The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972.
60-532: ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "performance" synthesizers. ARP produced several versions of the Odyssey from 1972 to 1980. In early 2015, Korg reissued the Odyssey in cooperation with the original designer and ARP co-founder, David Friend. The Odyssey is a two-oscillator analog synthesizer, and one of
120-445: A wah-wah pedal . He later developed the distinctive "ladder" filter, which was the only item in the synthesizer design that Moog patented , granted on October 28, 1969. Further developments were driven by suggestions from musicians including Richard Teitelbaum , Vladimir Ussachevsky and Wendy Carlos . Carlos suggested the first touch-sensitive keyboard, portamento control and filter bank , which became standard features. There
180-421: A 2-pole voltage-controlled filter , which were similar to Oberheim SEM modules. Some late models used a black and orange color scheme and include CV/gate jacks like the later Mk II's. These earlier units contained a greater number of internal adjustments and were slightly more difficult to calibrate. Odyssey Mk II's were produced between 1975 and 1978. They are largely similar to Mk I's; the main differences are
240-416: A commercially made Moog synthesizer. Moog constructed synthesizers to order. The first order for a complete Moog synthesizer, for which Moog had to design a keyboard and cabinet, came from the composer Eric Siday . With no books and no way to save or share settings, early users had to learn how to use the synthesizer themselves, by word of mouth, or from seminars held by Moog and Deutsch. Moog refined
300-591: A kit to add PPC to earlier Odyssey synthesizers. Production of the Odyssey Mk III ceased when ARP Instruments declared bankruptcy in 1981. In 2002, GForce Software released Oddity, a software synthesizer version of the ARP Odyssey, with additional features like a sub oscillator and increased modulation options offered by X-LFO and X-ADSR. On Nov 1, 2016 Korg announced the ARP ODYSSEi app for iOS. The ARP Odyssey
360-516: A period, the name Moog became so associated with electronic music that it was sometimes used as a generic term for any synthesizer. Moog liked this, but disapproved of the numerous "cruddy" novelty records released with his name attached, such as Music to Moog By , Moog España and Moog Power . An early use of the Moog synthesizer in rock music came with the 1967 song by the Doors " Strange Days ". In
420-656: A restriction negotiated by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). Robert Moog felt that the AFM had not realized that the synthesizer was an instrument to be learnt and mastered like any other, and instead imagined that "all the sounds that musicians could make somehow existed in the Moog — all you had to do was push a button that said ' Jascha Heifetz ' and out would come the most fantastic violin player". Although customers could choose any combination of modules, Moog sold several standard systems. In 1970, Moog Music released
480-413: A run for his money... A guitarist would say, 'Oh shoot, he's got a Minimoog,' so they're looking for eleven on their volume control - it's the only way they can compete." Wakeman said the instrument "absolutely changed the face of music". The Minimoog took a place in mainstream black music , most notably in the work of Stevie Wonder . Its use for basslines became particularly popular in funk , as in
540-516: A smaller, more reliable synthesizer, Moog engineer Bill Hemsath created a prototype by sawing a keyboard in half and wiring several components into a small cabinet. Moog president Robert Moog felt the prototype was fun, but did not initially see a market for it. Moog and the engineers created several more prototypes, adding features such as the suitcase design to aid portability. In early 1970, Moog Co began losing money as interest in its modular synthesizers fell. Fearing they would lose their jobs if
600-454: A spring-loaded pitch-bend wheel and updates to the previous unit's MIDI specs. According to TJ Pinch, author of Analog Days , the Minimoog was the first synthesizer to become a "classic". Wired described it as "the most famous synthesizer in music history ... a ubiquitous analog keyboard that can be heard in countless pop, rock, hip-hop, and techno tracks from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s". It
660-539: A theremin, tape recorder, and single-pitch oscillator, a time-consuming process that involved splicing tape . Recognizing the need for more practical and sophisticated equipment, Moog and Deutsch discussed the notion of a "portable electronic music studio". Moog received a grant of $ 16,000 from the New York State Small Business Association and began work in Trumansburg, New York , not far from
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#1732851691894720-765: A variety of ways via patch cords . The modules can also be used to control each other. They do not produce sound until a workable combination of modules are connected. The oscillators produce waveforms of different tones and overtones , such as a "bright, full, brassy" sawtooth wave , a thinner, flute-like triangle wave , a "nasal, reedy" pulse wave and a "whistle-like" sine wave . These waveforms can be modulated and filtered to produce more combinations of sounds ( subtractive synthesis ). The oscillators are difficult to keep in tune, and small temperature changes cause them to drift rapidly. As Moog's early customers were more interested in creating experimental music than playing conventional melodies, Moog did not consider keeping
780-468: Is to assemble a whole out of parts. Moog initially avoided the word, as it was associated with the RCA synthesizer, and instead described his invention as a "system" of "electronic music modules". After many debates, Moog eventually told the composer Reynold Weidenaar : "It's a synthesizer and that's what it does and we're just going to have to go with it." Moog used the word in print for the first time in 1966. By
840-553: The Apollo 11 moonwalk , creating a link between electronic music and space in the American popular imagination. In 1968, Wendy Carlos released Switched-On Bach , an album of Bach compositions arranged for Moog synthesizer. It won three Grammy Awards and was the first classical album certified platinum . The album is credited for popularising the Moog and demonstrating that synthesizers could be more than "random noise machines". For
900-537: The Beatles . At its height of popularity, it was a staple of 1970s progressive rock , used by acts including Yes , Tangerine Dream and Emerson, Lake & Palmer . With its ability to imitate instruments such as strings and horns, it threatened the jobs of session musicians and was banned from use in commercial work for a period of time in the United States. In 1970, Moog Music released a portable, self-contained model,
960-466: The Minimoog , a portable, self-contained model, and the modular systems became a secondary part of Moog's business. The Minimoog has been described as the most famous and influential synthesizer in history. After the sale of Moog Music, production of Moog synthesizers stopped in the early 1980s. The patents and other rights to Moog's modular circuits expired in the 1990s. In 2002, after Robert Moog regained
1020-512: The Minimoog . In the early 1960s, electronic music technology was impractical and used mainly by experimental composers to create music with little mainstream appeal. In 1963, the American engineer Robert Moog , a doctoral student at Cornell University who designed and sold theremins , met the composer Herb Deutsch at a New York State School Music Association trade fair in Rochester, New York . Deutsch had been making electronic music using
1080-629: The Minimoog Voyager , an updated version of the Minimoog that sold more than 14,000 units, more than the original Minimoog. Although the Welsh incarnation of Moog Music went into administration shortly afterwards, Winter retained the rights to the Moog name in the UK, with the result that the Minimoog Voyager was launched there as the Voyager by Bob Moog . In 2016, Moog Music began manufacturing an updated version of
1140-508: The Parliament track " Flash Light ". It was also popular in jazz , and Sun Ra became perhaps the first musician to perform and record with the instrument (on his 1970 album My Brother the Wind ). Herbie Hancock , Dick Hyman and Chick Corea were other early adopters. The Minimoog became a staple of progressive rock . In the early 1970s, Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer added
1200-479: The voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), which generated a waveform whose pitch could be adjusted by changing the voltage. Moog designed his synthesizer around a standard of one volt per octave . Similarly, he used voltage to control loudness with voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCAs). Moog developed a prototype with two VCOs and a VCA. As the VCOs themselves could output voltage, one could be used to modulate
1260-407: The "Moog sound". The synthesizer can be played using controllers including keyboards , joysticks, pedals and ribbon controllers. The ribbon controller allows users to control pitch similarly to moving a finger along a violin string. New Scientist described the Moog as the first commercial synthesizer. It was much smaller than previous synthesizers, and much cheaper, at US$ 10,000 compared to
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#17328516918941320-511: The "dotcom" or "5U" format, are still available but have been superseded as the dominant synthesizer format by Eurorack . Since 2020, Behringer has manufactured clones of Moog modules in the Eurorack format, also sold in configurations based on the original Moog systems. The Moog synthesizer has been emulated in software synthesizers such as the Arturia Modular V. In 2016, Moog released
1380-762: The 1970s, "synthesizer" had become the standard term for such instruments. Most of the Moog modules were finalized by the end of the 1960s, and remained mostly unchanged until Moog Music ceased trading in the 1980s. Moog had pursued the development of his synthesizer as a hobby; he stressed that he was not a businessman, and had not known what a balance sheet was. He likened the experience to riding theme park amusements: "You know you're not going to get hurt too badly because nobody would let you do that, but you're not quite in control." The Moog synthesizer consists of separate modules – such as oscillators , amplifiers , envelope generators , filters , noise generators , triggers and mixers – which can be connected in
1440-479: The 1970s, at the height of its popularity, the Moog was used by progressive rock bands such as Yes , Tangerine Dream and Emerson, Lake & Palmer . Keith Emerson was the first major rock musician to perform live with the Moog, and it became a trademark of his performances. According to Analog Days , the likes of Emerson "did for the keyboard what Jimi Hendrix did for the guitar". Almost every element of Donna Summer 's 1977 influential song " I Feel Love "
1500-567: The 1980s, the rights to use the Moog Music name in the United Kingdom were purchased by Alex Winter of Caerphilly, Wales, who commenced limited production of an updated Minimoog in 1998 as the Moog Minimoog 204E . The 204E added pulse width modulation and MIDI to the Model D specification. In 2002, Robert Moog reacquired the rights to the Moog name and bought the company. In 2002, Moog Co released
1560-908: The American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music), produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer and established the analog synthesizer concept. The first Moog synthesizers consisted of separate modules which create and shape sounds, which are connected via patch cords . Modules include voltage-controlled oscillators , amplifiers , filters , envelope generators , noise generators , ring modulators , triggers and mixers. The synthesizer can be played using controllers including keyboards , joysticks, pedals and ribbon controllers , or controlled with sequencers . Its oscillators produce waveforms , which can be modulated and filtered to shape their sounds ( subtractive synthesis ) or used to control other modules ( low-frequency oscillation ). Robert Moog developed
1620-724: The Cornell campus. At the time, synthesizer-like instruments filled rooms. Moog hoped to build a more compact instrument that would appeal to musicians. Learning from his experience building a prohibitively expensive guitar amplifier , he believed that practicality and affordability were the most important parameters. Previous synthesizers, such as the RCA Mark II , had created sound from hundreds of vacuum tubes . Instead, Moog used recently available silicon transistors — specifically, transistors with an exponential relationship between input voltage and output current . With these, he created
1680-566: The Mark III color scheme as the standard model. All three versions included the three filter circuits from the original Odyssey models, with the ability to switch between them. All models also featured the ability to switch between two portamento behaviors from the original models. Korg later released an ARP Odyssey Module, consisting of the synthesizer and controls without the keyboard. Korg's ARP Odyssey Module features minor MIDI implementation improvements. A limited edition, full-size reproduction of
1740-864: The Minimoog stopped in the early 1980s after the sale of Moog Music. In 2002, founder Robert Moog regained the rights to the Moog brand, bought the company, and released an updated version of the Minimoog, the Minimoog Voyager . In 2016 and in 2022, Moog Music released another new version of the original Minimoog. In the 1960s, RA Moog Co manufactured Moog synthesizers , which helped bring electronic sounds to music but remained inaccessible to ordinary people. These modular synthesizers were difficult to use and required users to connect components manually with patch cables to create sounds. They were also sensitive to temperature and humidity, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Most were owned by universities or record labels, and used to create soundtracks or jingles ; by 1970, only 28 were owned by musicians. Hoping to create
1800-408: The Minimoog to his modular 'Monster Moog' as an occasional part of his performances. Wakeman used five Minimoogs on stage so he could play different sounds without having to reconfigure them. It was also used by electronic artists such as Kraftwerk , who used it on their albums Autobahn (1974) and The Man-Machine (1978) , and later by Tangerine Dream , Klaus Schulze , and Gary Numan . In
1860-489: The Model D, with an independent LFO and MIDI, and an aftertouch and velocity-sensitive keyboard. Production ended around August 2017, after a little under a year. In 2018, Moog Music released the Minimoog Model D app for iOS . In 2022, after being out of production for over five years, the Model D was reissued a third time. The basic architecture remained the same as the previous version, but also included new features like
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1920-497: The Moog synthesizer, with its dramatically new sounds, arrived at a time in American history when, in the wake of the Vietnam War , "nearly everything about the old order was up for revision". Session musicians felt synthesizers, with their ability to imitate instruments such as strings and horns, threatened their jobs. For a period, the Moog was banned from use in commercial work in the US,
1980-454: The Moogs oozed character. Their sound could be quirky, kitsch and cute, or pulverising, but it was always identifiable as Moog." The Minimoog changed the dynamics of rock bands. For the first time, keyboardists could play solos in the style of lead guitarists, or play synthesized basslines . Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman said: "For the first time you could go on [stage] and give the guitarist
2040-467: The company closed, the engineers developed a version of Hemsath's miniature synthesizer, the Minimoog Model D , while Moog was away. Moog chastised them, but came to see the potential in the Model D and authorized its production. As the engineers could not properly stabilize the power supply , the Minimoog's three oscillators were never completely synchronized. Although unintentional, this created
2100-627: The electronic music studio at the University of Toronto . After the presentation impressed the composers, Moog was invited by the Audio Engineering Society to present at their annual convention in New York City that October. Though he had not planned to sell synthesizers there, some customers placed orders at the show, and the choreographer Alwin Nikolais became the first person to purchase
2160-457: The first album on the West Coast to use the Moog synthesizer, The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds (1967). Moog attended a recording session for the album, which helped convince him of the synthesizer's commercial potential. Garson also used the Moog to write jingles and soundtracks, which helped make its sounds ubiquitous. In 1969, Garson used the Moog to compose a soundtrack for the televised footage of
2220-431: The first with duophonic capabilities (the ability to play two notes at the same time). All parameters, including a resonant low-pass filter , a non-resonant high-pass filter , ADSR and AR envelopes, a sine and square wave LFO, and a sample-and-hold function are controllable with sliders and switches on the front panel. ARP Odysseys produced between 1972 and 1975, referred to as Mk I, were white-faced Odysseys that used
2280-406: The late 1970s and the early 1980s, it was widely used in the emerging disco genre by artists including ABBA and Giorgio Moroder . In 2012, to celebrate Bob Moog's birthday, Google created an interactive Minimoog softsynth web application as its Google Doodle . Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( / ˈ m oʊ ɡ / MOHG ) is a modular synthesizer invented by
2340-460: The notion of voltage control and Moog's circuit designs were not original, Moog's innovations were in drawing the elements together, realizing that the problem of exponential conversion could be solved using transistor circuitry and building such circuits and making them work in a way that was of interest to musicians." Moog features such as voltage-controlled oscillator , envelopes , noise generators , filters and sequencers became standards in
2400-526: The original ARP Odyssey was released by Korg in all three classic color schemes as the ARP Odyssey FS. In August 2019, Behringer released its own version of the Odyssey. Utilizing the orange-on-black color scheme of ARP's Odyssey Mark III, the Behringer Odyssey features a full-size 37-key keyboard and all three versions of the filter from the original ARP Odyssey models. Additional features not found on
2460-488: The original include MIDI, digital effects, a 32-step sequencer, and arpeggiator. Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer , it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popular with progressive rock and jazz musicians and found wide use in disco , pop , rock and electronic music . Production of
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2520-428: The oscillators stable a priority. The Moog's 24db low-pass filter is particularly distinctive, with a "rich", "juicy", "fat" sound. The filter, based on pairs of transistors connected by capacitors arranged in a ladder-like layout, attenuates frequencies above a level set by the user, and boosts the frequencies around the cut-off frequency. When overdriven, the filter produces a distinctive distortion described as
2580-412: The output of another , creating effects such as vibrato and tremolo . According to Moog, when Deutsch saw this, he became excited and immediately began making music with the prototype, attracting the interest of passersby: "They would stand there, they'd listen and they'd shake their heads ... What is this weird shit coming out of the basement?" In 1964, Moog and Deutsch demonstrated the synthesizer at
2640-417: The pitch wheel. Moog Co released the first Minimoog in 1970. Moog said it was conceived as a portable tool for session musicians, and the team expected to sell "maybe 100 of them". Moog became acquainted with former evangelist and musician David Van Koevering, who was so impressed with the Minimoog that he began demonstrating it to musicians and music stores. Van Koevering's friend Glen Bell , founder of
2700-524: The restaurant chain Taco Bell , allowed him to use a building on a private island Bell owned in Florida. There, Van Koevering hosted an event he billed as Island of Electronicus, a "pseudo-psychedelic experience that brought counterculture (minus the drugs) to straight families and connected it with the sound of the Minimoog". The Minimoog was in continuous production for 13 years and over 12,000 were made. It
2760-661: The rights to the Moog brand and bought the company, Moog released the Minimoog Voyager , an updated version. Moog released several Minimoog reissues, with some changes, starting from 2016. In 2018, Moog released the Grandmother , followed by the Matriarch in 2019; parts of the circuitry used in these instruments were inspired by the Moog synthesizer. After production of the original Moog synthesizers stopped in 1980, some manufacturers, such as Synthesizers.com , created their own modules and clones of Moog modules. Moog modules, known as
2820-627: The same year, the Monkees used a Moog on their album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. In 1969, George Harrison released an album of Moog recordings, Electronic Sound , and the Beatles used the Moog on several tracks on their album Abbey Road . Other rock bands who adopted the Moog include the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones . It was also adopted by jazz musicians including Herbie Hancock , Jan Hammer and Sun Ra . In
2880-542: The six-figure sums of other synthesizers. Whereas the RCA Mark II was programmed with punchcards , Moog's synthesizer could be played in real time via keyboard, making it attractive to musicians. According to the Guardian , Moog's 1964 paper Voltage-Controlled Music Modules , in which he proposed the Moog synthesizer modules, invented the modern concept of the analog synthesizer . The authors of Analog Days wrote: "Though
2940-449: The synthesizer in response to demand for more practical and affordable electronic music equipment, guided by suggestions and requests from composers including Herb Deutsch , Richard Teitelbaum , Vladimir Ussachevsky and Wendy Carlos . Moog's principal innovation was voltage-control, which uses voltage to control pitch . He also introduced fundamental synthesizer concepts such as modularity and envelope generators. The Moog synthesizer
3000-412: The synthesizer in response to requests from musicians and composers. For example, after Deutsch suggested Moog find a way to fade notes in and out, Moog invented an envelope module, using a doorbell button as a prototype. At the suggestion of the composer Gustav Ciamaga , Moog developed a filter module, a means of removing frequencies from waveforms. His first filter design created a sound similar to
3060-503: The synthesizer market. The ladder filter has been replicated in hardware synthesizers, digital signal processors , field-programmable gate arrays and software synthesizers. Most Moog synthesizers were owned by universities or record labels, and used to create soundtracks or jingles . By 1970, only 28 were owned by musicians. The Moog was first used by experimental composers including Richard Teitelbaum , Dick Hyman , and Perrey and Kingsley . The composer Mort Garson recorded
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#17328516918943120-486: The synthesizer's "warm, rich" sound. Its voltage-controlled filter was unique, allowing users to shape sounds to create "everything from blistering, funky bass blurps ... to spacey whistle lead tones". The Minimoog also was the first synthesizer to feature a pitch wheel , which allows players to bend notes as a guitarist or saxophonist does, allowing for more expressive playing. Moog's associate David Borden felt that Moog would have become extremely wealthy had he patented
3180-425: The use of the black and gold color scheme and the inclusion of CV/gate in all models. These models also use a four-pole VCF, which were similar in design to Moog's four-pole filter. Subsequent models, however, use a different four-pole low-pass filter designed by ARP, the 4075 filter. A later filter with a similar design, the 4072, was used in the 2600, Omni , Axxe , Solus , and other ARP instruments. Odyssey Mk III
3240-417: Was also important for its portability. David Borden , an associate of Moog, said that the Minimoog "took the synthesizer out of the studio and put it into the concert hall". According to the Guardian , "Tweaked now so that the synthesizer could reliably perform as either a melodic lead or propulsive bass instrument (rather than just as a complex sound-generating machine), the Minimoog changed everything ...
3300-464: Was brought to the mainstream by Switched-On Bach (1968), a bestselling album of Bach compositions arranged for Moog synthesizer by Wendy Carlos. Mort Garson used the Moog to soundtrack the televised Apollo 11 moonwalk, associating synthesizers with space in the popular imagination. In the late 1960s, it was adopted by rock and pop acts including the Doors , the Grateful Dead , the Rolling Stones and
3360-504: Was created with a Moog synthesizer, with the producers aiming to create a futuristic mood. Robert Moog was critical, saying the sequenced bassline had a "certain sterility" and that Summer sounded like she was "fighting the sequencer". In later decades, hip hop groups such as the Beastie Boys and rock bands including They Might Be Giants and Wilco "revived an interest in the early Moog synthesizer timbres". The Guardian wrote that
3420-434: Was debate as to the role of the keyboard in synthesizers. Some, such as the composer Vladimir Ussachevsky and Moog's competitor Don Buchla , felt they were restrictive. However, Moog recognized that most customers wanted keyboards and found they made the instrument more approachable. Including keyboards in photographs helped users understand that the synthesizer was for making music. The classical meaning of "to synthesize"
3480-578: Was introduced in 1978, with a redesigned chassis and orange-on-black color scheme consistent with other contemporary ARP instruments. The Mk III featured ARP's new four-pole "4075" filter, and have an unbalanced XLR output in addition to unbalanced 1/4" outputs. The rotary knob-controlled pitch bend featured on the Mk I and Mk II models was replaced by proportional pitch control (PPC), which utilized 3 pressure-sensitive buttons to control bend up, bend down, and vibrato. ARP included PPC on other instruments, and also offered
3540-492: Was reissued by Korg in 2015. 86% of the size of the ARP's original Odyssey with a "slim keys" keyboard, the analog signal path of Korg's reissue is similar to the original, with several updates like MIDI input and USB MIDI connectivity, a separate headphone output and balanced XLR output, and a "drive" switch to add distortion to the voltage-controlled amplifier . Korg released Mark I and Mark II color schemes as limited editions, with
3600-412: Was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. Despite the success, Moog Co could not afford to meet demand, nor had credit for a loan, and Moog sold the company to Bill Waytena, a venture capitalist, in 1971. Van Koevering was hired as head of sales and marketing, expanding the sales of the Minimoog worldwide. Production of the Minimoog stopped in 1981 and Moog Co ceased all production in 1993. In
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