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"The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable (the Minimoog was US$1,495 upon release) "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.
The Odyssey is a two-oscillator analog synth (the Minimoog has 3 oscillators and its sound is considered "fatter"). The Odyssey was the first synthesizer with duophonic capabilities (the ability to play two notes at the same time). Many cite ARP's semi-modular 2600 as the first duophonic synthesizer; however, the 2600 was originally shipped with a monophonic controller keyboard, with a duophonic keyboard not being released until after the Odyssey's release. One potential appeal of the Odyssey is the fact that all parameters, including a resonant low-pass filter, a non-resonant high-pass filter, ADSR and AR envelopes, triangle (not sine) and square wave LFO, and a sample-and-hold function are editable with sliders and buttons on the front panel.
* Produced between 1974-76.
* The Odysseys I and II look and feel virtually the same. The main difference between them are the addition of CV/Gate control and a new black and gold color scheme. The 2810 introduced a beefier 4-pole VCF. This filter was similar to the Moog filter and did not last. While a persistent rumor that Moog sued ARP over this, no suit ever occurred. Arp and Moog came to an amicable agreement and a small licensing fee was paid by ARP for units previously manufactured. ARP soon after designed their own four-pole, low-pass filters. They came up with the 4075 filter which was used in subsequent Odyssey models. The similar 4072 was featured in the 2600,
Omni,
Axxe,
Solus, and others."
Update via Dave Cornutt in the comments:
"One correction: I'm pretty sure the EML Electrocomp 100 was the first mass produced synth with a duophonic keyboard. It preceded the Odyssey by about a year. Also, I seem to recall that Wendy Carlos' Moog was fitted with a duophonic keyboard at some point, but I don't think this was ever offered as a catalog item by Moog."
"Moog 15, 360 Systems Frequency Shifter, 2 Oberheim Mini-Sequencers and SEM, Mini-Moog, not sure about the 2 white boxes or switch matrix to the right (might be DIY stuff), Oberheim Digital Sequencer (with LED "2" showing), Paia Phlanger and Stringz n Thingz, and original Rev 1 Prophet 5."
"Yamaha came out with the DX7 in 1983, which used a new type of synthesis technology at the time called "FM synthesis". It was the first widely used FM synthesizer and it turned out to be the best selling professional synthesizer of all time. These synthesizers featured six sine wave operators that could be routed in 32 different arrangements, which are called algorithms. They produced a few different models using this synthesis engine, including the DX1, DX5 and TX7. They also produced a line of four operator synthesizers, like the DX9, DX100, DX27, and DX21. These were less expensive and a little more limited than the six operator synths, since the operators also produced only sine waves. But in 1986 they introduced the four operator TX81Z, which was the first FM synth that could use different operator waveforms. The TX81Z's operators can each be configured to use one of eight different waveforms and this is what gives the TX81Z the ability to make sounds that the six operator synths aren't capable of making (although the converse is also true)."
click here for the Dr. Bohm Digital Drums soundset audio on Keyboardmuseum/ Audio Playground.
