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Does anybody know what synth was used for the annoying pew sound used throughout this song from cannibal holocaust?

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Welcome to the forum!

To answer your question, it's hard to say. The film was released in 1980, so no machine produced after that date could have been used. That said, the "pew pew" that you describe sounds like a version of the oft-used "synth tom" percussion sound, which could be duplicated on virtually analog synth from the '70s.

By the way, you have good taste in both film and music. Despite the sheer brutality of the it, CH is a bit of a classic from that era of Italian cinema, and Riz Ortolani is widely recognized as one of the greatest soundtrack composers of all time.

Hi there im 99% sure that the sound you are talking about is from a simmons electronic drums from the 80's.
They were very expensive back then but you can pick them up for a good price via Ebay, Ive just seen a set of 5 pads buy it now for £70 and the brain for £90. Such a kit would have cost many £1000 back then. Hope this helps, here is a link on the kit info.Cheers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmons_(e ... m_company)

h**l, just about any synth with a resonant filter that can be modulated by an EG can make those "pew pews".

To me, they sound "too weak" to come from a Simmons drum synth. I know the Tama Techstars can do that sound easily.
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it's a ringmodulator effect. you can hear the rising osc in there also, but it's quieter.

as long as you can route an EG to the frequency of one of those oscillators, just about any synth with a ringmod can do it.

I believe it's the Pollard syndrum* but I'm not 100%. Anyway, the (in)famous "Poooooww...Pooooww" sound originates from this machine, and
was used on a lot of recordings back in the late '70's, especially in disco music.

* the first model was the 477 from '77.

Yeah, it's Synare, Syndrum, or similar unit. The Simmons SDS 5 didn't enter production until 1981. \Yukihiro Takahashi used Pollard Syndrums and the similar Ult Sound DS-4 with Yellow Magic Orchestra, as can be heard in this live version of "La Femme Chinoise."

The film is definately the best in the short-lived "cannibal" genre ranging from 1977-1980. And its soundtrack is by far the best of the bunch too. Shame they reuse the same theme songs so many times though, you kind of get sick of that dramatic violin piece after the 6th time.

I remember watching CH not long ago with a 2 VCO monosynth in front of me, switched it on, and played that bass sound in sync with the soundtrack heheh.

I tend to do that, like when I watched the Halloween series I couldn't help but turn on a synth and play along with the soundtrack with similar sounds. Or kind of make my own soundtrack when there was no music.

Thanks for the information everybody!

By the way, I listened to the entire soundtrack last night on YouTube, and almost every song has the "pew pew" sound. I guess Riz Ortolani must've loved it.

Mr. Ortolani just passed away last month, incidentally.