So, What Makes That Weird Sound at the Beginning of ‘Sweet Emotion’ & ‘Crazy Train’? [VIDEO]

I started playing Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith the other day and head that weird noise at the beginning.  It's kind of like a block of wood being hit followed by a rattlesnake sound.  I think thought, you know what that's in the beginning of Ozzy's Crazy Train too.

So what are the chances of this very weird instrument being used on two of the biggest songs of all time?  Pretty slim if you ask me.  We shouldn't be making fun of the cowbell (which is actually used all the time) we should be making fun of the Vibraslap.

The thought intrigued my further. Do you think there is a guy on the Aerosmith or Ozzy road crew and his entire deal is to make sure the Vibraslap is in place for its one it, in one song for the whole night?  Or is it possible that we now have digital Vibraslaps?  And what goes through an artists mind that makes them think, "okay this song is almost perfect, it just needs a Vibraslap"?

Anyways, I've got a video of a Vibraslap for you. If you can hit that one beat a night, I guess you're a good Vibraslap player.  Also below, the two very famous Vibraslap songs.

The Vibraslap is :06 seconds in on this one

And :10 seconds in on this one