Chameleon - ARP Odyssey Sound Design - Bass & Lead - First Solo Section - Herbie Hancock Headhunters

Here's a little transcription/tutorial/presentation/explanation of the first solo section from Chameleon.

Gear I Used In The Video:

Korg ARP Odyssey Module (MIDI to Kurzweil PC-1x)
Ernie Ball Volume Pedal Jr. (Connected directly to the "Pedal" jack on the back of the ARP)
Boss (Roland) Re-20 (Re-200) Space Echo
Tone Tested Designs 1960s Reverb/Tremolo

70s Lawsuit Era P-Bass
Mutron III
Tone Tested Designs 1960s Reverb/Tremolo

Hohner Clavinet E7
Fulltone Clyde Wah

Some suggestions about what I think is going on with the sound design:

*ARP Bass Sound:
1. Transpose lever down.
2. Tune the Oscillators in Octaves, with Oscillator 2 (green) one octave higher than Oscillator 1 (blue).
3. Both oscillators set to Saw Wave in the "Audio Mixer". VCO 1 (blue) up full. VCO 2 (green) up a little less than half.
4. "VCF Type" switch is set to Type I (This was the only one available at the time of the recording in 1973). "VCF Freq" (black) up halfway. "VCF Resonance" (black) up ALMOST all the way. This is the one to really tweak. Too much and it'll self oscillate too much. Too little and you'll get no 'quack' or 'bite'.
5. "HPF Cutoff Freq" halfway up. I used the "Drive" on. This was not available on the original Odyssey, but it sounded cool with it on.
6. "Voltage Controlled Filter" (red) up halfway and switched to ADSR.
7. "Voltage Controlled Amplifier" (red) up all the way and switched to AR.
8. "AR Envelope Generator" (red): Release up about 1/4.
9. "ADSR Envelope Generator (red): Decay up a little over 1/4. Release just below 1/4.

*Fender Bass Sound:
I used a Mutron III which was available at the time of the recording. The Mutron III was released in 1972 and the recording was in 1973. I can't say for sure that's what Paul Jackson used, but it sounded similar. I also tried a standard Wah pedal and it also sounded close when kept mostly toward the "toe" and not a huge back and forth sweep.

*ARP Lead/Solo Sound:
You can see the basic setting on the video. Here's my take on some of the special effects. Hopefully you can use them in some of your solos :)
1. Transpose switch set to middle. Saw Waves. Oscillator 2 (green) one octave higher than Oscillator 1 (blue). VCF Resonance and HPF (High Pass Filter) up full. Note the Red Sliders.
2. For the Volume/Wah effect, hook a volume pedal into the pedal input on the back of the ARP and switch the "Voltage Controlled Filter" (black) switch to "Pedal." I have the slider up between 1/4 and 1/2. You might have to mess with it to get the right Wah sound on the filter. It's heard towards the beginning of the solo.
3. The Ring Mod sounds I think come from moving Oscillator 2's "FM" (yellow) Slider. Set the switch to "ADSR".
4. The "Killer Bees Attacking a Hornet's Nest" sounds come from having the "Portamento" (black) slider up halfway and playing a fast lick.
5. Towards the end, Herbie is manipulating an Echoplex to modulate the delay sounds. You can do this on most delay pedals by moving the "Rate" knob while playing.
6. Reverb is also key to this lead sound. I love this Tone Tested Design pedal, check it out!
7. "VCF Resonance" down sweep to end!

Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for watching.
The ARP and the Space Echo are for sale on Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace. Let me know if you're interested.