ARP Odyssey | On The Wire

This is an original composition and performance I made with the ARP Odyssey from the mid-70s.

A few days ago as I was finishing this video I heard that Buena Pearlman had sadly passed at the age of 93. I had the pleasure of briefly speaking to her on a Skype call last year whilst we were recording with an ARP 2002 and she said "I remember those" with a wry smile when we proudly showed the instrument.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obitu...

As a small gesture, I've put this song up on Bandcamp and any sales I generate from it will go to the Alan R Pearlman Foundation.

https://alexball.bandcamp.com/track/a...

https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/

Thank you

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/// The ARP Odyssey ///

The full story of this instrument is told by the original people is in my documentary if you want all the details.    • Electromotive - The Story of ARP Inst...  

But, in a nutshell, the early synth pioneers were moving away from large modular systems in the early 70s and looking to develop compact and affordable synthesizers without patch chords designed specifically for the stage.

Arguably the two most famous instruments in this category during that decade were the Minimoog Model D and the Odyssey. There's quite a bit of "Moog vs ARP" rhetoric out there, but the reality is that musicians used both.

The Odyssey came in three main models with iterations thereof and mine is a Mark II 2813 (serial 0741) which puts it pretty much slap-bang in the middle of the middle. I'd guess it's from 1975 or 1976.

The main difference between those models are the filters and the 2813 I'm using has the 4035 four-pole ladder filter that later had to be changed as it strayed across Moog's patent.

I think my favourite feature of the Odyssey is the sample and hold mixer that can be used as an FM source prior to it hitting the sample and hold circuit itself. Combine this with oscillator sync and a super gnarly and distinctive ring modulator that can reveal its early digital architecture when pushed, you can get some really fantastic sounds out of the Odyssey that just aren't possible on the more straight-up Minimoog (which is also one of my favourite synths, just to avoid any suggestion of ARP vs Moog) 😉

Gear used:
ARP Odyssey 2813 (circa 1975)
Simmons SDS-3 (1978)
Roland TR-77 (1972)
Squier Jagmaster Vista (1997)
Fender Blues Junior II + Sure SM57
Hylight Phazer Mk II (2019)
Boss CE-2 (1979)
Boss DM-2 (1981)
Dr Scientist BitQuest (2015)
Vocals recorded with an AKG C414S
Premier Sound Factory - Drum Tree

Mixed by Alex Ball
Mastered by Jakob at Sonic Peak Studio

The kid's disco footage is from the Prelinger Home Movie Archive. The footage is from Massachusetts in the 70s, which felt fitting as ARP were based there at that time.