Hello! Composer and fan of soundtracks here.
I have been listening to this sound for 15-20 years in different soundtracks (mostly many of the 90s) and after testing hundreds of digital instruments and synthesizers I can not find the damn instrument :D

The sound is like a metal hit. But it has a certain digital or electronic sensation. I have hammer sample libraries and similar, it's nothing like that. It has all the appearance that it must be some instrument of some synthesizer or library that was quite used from the 90's or earlier.

Final Fantasy VIII (Nobuo Uematsu)
It starts from the second 18. Hitting every 2 seconds.

Armageddon Main theme (Trevor Rabin)
It can be heard from the second 3, it's a double hit.

Dark City Sleep Now (Trevor Jones)
It starts from the second 30.

I'm gonna go crazy. Does anyone know where I can find this instrument?

Thank you very much in advance!
Have a good day,

 

It is metal hit, but if You want exact sound and library for it, I cannot help You.

Oh sry, I just saw that you already stated that it is metal hit... anyway, use metal hit, pitch shift it to your liking, some amount of Reverb, little EQ and you are ready to deliver the same sound.

 

I sign this!

 

20 years to make that sound...?

 

www84.zippyshare.com/v/9ZXgHj2r/file.html

 

casesmear, That's exactly the sound!
Where can I find it?

 

It sounds like a Fairlight ...?

 

Last edited: Aug 8, 2018

To me, it sounds like claves (at least, in case of FF VIII song):

 

It's a pitched down tambourine. It can also be heard in this song in the very beginning:

I don't know which sample pack that specific sample is from, though.
edit:

It's a patch from the E-MU Proteus 2000 called "infinite one".

 

Last edited: Aug 8, 2018

Search "proteus 2000" on the sister site.

 

Yes, Uematsu is known for using Roland Sound Canvas and E-Mu Proteus.

Thanks pizzafresser for discovering the actual preset name.

 

It's "Metal Hit" from the "Roland Sound Canvas SC-8850"

 

Its very interesting sound design-wise how you can have the same sound using different tools. I would go for the "anvil" sound too because I was not that familiar with those samplers, however having the period it was written in mind its obviously not the "clean" anvil sound.

Great suggestions by all.

 

I actually have this sound! It's pretty old, too -- from an E-Mu PROteus 2 orchestral module (the patch is called "Infinite One"). Apparently, you can now get the entire PROteus 2 patch library in SoundFont form!