ARP Odyssey Rev.2 Limited Edition

ARP Odyssey at a glance

• True analog sound by recreating the original Odyssey
• Duophonic synthesizer
• Ring modulation
• Oscillator Sync
• Noise generator for white / pink noise
• LFO and Sample & Hold with switchable routing
• All three historical versions of ARP's lowpass filter on board
• DRIVE switch for extreme and aggressive sounds
• CV/Gate inputs and outputs
• MIDI / USB
• 3 rubber controllers for pitch modulation
• incl. matching semihardcase

About the sound generation of the ARP Odyssey

The new ARP Odyssey from Korg also allows the sounds of the original in excellent quality. Other differences are the continuously adjustable pulse width and the equally continuously adjustable frequency of the oscillators. This makes the Odyssey a bit more complicated to use - with the Minimoog you can select the octaves with a switch. But in combination with ring modulator or frequency modulation the Odyssey shows its advantage.

Furthermore the ARP Odyssey masters frequency modulation on oscillators and analog filters. Besides the 24 dB low pass filter there is a high pass filter, an audio input, LFO triggers (see Gate Trig) and LFO sample & hold, which allows very crazy sequences and modulation games. Also new at that time was the possibility to play two voices with a duophonic synthesizer, which leads to a very unique sound approach, especially when the ring modulator is added. Also specially developed is the VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier), which can be controlled by ADSR envelope or the attack-release envelope, as with conventional synthesizers, or can be controlled by a volume knob to create eg. Drone sounds can be generated.

The "Korg ARP" - Revival of a Synthesizer Classic

The ARP Odyssey was manufactured from 1972 by the American company ARP Instruments, Inc. - the company name is derived from the company founder Alan Richard Pearlman, who apart from the ARP Odyssey created a whole series of synthesizers which today enjoy absolute cult status, such as the ARP 2600 or ARP Axxe. The Odyssey synth quickly found a steadily growing fan base among musicians at the time.

Classic analog synth, rocking lead sounds and always
a bit weird: ARP Odyssey

The ARP Odyssey has influenced countless productions of its time with its synth sound and is still extremely popular among musicians as a synthesizer classic. Especially famous are the lead sounds of George Duke, who was able to elicit almost electric guitar-like sounds from the Odyssey by means of oscillator sync. Herbie Hancock used the synth on his early electronic albums in a very funky way, but also in the early 80s the ARP was used by many musicians in electronic music as well as in the synth-pop of the 80s.

That the ARP Odyssey can still hold its own today with an independent sound, you can feel immediately after playing a few sounds. It is very versatile in the sound design and is a good tip for all musicians who want to play unusual and bizarre sounds in addition to classic analog synthesizer sounds. In fact, you can easily elicit sounds from the ARP Odyssey that you would otherwise expect from a modular synthesizer.

Odyssey vs. Minimoog

Compared to the very successful Minimoog by Bob Moog, the ARP Odyssey was even more compact and easier to transport. But furthermore the sound generation of the ARP Odyssey offered much more flexible possibilities to create sound experiments than it was possible with a Moog synthesizer. matching you can hear the difference to the Minimoog immediately. Characteristic is the somewhat mid-emphasized sawtooth sound of the ARP Odyssey, but also massive square basses with infinitely variable pulse width belong to its repertoire. Famous from the ARP Odyssey is the biting synth sound of the oscillator sync or the experimental sound of the ring modulator and sample & hold section.

Odyssey vs. Odyssey

Despite the miniaturization, the new Odyssey doesn't need to shy away from comparison with an original from the 70s. The new Odyssey from Korg has the same sound character of the old one and comes damn close to the sound. The Korg engineers have done a great job here. Modern features like MIDI and USB and the integration of all revisions in one device alone give the "Korg" Odyssey clear advantages - not to mention the quirks that the old devices can have. Surely such quirks also make up the individual charm of an original Odyssey, but the new Odyssey Synth from Korg has everything in mint condition and is more robust and of higher quality.

The new Odyssey

For the 2015 Namm Show, Korg brought the Odyssey back to the present - in a similarly scaled-down form as the Korg MS20 mini. Thanks to expert advice from David Friend, co-founder of ARP Instruments, Korg was able to reproduce the original circuitry using modern analogue technology. In mid-2016, the expander version followed - in different housing variants as white Revision 1 and in black/orange as Revision 3. In the meantime, Korg was also able to fulfill the wish of many synth lovers for a full-size Odyssey - exactly one year later, Korg presented the ARP Odyssey FS at the NAMM Show 2016, which is equipped with a full-scale keyboard with normal-sized keys. And even as an app for iOS devices is appears the old Odyssey in all new splendor. Sound-wise, of course, the app is fun to use, as it reproduces the beloved retro sound quite well. But with a real synthesizer that has real buttons and knobs, the sound-screwing is a whole different matter. Especially the handling via the characteristic control panel with the fader sections of the Arp has a very special quality.

Three Odysseys in one unit!

The ARP Odyssey was built in three different versions during its production period. Not only the case and the colouring differed, but also parts of the analog circuitry, which is especially noticeable in the lowpass filter section. Mark I, Mark II and Mark III have quite different sound characteristics.

Korg released the new ARP Odyssey in exactly these three versions, but each model has the three different filter circuits: You simply switch the filter section between Rev1, Rev2 and Rev3!

The analogue filter is basically responsible for the sound feel of a synthesizer - so it's no wonder that the three ARP Odyssey revisions can behave quite differently in sound. With a slope of 12dB/oct. the lowpass filter of revision Rev1 is not as powerful as the filters of the two later Odyssey models of Rev2 and Rev3, which were supposed to emulate the then popular Moog filter with 24dB circuits. A great feature of Korg's ARP Odyssey is that it has all three filter revisions in one unit, an additional boost amplifier increases the input level of the filter section and makes the overall sound even more biting and powerful.

Vintage or Retro Synth?

If you want to buy a "real" old Odyssey, you will quickly realize when studying the classifieds that this vintage synthesizer is a rarity - especially the Mark I and Mark II model - and is traded at very high prices. Unfortunately, such an old device is then often in poor condition and must be restored extensively - that goes into the money again.

For those who want to have fun with the retro sound of the Arp, one of the new units is recommended. How close the new Odyssey from Korg actually comes to the sound of the old Odyssey can be seen in a comparison test on Youtube.

Original connectors and more

The new ARP Odyssey has all the same connections as the original Odyssey. The audio output is available as 6.3 mm jack and as XLR socket, furthermore there is an adjustable headphone output. Also available as 6.3 mm jack is a footswitch input for portamento, a pedal connection for controlling the filter and an ext. audio input. The Odyssey can be controlled with CV/Gate/Trig signals from a modular synthesizer or step sequencer via the mini-jack sockets. And newly added are MIDI-In and USB.