It so incredible to think that something so "useless" became a signature sound for one of the most important song in the history of music. This means that there are no useless sounds in music. Everything has a purpose.
Despite the sound being humorous in isolation, in the context it's in, in the song, it takes on a very haunting, ominous quality - it works so well and whoever discovered it and suggested it be used was very clever!
Casio is so under-appreciated! There are many incredibly powerful synths that never get to be in a hit song, and here's a little Casio keyboard that beat 'em.
@@_demitri CZ had one of the best envelopes of all synthesizers, way more expressive than the plain vanilla ADSR. UX was ... well, what to expect of digital synth from DX-7 era. I have been waiting CZ re-release for years, but not seem to happen.
Turns out that there were a LOT of Casio models appearing on hit songs, but they often didn't get the recognition that they deserved. This video shows that many people will have heard a Casio in a hit song, but probably never knew it! ruclips.net/video/c51C3X90mOk/видео.html
Wow! Completely mind blowing! I had this exact keyboard as a kid, and learned to play piano on it from around '85 or so. A year or two prior, my dad had just bought a new tape deck, along with a copy of Thriller which was the first tape used to christen it. I was instantly mesmerized and it left a lasting impression to this day. I can actually remember messing around with frog and mimicking the same C# bassline from Thriller thinking "hmm, it KINDA sounds like it" 😂. Man, now I really wish I kept that keyboard.
The Thriller frog bass is one of my favorite sounds in all of sound design 🤩 Thanks Anthony for continuing to share all the incredible insights and anecdotes. Your channel is a boon to the whole platform.
Same, ...it sticks right? The Prodigy did a really nice track based on that loop. I remember at the time thinking; ' I was waiting for somebody to loop this'.... I was very surprised what the actual sound was, and that, the key is not always high end gear. I have had a few circuitbending failures, including a cheap Casio keyboard. Unmistakable Casio sound, but it never clicked for me... Thanks Anthony! 😘👌
Such a great episode! That iconic sound had to be recovered and confirmed by this league of extraordinary gentlemen! I think that creamy white MT-60 suddenly has become much more expensive and sought after. Thank you Anthony!
Big thank you synth master Marinelli🙏!! I remeber being the first to ask you about this ”frog” sound. It was on one of your first videos about thriller. You politely answered you had no idea, and I thought I never would know….Despite all the top gear in the studio… it was a tiny Casiotone behind it. 🐸 I would never have guessed. So grateful for your commitment and engagement! The holy grale of mysterious sound on Thriller is found!!!🤩❤️
A truly iconic sound! And a testament to the importance of sound selection. Thanks for sharing, Anthony! It's so enjoyable watching you recreate the sounds from Michael Jackson's legendary project.
This has always been one of my very favourite sounds in any record, so when my brother directed me to your channel recently I thought "wow great, I can finally find out how they made it", assuming it was going to be some complex squelchy modular synth or something and... Nope! Frog. And a Casio frog at that! I suppose it just goes to show that a well-placed preset can be just as iconic as anything more complicated! Love the channel btw, it's endlessly fascinating.
It's so nice that these videos introduce us to so many 'behind the scenes' people that are responsible for the most iconic music of my lifetime. It is so easy to forget that it took a crew of talented people working behind stars like MJ, and I am grateful to Anthony for pulling back the curtain like this, in such a real, genuine, way.
It's so cool and amazing that most keyboard parts on this huge worldwide hit were played in real time by humans and not sequenced. Maybe that's why older music sounds so magical?
No, I don't think that's the reason it sounded so magical - I think the main reason is that it's just an excellent song. If it were re-created using strict timing by machines, I don't think most people would notice. The main "human" touch is the singing.
I used to sit on a saturday night back in the 80`s in the car as an 11yr old waiting for my dad to come out of the local pub`s outdoor (having a few pints) before collecting a take away listening to this sound (and the rest of Thriller) and wondering what it was ...the search is over , i`ve been into composing from as soon as i could afford my first synth a few years later..one thing that always amazes me is how lo-fi the "dry" sound sounds , then how great it sound on Thriller ! ,it`s the magic of big budget music productions i guess ! .. thanks for posting not only did you bring back many fond memories but i also learnt something today ....
Found your channel today and decided to look for a video of you talking about Thriller for this sound alone! I’ve always had a fascination with this sound for some reason……And bam here it is! Amazing! Hope you do another video with it. The internet is amazing when it’s not depressing you 😂
Thx for that cool videos! I love you guys and I always wondered when I was a kid about all the sounds and what things are making that strange sounds. Greets from Germany
I'm just surprised it hasn't been used on any other songs since, but as Marinelli says, we might start hearing it on new tunes, and I'm sure the prices of second hand MT-60s will rocket thanks to this video!
Ohh yeah, you finally found it! At first I thinked MJ's frog bass sound was about filters and engineering, but man I was wrong! Fun fact: My first keyboard on 1988 was a little Casio SA-1... I had a lot of funny sound samples (motorbikes, sound effects etc)... Maybe frogs? I can't remember. Thanks for your awesome work Anthony! Greeting from France, as always! 🥖
The primary reason I like music is for the music itself, but I wish there were more people out there tracking the history of what happened in the studio like this. It's really fun to learn about the gear and atmosphere in the studio when the music was recoreded.
Anthony, keep the series going. Next, let’s figure out what the internal Casiotone synth architecture is and then try to recreate Frog on various synths.
Thanks so much for the post, Anthony. But I'm showing my dad (a keyboard player) your video of the wooden-looking Casio 401 I bought with my pocket money as a kid. It has the frog sound, too. :P
😂 its amazing that such an iconic sound wasn’t created for thriller but was a preset from $50 keyboard 🎉 I would love too hear what the other presets sound like
Not sure how I got here but I have seen a few of your vids and somehow I find it interesting. Most never notice the work put into a song and now this song will never be the same.
Really unique, educational content, as usual. Thanks Anthony. (As a future side for people reading: always try to include the model numbers on your track sheets.)
Indeed he did. Babyface used a *Casio CZ-101* for the bass on some of his earliest production hits including: *Rocky Steady* - _The Whispers_ *Girlfriend* - _Pebbles_
As a pianist/keyboarder, It wasn't always feasible to haul my gear when someone wanted to jam, but people would be like don't worry I got a keyboard but it was always a cheap octave and a half Casio from the 80s or early 90s hanging around in their basement for me to play... however knowing that this is what produced that bass line on Thriller is absolutely hilarious 😂 EPIC..........Guess I'll stop knocking those Casio's. clearly with MJ you guys made music come from everything, everywhere... 😎
Fantastic! So glad it was a Casio, I was always sure it was. Years ago my dad had a Casio CZ-101 and I remember noodling around the presets and that also had one that literally sounded EXACTLY like the bass in the Thriller breakdown! Obviously those Casio keyboards had a unique synthesis engine that was able to create those sounds in a way nothing else seemed to be able to exactly. What was it, Phase Distortion synthesis? Love your channel Anthony!!! 🙏🙏🙏
What is the name of that chord jab that adds that splash of funky harmony and syncopation just before the vocals come in on the first verse of Thriller? Is it a C#7sus4? or a C#dim7? Or something else?
This is why I love Studio recording with music this is where the magic is! I much appreciate your detail in the Thriller Album, have you a collaboration book on this Album? ( I think you should) would be so interesting to hear how you all made this amazing album . Thanks so much! Xx
i remember my sister brung one of the casiotones home from somewhere back in 82 or so,,,,,it was really really small,,,white,,,,and the keys where basically buttons,,,,and a tiny speaker on the end of it
great episode Anthony. I would love if you did a video revealing what Yamaha portasound model was used on P.Y.T. it's been a question I've wondered for a very long time.
Would be interesting to see you react to some modern synth music that you haven't heard before or genres you don't normally listen to. -- suggestions - Noisia, Skrillex, Deadmau5, NIN, Massive Attack, Chvrches, Little Dragon, Aphex Twin, Prodigy
Wow I got one of these still in its plastic carrying case and had no idea it has an iconic sound. lol I’'m going to pull it out it’s coffin and have a Thriller Jam! Awesome detective work 😄
Small Casios have been used way more than people tend to give credit for. At least these are well known. Vl-Tone VL-1: Trio - Da Da Da MT-40: Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng
I always have the question of where they looked for the sfx that appear at the beginning of the thriller, door creaks and lightning???? were they taken from some sound library???
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
It so incredible to think that something so "useless" became a signature sound for one of the most important song in the history of music.
This means that there are no useless sounds in music. Everything has a purpose.
It's all about context. Sometimes a frog is exactly the right thing. Not very often, but sometimes!
Similar with perfume notes, I thought yesterday
what about the sleng teng?
How to double the casio;'s in value.
Despite the sound being humorous in isolation, in the context it's in, in the song, it takes on a very haunting, ominous quality - it works so well and whoever discovered it and suggested it be used was very clever!
Wasn't it Michael himself who had one of these keyboards at home and suggested using this sound?
Casio is so under-appreciated! There are many incredibly powerful synths that never get to be in a hit song, and here's a little Casio keyboard that beat 'em.
The Casio CZ series is top notch. They weren't just toy keyboards either they were legitimate programmable synthesizers
@@_demitri CZ had one of the best envelopes of all synthesizers, way more expressive than the plain vanilla ADSR. UX was ... well, what to expect of digital synth from DX-7 era. I have been waiting CZ re-release for years, but not seem to happen.
Turns out that there were a LOT of Casio models appearing on hit songs, but they often didn't get the recognition that they deserved. This video shows that many people will have heard a Casio in a hit song, but probably never knew it! ruclips.net/video/c51C3X90mOk/видео.html
(1:57)
That thumb nail is hilarious.
Its important Bubbles get his respect!!
Yes, love how Bubbles is looking at the keyboard 😂
Wow! Completely mind blowing! I had this exact keyboard as a kid, and learned to play piano on it from around '85 or so. A year or two prior, my dad had just bought a new tape deck, along with a copy of Thriller which was the first tape used to christen it. I was instantly mesmerized and it left a lasting impression to this day. I can actually remember messing around with frog and mimicking the same C# bassline from Thriller thinking "hmm, it KINDA sounds like it" 😂. Man, now I really wish I kept that keyboard.
The Thriller frog bass is one of my favorite sounds in all of sound design 🤩
Thanks Anthony for continuing to share all the incredible insights and anecdotes. Your channel is a boon to the whole platform.
Same, ...it sticks right? The Prodigy did a really nice track based on that loop. I remember at the time thinking; ' I was waiting for somebody to loop this'....
I was very surprised what the actual sound was, and that, the key is not always high end gear.
I have had a few circuitbending failures, including a cheap Casio keyboard.
Unmistakable Casio sound, but it never clicked for me... Thanks Anthony! 😘👌
This scratched an itch I've had for a few decades. Thank you.
Such a great episode! That iconic sound had to be recovered and confirmed by this league of extraordinary gentlemen! I think that creamy white MT-60 suddenly has become much more expensive and sought after. Thank you Anthony!
Greg is still incredible...love his talent, vibe and need him on more Spectrasonics videos please!
Big thank you synth master Marinelli🙏!! I remeber being the first to ask you about this ”frog” sound. It was on one of your first videos about thriller. You politely answered you had no idea, and I thought I never would know….Despite all the top gear in the studio… it was a tiny Casiotone behind it. 🐸 I would never have guessed. So grateful for your commitment and engagement! The holy grale of mysterious sound on Thriller is found!!!🤩❤️
A truly iconic sound! And a testament to the importance of sound selection.
Thanks for sharing, Anthony! It's so enjoyable watching you recreate the sounds from Michael Jackson's legendary project.
This has always been one of my very favourite sounds in any record, so when my brother directed me to your channel recently I thought "wow great, I can finally find out how they made it", assuming it was going to be some complex squelchy modular synth or something and... Nope! Frog. And a Casio frog at that! I suppose it just goes to show that a well-placed preset can be just as iconic as anything more complicated! Love the channel btw, it's endlessly fascinating.
It's so nice that these videos introduce us to so many 'behind the scenes' people that are responsible for the most iconic music of my lifetime. It is so easy to forget that it took a crew of talented people working behind stars like MJ, and I am grateful to Anthony for pulling back the curtain like this, in such a real, genuine, way.
It's so cool and amazing that most keyboard parts on this huge worldwide hit were played in real time by humans and not sequenced. Maybe that's why older music sounds so magical?
Forsure is
No, I don't think that's the reason it sounded so magical - I think the main reason is that it's just an excellent song. If it were re-created using strict timing by machines, I don't think most people would notice. The main "human" touch is the singing.
@@gregsullivan7408 People would feel it they just wouldn't be able to explain what sounds wrong
Or is it collective creative genius?
I used to sit on a saturday night back in the 80`s in the car as an 11yr old waiting for my dad to come out of the local pub`s outdoor (having a few pints) before collecting a take away listening to this sound (and the rest of Thriller) and wondering what it was ...the search is over , i`ve been into composing from as soon as i could afford my first synth a few years later..one thing that always amazes me is how lo-fi the "dry" sound sounds , then how great it sound on Thriller ! ,it`s the magic of big budget music productions i guess ! .. thanks for posting not only did you bring back many fond memories but i also learnt something today ....
Also on that sheet it said Jupiter 4 for the synth clavinet on thriller wow 🤩
My casiotone CT-101 has the frog sound as well.
I'd love to think whoever programmed that sound for Casio got to realise it became part of such an amazing and famous recording.
So stoked to see the Froggy bass continuation. Love the Casio MT60. So good:)
Such a cool piece of music history. Gotta love how creative they were and how Michael loved experimenting with any and all sounds
This video was more interesting than I imagined beforehand. Excellent to see you bring in all those legends.👍
Found your channel today and decided to look for a video of you talking about Thriller for this sound alone! I’ve always had a fascination with this sound for some reason……And bam here it is! Amazing! Hope you do another video with it. The internet is amazing when it’s not depressing you 😂
This is awesome! I've been wondering about the Froggie sound for ages. Now we just have to learn how to resynthesize it on perhaps an arp 2600
It's got to be some kind of cross modulation
I'd like to hear some chords or other notes played with the frog sound to see what was Casios original intention on making the sound was
Thx for that cool videos! I love you guys and I always wondered when I was a kid about all the sounds and what things are making that strange sounds. Greets from Germany
I'm just surprised it hasn't been used on any other songs since, but as Marinelli says, we might start hearing it on new tunes, and I'm sure the prices of second hand MT-60s will rocket thanks to this video!
Ohh yeah, you finally found it! At first I thinked MJ's frog bass sound was about filters and engineering, but man I was wrong! Fun fact: My first keyboard on 1988 was a little Casio SA-1... I had a lot of funny sound samples (motorbikes, sound effects etc)... Maybe frogs? I can't remember. Thanks for your awesome work Anthony! Greeting from France, as always! 🥖
Such an iconic sound. It gets so stuck in my head
The primary reason I like music is for the music itself, but I wish there were more people out there tracking the history of what happened in the studio like this. It's really fun to learn about the gear and atmosphere in the studio when the music was recoreded.
Anthony!!! What a beautiful thing! A dream came true! Thank you for searching for this one!
Anthony, this is so cool! Thank you for the history lesson, and the people involved to make this iconic sound =)
What a cool video this is. Thanks Anthony. As a kid in the 80s, I remember trying every Casio I could find in a music department.
OMG thank you! I’ve always been intrigued by this bass sound. It made it the scariest funkiest thing I’ve ever heard. Amazing.
Anthony, keep the series going. Next, let’s figure out what the internal Casiotone synth architecture is and then try to recreate Frog on various synths.
Thanks so much for the post, Anthony. But I'm showing my dad (a keyboard player) your video of the wooden-looking Casio 401 I bought with my pocket money as a kid. It has the frog sound, too. :P
Would it be possible to have Matt share a snapshot of the entire Track Sheet?
Love you guys as always! ✨
Danke!
Thank you !
Wonderful how you persist in investigating! Love it!
😂 its amazing that such an iconic sound wasn’t created for thriller but was a preset from $50 keyboard 🎉
I would love too hear what the other presets sound like
Nice!!!! I wonder if the intro to the "Color" song was made on one of these. Very distinctive and unique like Froggie!!
That’s so cool to find the exact Keyboard for that Tone. We all get close with other Synths but… 👍🙏👌🏼
This series continues to get cooler and cooler after each and every episode.
Let's hope to get a glimpse of Froggie with this giveaway !
Great video, thank you for taking the time to make this.
Not sure how I got here but I have seen a few of your vids and somehow I find it interesting. Most never notice the work put into a song and now this song will never be the same.
Really unique, educational content, as usual. Thanks Anthony. (As a future side for people reading: always try to include the model numbers on your track sheets.)
🤩 WOW amazing! Such a great 👍 find of sound! I so want that keyboard! 🤣
This is great. I always assumed this was a talkbox effect.
Thanks Anthony and fellow genius musicians!! Iconic song played by the Best musicians!👏👏👏
I like the in depth investigation process and research. Things that as a Michael Jackson fan is very grateful for. Thanks and keep up the good work..😊
Anthony is the FBI of synth forensics.
Small synths in big tracks. Babyface used the CZ-101 for bass on many records.
Indeed he did. Babyface used a *Casio CZ-101* for the bass on some of his earliest production hits including:
*Rocky Steady* - _The Whispers_
*Girlfriend* - _Pebbles_
Hahaha awesome video!
Can't believe you had the mighty Greg on your channel too!
As a pianist/keyboarder, It wasn't always feasible to haul my gear when someone wanted to jam, but people would be like don't worry I got a keyboard but it was always a cheap octave and a half Casio from the 80s or early 90s hanging around in their basement for me to play... however knowing that this is what produced that bass line on Thriller is absolutely hilarious 😂
EPIC..........Guess I'll stop knocking those Casio's.
clearly with MJ you guys made music come from everything, everywhere... 😎
Incredible videos, thank you! Always wondered about that sound, love it 🐸
Bingo!
🐸
Gotta love Casio.. guess you know about the 'Sleng Teng' rhythm over in Jamaica? 🇯🇲 🎶
And suddenly, the price of the Casio MT-60 on ebay skyrocketed
😂😂
And now try to find a listing that doesn't have Michael Jackson Thriller in the title and doesn't point to this video.
It's such a cool story, thanks Mr. Marinelli! also Greg would make a great guest on one of your live streams.
Easy enough to make it with any 303 style or single oscillator synth. Sawtooth, some creative filtering and tasteful distortion.
I have to cover "Thriller" for my weekly gig this week. So I just sampled the frog sound from this video. Thanks, Anthony! 😁
The frog and I believe the funny sound is used a lot on on Donna Summer album Quincy produced right before Thriller. Very cool.
Fantastic! So glad it was a Casio, I was always sure it was. Years ago my dad had a Casio CZ-101 and I remember noodling around the presets and that also had one that literally sounded EXACTLY like the bass in the Thriller breakdown! Obviously those Casio keyboards had a unique synthesis engine that was able to create those sounds in a way nothing else seemed to be able to exactly. What was it, Phase Distortion synthesis? Love your channel Anthony!!! 🙏🙏🙏
Thriller is my all time mj fav song so amazing done musically rod temperton is a genius rip Quincy jones
What is the name of that chord jab that adds that splash of funky harmony and syncopation just before the vocals come in on the first verse of Thriller? Is it a C#7sus4? or a C#dim7? Or something else?
I've always loved that sound!
This is why I love Studio recording with music this is where the magic is! I much appreciate your detail in the Thriller Album, have you a collaboration book on this Album? ( I think you should) would be so interesting to hear how you all made this amazing album . Thanks so much! Xx
i remember my sister brung one of the casiotones home from somewhere back in 82 or so,,,,,it was really really small,,,white,,,,and the keys where basically buttons,,,,and a tiny speaker on the end of it
great episode Anthony. I would love if you did a video revealing what Yamaha portasound model was used on P.Y.T. it's been a question I've wondered for a very long time.
Yes!!!! I’ve wondered which Yamaha portasound model was used on this for ages as well
Grande Marinelli ! 😊
Grazie 😊😊
What a joy to get it confirmed. That sound is now a legend :)
Would be interesting to see you react to some modern synth music that you haven't heard before or genres you don't normally listen to. -- suggestions - Noisia, Skrillex, Deadmau5, NIN, Massive Attack, Chvrches, Little Dragon, Aphex Twin, Prodigy
Fabulous and awesome sound.❤
Congratulations on finding the source of the frog! Epic. 🐸
That Froggie sound could appear in future songs, like the Wilhelm Scream in movies :D
Brilliant fun, learing a lot form your videos. thanks
Wow I got one of these still in its plastic carrying case and had no idea it has an iconic sound. lol I’'m going to pull it out it’s coffin and have a Thriller Jam! Awesome detective work 😄
I’m thinking, if JS Bach were alive today, he would be using that sound all over the place. Too funny!
Now we need the how to make the Froggie sound tutorial
Casio's are excellent! My favorite Casio model is HT-6000 from 1988.
I would never have imagined seeing "Casiotone" in a video about anything MJ and idk why🤣
Came here for the synthesis. Stayed for the phone call, cool lore & class personality!
You know I had to enter the giveaway 🤞🏼🍀best of luck everyone!
The Casio Ct 101 also has the frog preset
i also hear this sound on the outtake "She's Trouble"
I have the Casiotone CT-101, and also features the frog sound on preset 13.
I still have my MT-65 from the 80's.
Are all you guys always this nice? I could listen all night to these phone calls.
Greg might be on to something regarding the Casio coming from James Ingram. Does this Casio make sounds similar to Love Is in Control by Donna Summer?
Small Casios have been used way more than people tend to give credit for. At least these are well known.
Vl-Tone VL-1: Trio - Da Da Da
MT-40: Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng
Love the channel, love the work!
My first synth was the MT-70. I wonder if it has a froggie sound.
Oh. My. God. My brother and I had an MT-65. Love that thing. That frog sound is not on it though. But I bet the drums sound exactly the same :D
Someone needs to make vsti of this keyboard, it would be amazing
VERY COOL KING TONY
So, this is EPIC!
I saw 8oh and
Sounds like the MT-60 is all over PYT. Possibly the Harpsichord preset.
Greatest froggy sound of all time 🐸
Great video!!
I always have the question of where they looked for the sfx that appear at the beginning of the thriller, door creaks and lightning???? were they taken from some sound library???