In 1972, the ARP Odyssey was the duophonic answer to the Minimoog: punkier, weirder, and bristling with sliders where Moog had knobs. Decades later, Korg teamed up with original designer David Friend to bring it back, shrunk to 86% size but with the analog circuitry faithfully intact. Two oscillators, three switchable vintage filters, ring mod, sample-and-hold, and that famously twitchy interface that rewards anyone willing to wrestle with it. It does fat basses, screaming leads, and a galaxy of R2-D2 bleeps. Add USB and MIDI to the classic CV/Gate and it slots into a modern rig without losing an ounce of its 70s attitude. This is the Rev2 edition, with the fat-sounding 24dB filter.
FEATURES & PROS:
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2 VCOs, Duophonic: Play two notes at once or stack them fat. The ARP party trick the Minimoog never had.
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3 Switchable Filters: Rev1, Rev2, and Rev3 circuits in one box. Punchy, fat, or stable at high resonance, your pick.
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Ring Mod + Sample & Hold: Clangourous metallic tones and burbling random sequences baked right in.
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Faithful Analog Circuitry: Korg and original designer David Friend rebuilt the real thing, just 86% the size.
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CV/Gate + USB + MIDI: Talks to modular, to your DAW, and to anything in between.
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Sliders, Not Menus: A whole control surface of immediate, hands-on tweaking. No screens, no nonsense.
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Limited Rev2 Edition: The black-and-gold, 24dB-filter version, the one with the great-sounding lows.
AS USED BY
This is Korg's faithful reissue of a synth whose original was used by:
- Herbie Hancock, "Chameleon" from "Head Hunters", his go-to ARP
- Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre
- Ultravox, "Vienna" (Billy Currie's signature solo)
- ABBA and Gary Numan
- Frank Zappa and Yellow Magic Orchestra
THE WORD: Performer Magazine rates it the best ARP Odyssey reissue going, calling the sound dead-on to the original with the smaller chassis a genuine bonus. Read the review.
SPECIFICATIONS
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Year: 2015 reissue (original 1972)
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Type: Analog duophonic synthesizer
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Voices: 2 (duophonic), 2 VCOs
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Filters: 3 selectable (Type I 12dB, Type II 24dB, Type III)
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Modulation: LFO, sample and hold, ring modulator, ADSR/AR envelopes
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Keyboard: 37 slim keys
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Inputs / Outputs: 1/4 inch + XLR out, USB, 5-pin DIN MIDI, CV/Gate
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Power: 9V DC adapter (included)
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Manual: Korg ARP Odyssey owner's manual (Korg)