Video
Story
ARP's 2600 is without a doubt one of the finest analog synthesizers ever produced. For decades, it has been used in all forms of music and in the hands of many famous artists. This unique semi-modular monophonic synthesizer was designed for professionals but was also user-friendly enough to be used as a teaching instrument. The 2600, in fact ARP as a whole, competed directly against the synthesizer systems coming from Moog throughout the 1970s. 2600 was ARP's answer to the modular system, creating a more compact, more stable and more intuitive synthesizer.
While most modular systems of the time were custom ordered and built to the buyer's specification, that flexibility often came at a high cost, both on the wallet and the brain. Instead of picking and choosing from a catalog of individual modules that you (or the manufacturer) then had to mount inside a case and wire together, the 2600 is a semi-modular system with a fixed selection of basic synth modules internally pre-wired and ready to go! Most of these connections can be "re-wired" with patch-cords at clearly labeled patch-points. This made the 2600 more user-friendly, portable and easier to create sounds with!
The 2600 is an analog beast capable of producing some amazing sounds. Its basic architecture consists of a totally analog signal path with three oscillators, one 24 dB/oct filter, one ADSR envelope, one VCA and one mixer section. Additional features include an envelope follower, ring modulator, noise generator, LFO with sample and hold, built-in spring reverb and a pre-amplifier with stereo speakers. Truly a model of analog subtractive synthesis, the 2600 has plenty of switches and sliders to satisfy all your creative sonic needs. If you have a keen understanding of how the different synth modules operate, with some creative patching and routing you can construct some truly expressive and musical analog sounds. Or you can forego patching the signal and rely entirely on the 2600's standard internal pre-wiring which routes the signal through a traditional synthesizer signal path.
Produced from 1971 to 1980, the 2600 has undergone several revisions comprising four model generations. They are all a little bit different, some with changes due to reliability issues, some due to legal issues, and some for cosmetic reasons. It's accepted that while the 2600s became more reliable and serviceable as their production progressed, they also got worse in the sound quality department, especially among models made after 1972. They're still great, but relative to the early models, they just got less great sounding. Naturally, the best-sounding models are the oldest and rarest.
Specifications
Polyphony: Monophonic
Oscillators: 3 VCOs: VCO 1 saw / sqr; VCO 2 saw / sqr / tri / pulse / sine; VCO 3 saw / sqr / pulse (Model 4011 VCO on early 2600s, replaced by Model 4017 VCO, replaced by Model 4027 & 4027-1); White Noise Gen: Continually variable from LF to pink to white (Model 4016 Noise Gen replaced by Model 4022).
LFO: Patchable with tons of modulation sources and shapes; Model 4015 Sample and Hold.
Filter: 24db lowpass, self-oscillating; Digital Ring Modulator: AC or DC coupled. Model 4012 VCF (1970-76). Model 4072 VCF (1976-81).
VCA: Env 1: ADSR
Env 2: AR; Linear or Exponential control; Envelope Follower Model 4010 VCA on early 2600s, replaced by Model 4019 VCA.
Effects: Spring Reverb
Keyboard: Remote Keyboard with 49 keys (Models: 3601, 3604, 3620)
Arpeg/Seq: YES via ARP Model 1601 Sequencer
Control: CV/GATE
Manual
Download Manual
