Here's a link to a 21-minute video where Synthesist, Lisa Bella Donna, compares 6 Moog Synthesizer models:

• Minimoog Model D,
• Subsequent 37
• Grandmother
• Matriarch
• DFAM,
• and Mother-32

www.synthtopia.com/content/2019/11/09/6-moog-synthesizers-compared/

The more I immersed myself in the world of Pop Rock, Progressive Rock, Heavy Metal, Funk, etc., I kept hearing those sweeping Filter sounds as well as other textures that I just couldn't create with the Univox K1.

Then I learned about the existence of the Synthesizer which changed Rock Music forever, the "Minimoog". Of course, I HAD to have one!

Because I was still in High School and living at home with my Parents, I had LOTS of time to explore everything the Minimoog had to offer.

After a time, I found myself continually creating the same Patches (Sounds) with the Minimoog. I was getting increasingly frustrated with its limitations. Then I heard about a Synthesizer called the "ARP 2600". When I saw photos of it in magazines, I was instantly caught in its Spell. I could see that it had unlimited potential for Sound creation.

Sylvia and I don't really like to buy "used" equipment, for different reasons. The main reason is that we can sometimes feel the old energies which may still be attached to them. However, even though I was now in College, I still couldn't afford the price of a "new" ARP 2600. So I bought one, used, from a nearby store. It was the Black & White one, seen above. After getting Married, for the first time, I had to sell it. However, many years later, afterMarrying Sylvia, we heard that the ARP company was going out of business. I explained to Sylvia that the ARP 2600 was the most complete and versatile Synthesizer of its time. She agreed. So we immediately phoned the ARP company. A man with a broken English voice answered the phone. My guess is that this was the "man" himself, Alan R. Pearlman. He actually took the order. Because we had read about the bankruptcy in a "magazine" (which meant this news was already old), Sylvia and I feel that the ARP 2600 we currently own is "probably" "the last" or, at least, "one" of the last ones ever sold by that company. (We bought the one with the orange "blocks" describing the functions.)

Here's a great web page showing the many versions of this incredible Synthesizer:
​www.vintagesynth.com/arp/arp.php

It looks as though Synthesizer pioneer, Alan R. Pearlman, "crossed-over" on January 5th 2019.

Although more people, especially non-Musicians, will have heard of "Moog" Synthesizers, Mr. Pearlman founded the "ARP Instruments, Inc." in 1969 and contributed quite a bit to the Music industry. This is what his daughter Posted, regarding his crossing:

Here's the link to the Synthtopia website, where I first learned of his crossing:
​www.synthtopia.com/content/2019/01/06/arp-founder-alan-r-pearlman-has-died/

​Here's a link to a short, video interview with Mr. Pearlman, from 2006:
www.namm.org/library/oral-history/alan-r-pearlman?fbclid=IwAR0hsbPR2buZVzHu04T5c6evuHjCnDHFxrvQTUZ2qsJNcIH5W6Q7CEFKEF8

Electronic Synthesizers helped shape Music, in every genre, since they were first invented. According to this Wikipedia article, that would be 1876:
​en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer#Early_electric_instruments

Most Synthesizers have a very unique or slightly different sound. The "Moog sound" is probably the most recognizable — especially for those of us who first began listening to Music in the '60s and '70s. During those early years, the biggest companies, still known today are:

• Moog,
• ARP,
• Oberheim and
• Sequential Circuits (Later named "Dave Smith Instruments" or simply "DSI")

Of all the Synthesizers, up to about the 1980s, the original "minimoog Model D" was the most popular. Although I'm a "Drummer", while I was still in High School, I bought a very basic "Korg" Synthesizer. (I don't remember its name.) Hearing more and more about this "minimoog" thing, in the early '70s, I saved-up and bought one from a local Music Store ($1,495). The sounds were rich and the various combinations of sonic textures were easy to pull out of it. It was an amazing experience.

Then I heard about something called an "ARP 2600". After seeing some images and reading several articles on it, I knew I had to buy one. This thing was a monster! It had features none of the Moog Synthesizers, at that time, offered (especially on their "non-Modular" Synthesizers, like the minimoog)​:

• Ring Modulation,
• Sample & Hold,
• Spring Reverb,
• 3 "complete" (audio / LFO) Oscillators,
• a "Lag" circuit,
• an "Electronic Switch",
• a "Multiple",
• Patch Points,
• an "Envelope Follower",
• and more!

Many, many Musicians have used ARP Synthesizers in their Music… and, even though the ARP company hasn't existed for decades, many Musicians continue to use those Synthesizers in their Music. Here's a link to the song "Frankenstein" by Edgar Winter. You can see him play the ARP 2600 in this video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1mV_5-bRPo

Here's a page where you can see the different variations of the ARP 2600 over the years:
​www.vintagesynth.com/arp/arp.php

Although ARP released several different Synthesizers over the years, my ARP 2600 could not only imitate most of their sounds but also added a bit more… that is, until I heard about the "ARP 2500"!

In its day, I really wanted an ARP 2500 but Sylvia and I could never afford one. It was a big powerhouse of its time.

Here's the link to an "ARP 2500" web page, which explains some of its capabilities:
www.vintagesynth.com/arp/2500.php

​Jimmy Page, of Progressive Rock band "Led Zeppelin", has (or had) an ARP 2500. Pete Townshend, of the Rock Band "The Who", also used an ARP 2500. You can hear that instrument's "Sequencer" Module on their song: "Baba O'Riley". It's right at the beginning. Here's a link where you can hear that song:
​www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2KRpRMSu4g

Here's the Wikipedia page for "ARP Instruments, Inc.":
​en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARP_Instruments
​
​Probably the most popular "ARP" Synthesizer was the "Odyssey".
​
My notes here don't do enough to explain the impact Mr. Pearlman and his instruments have had on me, Sylvia and this entire world. Thank you Mr. Pearlman!

Behringer has been making audio equipment and electronic musical instruments for many years. The few pieces of information Sylvia and I had heard about them was mostly from some of their unhappy customers, who let their complaints be known on various Forums.

Around 2015 or so, company Owner, Uli Behringer, commented about Moog's extremely high prices and said he could manufacture and sell similar Synthesizers for around $300.
​

• This was at a Time when Moog's "lower-priced" Synthesizers were Retailing for around $1,500. (Of course, these contained "Keyboards".)

Later, Behringer's Synthesizers, which were "copies" of popular Synths decades before, would become known as "Clones". The first "Clone" Behringer made was of Moog's famous "Mini Moog Model D". Granted it didn't have a Keyboard but it IS currently selling for $299! A few months later, Moog decided to release something "new". So they created the "Mini Moog Model D" and placed a Retail price of $3,500 on it!!!
​

• The original "Mini Moog" was released in the early 70s. I was still in High School but, after hearing it's awesome sounds on various Rock recordings, I just had to have one. So I saved all my money and bought a brand new Mini Moog from the local music store… for $1,495!!!

The new Mini Moog does have a Keyboard and, although Moog added "MIDI" (digital technology, which the Behringer "Model D" also has), they added a few Patch Points (interconnection Jacks) for Control Voltage and other benefits when working with other Synthesizers. (The Behringer version also has MIDI and several Patch Points.)

• Although Moog recreated the "Model D", they did add a few improvements. So, in order to save everyone a lot of confusion, why didn't the call this new version the "Model D+" or "Model D Plus"?

Since that first Behringer Synth, they have created their very own, not "Cloned", Synthesizer called the "Deepmind 12". This one does have a Keyboard, has MANY more features than Moog's Mini Moog and Retails for just $1,000!!!
​

• Behringer has also stated that they have assigned several of their Engineering Teams to Clone many more of music history's popular Synthesizers.

Several years ago, Behringer began building a new Factory in China. The manufacturing building will be about 3-MILLION SQUARE FEET in size!!!

A new, "Behringer original" Synthesizer which has been talked about since it was "leaked" in January 2018, is called: "Neutron". Although it doesn't have a Keyboard, it does have a very flexible set of features, a great sound and will Retail for $299!!! I told Sylvia, the Neutron needs to be on our Music Gear List.

• About 8-months ago, I was working with our "incomplete" Modular Synthesizer and wanted to create a sound that was in my mind. the Function I needed was inside our "Roland System-1m" Synthesizer ($600) but it didn't offer any way to access it from another Synth. So I told Sylvia "The System-1m isn't as flexible as we need it to be. So we should trade it in at our local Guitar Center store and get something else." That "something else" is the "Neutron".

Here's a link to an article on the new Behringer Factory:
www.synthanatomy.com/2018/03/music-tribe-city-get-an-insight-factory-behringer.html

Here's an older article, which provides a few more details:
www.prosoundnetwork.com/business/music-group-city-moves-forward

Here's a link to a very good Review (video) of the Neutron:
www.synthtopia.com/content/2018/04/05/behringer-neutron-analog-semi-modular-synthesizer-review/

• On that web page, I was surprised by some of the Comments. Everyone had something good to say about the Neutron (and Behringer). There were even 2 or 3 people who said, in the past, they would not buy anything from Behringer… but were now considering purchasing this amazing Synth.

The Review (in the link above) of the Neutron was done by Nick Batt of "SonicState". If you're not familiar with "SonicState", here's the direct link to their website:
www.sonicstate.com
​