Synth
this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2025
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Pro musician here.
There are so many, but a hurdy gurdy has gotta be up there. Played by someone who knows more than the basics, it sounds like something a medieval king would demand played to relax.
(They’re also among the most expensive instruments out there, as the only makers today are extremely talented individual ones; no big company like Fender or anything makes them. If you see one, you know it was handmade by a master.)
I also love the sound of the Crwth. It’s from Wales, and is sort of like a regional spinoff/precursor to the violin.
Piano or Violin for solo instruments, but I love a good concerto or symphony.
Vibraphone and marimba
Very close, steel drum
IDK why, but the hurdy gurdy has a pretty alluring sound, in my opinion. So I'm probably going with either that or acoustic guitar.
Edit:
I really like this song using hurdy gurdy because to me it kinda sounds like a soundtrack piece for some prison action film.
I am also a fan of the hurdy gurdy. Here's my entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuaJLHK_LQ
Damn! That hit hard! Thank you for that one.
Drums - pretty much any single by Street Drum Corp
Probably acoustic guitar tbh, I love acoustic covers, but Piano is amazing too, and electric guitar.
Acoustic covers are just so raw and nice to listen to.
Electric guitar.
Not a single instrument, but I love a horn section, too.
Just love a heavy well produced guitar riff. Might be a boring answer but that’s the one for me.
I'm also fan of a particular type of guitar riff that I can only describe as "crunchy" with my limited music vocabulary.
The best example I can give is Spirit in the Sky. The lyrics are cheesy, but damn the guitars are fine in that track.
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Eric Shenkman from Spin Doctors is the cool riff King for my money.
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I love a good piano piece.
One of my favorites: https://youtu.be/zucBfXpCA6s
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Piano. Supertramp, "From Now On".
And the sax in that tune is pretty great also.
Oboe. Anything from the Dream Academy albums would qualify. It has a nice pure sound almost like a vocal.
In second place would be the sitar, or the Hammond Organ if someone is rockin out. The Peddlers, or Fanny would be good examples of excellent Hammond.
Oboe was my choice as well.
I'm biased bc I played oboe in school band but it's true, a really great sounding oboe goes totally unappreciated. I was asked to do the solo to "Kiss from a Rose" or w/e by Seal and that had probably one of the only mainstream music oboe solos. Sadly the singer went with a different song before the show.
Like as the main or only instrument in a song? Probably Spanish guitar. See "Vamo Alla Flamenco" from Final Fantasy 9. I wanna say Diablo 2 had a good Spanish guitar track too, but no idea what it's called.
I believe the song in Diablo is called "Tristram". Excellent classical guitar song!
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The hurdy-gurdy is so pleasant to listen too. I love the drone notes it can play.
Roland TB-303. It's the synth that launched so much electronic music. Examples are legion, but one of my favorites is Psychic TV "E-male:" https://youtu.be/o2U3joQ9oFI
Generally considered among the penultimate 303 examples are:
- "Higher State of Consciousness" by Josh Wink (https://youtu.be/NdaqXjDtXkQ)
- "Acperience 1" by Hardfloor (https://youtu.be/Un4CeV_l3pI)
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I'm big fan of pianos (but not all piano genres) and I have learned that I really like piano run through a phaser and doubled with a Japanese koto
Gawd I love koto…
Man, I love me some guzheng nowadays.
Any song in particular that you'd recommend?
There's a YouTuber called Mo Yun who does wonderful guzheng music, including some frankly mind-blowing covers of popular songs. Every so often I just let her entire channel play in the background while I go about my day.
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The Cello, loved it so much that I started learning to play it at around 30.
When I think of a classical instrument, I think cello - specifically this piece Shadow of Doubt by Yoko Kanno, where it has such a brooding tone and power.
Being a synthesizer nerd, I like those most, but they have such varied tones among them and even on the same synth; 4x Atlantis by Aphex Twin probably captures one of the tones I most love, and the entire "Orphans" piece hits much of the range.
Damn, when he hit stride around 2? Active stankface. That was gnarly af.
If you just keep it to the basic instrument drums probably.
If we are allowing it then a heavily distorted guitar tuned stupidly low. But is it the instrument or the various electronics that make the sound?
I'm not so well versed in music, so any examples of music that you like that have this distortion you mentioned?
Any heavy metal uses distortion, at least I think that is the English term.
If you're asking specifically i like meshuggah - bleed style guitar.
oboe, cello, violin...
Saxophone. But not always because it's smooth. Because sometimes it ROCKS...
...Or because it's crazier than anything you've ever heard!
Love me a steel drum. No other instrument can instantly transport you to a beach
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Piano. Chopin, especially Raindrop.
If I said guitar, I'd point you to this song, which is actually a piano song performed on guitar. Lately this is the song that makes me feel things.
I love horns in music, especially the trumpet. It's why I'm a big fan of Cake, they have a prominent role for the trumpet in a lot of their songs. The best has to be the trumpet solo in Italian Leather Sofa (starts around 2:10) but they have other great ones too.
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