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

Yamaha SY-1 Solo Synth SN 1740

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated. Yamaha SY-1 | Yamaha’s First Portable Analog Synth | Part of the GX1 and CS80 Lineage
video upload by Alamo Music Audio Lab

"Today, Zach is taking a look at the Yamaha SY-1, a unique synthesizer straight out of the 70's Yamaha organ craze. From the lineage that brought you the all-time great CS-80, the SY-1 is a preset-heavy analog synthesizer that was created and used for lead lines and all kinds of nostalgic tones. Take a look and a listen and tell us what you think!

Sounds start at 6:54"

via this auction

"The first portable synth that Yamaha ever made!
Features the same sound engine as the legendary flagship CS-80 and GX-1 synths, albeit a monophonic primitive version. Also features aftertouch (probably also a first) that can be switched to control vibrato, pitch bend, filter, and volume. The presets are really amazing and go from Vangelis to 70s porn film soundtracks to Toto to Parliament Funkadelic to Close Encounters of the Third Kind at the flick of a switch! (John Williams used its successor, the SY-2, for the famous "Ba Di Da Buh Da"- the SY-2 apparently only had more envelope and filter controls and was otherwise sonically identical.)
Please see the Youtube link for an in-depth sound demo."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Close Encounters of the Third Kind-by graal7

video upload by graal7

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.

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 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. :)

POTATO CONTROLLED SYNTH 🥔🥔

Published on Nov 30, 2018 [ጠσσǥǥሃ]

"Hell yeah
PATATOE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR, with a Potato electrolysis."

POTATOES Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Potato controlled synth V2)

Published on Dec 8, 2019 Valmont / Mooggy

"Potatoes strike back!"

Stranger Things Theme Music - Teenage Engineering OP-Z Cover

Premiered Jul 3, 2019 Lo-fi Pask

"I made this Stranger Things theme's cover to celebrate Netflix's Stranger Things Season 3, out on July 4th. I used only OP-Z by Teenage Engineering (all stock sounds, no sampling).
1985's quotes inside: Ghostbusters, Nintendo's Game & Watch and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Ready to enter the Upside Down?"

In The Lab ARP 2500

Published on May 3, 2019 David Baron

"Created entirely with the Arp 2500 Modular Synthesizer. A very rare synthesizer that was the chief competitor to Moog during the late 60s and early 70s. Most of them were sold to rockstars (Pete Townshend) or universities. A large system was used to communicate with the aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

Monome Norns - "Your Day"

Published on Apr 17, 2019 Jae Ryan

"I recently packed up all my gear and made a little focused set up. Its just my Model D, Norns/Grid/Nanokontrol 2 & a few choice pedals. This is the result of my first noodle from the setup!

Model D goes into an El Capistan in mono which goes into the Norns in mono. This is so I can have some lo fi effects or delay on the samples or tapes I record. Norns goes out in stereo to a Strymon Volante and then that passes through in stereo to an OTO BAM (which in this jam is acting more as an overdrive than a reverb).

This little noodle uses Glut (yet again) and just one sample of a few notes I played on the Minimoog (except for a tape recording of noise I made for 'atmosphere'). Then, Glut stretches, reverses, granulates, pitch shifts and mangles them on 6 different tracks.

Stereo is basically mandatory because this is nothing but phase......"

---
Reminds me of the main riff in Close Encounters of The Third Kind.

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."

$126,508.32 Massive Vintage Rare 1974 ARP 2500 in Superb Condition for Sale

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction, priced at $126,508.32 + $1,640.77 Shipping.

This one was spotted and sent in via an anonymous MATRIXSYNTH reader. It was once for sale back in August, 2017.

Details via the listing, captured for the archives:

"Selling my beloved ARP 2500 - Model 2515 Studio Cabinet. Serial number - 74-005

I am the second owner of this fantastic piece of history and purchased this instrument from a dutch composer/violinist who in turn ordered it directly from the Arp factory around 1976. Before my ownership, it was used in a reasonably well known studio in Hilversum for a multitude of experimental recordings throughout the 70s and 80s.

It is in pristine condition and original state with only a few cosmetic blemishes. It has been used and stored in a smoke free, temperature controlled environment and is a joy just to look at, let alone play. A well laid out collection of modules that offer many many years of deep exploration, I spent almost 6months just with the 1036(Sample/Hold/Random voltage) module :).

All modules are working and sounding fantastic. The filters are especially lush, definitely nothing else sounds like a 2500 and the unique matrix switch system is ripe territory for happy/accidental patching discoveries.
The fabulous ARP 2500 was used by famous musicians like Aphex Twin, Pete Townshend, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Jimmy Edgar, Luke Vibert, Vince Clarke, Faust, Eliane Radigue. And used in films like Logan's Run and communicating with the aliens in Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Here is your chance to own an instrument capable of taking you on an intergalactic journey through time and space...

Check out my other listings for more rare stuff.

CLICK FOR MORE »

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. :)

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."

Frum FM Drum Synth for iOS Released

iTunes: Frum - TORICO Inc.

"• • • Special offer to celebrate our first app launch for a limited time!!! • • •

Unlocking new potentials of FM synthesis.

Frum is a radically new FM Drum Synthesizer, incubated after many years of research and development into FM synthesis. You may imagine FM sounds to be clear and harmonic, but those are just the start of the possibilities FM has to offer. More potential is unleashed by harnessing the unlimited, free power of complex sound waves.


Close sound encounters of the third kind.

Traditionally, FM synths are overwhelming, with too many parameters to control the sound texture. Frum bundles many of these parameters together in the BUG button, offering entirely new textures each time the button is pressed. It’s easy to find and tweak these sounds to make drums, other percussion, fat bass, organic noises such as insect songs, environmental sounds, human screams, as well as all sorts of intriguing melodies.


Features

• The sounds are at your fingertips.
With Frum, we had to rethink the existing UI design for hardware and software synthesizers, bringing the power of FM to the iOS touch screen. The vertically scrolling sequencer allows you to enjoy single-handed, stress-free control of the UI.
• Rearrange blocks to compose music.
Entire songs can be composed by rearranging pattern blocks with your fingers. Complex arrangements and organisation is possible with the user having control over song name, pattern block colors, loop counts and durations.
• Share your song on the timeline.
From incorporates SNS technology, allowing you to listen to hot new tracks from around the world, as soon as somebody shares them. Let people know what you think, and get feedback on your own tracks, via the like button, and comments section.


Specifications

• Sound engine
Oscillators : FM/PM synth with 4 operators（ sine, square, triangle )
Tracks : 4 ( can extend to 4x4 pads using the ‘Pad division’ function )
Filter : High, Band and Low pass filter
Effectors : Overdrive, Auto Pan
Features :
Generating BUG, Pad division, UNDO, REDO, Live edit, Save and load presets (factory/private)

• Pattern Sequencer
Step resolution : 1/16
Maximum step: 64 (4 bars)
Features：
Gate input, Keyboard input, parameter input in Motion edit mode, Copy and paste, Step shift

• Song (Pattern Block)
Maximium patterns : 150
Pattern Block Properties : Name, Color, Loop count, Mute
Features :
Drag & drop, Duplicate, Delete, Delete All

• Settings
BPM Stepper
Mixer : 4 track volume faders + 1 master volume fader with a limiter
Other Features :
Shuffle, Mute, Pad Division, Pad sound switch, and so on

• Other functions
SNS (Timeline, Popular, Recommended, Demo)
Account management, Account synchronization, Create account
MyData"

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..."

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 »

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 »

Mattson Sequencer Short Performance Demo

Published on Dec 18, 2012 by hewstigator

"This is just a really short demo of me experimenting with using the Mattson sequencer at the end of a new song that our band, The New Lines (thenewlines.bandcamp.com), is currently recording...

What you see is me flipping the play mode switch (to "program") to allow me to play an oscillator on my keyboard, and then at the end, I flip the play mode into "run" to start the sequence. And then I put the clock way up, close encounters of the third kind style...

sry about the audio quality - was running out of time and had to just use my cell phone audio for this one...!"