The Cars - Let's Go | Lead Synth Patch Remake

Remaking the lead synth from the 1979 song "Let's Go" by The Cars can be an exciting challenge for any synthesizer enthusiast. Here’s how you can create the "Let's Go" 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

The Cars’ 1979 hit “Let’s Go,” from their album Candy-O, features a distinctive synth lead that became emblematic of the band’s fusion of rock and new wave. Keyboardist Greg Hawkes crafted this signature sound using the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer, specifically employing the Sync II lead preset or a slight variation thereof. You can hear the lead at 0:07.

The Prophet-5 was renowned for its ability to produce rich, dynamic tones, and the oscillator sync feature was pivotal in achieving the sharp, punchy quality of the “Let’s Go” lead. This technique involves synchronizing two oscillators, with one oscillator’s pitch modulated by an envelope to create a characteristic “sweeping” effect. This method contributed to the song’s energetic and memorable hook, blending seamlessly with the band’s guitar-driven sound.

Original Performing Instrument

Sequential Prophet-5

Our Remake of The Lead Synth

This audio clip is how close we've matched the original tone of the lead synth from the song "Let's Go" by The Cars, 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

Remake This Sound Yourself

Learn how to program this synth preset with Syntorial, all by ear. Download the demo and try up to three challenge packs for free.

Open the lesson Download Syntorial

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.

Note: the patch settings may slightly differ in the Syntorial challenge.

Explore More

• https://www.presetpatch.com/synth/arturia-polybrute/resources/482-the-cars—lets-go
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_%28The_Cars_song%29
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlpYufqH-NM

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

Comments

This recipe is the result of a Syntorial community preset remake request. Need support remaking this sound? Have comments?