"The Townshend Studio was unveiled on Thursday 10 October at the University’s Ealing site. The new studio arose from Pete Townshend looking for a home for his synthesisers, leaving a legacy for the next generation and a catalyst for creativity.
The collection includes some of the most influential instruments in the development of electronic music. It comprises 12 principal synthesisers including the ARP Model 2500 (1970), used on 'Quadrophenia', and the rare and sought-after Yamaha GX-1 (1975), one of only 10 made with a retail price of over 60,000 USD on release, plus many other instruments played by Townshend throughout his career.
'It’s my hope that the studio will be a creative space for learning, collaboration, experimentation and play, inspired by the musical and artistic legacy of Ealing, an area integral to the development of British music in the 1960s,'
said Pete Townshend."
Pictured: ARP 2500 & EMS SYNTHI 100.
One more "Synth Museum" to add to my destination list. :)
"Follow along with me as I show you how to create a patch that mimics the organ signal - fed EMS VCS 3 synthesizer that Pete Townsend used on The Who's 'Won't Get Fooled Again' song. Enjoy!
TimewARP 2600 - Main Walkthrough video upload by AIR Music Tech
"This isn’t just another synth; it’s a bridge to classic synth royalty, bringing the legendary sounds of the ARP 2600 into the modern era with unmatched authenticity and advanced features.
The ARP 2600, a favorite among many legends like Joe Zawinul, Depeche Mode, Roger Manning Jr., and Pete Townsend. The ARP 2600 bridged the gap between modular and non-modular synths with its ingenious normalized patch design.
First created in 2006 and now updated, the TimewARP 2600 carries that legacy forward, delivering the warm, authentic sound that once revolutionized synth-based music.
Key Features: ● 3 VCOs - All capable of generating audio band and Low Frequency (LF) signals. ● 1 Low-Pass Resonant Filter - Supports variable-depth self-oscillation and audio band and LF control modulation. ● 1 Sample & Hold - Driven by either an internal, external, or MIDI Beat Clock. Can also be used as an LFO source. ● 1 Ring Modulator. ● 1 Noise Generator - Adjustable from white to red noise. ● 2 Envelope Generators - 1 ADSR, 1 AR. ● 1 Envelope Follower. ● 1 VCA - 2 audio inputs, 1 linear control input, 1 exponential control input. Also has initial gain control. ● 4 plug multiple modules. ● Stereo Reverb. ● Output Pan. ● Electronic Switch. ● Lag Processor - LF filtering from 1.2 to 1200Hz. ● 2 Inverter Modules - both with attenuable inputs. ● Preamp In - mono or stereo. ● Virtual ARP 3620 Keyboard. ● Variable-rate portamento, octave switch, pitch bend, LFO controls including delayed sine wave vibrato depth and speed. ● LFO Outputs - Including square, triangle, and sine waves. ● External LFO-In - Allows keyboard voltages to be modulated by any signal present on the TimewARP 2600. ● Interval Latch Switch - Will latch a two note interval for use as single key play. ● 2 Upper Voice Outputs. ● Multiple or Single Trigger Mode - Provides for single or multiple gates for slurred notes. ● Keyboard Repeat Mode - Provides auto repeat or repeat on key-press synchronized to keyboard LFO and MIDI Beat Clock. ● Square wave is syncable to MIDI Clock.
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.
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.
"ARP 2500 ~ 1971? Vintage 8 page Catalog with Pete Townsend and awesome photos and specs on various synth modules and models with prices. This was for dealers. Very cool and rare find."
It has come to my attention that ARP founder Alan R. Pearlman has passed way. He was 90 years old at the time of the NAMM TEC Awards in 2015. The ARP 2600 SYNTHESIZER received the award that year. You can find a video from the event featuring Pat Gleeson and Jim Heintz of WayOutWare, who worked with Alan on their ARP emulations, below. Alan was no longer traveling at the time and was not at the event.
You can find a great video interview with Alan R. Pearlman from 2006 at the NAMM website here. The following is an interesting excerpt from the site: "Alan R. Pearlman was nicknamed 'ARP' as a kid growing up in New York City, so it seemed the perfect name for a company when he was later designing electronic musical instruments. The first instrument created by Alan was the modular synthesizer known as the ARP 2500. The monophonic product was released years after the first Moog and Buchla instruments, but gained attention for several new features including the ever-popular function of not drifting out of tune, which was a common problem in the earlier products. Next came the now classic ARP 2600, and soon the company became a great leader in the growth and development of the electronic musical market."
"Pearlman was born in New York City in 1925. His father was a movie theatre projector designer and his grandfather made parts for phonograph machines. He grew up building radio sets, inspired by Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines, and served in the military briefly following World War II.
Following his military service, Pearlman attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts and in 1948, for his senior thesis designed a vacuum tube envelope follower that could extract the envelope of a sound from an instrument. He later audited a Harvard University course taught by one of the inventors of the transistor, Walter Brattain.[1]
Pearlman spent five years designing amplifiers for NASA's Gemini and Apollo programs. He worked at George A. Philbrick Researchers with Roger Noble, and the two later founded analog module and op amp manufacturer Nexus Research Laboratory in Canton, Massachusetts in the early 1960s. Nexus Research Laboratory's business grew to $4 million in annual sales before being acquired by Teledyne in 1966.[2][3]
In 1969, Pearlman founded ARP Instruments, Inc. (originally Tonus, Inc.) with $100,000 of his own money and matching funds from a small group of investors. The name ARP was derived from Pearlman's initials. ARP entered the fledgling synthesizer industry with the introduction of the ARP 2002, which with twice as many switch rows on top, became the 2500 analog modular synthesizer. The 2002 was introduced at the AES show in Fall 1970, and subsequently competed head to head with other leading synthesizer companies of the time. Pearlman eschewed patch cord methodology for interconnecting synthesizer modules, designing instead a system of sliding matrix switches. He also applied his op-amp experience by utilizing dual transistors on a single integrated circuit to overcome temperature gradients and provide very stable oscillators - more stable than other popular synthesizers on the market at the time, namely offerings from Moog Music and Buchla.[4][5]"
ARP 2600 Synthesizer Award Show w/ Dr Pat Gleeson & Jim Heintz NAMM TEC Awards 2015
Published on Feb 3, 2015 Byron Hotchkiss
"ARP 2600 SYNTHESIZER receives NAMM TECH Award at 2015 show. Speakers Dr. Pat Gleeson and Jim Heintz of WayOutWare recall stories of the ARP 2600 instrument. Quotes from Pete Townsend, Alan R. Pearlman (ARP name taken from inventors nickname as a youth) Video by B K Hotchkiss"
Note it is extremely difficult to pick videos for a RIP post especially considering how many great videos there are out there and how many have been already featured on the site as you can see via the ARP label. I'll be searching for some not previously featured to put up in individual posts throughout the day. If you have any you'd like to share please do so in the comments. I wanted to share the following as it features Alan R. Pearlman's first iconic synth, the ARP 2500.
"A portrait of Eliane Radigue, produced by the Austrian IMA (Institute for Media Archeology), which observes Eliane in her workspace, operating the ARP and talking about the process of composing and recording."
Directed and Edited by Rick Alverson
Produced by Emilie Rex
Cinematography by Lorenzo Haggerman
Location Sound by Pete Townsend
Mix by Gene Part
Color by Matt West"
Featuring vintage oscillators, oscilloscopes & Korg 01/W Pro X.
"This is an original ARP 2600 synthesizer owner's manual in good condition. It is listed as Eighth printing 1977. I used to own a 2600 and this manual has been sitting on a shelf ever since I sold it. The manual appears to have Edgar Winter, Joe Zawinul and Pete Townsend on the cover. A great addition to any synthesizer collection."
Playlist:
1. The Arp Family of Synthesizers. Demonstration Record. - "Music and narration by Roger Powell (Utopia). Starting with a clip with the Who, demonstrating how Pete Townsend used the Arp on Who's Next. Eva-Tone Sound Sheet."
2. THE ARP 2500 & THE ARP 2600. Demonstration record. Side 1. - "Narration and music by Roger Powell."
3. THE ARP 2500 & THE ARP 2600. Demonstration record. Side 2 - "By Harry Coon & Roger Powell."
4. ARP Soloist. Demonstration record. Side 1 - ""Dave Fredericks plays the amazing ARP Soloist. It's a one man band!"
"They don't make them like this any more.....Literally. Perhaps one of the last chances to grab a classic suitcase synth as the few that were made are fairly tightly held, with good reason. The price is fair, considering one in the same condition sold in the UK in May 2014 for $18,5000. This AKS has been in my studio for the past 35 years but the time has come to pass it on. I have just had it checked by ProHarmonics Aust. Everything is in perfect working condition, including the all important sequencer. It is all original except for the internal speakers, which I replaced a year ago as one had started poling, and one new Vernier pot, which I obtained from Robin Wood of EMS. I also bought some more pins and a new 8-way keyboard connector cable from him. The unit comes with a Power cord, Keyboard connecting cord, Manual (reprint), DVD with circuit diagrams and Matrix Pins:- 15 White (2.7k ohm/5%), 13 Red/Orange (2.7k ohm/1%) and one Green (68k ohm, Attenuation Pin ). Those of you who know the Synthi AKS need no blurb but for those who don’t I’ve put down the following info. It features three oscillators and a unique patch system. Instead of patch wires, it uses a patchbay grid wherein the synth components are laid out and signal routing is accomplished by placing small pins into the appropriate slots. The VCS3/Synthi was, in actuality, a modular type synthesizer reduced down to an extremely portable size. Its famous for it’s ability to generate uniquely analog sounds( Dr. Who, Pink Floyd, Eno, Klaus Schultz Pete Townsend, etc ). After ten minutes of warm-up the oscillators become pretty stable. There's a Noise Generator, two Input Amplifiers, one Ring Modulator, one Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter (VCF), one Trapezoid Envelope Generator, a Joy-Stick Controller, a Voltage Controlled Spring Reverb unit, two Stereo Output Amplifiers and a 256-step on-board monophonic digital sequencer and a 30-note touchplate keyboard. I will ship the unit inside a pelican type case and then packing for total security. Buyer is responsible for any customs or import duty."
click here for a video walkthrough of the studio on Keyboard Magazine online. Check out the custom Oberheim SEM racks.
In the third video they talk about the Lowrey organ used in The' Who's Baba O'riley. They mention that some thought the gated sequence effect in the track was done with a synth but was actually all the Lowrey organ, specifically the Marimba effect. Do not confuse this with The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again below which was processed by the EMS VC3S.
YouTube via analoghell. previously posted "Pete Townsend talks about the famous intro sound and how he did it. From the "Classic Albums" TV series."
"ARP synthesizer flyer, or mailer, or something. April 1978, Volume 7, Number 1
Has write-ups and info on users of ARP products.
Photos include Pete Townsend, Tom Coster, Evenstar, Allan Zavod (Jean-Luc Ponty), Christine McVie, Philip Wu, Mike Rutheford, and Bernie Worrel (Parliment Funkadelic).
"http://www.ehx.com Visit EHX.com for user videos, our blog, community fourms, and lots more! For more HOG product info, see: http://www.ehx.com/products/hog Indulge your senses! The award winning HOG (Harmonic Octave Generator) is a totally polyphonic guitar synthesizer offering complete control of up to 10 interval pitches. NO glitches and NO special pickup needed. Generate extreme sub bass to powerful multi-octave chords. Convert your 6 string into a 12 string, create a realistic B3 organ. Amazing on guitar but works well with any instrument. * Flawless polyphonic glitch-free tracking across the entire range! * Controllable harmonic intervals: -2 octaves, -1 octave, Original note, +5th, +1 octave, +1 octave +5th, +2 octaves, +2 octaves + 3rd, +3 octaves, +4 octaves. * Works directly from your instrument's output * Expression pedal (included) with 7 selectable expression modes: +/- 1 octave and 1 step pitch bend, freeze + gliss, volume, wah and filter frequency * Pitch Bend expression mode turns the HOG into a whammy pedal * Freeze expression mode is a new guitar effect never heard before. Freeze allows the musician to freeze a note or chord so you can play over it or slide to new notes just like a keyboardist would do when using portamento * Dedicated resonant filtering with sweepable frequency control * Amplitude envelope control allowing the musician to lengthen a note's attack, for swell effects, or to increase a note's decay speed * Separate lower and upper harmonic region amplitude envelopes * MIDI in allows expression control using MIDI pitch bend * 9LDC-500 power supply included" Update via Scott of EHX:
"Bill Ruppert, a studio musician in Chicago, created this neat video in which he uses an Electro-Harmonix HOG to recreate the very well-known synth sounds from The Who's 'Won't Get Fooled Again.'
My understanding is that in the original song, Pete Townsend combined a 1968 Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 organ with an EMS VCS3 mk1 synthesizer. Bill gets damn close with his Electro-Harmonix HOG, plus a bit of echo from his Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai."
"This weeks topics include: Kaoss Pad 3 - phono in debate, Digidesigns Mbox 2 Pro, Tamago - a new digital distribution network, new super tower from Dell, Native Instruments new plugs, the SM Pro Audios PM8 Summing amp, MXR Large Diaphragm USB mic, the great laptop battery fiasco and Pete Townsend and his massive modular on Youtube."
Title link takes you there. Hmm... I don't think I everput that Pete Townsend video up. Coming right up. : )
"The Townshend Studio was unveiled on Thursday 10 October at the University’s Ealing site. The new studio arose from Pete Townshend looking for a home for his synthesisers, leaving a legacy for the next generation and a catalyst for creativity.
