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…When I found the Minimoog and pressed the key, the whole room shook with the power of it, I thought ‘that’s it, that’s exactly what I’m after’. 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!
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.
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.
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.
Selection of ARP Odyssey Tracks
Table of all Songs | ARP Odyssey full song list
| Artist | Track | Year | Song Part | Notes & Reference | Media |
| ARP Analog Synth Jazz Band | Take The A Train | 1980 | ‘Tap Dancer Getting Shot’ | Tap Dancer Getting Shot' (@ 50secs) | YouTube |
| Chick Corea | Space Circus | 1974 | Solos | Trading licks with Bill Connors. | YouTube |
| Jean-Michel Jarre | Oxygene (album) | 1976 | Synth | One of the many synths used by Jarre | YouTube |
| Deep Purple | Space Truckin’ (Live) | 1974 | Solo | Jon Lord lets rip on the Odyssey during this 15 minute classic Deep Purple jam. | YouTube |
| George Duke | Funny Funk | 1974 | Bass/Synth Lead | "I decided to use an ARP, purely to be different from Jan Hammer, who was playing the Mini Moog" | Youtube |
| Herbie Hancock | Chameleon | 1973 | Bass | Archetypal use; great example of the 'rubber bass' ARP sound. | YouTube |
| Kraftwerk | Autobahn | 1974 | Duophonic synth line | As seen played live in this live performance in 1975 | YouTube |
| Peter Howell | Doctor Who Theme | 1980 | Lead | One of the early classic arrangements of the Ron Grainger theme | YouTube |
| Nine Inch Nails | The Hand That Feeds | 2005 | Synth (1:38) | Trent dabbling in vintage | YouTube |
| Gary Numan | Cars | 1979 | Synth Lead | "I still like to use the ARP Odyssey because it has the best window-shaking bottom end of any synth." - Gary Numan
SOS |
YouTube |
| Steve Miller | Swingtown | 1977 | End section | Fanous synth section rounding off this song | YouTube |
| Ultravox | Hymn | 1982 | Solo (3:18) | Billy Currie is probably the best known ARP Odyssey player from the synthpop era | YouTube |
| Ultravox! | Hiroshima Mon Amour (album version) | 1977 | Synth (3:03) | YouTube | |
| Stevie Wonder | Living For The City | 1973 | Solo | Stevie Wonder is a well known early adopter of many electronic instruments and synthesizers. | YouTube |
| Frank Zappa | Inca Roads | 1974 | LFO Synth Effects | This song appears on the album “One Size Fits All.” In the intro, George Duke uses an Odyssey Rev1 to create an LFO based sound effect.
arpsynth.com |
YouTube |
