Ice Cream Truck Music

What effect(s) might you put on something to make it sound like an ice cream truck...?  I'm having a hard time finding a patch or sample that is close.  I've tried it with both 'the entertainer' and also just making up a little ditty.
 
So far I've gotten up a music box sample... added some pitch bend here and there to emulate the dopler effect, and then double tracked it panned hard left/right and pitch shifted one track down 25 cents to give it a nice out-of-tune effect.  Wondering if anyone has any other ideas.....??

Hmmm... will try that.  I'll post before and after versions with the overdrive and EQ.  I'm still trying to either write a song or find something to use.  I was using 'music box dancer' because that's what the ice cream truck by my house uses but I just looked it up and it looks like that song isn't in the public domain.  Is that possible?  I figured it had been around forever... especially with the ice cream trucks using it and I'm sure they're not paying royalties...

I ended up using Joplin's "The Cascades" because it sounded right.

Taking your advice, here is a mix with the top and bottom rolled off and a small amount of distortion:

http://www.koskenmaki.com/icecreamdist.mp3

The original mix was way too bright so this helped a lot.  I like that one the best but here's another one I liked using only Magma's "radio filtered overdrive":

http://www.koskenmaki.com/icecreamfilter.mp3

Anyway I'm still open to any and all suggestions.  Thanks!

What an interesting project!

I agree with Johnny - it wants trashing with EQ, distortion and a fair bit more pitch variation

I'd approach it as the Telephone Effect. The Sonitus EQ has a Telephone preset that will get you in the ballpark. Add a distortion plugin after and you should be there. I've used Guitar Rig for that, but any of the free distortion/amp sim plugins (e.g. CamelCrusher) will do. Any piano patch ought to work, but I'd also try a Wurlitzer or RMI electric piano patch if you have them available.

Wow, cool ideas thanks for the input.  Bitflipper: the Sonitus telephone EQ is the one I used on the above link that I posted (top one) and then I ran it through a mild Magma distortion effect.  I could probably use more distortion, I'm also still working on the song and tempo and sound (patch).  I think the effects are working but I still haven't found a sound I'm thrilled with.  I'm amazed that I have like 30,000+ patches on synths/samples and I don't have one labeled 'ice cream' truck.  Kidding, sort of.

I should have specified, because it makes a big difference.  This isn't for a source track... i.e. I'm not trying to perfectly recreate the sound of an ice cream truck.  This is for a stupid reality tv challenge where the contestants have to make ice cream and the producers want the sound of an ice cream truck over top of it.

One question. Are you using this for a music project or foley work. I'm missing the sound of the truck's engine if it's for sound effects. Even at that, it may help to put a truck or car engine running on another track to help zero in on what you remember the ice cream truck sounding like. Just a suggestion. Otherwise, I agree that you are very close to what I remember.

That sounds pretty good on my laptop speakers.
True, it's more distortion than we would normally want to hear, but about right for an ice cream truck.
Those guys always over drive that poor speaker.