Any suggestions on how to do this? Some of the gear I have:
Korg Ms20
Digitone
Microbrute
Wave Codex soft synth
some of the arturia soft synths
Really trying to get that soulful, cheesy 80s solo sound and can’t seem to nail it.
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I am not in my studio at the moment, but maybe I can give you some pointers. First, the Multimoog was pressure sensitive, so that might be something to take into consideration. I have no idea if it was used here, but most likely, given the expressivity in the lead line. If I recall, the after-touch could be routed to filters, oscillators, Or both, as well as osc sync. So you might need to experiment there to nail it down.
For the patch, try narrow pulse waves and short attack/release envelope (like an organ - an instrument with which Mr. Winwood was more than a little accustomed!). Consider using a real-time modulation source (such as the aforementioned after-touch) to open the filter for those brassy attacks.
In this case, much of the sound’s character is provided by Winwood’s performance technique.
Take all of the above with a grain of salt, as I said, I’m not in my studio this morning. When I get into the studio, I can try to recreate it.
Are we talking ‘Valerie’? I bought that single when it came out and played it to death. Yes it was just a brassy patch i remember. I could easily get it on my Rev2. Agree with Scott. Short attacks on the envelope with some aftertouch. Nothing too unusual.
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I was thinking “While You See A Chance”… but “Valerie” has a similar sound (not the brassy chords throughout, but the lead, which is a similar to “While You See A Chance”)
This fellow’s video gives some indication of just how important the left-handed technique is to the sound:
Per the man himself in a Keyboard magazine interview:
SW: “Right. I can’t remember the wave shape. It was fairly square, but I did use a filter pedal to give it kind of a phased texture. I’ve found that synths can very easily lack natural sounds, so you need some kind of chorus effect to fatten the tone up and give it some life.”
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40 years on nearly and still we learn. 
Haven’t heard this in ages but a welcome reminder of how great he was
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Okay, here’s a start at a lead that could work for “Valerie”. It’s not exact, but it’ll give you a jumping-off point. I did this on the MS-20, since you listed that as one you owned. As such, it can’t quite do the job, as it has only a single wheel and no after touch. Nevertheless, you can use it as a starting point. Also, keep in mind that my MS-20 is a vintage unit and may not sound exactly like a new one. You’ll likely need to tweak the patch into shape. On mine it sounds very close (except for the fact that I don’t know how to play that solo and never could come close to Winwood anyhow)
I only used the wheel for pitch, here, and I tuned it so that fully up is a major 3rd. No idea what Mr. Winwood was doing, so you might need to change that mod amount.
Ideally, you’d have another wheel (or pressure) to control the filter/ LFO mod as well, so keep that in mind.
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Truly brilliant. Listening to his stuff never fails to brighten my mood. His songs are like perfect weather or a long-forgotten smell that takes you back to a really good day.
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