Re-creating the Weird Synth Loop from MEXICAN RADIO by Wall Of Voodoo

Published on Jun 5, 2018 peahix

"Recently I was asked to make an instrumental version of Wall Of Voodoo's 'Mexican Radio.' Since I was not allowed to use any samples or audio from the original, I figured if I could nail the weird synth loop you hear at the beginning of the song, the rest of it would be fairly straightforward. I found that by slowing down the original to half speed, I could hear enough details in terms of the notes, oscillator tuning, and timbre that re-creating it was quite simple. The original was apparently done with a Minimoog and an Oberheim sequencer, with the Minimoog run through a guitar amp. Here I'm using a Sequential Circuits Pro-One with its own onboard sequencer. At the end you can hear a bit of the final product, with FX applied (via plugins). I'll post the full version of the final result soon, but for now I figured this little detail of the song might make for a fun mini-tutorial."