ARP Instruments, Inc. was an early electronic music company founded by Alan Robert Pearlman , best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s. ARP closed its doors in 1981 for financial reasons.

History

Pearlman was an engineering student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1948 when he foresaw the coming age of electronic music and synthesizers. He wrote:

"The electronic instrument's value is chiefly as a novelty. With greater attention on the part of the engineer to the needs of the musician, the day may not be too remote when the electronic instrument may take its place ... as a versatile, powerful, and expressive instrument."

Following 21 years of experience in electronic engineering and entrepreneurship, Perlman founded ARP Instruments in 1969 with $100,000 of personal investment and a matching amount from investors.

Throughout the 1970's ARP were the main competitor to Moog in the field of musically useful synthesisers. There were two main camps - the MiniMoog players and the ARP Odyssey / ARP 2600 players - with both proponents dedicated to their choice in a very similar manner to the ongoing PC versus Apple debate. Although many musicians preferred the luscious sound and easy patching of the MiniMoog , ARP synthesisers were far more flexible in terms of patching and capable of many more extremes of sound than the MiniMoog .

Famous clients

Some notable ARP users and endorsers include:

• Pete Townsend of The Who,
• Stevie Wonder,
• Herbie Hancock,
• George Duke,
• Chick Corea,
• Steve Hillage,
• Tony Banks of Genesis,
• Edgar Winter (on the rock classic Frankenstein),
• Billy Currie of Ultravox,
• Jean Michel Jarre,
• Joe Zawinul of Weather Report (who used two ARP 2600's - one for each hand) and many more.

Product highlights

• 1970 - ARP 2500 (analog modular synthesizer, patched with a switch matrix )
• 1971 - ARP 2600 (analog modular synthesizer, pre-patched and patchable with cables)
• 1972 - ARP Odyssey (pre-patched analog duophonic synthesizer)
• 1972 - ARP Pro Soloist (monophonic preset, after-touch sensitive synthesizer)
• 1974 - ARP Solina (polyphonic string ensemble)
• 1975 - ARP Little Brother (keyboardless monophonic expander module)
• 1975 - ARP Omni (pre-patched analog synthesizer)
• 1975 - ARP Axxe (pre-patched single oscilator analog synthesizer)
• 1977 - ARP Omni 2 (pre-patched analog synthesizer)
• 1977 - ARP Avatar (an Odyssey fitted with a guitar pitch controller)
• 1978 - ARP Quadra (4 microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizers in one)
• 1979 - ARP Sequencer (analog music sequencer)
• 1979 - ARP Quartet (polyphonic orchestral synthesiser not manufacted by ARP - just bought in from Siel and rebadged )
• 1980 - ARP Solus (pre-patched analog monophonic synthesizer)
• 1981 - ARP Chroma (microprocessor controlled analog polyphonic synthesizer - sold to CBS / Rhodes when ARP closed)

External links

• The Rise and Fall of ARP Instruments (article from April 1983, Keyboard Magazine )
• ARP Instruments at Synthmuseum.com