ARP Odyssey

If you are not common with analogue synths you may get problems. In general it takes a while to get used to this synth as there are a lot of possibilities. You do not have any presets or memory patches, so for the studio it may be ok, in the live situation it??s more complicated.

Classic analogue monophonic synth: 2 oscillators, noise generator, ring modulator, sample&hold, filter and so on. I don??t want to repeat all parameters that previous reviews already mentioned.

The Odyssey is a very versatile synth - that is its strength. If you like to work on experimental or avantgarde stuff or you want to create strange sounds, effect sounds or sharp techno sounds this unit is perfect for you and much better than a Minimoog. It is more like an open book that you have to fill with your creations. In general the sound is more neutral, analytic and clean and sometimes reminds me of the old SH-Rolands - but it is not that sterile.
If you look for something like a Minimoog that produces classic and warm solo sounds and thundering basses, then go for the Mini, you would get problems with the Odyssey in this disciplines.
IMO the Odyssey is missing that warm, but very coloured ARP 2600 character known by Joe Zawinul (for example). Additionally I think the oscillators are not that fat than those of the 2600 or Mini (or Oberheim, or Sequential). In this discipline the Odyssey is just an average synth.
But as I said for those styles/ambitions I mentioned in the beginning it is a very versatile synth. Especially the noise, ring modulator and sample&hold abilities are very powerful and open the doors for a wide range of interesting sounds.

In the beginning everything was fine. But now - after 35 years (!) - the faders produce severe problems (much more than the potis of a Mini). And as there are a lot of them it will be expensive to renew them. I guess that is the big problem of the old Odysseys in general as I once saw that a company builds new faders that fit perfectly. -
The rest is fine, quality built.

The company is down for 30 years or so!

In former times the Odyssey was my workhorse for strange sounds and effects. But after the appearance of samplers and VAs it became somewhat like useless. For solo work I prefer Minimoog or Oberheim. So I definitely would not buy it again, especially as I refuse to accept the limitations of a monophonic instrument (with the exception of the Mini).
In general I think the Odyssey is a bit overrated, due to the fact that it is the second legend besides the Mini.

its a little tricky if your new to old synths. a ton of sliders makes ones head spin. being pretty accustomed to old synths, i found my way around pretty quickly. i owned an arp axxe before i got the odyessy, so i was already half way familiar. there are no pre-sets. just sliders and a whole lot of personal imagination. editing your patches can be tuff. there is so much potential between every hair line movement of a slider that its easy to lose the exact spot you found a sound. which is great. an enfinate amount of flexibility.

it has two note polyphony, which sounds cool but not stunning. the action feels fine to me. its no weighted key piano, but if your familiar with old synths.....well, it feels like an old synth. there are no effects unless you consider ring modulation,sample and hold, white and pink noise and tons of modulation capabilities to be effects. that said, who needs effects?? although reverb and delay are a welcome addition. it has c/v connections, pedal connections and can receive external signals. no midi. who needs a computer??!! just get an amp and turn it up! no sequencer. very flexible!!

the sounds are amazing. i have the mark 2. black with gold lettering with the illegal moog filters. where do i begin. for a mono-synth it can create some very frightening,colorful,beautiful,thunderous,weird and way out there sounds. truly the colored bird of mid seventies psychedelic synths. it borrows much from its modular heritage. i know everyone raves about this synth. i alwase wanted one, finnally got one and now i know why people luv this synth. if you want a very crazy sounding 70's synth, do yourself a favor, skip the mini-moog and get an odyessy. mini-moogs are great, but this thing is amazing!! a perfect 10!!

well, i just got it and have'nt used it out live yet. i usually use a sequential circuits pro-one for live shows. to be honest, i prefer knobs to sliders. knobs are easier to tune and the pro-one is a little easier to use in a live setting. but the odyessy is stable, rugged and if its in good condition, i think there should be no problem relying on it.

arp is out of business, but i've heard of some folks who do great work on arp synths. phil ciroco and kurtsamps are two of which i know work on arps.

if it were lost or stolen......i would be very upset to say the very least. i would want to get it again. i got lucky though. a very nice young man sold me the odyessy with the original anvil case, original manual and patch book along with original advertizements. the odyessy was in beautiful cosmetic and working condition and since he wanted to see it get put to good use, he sold it to me for 5 hundred $$$. today, thats considered a steal!! ebay is full of old synths that are broken,dirty and whatever and they shoot upwards over 1 thousand dollars. you can save yourself some money and buy the soft ware version.....but i dont want to play with a computer. tell a guitarist to buy a soft ware guitar you play with a computer.....he/she would lauph at you. you cant truly replicate the real,quarky,temperamental thing.

FIRST OF ALL, plug this baby into an old tube amp. You will not regret this.

I got the Odyssey white face a year ago. I also own a Korg MS20 so plugging the Arp into the MS20 gives a really FAT 4osc synth. It's not that easy to use for someone who has no knowledge of synthesizers, the sliders can be a bit intimidating, well at least for my girlfriend. I had to forbid her to touch any of the tuning sliders or going crazy on any of them eheh

The duophony is pretty cool. It makes it sound almost like a cheap keyboard, it has its uses. If you want to remember presets, you either have to write the them down or have a very good memory. It's also very flexible, so a single millimeter change on a slider can change everything from right to wrong, which is very valuable. you get to explore tons of sounds with very little physical effort.

I got rid of a Roland JP8000 and many softsynths ever since i got the odyssey. They were boring compared to this one.

I mostly experiment with sound and sometimes record noise and electro, 60s garage rock(electric organ sounds are easy to achieve with this synth) or even dance punk.

From soft drones to gritty UFO sounds, it can imitate any string and brass instrument invented since the birth of baby jesus, with a little reverb for some realism. But my favorite use is sampling drums from it. It gives very wet sounding and unique analog percussions.

Mine has very bad tuning sliders so once its tuned, i just dont touch them. It stays tuned very well if its in a stable environment.

I wouldn't take it with me anywhere unless i was moving.

bluuurg i dont wanna have to get it repaired. It would hurt me to know someone put their chocolate in my peanut butter.

If it were lost or stolen, i would definately gatter some money by stealing instruments from emo bands and get another one. It was worth every penny, and now that i had a taste of it, i would be ready to pay a little more to get one (but i already have one ha!). I just wish it had CV/gate so i could plug my sequencer in it. I have made tunes using only the Odyssey and theyre the ones im most glad i spent time on. Other gear i own that mix well with this synth: MS20, TR707, an old drumset, electric guitar and bass.

was purchased by a deceased freind in 2001 for 24.95 in a thrift store i paid 150..i had to instal a filter that cost 89.95 from arizona

are you kidding when you want to do with this thing what i'm trying to do, which is "make a new or wierd sound" all it takes is a little wherewithall to move things and remember what they do, of course. i live for the moment, which is about how long one has to enjoy a recognizeable sound from this beast before i start messing with it again. no "clickity click" like a dx7 or poly 800, just plain ol' intuition.... i love it...a perfect ten here because what you see is what you maybe get. if you don't you're one slider move away from something better.

it rocks.. period... i NEVER considered a synth untill my roomate came back with this. i learned it, broken, had to force it to work, then i bought a poly6 and realized what a synth would do.... i bought the filter , soldered that fucker in and OH MY FUCKING LORD JESUS CHRISt WHAt HAVE I DONE... i ignore the poly 6... i got complaints instantly from my neighbors "wierd sounds are coming from your house..."
from what i can comprehend from using it, i'm not too far away from being someone who could use a modular. all the typical synth stuf is right there , but you get to CHOOSE how much of everything gets sent to the filters (infact now i understand the concept of " filter" because i got one) plus my freind brought his minimoog over and within 10 minutes (now mind you he's an ELECTRONIC music guy and i'm not) i realized that my arp could take his mini out to the wood shed and hand it it's asshole. sample hold? i dare a mini guy to simulate hot boiling lava or birds in trees next to the waterfal while eating a bag of doritos or ANYTHING.......10 here.. ha ha to everone who buys a mini just because dude's dead....my arp will bend you over and hurt you....

ralistic... ha.... well actually i did look up some patches and suprisingly enough it sounded like what it was supposed to. but the hell with that. if i want bass... i'll play bass ... if i want violin i'll play violin.... i want "what the hell was that.. , wait... there it is again..." it does it ... good.. ten again...

c'mon now... you think i'd really take my baby on tour? one only gets one of these in a lifetime if you're me......... i won't let it out of my sight. the only way i can guarantee it'll keep working is if i don't move it... in fact the release on the adsr wont work unless it's set just right, actually i fixed that....but still... no.. that's what micro korgs are for ..... it's my classsic muscle synth, i don't commute with it, it's for special occassions...

i'd rather wreck my car than to lose this synth. period... in fact i can think of body parts i would rather part with.... i got this synth from a now deceased best friend who knew me well enough to sell it to me cheap months befor he died..... STEAL THIS AND I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND KILL YOU AND EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!!

I'am using a Mk II from the Series with Moog-style filters, although it does not sound much fatter than the standard ones. It uses the old-style pitch knob.
Presets are not found on this one, but there is a patchbook available online or via ebay.
Editing is fairly easy if you work through the manual, but still, sometimes the faintest adjustments can influence the sound. Thus, it may well be possible to create sound and never hear it again.
The manual is fairly good, but of course far from what you would expect today.

Polyphony is only two tones, but not advisable, as on my one striking more than one key will usually sound horrible.
Effects: Not in the classical sense, but echos, wahwahs and leslies are quite easy to program with the LFO.
Expansion: CV gate, and thats about it.
Midi: Rather not.

The sound is clearly distinctable, and the range is huge (you may even create sounds that noone wants to hear), but you can achieve stuff you can't get from a Moog.
It works best for electro, rock or funk.
There are no onboard effects, but you can produce so many sounds and "pseudo-effects" via LFO etc that you wont need them.
Reaction to playing is good, sometimes it even reacts without being played (...)
There is no aftertouch, but you can adjust the AR / ADSR to your preferences to form the sound of your choice.

Reliability is an issue on this one: Although more stable than a moog and considered advanced for its time, gigging this one is quite challanging. Studio work is easy, but for gigs (lights and other sources of heat) may or may not affluence the tune of the ARP. I use it for gigging, looped through a tuning device, and adjust after every second piece or so (although my specimen is relatively stable and may be played for longer times withoug the necessity to adjust). I would definitely not go on stage without an alternative instrument, but I use it for the fun of it anyway.

Well, customer support was so good ARP went out of business, so... Best look for a good synth builder in your vacinity, and bring a big vallet when something is broken. Although my acquaintance has quite a lot of replacement parts, they are getting harder to get (especially the internals), and as most interiors are melted into raisin, repair is not feasable for many parts.

Yeah, the ARP.... There are not many instruments I sincerly love (sounds, variablity, feel) and hate (reliability, tuning) as much as this one. It is very emotional, but as it comes for synths, there are not many that are a match for it, I guess.
It is absolutely worth what I paid for it three years ago, but if you look for a day to day use professional instrument, go for a new korg or a moog voyager. The list of potential options may last for pages, but basically, it has what it needs to get cool synth solos (for which I use it). You may best describe playing an ARP to driving an old car: There are better, cheaper, faster and more reliable ones out there, but the feeling of playing a legend (think rocket man, chameleon, Frankenstein, Joe Zawinuls oevre) may improve your playing style more than a brand new boutique synth.
Of course, there are limits. My ARP with AAA shape (all knobs, practically no scratches), and cost 900$ a few years ago, and that was already my rational limit. Today I see pieces of junk going at ebay, for more than 1000 bucks a piece, and thats simply not worth it.

Ease of use is great if you are used to using analog synths. I started playing with a Putney VCS3 and a Moog 15, so to me it is a piece of cake.It is not a press preset and play instrument. You really can get an infinite amount of sounds. If you really insist on getting the same sound every time than I suggest you buy one of the software emulator versions that are out now.

This is a strictly analog beast. You can play two notes at a time if you desire or sync the two ocsillators together which is my more common use.
I have the 2813 version (black and gold) that was expertly restored by KurtsAmps. It has the Cv outputs on the back and I added a cv to midi converter on mine.
It has no internal effects and no sequencer built in. This beauty is a strict gem of the mid seventies . It has many features including two VCOs 1 LFO, 1 noise generater, a ring modulator, sample and hold functions, It has a LP filter with can be modified by almost everything. The real beauty of this synth is its modulation and routing options. It was designed to be a more cost friendly cousin to the 2600 which is still the Cadillac of analog preformance oriented synths. The layout is very easy to use and Arp always used this sort of block schematic model for their controls.

This is a synthesizer for analog synth player. It can be used to emulate instruments if you desire that but that is a waste of what this thing does best. If you want those types of sounds you won't like this keyboard. If you want vintage sounds or like a synthesizer to sound like a synthesizer this is for you. I own many synths both old and new and this thing is best descibed as raw! It does not have the warm sound of the Moog but it is beautiful in a different way. This thing can be smooth and silky as well as rip your head off mean. It has some awesome routing and modulation capabilities. I run mine through a moderate effects processer just mostly for a little reverb or delay and it sounds wonderful. It creates bass sounds that cut through concrete as well as leads that will blow your guitarist away. I do wish Arp had used a pitch wheel instead of the knob and later models had the PPC control pads which get different reviews depending who you talk to. It has a pedal sw for portamento as well as a control pedal input. This one works nice as a sort of wah wah pedal. I like trading solos with this and the Moog just because the contrast is so prominent. The sounds are as different as a strat is to a Les Paul. You can really create some interesting sound effects, drones as well as percussive sounds with this thing. It is way more useful than just leads or bass sounds. The keyboard action is ok and fairly typical for a synthesizer.
You can download patch templates for this so you can remember your own sounds. The key is to experiment.

I bought mine off of Ebay and cosmetically it was ok but most of the controls needed to be gone over. Kurt of KurtsAmps.com restored this thing to all of its glory. I have had no problems with mine at all. It requires an initial tune if you are playing with other people in a certain key but after that it stays in tune. It is a good idea to periodically work your slider pots up and down their full range to keep them sounding clean. If the sliders don't move freely get the unit repaired because they can break if you force them. The controls are not as robust as the Moog but mine all work fine.
Due to it's age and personal value to me I don't gig with it in clubs where cigarette smoke is a problem. I don't want it banged up either. I create sounds with mine and then sample them to other keyboards or use in my studio only.

Arp went out of business years ago but there are some talented techs out there who delite in repairing vintage gear. the hardest parts to get are the Arp slider pots .There is a couple of great web sites as well that you can get info on patches, mods and other general information such as user and service manuals.

If it was stolen I would go crazy. I paid $800 and spent another couple hundred getting it into shape and it was worth every penny. I always wanting one of these and now I have one. I have numerous other synths including a Moog Voyager, Arp Quadra, Oberheim Matrix 6, Oberheim OB 12
Roland JP8000 and 8080,Yamaha cs-20, Korg Karma, a few Kurzweils, Alesis 7.1, Emu and Yamaha Motif 8 rack synths as well as others. I'd love to get a good 2600 but the Odyssey does a great job. I love all of my instruments and each has their own strengths and weaknesses. I highly recommend this instrument to any synthesizer nut like me!

The Arp Odyssey defined electronic music during the 1970s. Its slide potentiometers make it easy to quickly check patches, and its internal patches provide tremendous flexibility without the mess of patchcords.

12 different models of Odyssey were produced, divided into 3 general categories: The white face units (hard to tune but a great filter, some have potted components and are hard to service), black with yellow printing (the Mark II, which added CV in, but had an inferior filter), and black with orange printing (some included the PPC keyboard described below).

The keyboard circuitry uses a clever technique to achieve duophony, but for most practical purposes it is monophonic. It is essentially an analog computer, so every sound it produces is to some extent an "effect". The earliest, white faced models have a better filter than later models, but the later models add CV in. It is fairly easy to modify the filters on later Odyssey units to correct for a design error that reduced the cutoff range to only 12KHz.

Although it predate MIDI, MIDI to CV converters may be used with the later units. The last units produced incorporated the inventive Proportional Pitch Change keyboard, which allowed notes to be bent up, down or vibrato to be added by exerting pressure on the keys in different directions.

Basically you don't buy an analog synth to emulate other instruments, you buy it because it can make analog synth sounds. Without going to the extremes of a full-blown Arp 2500, it's hard to imagine a more versatile analog synth. The Odyssey -- especially the first models -- have a very aggressive sound, and, unlike the Mini Moogs, offer PWM (pulse width modulation) and ring modulation.

The unit is fairly rugged, although the black and orange units have exposed key edges that are easier to break.

While Arp is long since gone, it's very easy to service the Odyssey, and the components are pretty simple. The earliest units may be potted, so beware. Replacement keyboard bushings are about the only part likely to deteriorate, and there are replacement sources for these on the web.

I've wanted an Odyssey since I was a teenager, and I'm please to finally own one. There is no synthesizer more representative of the classic analog sound, and the slide pots really define its era. If you can find one, buy it. It will only increase in value.

Easy to edit. The Manual is very good (not only for the Odyssey, but for learning analog basics

Polyphony, one note (or two, depending on the patch)
No effects of expansion. I have not midified mine, but it's cheap.

If you were alive in the 70's you heard Moog's and ARP's. I use it sparingly to play 70's progressive stuff. Nowadays it is relegated to the filter sweep in Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" and the lead parts in the Cars "Just What I Needed".

Mine is very reliable. In 1978 it was rebuilt with a Minimoog keyboard so the pitchbend is on the keyboard vs. the knob of the front panel. A modulation wheel was also added. I have the White version with the CV upgrades. I plan to add the Moog style filters used on the Black and Gold version (available through Cirocco Music and a few other sources).

I would replace it if stolen. I love this keyboard. I don't have any hate or dislikes about it.
Why I chose it. Although this is my 4th Odyssey, it is the only White-faced I've ever owned. I was at a store called Cal-Music when they got their first Odyssey in. I waited for them to unbox it. I waited while the sales guys played it. I waited until it was my turn, and I went nuts on it. I couldn't afford one then, but I have always wanted one. A guy whose path I've crossed on and off for years had this one and had it upgraded with a different keyboard years ago. He got in a bind and I got a great deal (I have the original keyboard as well, and I have a brand new white-faced case (still in plastic).

My beautiful Odyssey was previously owned by a famous producer and was used on many 80s hits by said producer, it was kept in an airconditioned smoke free room so is in fantastic shape it is one of my favourite monosynths of all time with excellent routing solid build and all the sliders intact, servicing is easy for a keyboard nut like myself and has the PPC controls that some players dislike but I find them ok to use. Great sounds very full for a 2 osc Vco nice sync lead and strange noises from this board.

Its a duophonic board with use of the ADSR and AR being shared by both osc so this feature is somewhat limited, has good interface capability with the usual CV gate trig and VCF pedal and Portamento footswitch input. My machine (black/orange) has a nice feel to the keyboard with reliable triggering due to regular servicing.

If you like synthesizer sounds then you will love an Ody its emulation of traditional instruments is poor but thats one reason I love this baby its a synth players synth not some crappy sounding S&S or VA you have to work with it and it rewards you with very fine sounds gritty dirty agressive and plain evil!. Its not really an easy board for a beginner to learn analogue techniques or very fashionable for the dancey stuff around these days but if you want a monster sounding analogue then look no further, prices are going through the roof for a good Ody and with only 3000 produced you will have to look hard and long at any ARP on ebay as there are some terrible tatty broken Odys out there at very high prices

It never leaves my studio and has been 100% reliable but there are plenty of owners out there who will say otherwise, I treat my Ody like the Antique it is, with love and care!

ARP is long gone, but can be a V pricey synth to get fixed as lots of parts are becoming scarce, you may need a rough Ody for parts to keep a good one going.

Its great and compliments my Moogs and Sequential kit love it!
Be very careful buying without trying for its a complicated mono that can hide serious faults to the inexperienced buyer. Buy one thats been well looked after and leave the dogs to the synth tecs.

Typical easy, interactive early monophonic!

The Mini and Odyssey are both special yet different, and complement one another well. The Mini's magic, but the Odyssey's also great, shares that warm, purely musical and organic quality with the early monos like the Mini and SEM. Not obesely fat like a Mini, yet plenty thick (early 70s Cameleon-era Herbie Hancock bass/leads), punchy; reminds more of an SEM-a little less fat but cleaner than a Mini.

No problems if left in apt./studio

Arps might be a little harder to service than some other analogs, just not as common.

Exellent, pure and warm analog as done by the Odyssey, Mini and SEMs..