Some History Of The ARP 2600 Synthesizer

The following 28-minute video shows a brief history of the iconic, ARP 2600 synthesizer.

In the early 70s, I bought a used ARP 2600 (with the black & white Panel). (I had a Minimoog for over a year but sold it because I wanted more out of it than it was capable of producing.)

At one point, I was asked to be the original Drummer for the band "Lite As A Feather" (LAAF), around 1976. After a few months of performances, I started to bring the 2600 with me. I'd set it up just within reach of my Drums. I could then program, wind, birds, helicopter or whatever a song called for.

One day, I began thinking about how I could trigger (activate) the ARP 2600 while I was playing my Drums. I then invented a very crude "Switch". It consisted of Lever Switches, which I attached to my High Tom and Floor Tom. I mounted them close enough to each drumhead so they wouldn't make contact unless that drum was struck. I connected an 1/8-inch cable from that switch to an electronic breadboard, which sat inside an aluminum box that I had created and mounted to the top of my Hi-Hat Stand. I also created an ON/OFF metal "arm" (lever) covered in clear caulking. This was connected to another switch which was inside the "box". Now I could play my Drums as normal but when I hit that "arm" with a drumstick, it would turn ON the "box" and every time I hit one of the Toms, the ARP 2600 would "fire" (activate) and a sound could be heard. Striking that "arm" again, would simply turn that circuit OFF.

A few years later, I quit the band (big mistake) to get married and sold everything… my drums AND the ARP.

Years later, Sylvia and I met. She was the Music Director in a church, has a Music Degree, writes music and plays keyboards. Several months after our meeting, we heard that the ARP company was closing. We immediately called them and placed an order for one of the very last ARP 2600 models ever sold by them. (It's the black panel with the orange squares.) That was the first synthesizer Sylvia and I bought together (1981).

During our live performances, the 2600 was placed beside my Drumset, so I could program it for Sylvia. She had her hands full with those performances, as she played:

• ARP 2600,
• Alpha Syntauri keyboard (Apple ][ based synthesizer with "Mountain" brand Sound Cards), and
• Moog Taurus II pedals (a synthesizer with a keyboard for her feet)
• In later performances, Sylvia added the Emu Proteus keyboard. (So, yes, she played all 4 keyboards at the same time.)

Here's the link to the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaiMjwF0a64