Tone Profile

An iconic, bright, and slightly abrasive sawtooth lead synth with noticeable detuning and saturation.

Signal Chain

Recording Notes

• Produced by Dave Fridmann, known for pushing gear into saturation.
• Likely recorded direct into console preamps and processed with outboard gear or plugins.
• The detuning between oscillators is crucial for the wide, slightly unstable character.
• Minimal use of effects like reverb or delay on the main lead line itself.

Recreation Tips

• Use two sawtooth oscillators.
• Slightly detune one oscillator against the other (e.g., +/- 5-15 cents).
• Keep the filter cutoff relatively high to maintain brightness.
• Add subtle saturation or overdrive to emulate analog warmth and slight distortion.
• Use a monophonic synth setting with legato or portamento enabled if desired.
• Boost high-mids with EQ for presence.

Recommended Gear

• Korg MS-20 / MS-20 Mini / iMS-20(synth)
• Arturia MS-20 V(plugin)
• Sawtooth Oscillator Synth (Various)(synth)
• Saturation Plugin (e.g., Soundtoys Decapitator, FabFilter Saturn)(plugin)