soundtrack: Acre underworld
- WAV: Soundtracks | Assassin's Creed | Ubisoft (password is Target with the capital "T") track title Acre Underworld.

At about 23 seconds into the YouTube video and 22 seconds into the WAV file, what is the instrument being played? I was thinking marimba/vibraphone kind of area, but it doesn't seem quite right for either of those. I really like the sound, with the sharp impact and deep spreading vibration. The music, obviously, is from the Assassin's Creed soundtrack. It's possible it might be an instrument popular in the 12th century, but the soundtrack doesn't exactly fit heavily to music from that era as far as I'm aware, so there's no guarantee. Thanks in advance for any ideas on what it might be.

 

[bigrigdog]

It might just be a hybrid synthesized wave- like a digital combination of two or more instruments.

 

[meme]

Mmm... tricky, it's most definitely a (synthesized?) stringed instrument. I'm thinking maybe a hammered dulcimer.

 

[paulb09]

Yes, I forgot to mention that, most of the music is likely to have been synthesized. Perhaps that's why I'm finding it difficult to work out what it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by meme /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mmm... tricky, it's most definitely a (synthesized?) stringed instrument. I'm thinking maybe a hammered dulcimer.

Really? It doesn't sound much like a string instrument to me at all.


Well I'm still stumped. I just like the sound of it, even if it is completely synthesised

 

[CDBacklash]

huh?
At 23 im hearing a musical saw (could be a type of theremin, though), a double bass, a piano and slightly later im hearing a tube with beads sliding down it in reverse.
the only thing im hearing that sounds like a marimba seems to be a kalimba/thumb piano (although it could be something similar, like a celesta) at about 9 seconds into the youtube video...

edit: i'll grab the wav and listen properly...
edit: erm, above still applies.

 

[paulb09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDBacklash /img/forum/go_quote.gif huh? At 23 im hearing a musical saw (could be a type of theremin, though), a double bass, a piano and slightly later im hearing a tube with beads sliding down it in reverse. the only thing im hearing that sounds like a marimba seems to be a kalimba/thumb piano (although it could be something similar, like a celesta) at about 9 seconds into the youtube video... edit: i'll grab the wav and listen properly...

Well maybe the times are off in YouTube videos. But this instrument(s) comes on for me about just as 22 turns to 23 seconds, doing "ding-ding", then another "ding" during 25 seconds. During the 24th second between this, male vocals come in. The "ding-ding" then repeats on the 28th second, then around where the 30th second changes to 31, it has another "ding-ding", except the second "ding" in that double one is of a little less volume and length compared to the earlier sets. Then another one of those "ding-ding"s happens about 33 seconds, with piano coming in at the same time. But that's than instrument(s) making those "ding-ding" sounds that I'm interested in.

edit: and no, I realise it's not a marimba, but as I don't know what it is I kind of compared it to that, because especially the lower notes on a marimba have a sound as they're hit then vibrate quite deeply for a little while after. This isn't the same though. Perhaps it's some kind of tube, I don't know. I'm not very good at this

 

[CDBacklash]

I think its just a piano with something touching the string (something loose) to give that sound that comes after the fundamental frequency stops (which was probably muted either by hammer or hand). Probably a piece of paper. The rattling is probably due to adjacent strings. I believe the reason why it sounds slightly different is because the paper is causing the 2nd harmonic (first overtone) to be slightly more apparent than usual and is muting the ones above it significantly which gives it the dead sound.
Unless im missing something..

I play piano and attended a conservatorium of music.

I am assuming they used live samples here of a decent quality.

 

[paulb09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDBacklash /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think its just a piano with something touching the string (something loose) to give that sound that comes after the fundamental frequency stops (which was probably muted either by hammer or hand). Probably a piece of paper. The rattling is probably due to adjacent strings. I believe the reason why it sounds slightly different is because the paper is causing the 2nd harmonic (first overtone) to be slightly more apparent than usual and is muting the ones above it significantly which gives it the dead sound. Unless im missing something.. I play piano and attended a conservatorium of music. I am assuming they used live samples here of a decent quality.

Yeah, that does sound possible. As for live samples, I managed to read through a few interviews with Jesper Kyd and came up with this:

"There's a long list of live players involved. I was honored to record with a world class Ney flute player who works with John Williams. The Ud, mizmar, Mijwiz, Buzuq and other Egyptian instruments are all performed live. I worked with a Broadway percussionist and a male vocalist from Jerusalem who has worked on a ton of Hollywood movies.
I also recorded Christian and Gregorian chants in a church, Muslim chants and prayers, all kinds of whispers and female vocals. The vocalists sang in music styles such as Arabian, Bulgarian, Western and even Ligeti-type stuff. I also recorded with a huge choir in the Bastyr Chapel."

I also found this:

"Jesper Kyd turned out to be the perfect match for the title because he is able to create epic historical pieces fused with both traditional medieval instruments and modern synth sounds."

So as far as what was live and what was synthetic, there are only so many specifics, and we'll have to guess the rest from our ears. In another interview I found a bit about the song in question in particular:

"JESPER KYD: There were other factors involved. Acre is a mostly Christian-populated city and western music influences can be heard quite predominantly here. We recorded with a massive choir at the Bastyr Chapel for the Christian City. When venturing deeper into the game, the "Acre Underworld" music starts, under-the-surface kind of music, which is used for example, when interrogating or following people in Acre. This style includes whispered Latin chants and prayers as well as primal instruments such as stones, bells played in unusual ways."

 

[elliot42]

It sounds exactly like a vibraphone to me. But I also heard some marimba right at the end.

 

[Rempert]

It sounds exactly like a piano to me. The highest D, up where notes don't really have much body to them.

 

[CDBacklash]

IMO it doesnt sound much like a vibraphone. There is no vibraphone anywhere else in the music, but there is a piano.
It does indeed sound exactly like a piano, but slightly more dead.

 

[Kees]

I can copy the exact same sound on my electric piano.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

It sounds sampled, not synthesized. If it's synthesized, it's really good -- it has an organic quality that a lot of us programmers shoot for.

It's also slightly muffled, like he's hitting a xylophone on the outside of the two braces rather than on the inside. Or a triangle that isn't hanging loose (I.E. someone set it down, but at an angle so it doesn't bounce).

It's probably a teaspoon and a teacup. Some of the best samples aren't what they sound like. One of my favorite kick drum samples is a basketball against a concrete floor (Alesis' 'Monster Kick' from the HR16B).

 

[Squirsier]

Glockenspiel?

 

[elliot42]

Too low a register for a glockenspiel, thus my thinking it's a Vibraphone.