Rick Astley · Whenever You Need Somebody, 1987
Never Gonna Give You Up
7 sourced items across 4 sectionsVerified4Reported3
What the sources do and do not say
Sound On Sound Classic Tracks (February 2009) with engineer Mark McGuire, mixer Pete Hammond and Phil Harding. Pete Hammond's 200 ms filtered delay into a small room effect on the vocal and toms is described but no unit is named, so it has no row. The PWL studio gear list (Juno 106, Rev 5/7, dbx 160, SDE 3000, Emulator, Publison) is not tied to this song's parts, so it is left out. Fairlight and Roland rows have no model stated.
Lead vocal
3 items
Rick Astley
Microphone
The real chain
Calrec Soundfield
Verified
Microphone used to record Rick Astley's vocal; the engineer says it suited his powerful voice very well.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.
Mix effects
The real chain
Lexicon 224 and 224X
Reported
Reverb added to Astley's vocal, with little else processing it.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Universal Audio Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb
reverb
Made with Lexicon as a model of the 224.
The real chain
AMS Delay/harmoniser (model not stated)
Reported
Delay/harmoniser shadowing the vocal, slightly sharpened to make it sound bigger and brighter.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Universal Audio AMS DMX Digital Delay & Pitch Shifter
delay
Models the AMS DMX 15-80 S, the firm's digital delay and pitch shifter. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record.
Bass
1 item
Instrument
The real chain
Yamaha DX7
Verified
Used to lay down a piano-style bass line.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Arturia DX7 V
instrument
An emulation of the Yamaha DX7.
Also worth a look 1
- Digital Suburban Dexed (A free, open-source DX7 emulation that loads original DX7 patches)
Drums and samples
2 items
Instrument
The real chain
Linn 9000
Verified
Used to sample kick and snare sounds, which were then loaded into the AMS, while building the track's groove.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Aly James Lab VProm
drum instrument
Emulates Linn's earlier LM-1 and LinnDrum. The 9000 is a later machine.
Input chain
The real chain
AMS Delay/harmoniser (model not stated)
Verified
Held the kick and snare samples so they could be tightened and then triggered with an audio trigger.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
Covers this kind of unit
Universal Audio AMS DMX Digital Delay & Pitch Shifter
delay
Models the AMS DMX 15-80 S, the firm's digital delay and pitch shifter. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record.
Keyboards and samples
1 item
Instrument
The real chain
Fairlight Fairlight (model not stated)
Reported
Housed at PWL; Ian Curnow played the track's sampled string lines on it.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
Get the sound · our suggestion
No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
Sources
- Classic Tracks: Rick Astley 'Never Gonna Give You Up', Sound On Sound, 2009-02. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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