# An old cartoon sound effect question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419 "2009-11-13T05:51:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![4JawChuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/f9ae1b/32.png) [@4JawChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4JawChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/1 "2009-11-13T05:51:29Z")
SFX in question: the one where something negative happens to the character: ‘Wah wah wah wah wahhhhhhhh’, where each ‘wah’ goes down a step or so in tone. Question: Does anybody here know exactly what that sound effect is? Is it on the Hanna Barbera sfx library? I ask, cuz a friend of mine asked me today how you would even research such a thing (difficult to put into words), and I think it’s a great question. It’s maybe a muted trumpet, if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/2 "2009-11-13T05:54:21Z")
[http://www.sadtrombone.com/](http://www.sadtrombone.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/3 "2009-11-13T08:34:38Z")
I love it! I think the sometimes used ‘higher-pitch’ one is a muted trumpet… ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/4 "2009-11-13T17:07:01Z")
[sadtrombone.com](http://sadtrombone.com) is blocked for me, so I’m not sure if this is the same one or not: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sC75aU47GRk/hqdefault.jpg "Sad Trombone Sound Effect") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC75aU47GRk) ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/5 "2009-11-13T18:20:41Z")
Ok, I’ve got a cartoon sound-effect question: when a person starts running, but they’re not going anywhere, there’s a crazy bongo sound - but is it really bongos? ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/6 "2009-11-14T00:52:03Z")
**TerpBE** , yep, that’s the exact same one (also don’t forget [sadtuba.com](http://www.sadtuba.com/)). **Daithi Lacha** , if it’s [this](http://www.audiomicro.com/cartoon-bongo-scamper-01-sound-effects-82947), then yeah, it sounds like regular bongos to me. I’m not sure what it says about me that I seem to know a lot about this stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/7 "2009-11-14T02:32:32Z")
You should get a book on “old time radio” (OTR) and see what they used to use to make different sounds. Back in the heyday of radio, you could only use transcripted (recorded) things on radio for very slim reasons. This is why all shows used to have their own bandleader 'cause James Petrillo, the head of the musicians union was so strict about things. This is why they had to do two live broadcasts of radio, one for the East/Central time and one for the California markets. So you couldn’t use a record of a sound effect on a radio broadcast you’d have to recreate such things live in the studio or you had to re-arrange the script so you’d have the actor say “Boy it’s raining hard.” (If say you couldn’t reproduce the sound of rain) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/8 "2009-11-14T02:42:10Z")
> **[Welcome to Instant Rimshot](http://instantrimshot.com/)** > > If you need quick access to an ironicly-placed rimshot sound to mock your friends, or a genuinely-placed rimshot to put your great joke over the top, you've come to the right place. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/9 "2009-11-14T03:01:07Z")
Here’s a few classics [http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Cartoons/Cartoons.htm](http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Cartoons/Cartoons.htm) ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/10 "2009-11-14T12:36:26Z")
How about the one where someone shakes his head real fast? “Yadda yadda yadda!” I think it was usually Warner Bros. I’ve never been able to figure out what that actually is. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/11 "2009-11-14T12:47:31Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > Ok, I’ve got a cartoon sound-effect question: when a person starts running, but they’re not going anywhere, there’s a crazy bongo sound - but is it really bongos? Go to **Bearflag70** ’s link and I think it is OutHere1.wav. [http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Cartoons/Cartoons.htm](http://www.ilovewavs.com/Effects/Cartoons/Cartoons.htm) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-cartoon-sound-effect-question/517419/12 "2009-11-14T12:48:28Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > How about the one where someone shakes his head real fast? “Yadda yadda yadda!” I think it was usually Warner Bros. I’ve never been able to figure out what that actually is. I don’t know they did it but I always did it by…shaking my head back and forth and going “yadda-di-yadda-di yadda-di…”