 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2015) |
| 2500 | |
|---|---|
 ARP 2500 | |
| Manufacturer | ARP Instruments, Inc. |
| Dates | 1970–1981 |
| Price | US$7180 - US$19920 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | Duophonic |
| Timbrality | Monotimbral |
| Oscillator |
|
| Synthesis type | Analog Subtractive |
| Storage memory | none |
| Effects | none |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard |
|
The ARP 2500 is a monophonic (or duophonic) analog modular synthesizer. It was the first product of ARP Instruments, Inc., built from 1970 to 1981.
Initially made by Alan Pearlman’s company Tonus Inc as the Series 2000 system, the company changed it’s name to ARP (the founder’s initials) and renamed the Series 2000 the 2500.
ARP advertised the 2500 as having two major advantages over other synths - stable oscillators with “no audible drift” and matrix switches instead of patch cords which obscure the modules. The oscillators combined Alan Pearlman’s patented exponential converters with a dual core design so they stayed in tune much better than their competitors. The sliding matrix switches were placed above and below the modules and were the main method of connection between modules and to the keyboards. There are rows of 1/8" miniphone jacks at the end of each row of matrix switches, [1] to interconnect rows of switches. Other major new features introduced in the 2500 were duophonic keyboards and state-variable filter/resonators. The main 2500 cabinet can hold 15 modules, and optional wing cabinets can each hold 8. The matrix switch interconnection scheme allow any module's output to connect to any other module's input. Unlike the patch cords of competitive units from Moog and Buchla, which can obscure control knobs and associated markings, the matrix implementation enables a cable-free experience but at the price of greater cross-talk. [2]
Although the 2500 proved to be a reliable and user-friendly machine, it was not commercially successful, selling approximately 100 units. [3] ARP initially produced 14 module types with many more planned to follow, but only a few new modules made it into production, while others reached the prototype stage.
Modules:
The 1012 Convenience module, 1035 Triple modulator and 1040 Noiselator existed as prototypes or mock-ups.
The earliest 2000 series cabinets could hold 8, 15 or 19 modules. The later taller cabinets were available in 15 or 8 modules sizes and included a portable 8 module version which they marketed as an expansion of the later 2600.
A bewildering range of keyboard options were available, from a simple monophonic to split, duophonic and dual versions. Split keyboards had one or two left octaves with reverse coloured keys, and either section could be monophonic or duophonic, offering control of up to four voices on a single keyboard.
A collection of the 2500's most popular modules was redesigned into a single, semi-modular unit as the ARP 2600, leaving out the matrix switching and adding some new functions.
John Kongos first used one at Trident Studios in 1971, then in 1973 he acquired his own - it was used extensively at his Tapestry Studio, on his own recordings as well as Def Leppard (Pyromania), Mutt Lange, Alain Chamfort, Tony Visconti, Ryan Ulyate and many others.
In 1972 Pete Townshend of the Who used an ARP 2500 on the Who's Quadrophenia . [4] Townshend built his own home studio to experiment and record, due to the enormous amount of time he spent creating his groundbreaking synthesizer orchestrations on both Quadrophenia, and the movie version of Tommy.
The ARP 2500 was extensively used by British producer David Hentschel on recordings such as "Funeral for a Friend" from Elton John's 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road . Jeff Wayne's 1978 multi-platinum selling album War of the Worlds features the ARP 2500, including the sound of Martian speech.
In the 1977 motion picture Close Encounters of the Third Kind , [5] a 2500 unit is used to communicate with aliens. Phil Dodds, ARP's Vice President of Engineering, was on set to install and manage the synthesizer; Steven Spielberg, liking his looks, cast him on the spot as an extra to play the 2500. The unit featured in the film consisted of a fully loaded main unit, two fully loaded wing cabinets and dual keyboards in a custom case. It was damaged by the artificial smoke/fog used on the film set.
It has been used by artists such as Aphex Twin, David Bowie, Vince Clarke, Ekseption, Faust, John Frusciante, Jean Michel Jarre, Cevin Key, [6] Kraftwerk, Jimmy Page, Vangelis and the Who. The composer Éliane Radigue has worked almost exclusively with the 2500.
While ARP no longer exist, a number of companies make modules based on the 2500. CMS make modules to fit 2500 cabinets if you are lucky enough to own one, Mos-Lab make a clone, while CMS, Behringer and AMSynths make Eurorack modules based on ARP2500 modules.
An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages, or digital signals for logic or timing conditions. Typical modules are voltage-controlled oscillators, voltage-controlled filters, voltage-controlled amplifiers and envelope generators.
The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972.
The ARP 2600 is a subtractive synthesizer first produced by ARP Instruments, Inc in 1971.
The Realistic Concertmate MG-1 is an analog synthesizer co-developed by Tandy and Moog Music as a basic, low-priced synthesizer to be sold by Radio Shack under their "Realistic" brand. With estimated unit sales of 23,000 from 1982 to 1983, the MG-1 became the best-selling synthesizer ever manufactured by Moog Music, and is one of the most widely-owned of all vintage Moog synthesizers.
The ARP Pro Soloist was one of the first commercially successful preset synthesizers. Introduced by ARP Instruments, Inc. in 1972, it replaced the similar ARP Soloist (1970–1971) in the company's lineup of portable performance instruments.
The Moog model 2090 Micromoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1975 to 1979.
The Moog Sonic Six is a duophonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1972 to 1979. Because of its portable design and built-in speaker, the Sonic Six was widely used for lectures and educational purposes, often by Bob Moog himself.
Palm Products GmbH was a manufacturer of audio synthesizers. Founded and owned by Wolfgang Palm, PPG was located in Hamburg, Germany and, for 12 years from around 1975 to 1987, manufactured an acclaimed and eclectic range of electronic musical instruments, all designed by Palm.
Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic or paraphonic.
The ARP Little Brother, produced from 1975 to 1977, is a keyboardless monophonic expander module, sold as an add-on for another ARP synthesizer. It was controlled by connecting the control voltage (CV) output of an ARP synthesizer's keyboard to the Little Brother's CV input.
Electronic Music Laboratories, commonly abbreviated to EML, was a synthesizer company founded in 1968 in Vernon, Connecticut, by four engineers. It manufactured and designed a variety of synthesizers sharing the same basic design but configured in different ways.
The Doepfer A-100 is an analog modular synthesizer system introduced by German audio manufacturer Doepfer in 1995. Although there were only 10 module types at time of release, it currently has more than 120 modules plus several different enclosures and accessories.
The Yamaha CS30/CS30L is an analog keyboard synthesizer that was released in 1977. It is the top of the range in Yamaha's original line-up of monophonic synthesizers, others in the range being the CS5, CS10 and CS15. It features two voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs), two voltage controlled filters, two voltage controlled amplifiers (VCAs) and three envelope generators. It also sports a ring modulator and a voltage controlled low-frequency oscillator (LFO).
The Serge synthesizer is an analogue modular synthesizer system originally developed by Serge Tcherepnin, Rich Gold and Randy Cohen at CalArts in late 1972. The first 20 Serge systems were built in 1973 in Tcherepnin's home. Tcherepnin was a professor at CalArts at the time, and desired to create something like the exclusively expensive Buchla modular synthesizers "for the people that would be both inexpensive and powerful." After building prototypes, Tcherepnin went on to develop kits for students to affordably build their own modular synthesizer, production taking place unofficially on a second floor CalArts balcony. This led to Tcherepnin leaving CalArts in order to produce synths commercially, starting in 1974.
An analog sequencer is a music sequencer constructed from analog (analogue) electronics, invented in the first half of the 20th century.
The Korg PS-3300 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1977. It was released alongside the PS-3100, a more compact variant featuring a complete synthesizer voice board for each of its 48 keyboard notes. The PS-3300 essentially combines three PS-3100 units, triggering all voices simultaneously with each key press and mirroring the PS-3100's overall design, featuring a total of 144 synth voices. The PS-3300 uses the PS-3010, a detachable keyboard equipped with an assignable joystick called the X-Y Manipulator.
The Steiner-Parker Synthacon is a monophonic analog synthesizer that was built between 1975 and 1979 by Steiner-Parker, a Salt Lake City-based synthesizer manufacturer. It was introduced as a competitor to other analog synthesizers, like the Minimoog and ARP Odyssey.
The Arturia MiniBrute is a synthesizer manufactured by Arturia. Although the MiniBrute was the first piece of analog hardware created by Arturia—which had previously exclusively marketed software synthesizers—it generated strong sales.
The Roland System 700 was a professional monophonic modular synthesizer for electronic music manufactured by the Roland Corporation and released in 1976 and was followed by the Roland System-100M in 1978.
