MATRIXSYNTH: 72 ARP Odyssey Whiteface Vintage Analog Synth


Monday, September 15, 2014

72 ARP Odyssey Whiteface Vintage Analog Synth

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"If you're here, you know the Odyssey is like a mini-ARP 2600, but with added VCO sync capabilities, dual-voicing, and dedicated LFO. Kraftwerk used this exact model of Odyssey on all their early tracks, and can be heard especially on Autobahn. YouTube videos of this synth abound. It was also used by bands like Alphaville, YMO, Ultravox, ABBA, Jean Michelle-Jarre, John Foxx (Metamatic), Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schultze, Devo, and many more. It is one of the top 10 classic analog synths ever made, and rarely found in this condition. In my opinion, the whiteface ARP blows away the Minimoog. You can duplicate the Minimoog sound with an Odyssey, but can't duplicate an Odyssey with a Minimoog. This is a must-have synth for any vintage synth aficionado...

PHYSICAL CONDITION:

The synth is near mint. Face of synth is a matte cream, as when new. Most old Odysseys show wear marks to the black print or have a shiny white surface from fingers rubbing against the paint. This one looks nearly brand new. Sliders move easily and smoothly and are not glitchy. The octave switch works perfectly and is not yellowed like on most old Odysseys. All knobs and switches function as they ought to. Power switch light actually works, a rarity on this synth. The synth is perfectly in tune (but adjustments can move during shipping so tuning is not guaranteed) and works great from external CV/GATE. Keys trigger perfectly. All keys had bushings replaced, keybed aligned, keys polished and leveled, springs and bus bar cleaned. It now plays like butter and triggers perfectly on every key.

FULLY REFURBISHED AND CALIBRATED:

No expense has been spared to bring this synth to fully-functioning, near mint, fully-calibrated, original condition:

1) Every key bushing was replaced and lubricated. The keys now play like butter.
2) Every key spring was cleaned and for perfect key triggering. Busbars were cleaned.
3) Every key was disassembled and hand-polished to a mirror-like finish
4) The keybed was painstakingly levelled so that every key lines up vertically with the next, with equal spacing between keys. The keyboard maintenance alone took over 6 hours to accomplish.
5) Original slider caps were sourced and are very clean. The synth also includes the rare original pink caps.
6) All sliders were hand-cleaned (not using any spray) and now slide perfectly without much effort. Do a search for "kraftwerk world of tomorrow" on YouTube to see Kraftwerk using a whitefaced Odyssey on Autobahn. You will notice the sliders move easily with one finger in the video. That's how the sliders should work on an ARP Odyssey.
7) A new old stock tuning knob was sourced and is in mint, shiny condition
8) Synth was gone over with a fine-toothed comb by my synth tech and calibrated. All features are working perfectly and the synth is in tune, including the dual-voice feature.
9) To make the synth even easier to control, a Kenton CV/GATE kit was added with 4 jacks (top-bottom, CV, GATE, TRIG, FILTER). The kit works perfectly and the synth can be controlled from most CV/GATE converters.

MINOR ISSUES:

1) Two rubber feet are missing from the bottom. These can be sourced online. I probably have a couple similar type rubber feet in my junk drawer that are non-original ARP feet that I could include if the new owner wants them.
2) A couple light scratches along the back of the synth
3) A couple small nicks on the face of the synth
4) Small mark on black plastic along top right edge of synth"



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