Lady of the Snow- Just a quick question

[keeperxiii]

Hi people,
just a quick question.

At the beginning of Lady of the Snow, what is the instrument that is played?
Yes, I know it`s a flute (possibly asian) of some kind but I don`t know exactly what flute it is.

Can you help me? I really like the sounds these things make.

I`m also wondering if there`s other songs with this sound in them, metal or otherwise.

Thanks

 

[Phanto]

Sounds like a pan flute.
There's another instrument behind it though, I think.

 

[keeperxiii]

Yeah, I tought so too, but it could have something else backing it up too, like you said.

thx, I`ll keep searching

 

[javie]

It's a keyboard synth sound that's most probably based on an instrument called a shakuhachi. It's a sound that was made popular by the introduction of the Roland D-50 synth in the late 1980's. [Here is a sample.] In the case of Lady of the Snow, it's probably a sampler, and IMHO not a very good one; the sound (timbre) of the flute changes quite considerably from one note to the next. It's a kind of weird inconsistency. Maybe intentional, but a bit odd.