This is no usual review of the wonderful ARP-2600 synthesizer. Instead of describing each single feature, I'm rather more interested in the character and musical power of this synth. And I'll compare this instrument to its little brothers, the Odyssey and the Avatar.

Educational layout
The ARP 2600 was designed for educational use and therefore has a well-structured layout. The nice design coupled with high-quality hardware meets the requirements for making creative music. The first-class faders are particularly easy to use, no comparison to those loose faders of the Odyssey, Avatar, Axxe, etc.

Naturally, not all 2600s are in excellent condition nowadays, so you might come across some 2600s with equally loose parts. Overall, however, the quality of the 2600 construction is quite good.  And the control panel is positioned at a perfect angle in front of the musician. So you always know what’s going on on a 2600...

All in all, the ARP 2600 is a fine synth that facilitates your musical creativity without too much hassle: no matter-of-course with an instrument of that age!

3 VCOs
Three oscillators produce impressive power. It's possible to use alle waveforms at the same time - a main advantage over an Odyssey/Avatar. The mixing of three different waveforms allows one to create not only harmonies but also very subtle and unusual sounds.

This means that the ARP 2600 is not only strong on basses and leads, but also on strange, complex sounds, without a ring modulator or other experimental modules.

MP3
	three sounds I	ARP-2600 effect sounds mean pure analog pleasure	Theo Bloderer

Sound
There are not many analogue synths that offer as much flexibility in the sound department as the ARP 2600. Amazing lead sounds à la Jupiter-8 or Juno-60 are no problem at all. Bass sounds are quite powerful thanks to the enormous frequency range of the 2600's oscillators. FX sounds (usually heard on a Pro-One) are just brilliant, they actually beat almost every other synth on the market...

MP3s
	nice sequence	Funky envelopes, with some tweaking	Theo Bloderer
	fxnew	Sequenced sound with ring-modulator	"
	LFO contr pan I	LFO controls PAN position, lead sound	"
	LFO contr pan II	LFO controls PAN position, sequenced melody	"
	ARP-2600 I	Single oscillator (saw) lead sound	"
	ARP-2600 II	Two oscillators playing in fifth	"
	ARP-2600 III	Impressive audio range of the oscillators	"
	ARP-2600 IV	Typical (filter) FM vocal sound	"
	ARP-2600 V	Two ARP-2600 tracks, very warm analog sounds	"
	ARP-2600 VI	Two ARP-2600 tracks, ringmod- and lead-sound	"

Odyssey - the better choice?
Although almost every studio has its ARP 2600, this doesn’t mean there’s no substitute for this classic. Sure, only the 2600 comes with the brilliant design, but on the other hand a lovely Odyssey III with PPCs doesn't look bad, either.

There's one main difference to the ARP 2600: the filter of Odyssey/Avatar goes up to 11 kHz instead of 28 kHz. But filter upgrades are no big deal these days. Phil Cirocco (USA) has modified a lot of ARPs, as has Eric van Baaren (alias Saint Eric - Holland).

Again, Odyssey/Avatar offer only two VCOs instead of three. But ARPs oscillators produce a nice and powerful analogue sound anyway. Usually, you don’t need more than one ARP-VCO to make tasty music. When working on the 2600, I rarely use all three Oscillators anyway. And maybe musical flexibility is even greater having two VCOs WITH synchronization instead of three VCOs without..?

Advantages of the Odyssey/Avatar

• VCO synchronization (very important, not to be found on the ARP 2600)
• PPCs... at least all Odyssey IIIs have them, and some of the second version as well.
  They're especially useful for lead sounds and definitely expand your possibilities of musical expression. Very few 3620 keyboards of the ARP 2600 are fitted with PPCs...
• A manual high pass filter
• An integrated keyboard, which usually doesn't cause much trouble
  (whereas many a 2600's 6-pole connector has a loose contact/connection)

Disadvantages of the Odyssey/Avatar

• Fader of medium quality (good sound-design requires EXACT positioning of the fader!). The simpler fader is more prone to damage than those of the 2600.
• The keyboard only has 3 octaves
• The modular possibilities are not that vast. But still - with a sort of switch-matrix - Odyssey/Avatar deliver extremely flexible and nice fx-sounds. And using the vcf-pedal-in-port with, let's say, an analogue sequencer, gets you pretty close to a 2600...

I personally recommend an Odyssey III, if in cosmetically and technically good condition. You get a real ARP with nice design, PPCs and vast pre-installed modular possibilities. The "perfect" ARP is the one with upgraded filter (28 Khz, as 2600 has) and totally patchable. As mentioned above, it was (and still is) Phil Cirocco who converted many Odysseys/Avatars into modular systems by including complete patchbays - just like those of the 2600. Nowadays some other technicians offer these possibilities. One of them is Eric van Baaren . He adds patch-options to Avatars (the Odyssey expander-version offers more room inside for modifications). Further, he implements extra LFOs, an inverter and many other features. A detailled technical explanation of his upgrades will be put on bluesynths soon... However, a modular Odyssey/Avatar with filter-upgrade is sonically equal to an ARP-2600.

Those who need an "original" 2600 (no patchable Odyssey/Avatar) should try to find one with a 3620 keyboard. The extra LFO is absolutely useful - especially as it has delayed vibrato that can even be controlled by an external CV-source. Rarely, but still: some 3620 keyboards even have the wonderful PPCs... look out for them!!!

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Review: Theo Bloderer