Korg announces all new ARP Odyssey

[Tusker]

We are so spoilt.

 

I noticed that the CS80 filter was conspicuous by its absence on the King Korg even though they included the Minimoog, Prophet 5, SEM, MS20 and TB303 filters. Of those, I'd like to see Korg aim at an SEM filter, because it's not likely that Tom Oberheim wants to create an affordable, yet complex poly synth with lots of digital control, which is what I think the market will reward.

 

Beside, the SEM is a lovely filter.

 

[AnotherScott]

Voyager notwithstanding there really isn't a faithful reissue of the Minimoog (which would really get everyone excited).

Although it can't quite qualify as faithful either in look or in features (including the lack of a 3rd audio oscillator), I'm (perhaps foolishly) optimistic that the Sub 37 might come close enough to make me happy.

[GovernorSilver]

Odyssey never really blew my skirt up. But, with Korg also owning the SCI rights, what's next? A new Prophet-5? They could actually do that...

 

..Joe

 

I doubt it, since Dave Smith brought the Prophet name with him to Dave Smith Instruments, and has since released two new Prophet models, both in production.

Yeah but how about a Pro One? That would be pretty cool.

 

I don't see Korg recreating any SCI synth as long as Dave Smith Instruments exists as a separate entity. I'm hardly an expert though in these legal issues.

 

Wouldn't mind seeing an OB-1 either.

 

Honestly Voyager notwithstanding there really isn't a faithful reissue of the Minimoog (which would really get everyone excited). It should be do-able from a practical standpoint because there's not that much to the internal guts of one. Korg couldn't call it a "Moog" of course, but because this is a miniaturized reissue series they may be able to get around any legal issues with Moog Music.

 

Oberheim is still alive and making synths with his own company, so you'll probably have to pay him to make you a new OB-1.

 

I don't see how Korg could get away legally with recreating a Moog product while Moog Music still exists, even if they call the Moog recreation MiniKorgoMoog or whatever.

[GovernorSilver]

While we're still asking Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny for Korg to remake stuff by any manufacturer who ever existed, I'll throw in the Syntar - now THIS is a keytar I'd be tempted to buy - 9 spring-loaded continuous controller keys on the neck:

 

http://www.carbon111.com/syntar.html

 

http://www.carbon111.com/syntar/syntar1.jpg

 

I'd love a VCS3 but, like someone said earlier, EMS still exists and is (in theory) still making them - heard stories about 10 year waits though.

[vonnor]

I say why not? With used vintage analog gear at premium prices (Memorymoog $7K anyone?) there is a market for the re-creations. One wonders how far this trend will go. I for one am glad to see it.

 

~ vonnor

[GovernorSilver]

I could go for a Korg Ondes Martenot

[16251]

I wish Korg would spend more time on their acoustic piano sampling.

[Dana.]

I wish Korg would spend more time on their acoustic piano sampling.

Korg's pianos are not driving their sales. But there's no reason to believe they won't continue to refine their piano sampling.

[larico]

Everyone talking about the Odyssey. What a blast from the past.

 

Does anyone (but me) remember the ARP Axxe? That was my first synth. It was all I could afford.

 

I think it was the little brother to the Odyssey, or else it was the version previous to it.

 

Anyway, from what I remember (it was a long long time ago, maybe early/mid 70's) those things were a PITA to keep in tune. An outside gig on a hot day brought on all kinds of frustrations (same with the ARP Solina String Ensemble).

 

But tons of fun!

 

Richard

[HammondDave]

Yeah... Not my favorite either. Too thin sounding. The MiniMoog blew it away IMHO. But give Korg credit. A true labor of love.

[jcazzy]

Everyone talking about the Odyssey. What a blast from the past.

 

Does anyone (but me) remember the ARP Axxe? That was my first synth. It was all I could afford.

 

I think it was the little brother to the Odyssey, or else it was the version previous to it.

 

Anyway, from what I remember (it was a long long time ago, maybe early/mid 70's) those things were a PITA to keep in tune. An outside gig on a hot day brought on all kinds of frustrations (same with the ARP Solina String Ensemble).

 

But tons of fun!

 

Richard

 

The Axxe came after the Odyssey. And yes, both were a PITA in the outside temps when it was hot. That is the reason I replaced my '73 Odyssey with a GAIA. Playing at a boat dock in 106 degree temps even in the shade. Both me and the Odyssey had to take a break. Finally cooled down enough for it to stay in tune but man did it take a hike before that. Glad we didn't start until late afternoon when the sun was going down.

[HammondDave]

This is the first synth I ever laid eyes on, circa 1974.

 

Man, with Moog, Dave Smith, Vintage Vibe, etc. and now this it's really amazing how things have come back from 33+ years ago. If you jumped ahead in time from back then you'd had no idea that many companies/synths bit the dust before they had a return. What next, a new Ensoniq Mirage/ESQ-1???

 

And don't forget Dave Kean and Markus's Mellotrons, or Streetly's new cycling Mellotron!

[Bill H.]

Honestly Voyager notwithstanding there really isn't a faithful reissue of the Minimoog (which would really get everyone excited). It should be do-able from a practical standpoint because there's not that much to the internal guts of one. Korg couldn't call it a "Moog" of course, but because this is a miniaturized reissue series they may be able to get around any legal issues with Moog Music.

Why would Korg do this when Moog Music is alive and well? Makes no sense.

Because Moog Music won't do it

 

Just what if-in'. Can't see it happening. But it sure would be cool

[jerrythek]

I started with an Odyssey and moved into the Mini because it was fatter/warmer/whatever. But there were a number of players who used both, because each had their own qualities and strengths. I liked how George Duke discussed it with me: the Mini was male and more macho, the Odyssey was more sweet/feminine/vocal.

 

No one instrument is the be-all. Joe Zawinul famously never went for the Mini, he liked the timbral quality of the Arp range of products.

 

Jerry

[Synthoid]

What next, a new Ensoniq Mirage/ESQ-1???

 

Wasn't there news a couple years ago that Ensoniq was coming back? Obviously that crapped out, unfortunately.

 

 

[Cybersoniq]

What next, a new Ensoniq Mirage/ESQ-1???

 

Wasn't there news a couple years ago that Ensoniq was coming back? Obviously that crapped out, unfortunately.

Creative/EMU has rights to the Ensoniq legacy goldmine if they want to jump on the retro re-make keyboard/synth wagon. But they sorta crapped out since the LONGboard...

[Synthoid]

Creative/EMU has rights to the Ensoniq legacy goldmine if they want to jump on the retro re-make keyboard/synth wagon. But they sorta crapped out since the LONGboard.

 

Ah yes... what a joy that was.

 

[GovernorSilver]

Everyone talking about the Odyssey. What a blast from the past.

 

Does anyone (but me) remember the ARP Axxe? That was my first synth. It was all I could afford.

 

I think it was the little brother to the Odyssey, or else it was the version previous to it.

 

Anyway, from what I remember (it was a long long time ago, maybe early/mid 70's) those things were a PITA to keep in tune. An outside gig on a hot day brought on all kinds of frustrations (same with the ARP Solina String Ensemble).

 

But tons of fun!

 

Richard

 

The Axxe came after the Odyssey. And yes, both were a PITA in the outside temps when it was hot. That is the reason I replaced my '73 Odyssey with a GAIA. Playing at a boat dock in 106 degree temps even in the shade. Both me and the Odyssey had to take a break. Finally cooled down enough for it to stay in tune but man did it take a hike before that. Glad we didn't start until late afternoon when the sun was going down.

 

Some good stories along those lines in the old Keyboard magazine interview with Devo that I mentioned on the other thread. It goes into a fair amount detail about their synth rigs, the custom 6-osc Minimoog, the Odysseys, the state of sequencers in that time (bad - either too primitive or unreliable, and little interoperability cross-brand - this was before MIDI), why they started to prefer off the shelf gear over home-made electronics or exotic gear, reliability of synths, etc.

[Daniel Heslop]

Interesting....

 

http://cdn.korg.com/us/news/upload/845b9dcb248cc604f6f0a2c71ab1909f_pc.jpg

 

dB

 

 

Would that Moog do this with the Minimoog.

I think that is sort of the idea with the sub-phatty and sub-37, but I agree. I still think a re-issued minimoog with stable oscillators priced well would fly off the shelves even without memory, after touch or other later developments, so long as it can sound like a model D.

[Markyboard]

Everyone talking about the Odyssey. What a blast from the past.

 

Does anyone (but me) remember the ARP Axxe? That was my first synth. It was all I could afford.

 

Richard

 

This is one of my earliest recollections of getting into synths back in 1978/79. IIRC after reading my first few issues of Keyboard (Contemporary Keyboard back then), I mailed ARP for literature. There was no internet back then; yes it's really true all you youngin's. Anyway, ARP sent me the lit along with a poster of the ARP Axxe that I pinned up on my bedroom wall. I remember lusting after such a synth back then. Never bought one because about a year later I bought my first keyboard, a Yamaha CP-30. I graduated a year after that and soon after was lusting after a Memorymoog ...and so on...and so on...

 

Thanks for the trip down memory lane Richard

[jerrythek]

I liked how George Duke discussed it with me: the Mini was male and more macho, the Odyssey was more sweet/feminine/vocal.

 

Jerry

 

I saw a vintage Odyssey endorsement ad featuring Tom Coster today, and he describes that Carlos Santana described the feminine quality of it back in the day. So credit where credit is due...

 

Jerry

[Moon Zero Two]

Wasn't the minimoog reissue the old school?

[Bucktunes]

Wasn't the minimoog reissue the old school?

Not quite. IIRC, the Old School had the same sound engine as the Voyager, but without the touchpad, MIDI, or patch memory.

[Bucktunes]

I liked how George Duke discussed it with me: the Mini was male and more macho, the Odyssey was more sweet/feminine/vocal.

 

Jerry

 

I saw a vintage Odyssey endorsement ad featuring Tom Coster today, and he describes that Carlos Santana described the feminine quality of it back in the day. So credit where credit is due...

 

Jerry

The Odyssey ad quote was from Tom Coster's interview in (Contemporary) Keyboard Magazine. I wasn't happy about that analogy...At the time I had a white faced Oddy, and I played in a band with another keyboardist who had a Minimoog. Fortunately, he never read that interview or I'd have never heard the end of it!

[burningbusch]

I wish Korg would spend more time on their acoustic piano sampling.

Korg's pianos are not driving their sales. But there's no reason to believe they won't continue to refine their piano sampling.

 

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 10+ years it's obvious that digital hardware (workstations, synths, stage pianos, clonewheels, etc.) have been replaced with software for many people. I'm not so much talking about gigging musicians (who are decidedly in the minority) but rather the non-gigging majority.

 

The question has been, "how will the hardware manufacturers respond?" For most it has been business as usual, repackaging, regurgitating and mild tweaks of the same digital hardware year after year ostensibly driven by the the idea that they can outlast the "trend."

 

Korg has taken a different approach by being the only one of the large manufacturers to offer: 1) VST/AU versions of their synths, 2) iOS versions and 3) analog synthesizers. This is apparently working for them. Korg has sold over 300,000 version of their MS20. Also, check out Facebook and you'll see Korg with 191,000 likes. Compare that to Roland, Nord, Yamaha and Kurzweil and you'll find none of them close. This isn't to say they're the sales leader but rather they are touching a broader mix of people.

 

Real analogs play into this strategy quite nicely as they can't be duplicated in software, only emulated.

 

I know this rant is a real tangent from the above posts, it was just triggered by them.

 

Busch.

[Dana.]

To add to what Busch wrote, the microKORG is clearly the biggest hardware synth game changer in the last decade. If nothing else, it started a new, profitable trend for small, portable, low-cost VA synths and controllers. I wouldn't be surprised if it ultimately surpasses the DX7 as the biggest selling synth of all time, if it hasn't already.

[GovernorSilver]

Wasn't the minimoog reissue the old school?

 

Mainly in spirit, as the full name of that product was the Minimoog Voyager Old School. But Moog Music wasn't trying to be faithful to the old Minimoog design - they always billed it as a descendant of the old Minimoog, so it was not marketed as a reissue of anything. I just watched Part One of the documentary "I Dream Of Wires", which covered the two godfathers of modular analog synths (Buchla and Moog) and their impact on music. Bob Moog was portrayed as marketing his synths towards pro musicians (Buchla disregarded them) and Moog Music seems to be following that aesthetic by putting MIDI in everything. That is why it is unlikely we'll see a purely analog synth (no MIDI) from Moog ever again.

 

I guess some people can hold out hope for a limited edition 100th Anniversary Reissue model.

[burningbusch]

Wasn't the minimoog reissue the old school?

 

Mainly in spirit, as the full name of that product was the Minimoog Voyager Old School. But Moog Music wasn't trying to be faithful to the old Minimoog design - they always billed it as a descendant of the old Minimoog, so it was not marketed as a reissue of anything. I just watched Part One of the documentary "I Dream Of Wires", which covered the two godfathers of modular analog synths (Buchla and Moog) and their impact on music. Bob Moog was portrayed as marketing his synths towards pro musicians (Buchla disregarded them) and Moog Music seems to be following that aesthetic by putting MIDI in everything. That is why it is unlikely we'll see a purely analog synth (no MIDI) from Moog ever again.

 

I guess some people can hold out hope for a limited edition 100th Anniversary Reissue model.

 

As someone who owns a Voyager, I would buy a point-to-point recreation of the Minimoog (from Moog) without hesitation. I think Moog Music is sitting on a potential goldmine.

 

It was only recently that I became aware of the clipped filter envelope on the Mini. This is different than overdriving the filter, this is the envelope that is "clipped" or rather flatlined. It was most likely a design flaw that became part of the signature Minimoog sound.

 

http://www.synthesizers.com/egpunch.html

 

Do the current Moogs employ this same envelope? I don't know.

 

Busch.

[Michael W]

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 10+ years it's obvious that digital hardware (workstations, synths, stage pianos, clonewheels, etc.) have been replaced with software for many people. I'm not so much talking about gigging musicians (who are decidedly in the minority) but rather the non-gigging majority.

 

I'm not sure about this... I have no idea what percentage of non-gigging musicians have become software only, but is it really more than single digits?

 

I like my software instruments, but I use Omnisphere, Ethno, Z3TA, etc., to supplement my MOX, Jupiter, Virus, and Moog LP. At this point, I have a hard time imagining software completely replacing any or all of the hardware instruments I enjoy so much.

 

I think the plethora of great-sounding software instruments have forced the big hardware manufacturers to develop lower-priced hardware alternatives. Hence the Yamaha MOX and MX; Roland FA, Junos, and Gaia; Korg Krome, Kross, M50, etc.

 

And I agree the Korg has responded creatively and successfully with everything they've done. Especially with the new Odyssey announcement, you'll find a tremendous amount of Korg worshipping going on over at the much-trafficked Gearslutz forum.

 

[EscapeRocks]

Speaking of ARP....

 

 

I'd like a digital piano in the shape of my old ARP 4 voice.

You know, with the screw in legs, and the totally flat aircraft carrier top.

 

It was perfect for placing my old Crumar Orchestrator, then Prophet 600 on top. No extra stand to bring, perfect playing positions....

 

 

Okay back to your topic