How It Was Recorded

The Bangles · Different Light, 1986

Walk Like an Egyptian

Lead and backing vocalsBassDrums and percussionVerified3Reported7

What the sources do and do not say

Both articles are Classic Tracks pieces quoting producer David Kahne. They disagree on the drum machine (LinnDrum in Sound On Sound, an Alesis in Mix) and on whose Emulator supplied the bongo (Kahne’s own Emulator II versus Mitchell Froom’s). Both rows are kept, flagged, for the reviewer to judge. Neither article names microphones for the drums, bass or guitars, and no guitar gear is stated for this song.

Lead and backing vocals

The Bangles

Microphone

Neumann U 47

Reported

Vocal microphone in the chain Kahne used for the vocals on this track.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

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.

Input chain

UREI 1176

Reported

Named as one of the units in the chain Kahne used for the vocals.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Mix effects

UREI 1176

Reported

Kahne believes he used an 1176 on a send, with every ratio button pushed in, to make a heavily squashed vocal blended in slightly under the lead vocal.

Settings
All buttons pushed in (the “stun” setting)

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Bass

Michael Steele

Instrument

Rickenbacker Bass guitar (model not stated)

Reported

Kahne says Steele owned a Rickenbacker and a Hagstrom and may have done a pass on either as the bassline was worked up.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A bass guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Hagstrom Bass guitar (model not stated)

Reported

Kahne says Steele might have played the Hagstrom, or done a pass on either it or the Rickenbacker.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A bass guitar is the source of the sound, not a process applied to it. No plugin stands in for it.

Amplifier

Recorded direct (DI), no amplifier

Reported

The bass was recorded as a blend of an amplified sound and a direct (DI) sound; no amp or DI box is named.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Recorded direct, so there is no amp to model. Leave the amp simulator off.

Drums and percussion

David Kahne

Instrument

Linn LinnDrum

Verified

Kahne played the LinnDrum pads by hand onto tape, over his shaker track, rather than syncing it, which he says loosened the feel.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Aly James Lab VProm

drum instrument

An emulation of Linn's LM-1 and LinnDrum, built around their sound chips.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Alesis Drum machine (model not stated)

Reported

The Mix article says the song’s groove is built around an Alesis drum machine; this conflicts with the Sound On Sound account of a LinnDrum.

Source: Mix, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.

E-mu Emulator II

Verified

Kahne says the bongo sounds and metallic clanks on the track came from this sampling keyboard.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Arturia Emulator II V

instrument

An emulation of the E-mu Emulator II.

Get the plugin ↗What else it stands in for

Unidentified Papier-mâché dog’s head shaker

Verified

Kahne shook it in front of the microphone to record the shaker part, then edited the take down to four minutes in the pocket.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.

Sources

  1. Classic Tracks: The Bangles ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’, Sound On Sound, 2021-05. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. Classic Tracks: The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian”, Mix, 2009-09. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
Verified

Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.

Reported

Stated by a reputable secondary source.

Inferred

An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.

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