Remaking the lead synth from the 1980 song "Whip It" by Devo can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Whip It" lead patch and play this iconic sound on most hardware or software subtractive synthesizers (Serum, Vital, Pigments, Prophet, Korg, Moog, etc). We've included the preset download directly for your convenience, but we strongly recommend you use our programming tutorial to recreate it yourself.
Original Audio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEVqFB4WUo&start=42That pitchy, squiggly lead cutting through the chorus of Devo’s “Whip It” is a Minimoog part heard prominently in the chorus and instrumental break. The tone is sawtooth‑heavy, slightly detuned and given LFO pitch vibrato with a gentle low‑pass filter to round the edges.
Original Performing Instrument
Minimoog
Our Remake of The Lead Synth sound
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the lead synth from the song "Whip It" by Devo, giving you a reference point as you design your own synthesizer preset. Play it as often as you need to familiarize yourself with the nuances of the sound.
Synth Patch Programming Recipe
Getting Started
- Start by initializing your synthesizer to a plain saw with no filter, modulation or effects. For soft synths use the "init"/"default" preset or the the button to reset all parameters to their default factory values.
- No two synths are exactly alike, so treat the values below as approximate, and use your ear.
- Percentage values (e.g. 50%) represent the relative position of a knob or slider within its full range. The full range of each parameter may differ from synth to synth, so use your ear.
Voices
- Voice Mode: Poly
- Voice Count: 2
Amp Envelope
- Attack: 0 ms
- Sustain: 100%
- Release: 20 ms
Oscillators
- Oscillator 1
- Waveform: Saw
- Volume: 50%
- Pitch: -30 Cents
- Oscillator 2
- Waveform: Saw
- Pitch: +5 Semitones and +30 Cents
- Volume: 50%
Filter
- Type: Low Pass
- Cutoff: 80%
LFO
- Destination: Pitch
- Waveform: Triangle
- Amount: 79 Cents
- Rate: 1/8 Note
- Voice Mode: Mono
Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.
Explore More
- Classic Tracks: DEVO ‘Whip It’ (Sound On Sound)
- Whip It (Devo song) — Wikipedia
- Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh On The Synths That Changed Pop Forever (NPR)
- The Synth Sounds of Devo’s “Whip It” (Reverb)
- Interview With Mark Mothersbaugh (SynthHistory)
Preset Downloads
Don't want to learn synth programming now? Use our synth preset as your starting point and tweak it from there. Register an account with Audible Genius and download the presets for free for the following synths:
- Primer, our free synthesizer VST
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