| Little Brother | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | ARP Instruments, Inc. |
| Dates | 1975 - 1977 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | Monophonic |
| Timbrality | Monotimbral |
| Oscillator | 1 square [1] |
| LFO | 1 triangle |
| Synthesis type | Analog Subtractive |
| Filter | None |
| Storage memory | none |
| Effects | none |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | none |
| External control | CV/Gate, ARP system interface |
The ARP Little Brother, produced from 1975 to 1977, is a keyboardless monophonic expander module, [2] 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.
A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which the most common type is the musical keyboard. Controllers are devices that provide the human-playable interface and which may or may not produce sounds of its own. Another common way of controlling a sound module is through a sequencer, which is computer hardware or software designed to record and play back control information for sound-generating hardware. Connections between sound modules, controllers, and sequencers are generally made with MIDI, which is a standardized protocol designed for this purpose, which includes special ports (jacks) and cables.
A synthesizer or synthesiser is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals that may be converted to sound. Synthesizers may imitate traditional musical instruments such as piano, flute, vocals, or natural sounds such as ocean waves; or generate novel electronic timbres. They are often played with a musical keyboard, but they can be controlled via a variety of other devices, including music sequencers, instrument controllers, fingerboards, guitar synthesizers, wind controllers, and electronic drums. Synthesizers without built-in controllers are often called sound modules, and are controlled via USB, MIDI or CV/gate using a controller device, often a MIDI keyboard or other controller.
The Little Brother had a single voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with selectable waveforms, and a sub-octave divider that could produce up to three additional tones simultaneously at -1, -2 and -3 octave intervals. It also had an LFO, and a pitch bend/master tuning knob. However, it had no voltage controlled filter (VCF), voltage controlled amplifier (VCA) or envelope generator (EG or ADSR). When used with other ARP synths to "fatten up" their sounds, the Little Brother's audio output had to be patched into the external audio input of its companion synthesizer, essentially adding an extra VCO and LFO to the system.
It was commonly sold with the ARP Axxe, and was given away for free with the purchase of an ARP Odyssey during a summer 1976 promotion. However, it could be used with any analog synthesizer that had the necessary 1v/octave CV output and external audio input connections.
The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP Instruments, Inc. scaled down its ARP 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became their best-selling synthesizer model.
