ARP 2600

No such thing as memory or presets - this is fucking analogue, man! The manual is pretty concise, if a little dense and stuffy. It takes a while to learn how to tweak everything and get comfortable with patching things, if you haven't done anything like this before. I'd say it's easy to learn, hard to master, but don't buy this machine if you're a newbie to analog synthesis.

Monophonic, no MIDI to be found, but the sky's the limit when it comes to editing sound paramaters on this thing. Many of the components are hardwired, so you can start from the ground and work your way up. You can get as simple or complex as you want. So although there's pretty much no potential for expansion, the depth of editing is what makes this synth stand out.

Ah, ARP 2600, this is why we love you. Sounds are astonishing - the MiniMoog is king when it comes to bass, but if you're looking for classic trippy mid-70's prog-rock sounds or far-out sound-effects, the 2600 has no peer. The power of this machine's sounds will knock you off your chair. Just make sure that you have an amp that can handle it.

It's notorious for it's unreliability. Every time i move it, it needs to be tuned up. I'm told by many that this shouldn't be the case, so maybe I need to repair it. But i definitely wouldn't take this out of my room - too delicate and expensive. If you want a gig synth with the same basic kinds of sounds, go with the Odyssey.

ARP doesn't exist anymore, so customer service is basically nonexistent. Components for the synth are easily available, however, so it's pretty easy to get it tuned/fixed. Just be prepared to rackup a really big bill fixing it up.

I paid quite a bargain for mine, and even then I went into debt to pay for it. If it got stolen, and if I had the money to pay for it, I'd probably buy it again. It's not the best value in the world, and it only stays in toon when she feels like it, but there's absolutely nothing like it when it does work. If you want to listen in to the sounds of alien worlds, don't go into astrophysics - buy an ARP 2600, hook it up with a sequencer, drink a couple bottles of cough syrup, and listen to the sound of your mind being blown.

No Software. It's all in the hardware. With the 100 patch book to get started else can be very difficult if you are not an EE

Mine has 2 voices not monophonic. I can arpegiate with lower and play lead or counterpoint with the right hand

I still have mine in both my studio and stage setup

It has let me down before at gigs, yes, however, It is mostly tuned and good (stable). A backup is exorbitant but can prove ok. Edgar Winter had at leat 2 backups...so did Roger Powell

very helpful and CMS is the current recommended maintenance company out of Bethlahem, PA

My machine is heavily customized and is worth well over $20,000 so I would have to think long and hard about a replacement. My Trident LE has many of the same sounds but not with the rich analog textures. Also the 2600 has many feature not available in current digital technologies. Mine is for sale for $25,500.

hardware version 3
do bears shit in woods
rubbish

polypnony excellent, if you tune the oscillators
lots of built in effects
input signals to trigger....
none
none

excellent
all
good
it works
not touch-sensitive

yes in the studio
never

a difficult bitch to manage
wonderful unique sounds you can't recreate on another occassion
nenory

Moron-level. Anyone with half a brain for electronic music should
be able to get this up and running with something PDQ. Unlike many
other modular-type units, the 2600 is equipped with prepatched
routings; the patchpoints are used to interrupt these and reconfigure
the synth's base configuration or to interface it with outside
modules/devices. There can be some confusion over the keyboards,
however; two versions have 'bender' controls that are just knobs
and which are a nuisance to use. The later 2-voice keyboard is the
desirable unit here. Also, the 'processor' section is likely to
confuse a few beginning synthesists. It should be kept in mind that
this, the EML 101, and various Moog configurations were the prime
material used for teaching synthesis and electronic music well on
into the 1990s in many schools.

At this point, there needs to be some explanation, as this delineates
the 'features'...

There are _four_ ARP 2600s. All are different. There are also _three_
ARP 2600 keyboards. I'll attempt to explain the differences.

ARP 2600 #1: "BLUE MEANIE" -- Easily distinguished from the other
versions by the odd, blue metal case and 'curtain-rod' handle across
the top, this is the one to leave to the moron collector types. Only
a handful produced, almost none work today. Used a lot of prototype
circuitry and had the original non-bender keyboard.

ARP 2600 #2: "GREY MEANIE" -- The famous version that most people
think of when they think of this synth. The first in the clunky
wood and Tolex case, this has a grey panel and the SQUARE ARP/Tonus
logo by the power switch. This is the most desirable one due to it
sharing one important feature with the Blue Meanie: the infamous
"Moog copy" ladder filter that sparked a suit between Moog and ARP.
Also originally shipped with the non-bender keyboard, it also later
came with the knob-bender/variable scaling keyboard (the 3604). The
"Grey Meanie", however, is more fragile than later versions...another
irritating carryover of sorts from its predecessor.

ARP 2600 #3: "THE G-CLEF 2600" -- This is the post-lawsuit 2600, and
incorporates a seriously-altered VCF design that actually contains
a design flaw that limits its frequency response. It looks _almost_
like the "Grey Meanie", except that the logo decal near the power
switch now has the new G-clef ARP logo instead of the old boxy
ARP/Tonus logo. There are also some slight graphics changes on the
patch panel. Late versions of this could be gotten with the two-voice
3620 keyboard as well as the 3604.

ARP 2600 #4: "ORANGE AND WHITE 2600" -- This is the final version of
the 2600, very easily distinguished from the others by the use of
orange and white graphics and the 'Helvetica' ARP logo. Uses the
V.3 filter, but only a few of this run have the ultra-annoying
potted submodules, so it's possible to easily modify the filter's
frequency response or to remove it altogether and put a clone of the
ladder filter from the 'Grey Meanie' in. Available with 3604 and 3620
keyboards. There is some concensus among 2600 users that these are
the most reliable of the series and therefore just under the 'Grey
Meanie' in desirability.

As for all 2600s, they all share the 'gold standard' of analog
architecture: 3 VCOs, LP VCF, dual EGs, VCA, extensive mod routings,
but the 2600 also gives one an input stage with a very useful
envelope follower, a cheezy spring reverb, a nice sample-and-hold,
some voltage processors, and a highly-variable repatchable
architecture that can be used in conjunction with the prepatched
internal setup. The 3620 keyboard is the one to have with this; it
offers duophony, a latch, its own LFO, repeat, and retrigger
capabilities. Easily MIDIable with any off-the-shelf converter, as
it uses the benchmark 1V/8va CV and positive trigger/gate standards.

It's the magic box of analog noises. Enough said. Things are judged
against this device, particularly the "Grey Meanie" models.

If you have an "Orange" 2600, you're in better shape than the rest
of us. If you have a "Grey Meanie" like me, perhaps a bit less so.
If you're dumb enough to have bought a "BLUE Meanie" and haven't
noticed any problems, you're either blessed by God or very, very
stupid. All of these should be treated with care and respect,
irrespective of model. Giggable, yes, but with care.

To be quite honest, support for the ARP 2600 (and ARP gear in general)
is probably better now than in the last few years of ARP's existance
while they were floundering with the Avatar, Electronic Piano, and
Quadra. Two techs are considered top-shelf in maintenance and
modifications: Weyer-Smith and CMS. Others are also very conversant
with ARP gear. They're like Volkswagens...there will always be
someone who can work on them, and there'll always be ARPs in use
out there, somewhere.

I've had a 2600 lurking around _somewhere_ throughout most of the
20+ years of my career. The one I presently own is a "Grey Meanie"
coupled with an "Orange" 3620 duophonic keyboard, a trade done
several years back for a Steiner-Parker Synthacon I owned. I still
sometimes miss my Steiner, but when I fire this puppy up and start
working with it, that longing quickly goes away. The Steiner was
weird. This is just outright powerful. I've used 2600s for pop,
techno, avant-garde electroacoustics, SFX...hell, I've even used one
as a _processor_, mixing live sound for a psych-metal group back in
the late 80s. Truly, this is the Kitchen Magician of analog synths,
as you can do most anything on it, route most anything thru it, feed
most anything into it, and control most anything else with it. And
it all fits in two boxes, one the size of a suitcase, and the other
looking like something you'd put a sniper rifle in. What _can't_
you do with an ARP 2600? Honestly...I've not found out the answer to
that one! Oh, alright...you can't do wavetables, or Chowning FM
algorithms. Fine. But anything _analog_? Heh...

Anyway, while I DEPLORE the behavior of inflationary synth brokers,
traders, and collectors, the ARP 2600 is one of the very few synths
that was actually undervalued for that period where everyone was
being duped by digital. The going rates of $1000-2000 these days,
depending on model, condition, keyboard, and mods (always a point
to watch for; Phil Cirocco at CMS is noted for his great 2600 mods),
seems actually rather reasonable for what you get here. In fact, the
only thing that seems unreasonable about the 2600's current marketing
is that someone hasn't cloned it outright and put it back on the
market in a like manner to the EMS VCS3, which has never been 100%
off the market since its introduction. It _would_ sell!

move the sliders. insert patch cords and let it rip! the beast plays itself!

The 2600 is monophonic with non-touch sensitive keyboard- 4 octaves it has the old spring reverb, stereo outputs, built-in speakers, 3 oscillators, ring modulator, envelope follower, noise generator, voltage processors, sample and hold, a preamp for external instruments or microphones, and a voltage controlled filter and resonator.

It is the ultimate electronic instrument with the wildest sounds ever heard. It is not intended for realistic emulation of other instruments but rather as a unique instrument in its own right.

It has served me well on stage and in the studio and has never needed repair work. And it was built in 1971.

rest in peace- the ARP Company

Old synths are my passion and the 2600 is my favorite. It isn't the only great old analogue synth out there (check out the Korg MS 20 for another) but it is the ultimate freaky sound machine for me!