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ARP Instruments, Inc. was an early electronic music company founded by Alan Robert Pearlman, best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s. ARP closed its doors in 1981 for financial reasons.
History
Alan Pearlman was an engineering student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1948 when he foresaw the coming age of electronic music and synthesizers. He wrote:
- "The electronic instrument's value is chiefly as a novelty. With greater attention on the part of the engineer to the needs of the musician, the day may not be too remote when the electronic instrument may take its place ... as a versatile, powerful, and expressive instrument."
Throughout the 1970s, ARP was the main competitor to Moog Music in the field of musically useful synthesizers. There were two main camps - the Minimoog players and the ARP Odyssey / ARP 2600 players - with most proponents dedicated to their choice, although some players chose to pick and chose between the two for specific effect, as well as many who dabbled with products produced by other manufacturers (in a similar manner to the ongoing PC versus Mac debate).
Although many musicians preferred the luscious sound and easy patching of the Minimoog, ARP synthesizers were far more flexible in terms of patching and capable of many more extremes of sound than the Minimoog.
Famous clients
Some notable ARP users and endorsers include:
- Rick Wright of Pink Floyd
- Bernhard Lloyd of Alphaville
- Pete Townshend of The Who
- Stevie Wonder
- Herbie Hancock
- David Bowie
- George Duke
- Chick Corea
- Dave Formula of the band Magazine
- Steve Hillage
- Tony Banks of Genesis
- Edgar Winter (on the rock classic Frankenstein)
- Billy Currie of Ultravox
- Jean Michel Jarre,
- Joe Zawinul of Weather Report (who used two ARP 2600s - one for each hand)
- Danny Wolfers
- 4hero
- Hunter McCurry
- Jean-Luc Ponty
Product highlights
- 1970 - ARP 2500 (large and complex analog modular synthesizer, patched with a switch matrix, noted for its reliable tuning compared to competitors Moog and Buchla)
- 1971 - ARP 2600 (smaller, more portable analog semi-modular synthesizer, pre-patched and patchable with cables)
- 1972 - ARP Odyssey (pre-patched analog duophonic synthesizer, a truly portable performance instrument, a competitor of the Minimoog)
- 1972 - ARP Pro Soloist (small, portable, monophonic preset, aftertouch sensitive synthesizer)
- 1974 - ARP String Ensemble (polyphonic string voice keyboard manufactured by Solina)
- 1975 - ARP String Synthesizer (manufactured by Solina)
- 1975 - ARP Little Brother (keyboardless monophonic expander module)
- 1975 - ARP Omni (low-cost pre-patched analog synthesizer)
- 1975 - ARP Axxe (pre-patched single oscilator analog synthesizer)
- 1977 - ARP Omni 2 (low-cost pre-patched analog synthesizer)
- 1977 - ARP Avatar (an Odyssey module fitted with a guitar pitch controller)
- 1978 - ARP Quadra (4 microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizers in one)
- 1979 - ARP Sequencer (analog music sequencer)
- 1979 - ARP Quartet (polyphonic orchestral synthesiser not manufacted by ARP - just bought in from Siel and rebadged )
- 1980 - ARP Solus (pre-patched analog monophonic synthesizer)
- 1981 - ARP Chroma (microprocessor controlled analog polyphonic synthesizer - sold to CBS/Rhodes when ARP closed)
External links
- The Rise and Fall of ARP Instruments (article from April 1983, Keyboard Magazine)
- http://www.roth-handle.nu/instruments/solina_string.html Films and pictures of the Arp Solina
- ARP Instruments at Synthmuseum.com
- Retrosound - Solina String Ensemble pics and info
- Solina VSTi plugin
"ARP Instruments, Inc."