Close Encounters Of The Third Kind "The Conversation" performed on the Baloran The River synthesizer

Published on Apr 6, 2019 Sean Christopher Evoking Emotion with Synthesizers

"If you haven't seen this movie in a while I urge you to do so, as it is a FANTASTIC movie! I recreated the iconic synth/UFO conversation scene from Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind using only the sounds from the incredible Baloran The River synthesizer.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story of Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with an unidentified flying object (UFO).

The score for the film was composed, conducted and produced by John Williams, who had previously worked on Spielberg's Jaws. Williams wrote over 300 examples of the iconic five-tone motif for Close Encounters—the five tones are used by scientists to communicate with the visiting spaceship as a mathematical language—before Spielberg chose the one incorporated into the film's signature theme."

ARP and Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Nice video of Philip Dodds (head of engineering for ARP) and the ARP 2500 in the film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Click here then here for a couple of interviews with Dodds on the Rhodes Chroma site that mentions how he ended up in the actual film and a "close encounter" with George Lucas who came to check out the set after completing the post production of Star Wars. Amazing bit of synth history. If you haven't actually seen Close Encounters of the Third kind, rent it. It's a great sci-fi film of the era.

Close Encounters of The Third Kind Landing

YouTube Uploaded by acebunny17 on Oct 13, 2008

Phil Dodds of ARP & a three wing ARP 2500 comes in at 2:11. Rumor is

"Scene from the movie Close encounters of the third kind(1977)"

Also see:
Close Encounters ARP 2500 for Sale - note the 3 wings.
Close Encounters of The Third Kind ARP 2500 at Cantos

And a JMJ version via Fernando Tecladista on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge:

Jean Michel Jarre - E.Téo & E.Téa

Uploaded by Baretta73 on Feb 19, 2012

"A total mystery surrounded this experiment... TILL NOW!!!

Um mistério completo cercou este experimento... ATÉ AGORA!!!"

The Original ARP 2500 Build Invoice for Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Check that out.

See KORG microKAST Ep#21 A KORG Odyssey for additional details.

Note the invoice includes instructions on how it is to be built and there is no price. I'm guessing this was the internal build invoice for construction of the ARP 2500 and not the billing invoice to Columbia Pictures.

Amazing bit of synth history.

Apparently the system resides at Cantos. See this post for a video of the scenes that featured the ARP 2500.

You can find posts mentioning Close Encounters of the Third Kind here. Kind of a "one degree of separation" run of posts in the archives. :)

Update: See this post for an interview on the 2500 w/ Alan R Pearlman.

KORG microKAST Ep#21 A KORG Odyssey

Published on Mar 13, 2018 KORG microKAST

Educational giant sized KORG MS20 in the background.

"We're back with all the regular features including KORG News, Gear Goggles, Downloads & a special Kronology Edition featuring the history of ARP & the Odyssey!! #brew

0:00 Intro
1:50 KORG News
12:34 #brew with ARP Odyssey Module Ad
13:28 KORG Kronology featuring the ARP Odyssey
32:21 #brew with ARP artist video
33:21 1972 facts
41:05 Gear Goggles
46:54 #brew with ARP FS video
48:05 Downloads with Ian
1:01:24 Close with ARP Odyssey Make Worlds video"

Update:

ARP 2500 invoice for Close Encounters of the Third Kind mentioned after 15:00 above. Apparently the system resides at Cantos. See this post for a video of the scenes that featured the ARP 2500.

You can find posts mentioning Close Encounters of the Third Kind here. Kind of a "one degree of separation" run of posts in the archives. :)

Close Encounters of The Third Kind ARP 2500 at Cantos

via Wikimedia Commons via .guilty on flickr

"This is the ARP 2500 found in the last moments of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It is an actual synth however the movie had it housed in a white case at the time.

Got a demo of it; guess what was the patch stored XD

More photos to come...
Visited the Cantos tonight and got a lovely tour of the facilities. Took a lot of pictures & videos. The tour was conducted by Brandon Smith."


This photo was taken on February 12, 2009. This one in via DJ Ivan

The Synths of Sci-Fi

The Synths of Sci-Fi: Episode 01: “R2D2”, ARP 2600 Synthesizer & Ben Burtt

Koboto Music

"In this episode, we discuss; the origins of sound design for film, some of the career highlights of Ben Burtt, The ARP 2600 and how it was used to create the 'Voice' of R2D2. I also use the modular synths that I have in the studio to re-create the sounds of R2D2. Thanks for watching!"

Synths of Sci-Fi Episode 02: Arp 2500 Synthesizer, Jerry Goldsmith, Logan’s Run & Close Encounters


"In this episode of The Synths of Sci-Fi, We look at the life of Jerry Goldsmith, the history of the Arp 2500 Modular Synthesizer and how it was used to create the epic sounds in Logan’s Run and Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

And a clip from the film:

Logans Run - Run Runner!!

unitron

I remember it freaking me out as a kid. Genuine horror. Hope you can handle it. :)

Mint ARP 2500 Synthesizer for Sale and Videos

via Steve: "This is a once in a lifetime chance to own an Arp 2500 without breaking the bank to do it. The eBay listing tells the whole story- this Arp 2500 was purchased during ARP's bankruptcy auction, on site at ARP, by my friend Larry O. The modules were, and remained, in plastic wrap with tags right off the QA line. He recently assembled them into a 'mini' Arp 2500 system built into a cabinet from the QA dept of ARP.

It was fully serviced by Phil at CMS just now and is on eBay.

You will probably never, ever, see such a pristine and AFFORDABLE Arp 2500 for sale... Get it before its gone!"

via this auction:
"The Who’s Pete Townshend and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page were only two of the devotees of this legendary instrument. Hell, it was the ARP 2500 that was used to call to the aliens in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”!

The History
This extremely rare and primo system is the last of more than 100 modules and eight cabinets I personally purchased from the auction at the ARP factory when the company went out of business back in 1981. These modules were still wrapped in plastic with QA tags attached when I got them. (See recent photo of QA tags below.) They have seen very little use over the last 30 years (the QA tags are stamped with 1975 dates).

The cabinet resided in ARP’s Engineering Department, where it was used for prototyping new modules. The original serial number tag identifies it as being the 45th cabinet made in 1970 (70-045). Five of the modules and the cabinet sport ARP’s earliest logo (the “squishy lines”), while the rest have the “treble clef” logo.

Vintage? Oh yeah.
Needless to say, I cherry-picked a beautiful configuration to keep as my final remnant: four VCOs, two VCFs, two VCAs, four envelope generators, sample/hold, noise generators.

For the full auction story and a listening tour of this instrument, copy and paste these links to see my YouTube videos [below]

The Modules
This is one sweeeeet system, the likes of which you are not likely to see again. It’s the real deal:
1004-T Oscillator (mixable waveform)
1023 Dual Oscillator
1045 Voltage-Controlled Voice (this thing is The S**t)
1036 Dual Sample & Hold/Random Voltage
1003 Dual EG
1006 Filtamp
1016 Dual Noise

Click “Buy It Now” and get an additional 1006 Filtamp, also just back from service by CMS!

The Icing on the Cake
Included are an original, print Owner’s Manual, a CD containing PDFs of all the circuits and parts (though you really should have Phil do any work on it), and a cabinet extension cable.

On request I can provide an Excel doc containing The Gory Details: serial numbers, CMS service specifics, patching details for the outer slots."

Sold For: US $12,000.00





ARP2500 KingoftheModulars

YouTube via theonlylarrytheo
"Larry the O gives a tour of his ARP2500, including how he purchased it at the ARP auction."

ARP2500 mod improv1


"Part 1 of 2 of Larry the O improvising on an ARP 2500 modulation patch. A sound design session from the boop-squawk school."

ARP2500 mod improv2


"Part 2 of 2 of Larry the O improvising on an ARP 2500 modulation patch. Are you experienced? Have you ever been experienced? Well, I have."

ARP2500 S&H improv


"Larry the O improvising on an ARP 2500 sample-and-hold patch. Boop-squawk sound design, old-school style."

Electric Moog Orchestra - Close Encounters of the Third Kind

flickr by jon_blak.

Hmm... I know Philip Dodds and the ARP 2500 were featured in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Philip Dodds the head engineer of ARP is the guy playing the 2500 in the scene where they communicate to the mothership. The story is he was flown out to show how to work the synth and was asked to be in the film. I never thought about what other synths might have been featured.

Nyle Steiner on IMDB and Philip Dodds of ARP

Peter Grenader of Plan B sent this one into AH. Title link takes you to Nyle Steiner's (of Steiner Parker fame) IMDB page. The following is the list of credits. Click here for previous posts on Steiner Parker.

Miscellaneous Crew:
* 1990s
1. Merry Christmas, George Bailey (1997) (TV) (musician: E.V.I.)
* 1980s
2. Mississippi Masala (1991) (musician: ewi)
* 1970s
3. No Way Out (1987) (musician) (as Nyle A. Steiner)
4. The Mosquito Coast (1986) (musician: synthesizers)
5. Enemy Mine (1985) (musician: electronic ensemble)
6. Apocalypse Now (1979) (musician: synthesizer)
... aka Apocalypse Now Redux (International: English title: longer version)

Self:
1. One Voice (1986) (TV) .... Synthesizer

For fun I checked on Philip Dodds of ARP. He has a page as well.

Filmography
Actor:
1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) .... Jean Claude
... aka CE3K (USA: informal short title)
... aka Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Special Edition (USA: reissue title)

Additional Details
Genres:
Adventure / Drama / Sci-Fi
STARmeter: ?
^ 4% since last week why?

The First Ever all ARP 2500 Album Opens for Preorder Today on BandCamp

via the Alan R Pearlman Foundation

It's BandCamp Friday, and we have a treat for you!

The first ever all ARP 2500 album opens for preorder today on BandCamp!

Check out the album Now!

The ARP 2500 by David Baron
Distrubuted by Here & Now Recordings

About the Album:

Although it went largely unnoticed at the time, the 2500 became one of the most famous synthesizers in history when it was featured prominently in the film Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, where it was used to communicate with an alien spaceship.

ARP instruments founder Alan Robert Pearlman was a Nasa scientist. Between 1970 and 1981 only 100 ARP 2500's were ever made, each a custom order, no standard configurations. ARP 2500 one of Jean-Michel Jarre's favourite instruments. All the sounds are completely unique. You pretty much need a degree in physics to operate one!

Pete Townsend "Mine plays six notes at once, can have 20 sets of preset control voltages available, six audio signals mixed and instantly usable at various levels. The most incredibly subtle tone colours can be produced using the multimode resonator in conjunction with a normal filter, and the sequencer will provide exhilarating cascades of arpeggios."

David Baron "The Arp 2500 was the only sound source. I sequenced one or two patches at a time and then built the compositions in layers. A lot of the audio FX were created through the use of pedals. The reverberation came from the Bricasti, EMT 240 Plate, Roland Space Echo 501, and a Vermona Spring Reverb. The Arp 2500 always ran through the Avedis Key Pre. I used very little dynamic compression/limiting. Time delay effects were mostly created ‘in the box’ but also with rack mount outboard including the AMS Tape Phase Simulator, an Eventide Instant Flanger, and a MXR Flanger/Doubler. The instrument stays in tune (for the most part). The filters can distort so some care has to be used when gain staging. The envelopes are very snappy. The sound is beautiful and creamy yet percussive and forward."

About David Baron
Record producer, film composer, musician, arranger, engineer located in the historic Woodstock, New York area. An avid collector of vintage analog synthesizers and recording gear. He owns a private recording studio called Sun Mountain Studios located on top of a mountain overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir.

Some artists he has worked with: Lumineers, Shania Twain, Jade Bird, Shawn Mendes, Vance Joy, Meghan Trainor, Lenny Kravitz, Jeremiah Fraites, Josin, Matt Maeson and Lana Del Rey.

He blends retro and modern, orchestrated and raw. The contrast that brings out the emotion of a scene or in a song.

David releases his own music on UK-based Here and Now Recordings.

Album Credits
Releases November 17, 2023

Written recorded and produced by David Baron

Album cover designed by Dina Pearlman-Ifil derived from an old ARP 2500 brochure originally designed by Margaret Shepherd in 1970 for Tonus, Inc / ARP Instruments.
Photograph courtesy of the Alan R Pearlman Foundation
alanrpearlmanfoundation.org

About the Alan R Pearlman Foundation
The ARP Archives & The Alan R. Pearlman Foundation is a small, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Our mission is to celebrate the legacy of inventor, musician, entrepreneur and engineer Alan R. Pearlman, by making his innovative inventions publicly accessible, and by inspiring future generations to imagine and create.

DONATE TODAY

Fifty Years of ARP: The 2500 in 2020 Online Event This Saturday, September 26

via The Alan R Pearlman Foundation:

ALAN R. PEARLMAN FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES “FIFTY YEARS OF ARP: THE 2500 in 2020” SYNTHPOSIUM EVENT

Celebrating five decades of the 2500 synthesizer with interviews, panels and more

STONE RIDGE, NY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020– The Alan R. Pearlman Foundation has announced “Fifty Years of ARP: The 2500 in 2020”, a virtual event to be held on September 26th at 12PM EST on Zoom via Eventbrite. The event will be free for all participants with a suggested donation. Registration and other information can be found here.

The event will focus on the ARP 2500, the groundbreaking synthesizer made famous in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It will feature panel discussions and interviews with original ARP engineers, software developers, artists, composers, producers, educators, and others. Participants will be able to interact live with panelists via Zoom.

"We are beyond thrilled for this deep dive into the iconic ARP 2500,” said Dina Pearlman, ARP Foundation founder and daughter of Alan R. Pearlman. "We’ve assembled an amazing collection of engineers who made the original 2500s, artists who have used them, and ARP historians and organizations that work to preserve them."

The Foundation continues its work with contributors, collaborators, vendors, manufacturers, venues, and owners of rare original ARP synthesizers. Among their goals is the creation of installations where students can utilize ARP synthesizers as part of their music curriculum, and to explore the endless possibilities of electronic music.

For more information about the Foundation, visit www.alanrpearlmanfoundation.com.

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Sounds of CE3K - ARP 2500 in Close Encounters of the Third Kind

THE SOUNDS OF CE3K from Tom Shone on Vimeo.

"The Sound Design of Close Encounters of the Third Kind"

Head of ARP Engineering Philip Dodd's on ARP 2500.

1976 ARP 2600 with Original Leather Cases & ARP's Old Number

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Dec 14, 2012 by MechHandlingSystems

via this auction

"Along with the owner's manual and Patch Book, it has a copy of a 2-page hand-written note detailing setup, trim, VCO and VCF calibration and keyboard calibration. The best part of this is the sloppy market notation at the bottom of page 2,

"IF YOU GET IN TROUBLE, CALL:
CLARK FERGUSON OR PHILIP DODDS
965-9700"

Clark Ferguson was ARP's service department manager, and Philip Dodds was VP of engineering. These notes are likely written in Philip Dodds' hand. He was an interesting guy that ended up having a featured role in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" after Spielberg saw him setting up a 2500 to do the big "dum dum dum DUM DAAAAA" thing.

MECHANICS

It is the 2601 V1.0, with the improved jacks that won't flake out and the better sliders. It is the most mechanically advanced ARP 2600 model that still contains the legendary 4012 ladder-type filter that was built too close to Moog's patents for their comfort (an actual lawsuit was never filed)

It comes with the duo phonic 3620 keyboard. Serial numbers match and are in the low 300s.

There is a broken slider at the bottom center of the main panel, although it works and can be adjusted by hand. I am looking for the replacement slider and knob I purchased and hope to include it in the auction. See pictures for detail.

A few of the sliders have scratch. See the video for an example of that.

ELECTRONICS

As just mentioned, it has the 4012 filter. Now, some of these are epoxied and gross. Some of them are copper clad but with sloppy brazing. But some … well, some glow like a beating heart pumping astounding signals through its soldered veins and arteries. This one is like that.

It also has the UN-encapsulated 4027-1 VCOs, which are necessary if you plan to do certain mods.

It also has a mod for a Mediamix Joystick, which I just learned thanks to Phil at CMS and have never looked for one. I have a picture of one for the winner. Owning a Synthi AK I can tell you joysticks are pretty nice to have on your synthesizer!

The capacitors on the power supply are 35 years old and should be replaced soon, according to a bunch of people that seem to feel very strongly about it. CMS sells a power supply you can install yourself, if you're into that kind of thing, for $169."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Synths in TV and Film

Note: some of the videos below have been pulled from YouTube, but I'm keeping mention of them up as a reference that they are out there.

Let the page load before scrolling - it's a long one.
Be sure to see the Synth Movies list and see the Synth Movies and Synth TV and Film labels for more.

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Synths: ARP 2500 played by Phillip Dodds, head of ARP Engineering, Yamaha CS-?.


2. Fame Synths: ARP 2600, MOOG Minimoog

CLICK FOR MORE »

Alan Pearlman - Philip Dodds & Close Encounters (Bright Sparks Outtake)

video by GForce Software

"In an outtake from the Bright Sparks Documentary, ARP founder Alan R Pearlman talks about Philip Dodds and the story behind the use of the ARP 2500 on Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.

Originally released in December 2015 to critical acclaim and created to compliment the I Monster album of the same name, Bright Sparks documents the human stories of eight musical instrument pioneers, - Robert Moog (Moog), Alan R Pearlman (ARP), Don Buchla, Harry Chamberlin, The Bradley Brothers (Mellotronics), Adrian Wagner (Electronic Dream Plant), Peter Zinovieff (EMS) and Ken Freeman.

'An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music' Vince Clarke

https://www.gforcesoftware.com/blog/b... www.imonstermusic.com
Alan Pearlman Foundation: https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org"

You can find additional Bright Sparks Documentary posts here.

Update: see this post for the actual order invoice for the 2500.

The Making of Billy Cogan's Ichabod Photo Gallery

I haven't posted on Ichabod in a while.
For those not familiar with this massive modular system, it was commissioned by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins from George Mattson of Mattson Mini Modular.  It's a one of a kind system. You can find the full gallery on Facebook here.  Be sure to check out the Ichabod label here on MATRIXSYNTH for more posts including video and audio. I never get enough of that Devils Tower pic. Devils Tower of course was made famous in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind which featured Philip Dodds & and an ARP 2500.  And of course I do like George's T-Shirt in the second to last pic below on the delivery of Ichabod.  The bottom shot is the classic Ichabod Halloween pic (click through for a super size wallpaper shot).

An interesting side note I believe is that the upcoming Mattson SQ816 Sequencer will be the final module to complete the system.  Click here and scroll for some demos and pics of the SQ816 including the Division 6 eurorack format.

Update via George Mattson: "That is correct. Billy ordered two sequencers.  Billy actually started this and said he wanted a sequencer. I prototyped a simple, single-line 8-channel sequencer on a breadboard over a weekend to show him that I can indeed make one.

Stephen used it in one of his video’s [posted here]

I didn’t want to just make a run-of-the-mill step sequencer and wanted to design and build one that I wanted to have fun with. Hopefully, other people will too. Thus, the SQ816 has been three years in development."

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Electronic Music Synthesizer in Mid-Twentieth-Century Science Fiction

Back on October 18, 2012 a post went up here on an article written by Nicholas C. Laudadio (of Life of Saturdays) on the role of electronic music, and electronic instruments in early Science Fiction. That article was only available to students with access to JSTOR.

Nicholas just wrote in to let us know the article is now available to everyone on academia.edu. You can find it here. Note you can scroll down to read when you get there. You do not need to login or create an account unless you want to download the PDF.

On a side note be sure to check out Life of Saturdays on Bandcamp, for Nicholas' latest release.  It's kind of cool to hear music from the author of the article.

From the article:

"'Music is born free; and to win freedom is its destiny. In the new great music, machines will also be necessary.' —Ferrurico Busoni, Sketch of a New Esthetic of Music (5)

“'The growth of musical art in any age is determined by the technological progress which parallels it.' —Joseph Schillinger, 'Electricity: A Musical Liberator' (26)

Introduction.

When the ships descend on Devil’s Tower in the climactic moments of Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the humans greet the aliens not with tanks and howitzers as in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), but with a simple five-note motif plucked out on an Arp 2500 electronic music synthesizer.

Atop its formidable white-and-black dais, the large modular synthesizer not only dominates the scene visually, it soon proves itself to be the most powerful tool the humans have for communicating with the alien visitors. The synth literally establishes first contact and maintains it..."

Magical Musical Thing

File this one under one of the best "made you look" Ebay auctions. I'm going through the newly listed stuff and I see a thumbnail of this image listed as "Magic Musical Thing." You can barely make out the image in the thumbnail but I see lots of colors and lights, so of course I click. And... It's a Hartmann Neuron! Only the Neuron of course is not up for auction, but rather... the "Magical Musical Thing"

No title link. Just the two shots and some details pulled via this auction.

Details:
"RARE MATTEL 1978 MAGICAL MUSICAL THING. THIS SYNTH WAS MARKETED AROUND THE TIME OF THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL MOTION PICTURE 'CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND' & MAY HAVE BEEN AN ATTEMPT TO CAPITALIZE ON THE MARRIAGE OF COLOR AND SOUND THAT COMPRISED COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE HUMAN AND TERRESTRIAL IN THAT FAMOUS FILM'S FINALE SEQUENCE... VERY GOOD FULY FUNCTIONING CONDITION DESPITE THE LOSS OF THE MATTEL LOGO AND OTHER ADORNMENTS. COMES WITH BOX AND BOOKLET OF INSTRUCTIONS AND SONGS. STRANGE BEAUTY AND PROBABLY A WONDERFUL CANDIDATE FOR A CIRCUIT BENDING PROJECT... WILL BE ABOUT 5lbs. PACKAGED"

Apologies for the all caps, but I'm not about to convert that to lower case.

Solo for Arp 2500 Synthesizer

Published on Feb 25, 2017 David Baron

"The Arp 2500 is one of the rarest analog modular synthesizers of the 1960s-70s. It was created as a direct competitor to the Moog modular but never had as much success due to inherent crosstalk of the unusual slider matrix (versus Moog's patch cords). There are about twenty-five systems left working in the world. This is a solo composition for Arp 2500 performed in my studio near Woodstock, NY. I played it live on a controller keyboard so that I could edit the midi performance slightly. Velocity is mapped to filter cutoff and amplitude . The audio was recorded live with only some added reverberation and tape delay.

The most famous appearance of the Arp is in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' - it is used to speak to the aliens as a prop. The synthesizer was also used on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Who's Next, Logan's Run soundtrack, and for a lot of the beautiful drone work of Éliane Radigue."