As in 1970/1971 the trend went more and more towards portable, compact and inexpensive synthesizers (EMS VCS 3, Minimoog), Moog rival ARP headed to make its contribution. But although the ARP-2600 was more compact than a modular system, it was a bit bulky in comparison to a Minimoog.
The solution? Take the home-made ARP-2600, combine the keyboard and the electronics in a single case, and replace the patch connections with switches. Cut back on features here and there, add some new ones at other spots. In this way the ARP Odyssey came to life.
The ARP Odyssey was featured in 3 versions:
Odyssey MK I
The first version has a white panel with black lettering and black plastic side-panels, a 12 dB filter and no interface jacks. By the way, there are some MK I models which look like MK II on the outside…
Odyssey MK II
The second version has the same casing as the MK I but with a black panel and gold lettering. 24 dB filters. Interface jacks. Some of these models are already equipped with PPC.
Odyssey MK III
The third and last version of the ARP Odyssey has a newly designed full metal black casing, interface jacks and an additional XLR output. The keyboard protrudes out of the front of the casing. The side-panels are flush with the top panel, which means the sliders are not protected as they were on the predecessors. In addition, the metal casing weighs significantly more. And then there are those sliders made out of plastic … Better take care – hitting the instrument could have bad consequences…
The ARP Odyssey became the biggest competitor of the Minimoog – not in the least because of its sound qualities. Besides, both instruments were in the same price category. It is said that keyboarders were polarized in two groups: those who swore on ARP, and those who swore on Moog. Wealthier musicians pretty likely had both and played them together…In the following, I will refer to the model MK II illustrated in the pictures.
The Look/Structure
The instrument simply looks great! The coloured slider caps really provide some vintage feeling. But the colours were not chosen randomly, they indicate functions of separate modules and are a guide across the surface of the instrument. The panel is made of metal, the bottom and side panels are one-piece tub of thick plastic. The manual and the faders are protected by the protruding side-pieces.
Later models of the ARP Odyssey MK II introduce the PROPORTIONAL PITCH CONTROLLER – abb. PPC – which replaces the pitch-knob of the earlier models. The PPC consists of 3 rubber pads which produce different modulation intensities, depending of the finger position (up/down). The pads on the left and right influence the pitch down or up, the pad in the middle is responsible for the LFO modulation. A TRANSPOSE switch allows transposition up or down two octaves.
The three-octave keyboard is nice to play – it feels like and looks very similar to the Minimoog… and besides it is duophonicly playable. Duophonic? Almost…when playing a two-voice chord, the lower note will be assigned to OSC 1, the other to OSC 2. This “pseudo polyphony” used to be a serious reason to buy it in the seventies…
Voltage Controlled Oscillators
There are two oscillators with the waveforms sawtooth and square (with variable pulsewidth). The choice of the waveforms first available in the mixer-section. For pitch adjustment, there are two sliders – for wide-range (COARSE) and for fine (FINE) tuning. No octave-switches, as available on other synths. But you have to bear in mind that in 1972 there was no as a „synthesizer standard“.
The oscillators can be controlled by S&H, S&H mixer, LFO (square or sine) and ADSR. Oscillator 1 can be switched to LOW FREQUENCY if needed, cutting it off keyboard control. In combination with the S&H mixer section it is possible to use oscillator 1 as a second (voltage controlled) LFO, saw, pulse and a wide frequency range then standing at your command…The pulse-width is adjustable (slider) on both oscillators and can be routed by either LFO or ADSR.
As a special feature, the ARP Odyssey offers an excellent sounding SYNC function (the Odyssey, by the way, was the first synthesizer to be able to generate those awesome sync-leads!). On board is a RING MODULATOR– even combinable with SYNC! - as well, so it is easy to obtain metallic, non-harmonic, and weird sounds. A NOISE GENERATOR with pink or white noise is another feature. It is a little restricting that you have to decide between RING MOD and NOISE GENERATOR (via switch), since it is not possible to use both at the same time…but all in all, I guess that you can live with that.
Sample & Hold / LFO
The S&H (sample & hold) section is interesting for experimental sounds. As input, use OSC 1 (sawtooth or square), OSC 2 (only square) or NOISE, the latter mixed to the VCO signal. Triggering occurs either by the LFO clock or manually, from the keyboard. The slider OUTPUT LAG generates a glide effect between the voltage-steps – , sort of smoothing the progression in voltage values. The LFO is represented here with a slider – but only the speed is variable. Its waveforms can be chosen in the corresponding sections (VCO, VCF etc.) individually, providing great flexibility.
Voltage Controlled Filter
A 24dB LOWPASS filter is integrated in the ARP Odyssey. With increasing resonance, the sound takes on more and more of a “creamy” quality – typical for ARP. At maximum, the resonance can naturally be driven to self-oscillation. All in all, the filter sounds great! Doubtlessly, the ARP filter gets you closer to the Moog sound than, for instance, the Korg- or Roland-filters of that day. Which isn’t to say that the ARP Odyssey is just a Minimoog clone. The filter can be controlled by many sources – the S&H, S&H mixer, pedal, LFO (sine),
ADSR
,
AR
, KEYBOARD.
Finally, there is a HIGHPASS filter which has no resonance and it is not controllable by anything. You cannot really call this filter a sound-shaping device, since it does not have any real impact on the sound. There is no sense trying to compare it with the highpass filter of a Korg MS-20. The MK II HIGHPASS is actually intended for smaller sound manipulations – for reducing the bass frequencies in a rumbling sound, for instance.
VCA / Envelopes
The Odyssey possesses two envelope generators which can be freely assigned to the VCF or the VCA: one ADSR and one AR (attack, release). The envelopes feature REPEAT functions which are useful for playing sequences. The slider VCA GAIN opens the VCA (volume) independently of the envelopes. The resulting constant sound surely puzzles beginners… !
Connections
The back side of the instrument has a lot to offer – there’s everything there you would expect of an analogue synth: CV IN & OUT, GATE IN & OUT, TRIG IN & OUT, EXT SIGNAL IN, PEDAL, PORTAMENTO FOOT SWITCH, OUTPUT HIGH & LOW.
With the signal input, external sounds can be routed through filter, LFO, etc. And through the PEDAL input, the filter cut-off frequency can be manipulated from external sources. Given a
MIDI
to CV interface, the ARP Odyssey can easily be integrated into a
MIDI
system.
Resumee
The ARP Odyssey is an absolute classic among synthesizers – it possesses an excellent basic sound and is very flexible acoustically. It is fun to work with it. Above all, in conjunction with
MIDI
it can be of real use. With the exception of polyphonic pads, it is capable of everything: punchy basses, beautiful leads, complex FX-sounds, percussive things…Modulations can grow so complex that you lose perspective, tracing a sound back to its source of origin only with difficulty… The ARP Odyssey plays in the top „sound“ league which is why people like Herbie Hancock, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, Abba, and the Carpenters play it. But although the Odyssey is a fascinating instrument, it has its negative points…
For for everyday use (meaning jam-sessions) octave-switches are sadly missed. If you want to set OSC 1 one octave higher you have to move the COARSE slider and then the FINE slider to fine-tune the oscillator. Unfortunately there is no reference frequency (440 Hz) as on the Minimoog. Should the Odyssey be out of tune, you have to re-tune the oscillators (including all values for COARSE and FINE for OSC 1 and OSC 2), as there is no master tuning knob. In comparison, the handling of a Minimoog is luxurious…
And then there are the sliders… they aren´t made of solid metal as with Korg, Roland etc., but of plastic. Which means careful handling, since spare parts are not readily available. To make the sliders move smoother, treat them solely with the lubricating grease meant for bath fittings (available in every hardware store), as other remedies could harm the plastic. (This is the hint of an experienced, well known synth-pro.)
Taking all into consideration, though, the ARP Odyssey is an excellent analogue synthesizer, and a piece of synthesizer history to beat ...
Review, pictures MKII, sounds: Christian Hatvani
Layout, pictures MKI & III: Theo Bloderer
Translation: Dénes Laczkó
Proof reading: Joan Marie Bloderer and Roald Lingbeek
