ARP Odyssey

Date: 1972

Type: Monophonic / Subtractive / Analogue

Table of all Songs | ARP Odyssey Full Song List

Introduction

The ARP Odyssey is a strong contender for most popular monosynth of the 1970s, perhaps of all time, giving the iconic Minimoog Model D a run for its money (and actually outselling it).

The highly versatile ARP Odyssey has featured on 1,000s of tracks over the years, and is still popular to this day with a re-release by Korg in 2016 (and the inevitable clone from Behringer later), as well as several software emulations now available.

This classic 37-note monosynth evolved over the duration of the 1970s:

Mk1 (2800) - White - 4023 2-pole filter

(later was made in black & gold like later versions - but otherwise the same)

Mk2 (2810-2815) - 4035 4-pole filter (possibly infringing Moog patents!) & CV/Gate connection

Mk3 (2820-2823) - 4075 filter (had much lower high frequency of only 12kHz, compared with the previous 35kHz). It also had different oscillators and the 'proportional pitch control' was introduced (some retrofitted to mk2)

Whichever version was used, the Odyssey has a huge and powerful sound anywhere in it's range from the bottom octave to the top ("I still like to use the ARP Odyssey because it has the best window-shaking bottom end of any synth." - Gary Numan). And the simplicity of use ensured it's popularity and use by a huge number of musicians over the years.

• Table of all Songs | ARP Odyssey full song list

Archetypal Track

Herbie Hancock, 'Chameleon' (1973)

The bassline of 'Chameleon' shows the Odyssey at it's funkiest; the filtered bassline driving the groove and the vibe of Herbie Hancock's classic. There isn't a better example of the Odyssey doin' it's thang!

Associated artists

There are many artists who've made notable use of the ARP Odyssey; a selection of them are listed below.

Billy Currie (Ultravox)

“I looked to what they (Kraftwerk) were doing. A shining light to how music could be put together, completely different’. Billy Currie of Ultravox has been closely associated with the ARP Odyssey since Ultravox! burst onto the scene in the late 1970s. His Odyssey solo sound is instantly recognisable; full of wide, swooping lines, running the full range of the keyboard, incorporating glissandi, pitch-bends, and liberal vibrato. He is probably the definitive Odyssey player's Odyssey player!

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Kraftwerk

Despite their noted use of of custom synths, sequencers, drum machines and effects, they also made use of 'production synths' such as the Minimoog and Odyssey. Autobahn (1975), in fact made use of both as can be seen in this wonderful German TV performance from 1975. The extended 'car whooshing' sequence is especially nice! The Odyssey was also used for the lead melody in The Robots, and several other tracks.

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Chick Corea

Another great soloist. Using whichever keyboard comes to hand, Chick Corea extracts the maximum impact from his instrument. Here he is trading licks on a Odyssey, with Bill Connors on guitar, in a glorious exchange.

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Doctor Who theme (1980) - Peter Howell

A well known example is Peter Howell's use of the Odyssey in his reworking of the Doctor Who theme in 1980. This was part of the famous BBC Radiophonic Workshop's output, which included the famous original theme music composed by Ron Grainer and originally arranged by Delia Derbyshire in 1963.

List of all ARP Odyssey Tracks

Table of all Songs | ARP Odyssey full song list