Sheer Heart Attack (song) question...

David Hobbes · 11-09-2005, 10:59 AM

what is the instrument (?) being played during the instrumental passage in the song..the high pitched one that gets my dogs excited? is that May on guitar??

anyone?

WillG · 11-09-2005, 12:37 PM

It always sounded like a synthesizer effect to me. It's a great song but that part of it ruins it somewhat because of how irritating the noise is.

Tim L · 11-09-2005, 07:52 PM

I remember reading a long time ago about this- i think they did it (don't remember the instrument/s) by manipulating the recording tapes somehow in the studio. good tune-for sure
Tim

Michael Allred · 11-09-2005, 11:58 PM

WillG, Queen didn't start using synths until 1979/80 for "The Game" album.

andrew markworthy · 11-10-2005, 04:28 AM

Quote:

It always sounded like a synthesizer effect to me.

As Michael has said, it ain't a synthesiser. Indeed, the early Queen vinyl album covers were famous for having 'No Synthesisers' printed somewhere on them. To answer the original question - it's a tape effect.

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David Hobbes · 11-10-2005, 09:07 AM

thanks guys

WillG · 11-10-2005, 09:24 AM

Quote:

WillG, Queen didn't start using synths until 1979/80 for "The Game" album.

Indeed, the early Queen vinyl album covers were famous for having 'No Synthesisers' printed somewhere on them

Right, I remember those slogans. Were the effects for "Get Down, Make Love" done in a similar manner?

andrew markworthy · 11-10-2005, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Were the effects for "Get Down, Make Love" done in a similar manner?

Yep.

I think the most interesting effect on the early albums is one of the apparently simpler ones - the speeded up vocals at the start of Brighton Rock. In the days before computer effects they must have been the very devil to work out.

Tim Hoover · 11-10-2005, 12:50 PM

Quote:

I think the most interesting effect on the early albums is one of the apparently simpler ones - the speeded up vocals at the start of Brighton Rock. In the days before computer effects they must have been the very devil to work out.

I always thought that was merely Freddie singing in a pseudo-falsetto tone. It's been ages since I've listened to that tune, however, so I could be mistaken.

If it was infact a sped-up vocal, such a beast is actually pretty easy to record. You simply slow down the multitrack tape itself and let the singer rip. He'll hear the rest of the song played slowly, and will be recording his vocal at regular pitch - but most likely taking pains to slow down sibilant sounds and plosives. When the vocal is recorded, you simply speed the multitrack back up to normal speed, and presto! the vocal is pitched higher.

andrew markworthy · 11-11-2005, 02:53 AM

Tim, agreed, but it's the slowing down of the high pitched voice into the normal Freddie vocal that intrigues me, it is so seamless. Actually, I suspect it's Brian May's voice that is speeded up.

Perhaps it's just me that's easily impressed - I can play the piano well enough, but I'm hopeless on musical theory and working out speeding up/slowing down to attain a different pitch is the sort of thing that melts my mind.

Tim Hoover · 11-11-2005, 03:54 AM

Quote:

it's the slowing down of the high pitched voice into the normal Freddie vocal that intrigues me, it is so seamless

Perhaps that's crossfading

I see where you're coming from. The smooth shift back into lower pitch is what leads me to believe it's just falsetto.

andrew markworthy · 11-11-2005, 10:10 AM

Quote:

what leads me to believe it's just falsetto.

Except that when they did the song live (it's on the Live Killers album) it didn't sound like that. Ah well, probably not worth losing any sleep over.