Originally Posted by
chidrummer
On the other hand, jillfoster, to me, the instrument I hear dropping in at the 2:33 mark and on the outro of the M&TP tune sounds like an electric guitar run through a fuzz box with some compression on it. Electric violins usually sound very similar to an acoustic violins only with a more metallic edge to it.
More broadly, I think it's the use of the instrument in question which can make a recording sound dated. Shaft without that Wah Wah pedal, Superstition without that Honer D6 Clavinet, Sweet Sticky Thing without the Arp String Ensemble, Chameleon or Flashlight without the Mini Moog, More Bounce To The Ounce without the Vocoder. All classic songs used with instruments that might have been considered "gimicky" at the time, but wouldn't sound right with them. Shoot, what would the eighties have sounded like without the Yamaha DX7 and the Roland 808?
I think some people just used the instruments badly. They crossed the fine line between timeless and cheesy. All instruments speak to a time and a period. When used well the instrument's sound transcends its time and still resonates decades or even centuries later.
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