There are synthesists, and then there are people like Phil Dodds. He’s perhaps best-known as the man who wrangled the (real) ARP 2500 synthesizer in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind so that it could perform an elaborate jam session for (fictional) aliens. But he left an extensive legacy of achievements that helped make music technology more than science fiction.

Our friend Yann Seznec (aka The Amazing Rolo) writes:

You’ve mentioned Phil Dodds on your site before, the guy who played the ARP 2500 in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He was VP of Engineering at ARP, he wrote all of their service manuals and schematics and helped design and build many ARP synths, from the 2600 to the Chroma. He then went on to work for Kurzweil, developing digital piano systems. He was even involved in the creation of the MIDI standard. He also happened to be my uncle. I thought you might be interested to know that he died last weekend.

Our condolences to Yann and all of Phil’s friends and colleagues. There’s some really moving commentary at the Aviation Industry CBT Committee blog (really, because after all of his work in synthesis, he also was a driving force behind a distributed online learning initiative for the Department of Defense):

“What are we saying to each other?”

That was a single line, spoken by the sound engineer at the end of Close Encounters of a Third Kind, as he played chords and a friendly alien spaceship played music back.

The Passing of Philip V.W. Dodds

… and more on Wikipedia:

Phil Dodds

We talk a lot about tools, of course, but that question of “what are we saying to each other” couldn’t have deeper resonance for what we do. And if aliens do show up, thanks to Phil Dodds, I think we might put on a great show.

“This Week in Synths” by Matrix is on a short holiday; in the meantime, you can page through the archived stories. In its place, it’s worth considering two “top xx lists” for synths. Sonic State has done a Top 20 Greatest Synths List, featuring a quite nice video and rather high-end production values. The list itself is perhaps better read as a Top 20 Most Popular Synths, though, so you’ll be gratified to know our friend Matrixsynth responded with a list of the Most Underrated Synths.

Top 20 Greatest Synths at Sonic State, complete with extensive information, links, top-notch videos … good stuff.

Most Underrated Synths at Matrixsynth, complete with more of the obscure instruments we love.

As terrific as the list at Sonic State is, presumably because it’s based on voting, it skews in a certain direction. The omission of modular Moog and Buchlas, the lack of important moments in synthesis (like Yamaha first commercializing physical modeling), and the general emphasis on ROMplers tilts the list in a certain direction. There’s a decent argument for the keyboards that made the list, but I am curious what CDMers would compile.

Hard to argue with the #1 spot, though. See what you think:

1. Moog Minimoog. (Warning: pronunciation in the video rhymes with the sound cows make, instead of properly rhyming with “brogue.”)
2. ARP Odyssey
3. Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
4. Yamaha DX7
5. Korg M1
6. Roland D50
7. Korg MS20
8. Roland JV-1080
9. Access Virus
10. ARP 2600. (Interesting bit of trivia: Sonic State’s readers are right that there’s an ARP 2500, not 2600, in Close Encounters, though the 2600 is often erroneously connected to the film. But something I didn’t know — Wikipedia says in the entry on the film that “Phil Dodds, a tech from ARP Instruments Inc., is the man playing the keyboard.”)
11. Oberheim OB8
12. Roland Juno 60
13. Mellotron (Hey, do tapes count?)
14. Yamaha CS-80
15. Roland Jupiter 8
16. E-MU PROteus 1
17. Clavia Nord Lead
18. VCS3
19. Roland SH-101
20. ARP Solina

Of course, part of the reason lists have become so popular online is because they’re easy to argue with. And this list illustrates, as much as ‘boards like the Minimoog get love, how other synths just never do.

So for those unloved synths, here are Matrix’s picks (in no particular order):

The ARP 2500

This one actually just popped up for auction with a buy it now of $13,800. The 2500 was ARP’s first modular flagship and consisted of the 2003 synthesizer and 3003 keyboard controller. As mentioned in last week’s post, the ARP 2500 was also the synth played by ARP engineer Philip Dodds in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. You can actually see him play it in the film. You can find a demo of the 2500 in last week’s post as well. Some details from the auction:
“This is a very rare and early version of the ARP 2500 Modular Synthesizer. It has a larger cabinet with 3 x 5 Modules (instead of 2 x 6 Modules on standard ARP 2500s) and the switch matrix in the top section has 10 positions (instead of the 20 positions on later ARP 2500s).

The ARP 2500 for sale here has the serial number 014 (model 2003, serial 70 - 014).

I have been told that these very early 2500s were hand-built by the ARP/Tonus crew to the most exacting standards, they are probably better than later models (which of course are excellent as well).

The Buchla 500 at CalArts

A little bit of Buchla synth history via Peter Grenader of Plan b. That giant modular in the background is the Buchla 500, the rarest of the rare in the modular synth world. It is possible there were only three ever in existence. “The following flckr stream [link] was from CalArts studio B-304 taken in the fall of 1976 featuring Barry Schrader, Morton Subotnick and John Payne and a whole lotta Buchla 500. John as you may remember came up a couple of months ago on Matrixsynth in the posting regarding Mort’s use of the 300 at Ircam [link]. He went on in later years to become the Assistant Dean of the CIA School of Music and founder of it’s Music Tech department. Photo b_304.2 has a good view of the entire studio, save the three other JBL’s which are out of frame (it was a quad studio - there was one in each corner).

There are two more 500’s that I know off - at Evergreen and another somewhere in Europe (pardon the senior moment, i don’t remember where exactly). This is not to say there aren’t others…I’m just not aware of any. The one in the photo here was the first - the development system Don constructed while on staff at CalArts. I do know the 500 was adondoned quickly and resurfaced as the 300 series which included direct routing of computer control the various modules (259 VCO and 292C Gate for example) -and- the digital VCOs.”

You might notice it’s been less than a week synth my last “This Week In Synths” post. I’ll be shooting for Fridays moving forward. That said, this week we start with a video by Jexus of Syntezatory.pl. You might recognize the website from last week’s hi-top shot by polaranta. I’m guessing Jexus and polaranta are one and the same. Note the synth in last week’s image was the Yamaha CS20M. This is a video of that synth.

Next up is a KORG PS-3300 Prototype, claimed to have once been owned by none other than Klaus Schulze himself. Note the typo “Modifires.” It’s currently up for auction with 0 bids. Why zero bids? I’m guessing it’s the starting bid at $7500 US and it’s broken. Word is it is not repairable.

From the auction:
“You are looking at one of the rarest synthesizers on the planet. A korg PS 3300 prototype owned by the legendary Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream. But sadly it does not work so I am selling it as a non working unit. This would be the ultimate restoration project for somebody with technical know-how and time. Not only is this synth mega mega rare but it has a historic valve as well. If this synth could talk it would have many stories to tell. This synth would have been on many world tours with klaus. The synth does power up with lights flashing and blinking. The main control boards seem to work. With a service, 2 out of the 3 blocks will be functional. There are 4 voice boards missing but the can be easily copied with all IC’s still available (see photos).” You can find more images and info at the auction and on this MATRIXSYNTH post, where I saved the details for posterity.

Arturia has long been known for its realistic emulations of classic analog synthesizers. So is Analog Factory, which repackages its existing emulations in a stripped-down virtual instrument a good deal for digital musicians, or just old wine in a new bottle?

The package contains 2000 presets, taken from Arturia’s ARP 2600V, CS80V, MiniMoog V Moog Modular V, and Prophet V emulations, all of which use Arturia’s acclaimed TAE (True Analog Emulation) technology to accurately reproduce the sound (if not the interface) of the original hardware. The bundle gives you a simplified bundle of the favorite sounds of all the larger, more editable libraries, in an approach along the same lines as Native Instruments’ Xpress Keyboards. Analog Factory rationalizes the sometimes complex interfaces found in the full packages with a simple display that puts everything upfront on a single screen. There’s a 2-1/2 octave virtual keyboard with pitch and mod wheels, master volume control, eight snapshot buttons for saving favorite patches, and a series of controls for controlling the basic parameters found in all analog synths (more on these later).

For fans of vintage synths painstakingly emulated in software, Arturia
are rockstars. They're best-known for their Moog emulations, but we've
been waiting for Arturia to bring another classic to software, the ARP
2600 synthesizer, since the software was first shown at AES. It's here:
the Arturia ARP2600 V. For those of you don't know what an ARP is, think
Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Depeche Mode, — listen to the sample
sounds. The 2600 was even the voice of R2D2. For those of you who just can't get enough, I bring you ARPday,
a list of links that could easily consume any productive time you'd
planned:

ARP Synthesizer:
Massively huge ARP Synthesizer page by Donald Tillman — even in-depth coverage of the ARP patents
(if you had a brilliant idea for a "Quasi-Logarithmic Multimeter for
Providing an Output which is a Linear Function of the Logarithmic of
the Input," you're too late!)
The Rise and Fall of ARP, history of company from Keyboard, 4/83)
ARP 2600 User Manual
Synth Museum on the ARP 2600
Vintage Synth Museum (look for ARP in left frame)
ARPtech with online schematics of modules
Mark Vail's Vintage Synthesizers Book, Backbeat Press

Arturia's Recreation:
Arturia product page
Download demo
Sound designers involved
Sample clips (audio — that's the ARP I love)
Discussion at KVR Audio

Compatibility: Windows / Mac (standalone, DXi, RTAS, HTDM, AU, VSTi)
Price/Availability: US$310, shipping December 22 (speaking of which, to my Keyboard colleague Francis Preve I say: Merry Christmas!)