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Arp (or Rhodes) 4 Voice and 16 Voice Electric Pianos, audio?


IndySteve

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I was reading something about the electronic pianos that helped bring down ARP Instruments. I looked all over the web for audio examples, and I didn't find any. Good Karma goes to anyone who posts a link to a video or audio demoing these instruments. If you just have some interesting tidbit to relate, you get Karma too.
Come out with your hands up! I have a synthesizer, and I'm not afraid to use it.
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No, he's right. There was an ARP Piano. IIRC it came in two versions. I distinctly remember it at the time. It seems like it only had 4, 8 or 16 presets with very little editing control. If my mind still serves me, when I tried one out I wasn't all that impressed with the sounds. But it has been quite awhile.

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I have played one. It sounded blah, it was heavy as hell, the dynamic control was awful and it was unreliable. IIRC, it was a 16-voice, and there was a 4-voice (!) cheaper version. But some of its elements (keybed, pedals) were further developed for the Chroma.
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I bought the ARP 4-Voice piano when ARP lowered the price to blow them out - this was about 1980 or 1981. I think I paid $1,100 or $1,200. I needed a warm sounding piano for a stint with a Beatles clone band.

 

Remember that this is relative to that time frame and that price point. I could have spent much more money - but for this gig and my budget, the ARP piano worked fine.

 

Overall, the ARP 4-Voice sounded great on tunes like: You Never Give Me Your Money, Golden Slumbers, Get Back, etc. I detuned the oscillators for Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da - it was versatile.

 

The hiss was bearable. Rather authentic piano sound for the time.

 

It was heavy (thank goodness we had a road crew) and it traveled in a big Anvil case. Never broke down.

 

When the Beatles act disbanded (about two years later), the ARP was too big for club date work. I bought the smaller and lighter KORG EPS-1 and it sounded much less like a real piano - and it cost more.

 

Did what I needed to do based on prize, size and sound quality - made compromises.

Steve Coscia

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I owned the 16 voice for several years when they first came out. Never had a problem with it and it offered a different sound from a Rhodes or Wurlitzer which was a plus. Not up to todays standards for an electronic version of an acoustic piano, but at the time it was cool. It was a heavy beast though, that's for sure.

Wm. David McMahan

I Play, Therefore I Am

 

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After searching on Youtube and consulting with the best and brightest here, I still haven't heard/seen any demos of a working Arp Instruments 4-voice or 16-voice piano. Could it be that the instrument is completely extinct? (at least in working condition)
Come out with your hands up! I have a synthesizer, and I'm not afraid to use it.
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