ARP ODYSSEY User manual

Odyssey Owner's Manual

Introduction
Ws3come to the ARP Odyssey, the ultimate iriuEic^ trip.
The ARP Ctdyssey brings polyphonic electronic music to
tbs perfofraing artist-r&ck, pop, soul^ jazz, of
avgjtt-garde, It incrludes such state-of-the-art fims as
phase -locked aseiHatorsi, di^gital ring modulator, sample &
hold cLfcuits, and most of the functions of acomplete
studio synthi^siser,
With its ease gf operation and high reliability, youf ARP
Odyssey can produce sn enormous variety of sounds in
live perforinance. Everything frcm thund&f and h-ghtciing
to gong, fuzz guitar, and feedback disLortion is at your
fing^niips with the Odyssey's shder controls and patch
switches. The Odyssey^s foot pedal and foot switch add to
your expfessive control. lEs two-voice, 37 -note keyboard
has anine-octave range. The Odyssey is compatible, and
can be interfaced with all other ARP synthesizers. And, of
course, the famous ARP filters and oscillators give you
drift-free accuracy for professionaJ.' quality reoordirtgs.
ssey OwnersManual

Contents
Gening Stifttd ._.4
Exttnul Ampliruir wi SpcakR' ^..5
What Kind of Amp Wofhi Best S
Let's Qe^in 6
How yoiw Odyisey WorNi 7
Scaad Soufcn .10
Experuum 1.LottiUe^ to Wawfofsit 11
£Kp«rimein 2, PuIm V/id!h Modulation 14
ExperinKnt 5. PhiisQ Synchronization IS
Exporimont 4, NoJSfl ,.17
Experiment 5. Ff«iu*ncy ModuUtbn 1
7
Modifitrj 19
Ejcp4riixtent: 1. RJn^ htodvlacKHi 20
Expwimeni 2. TU VCA 21
Exptdnwnt 3. Th« Hi^jh Pas Filur 22
ExpeiimeaE A, Tht VCF 22
Controlkfs. ,....,.. 25
Keyboard siid Pedals 29
ADSR and AR Envalopo GonBj-aior 30
Sample and Hold 35
Low Fivqutncy Oi^ilbtoct 36
Pitdi Bend Control ..,.,.,, 36
Exiefiial Ai«Jio Input. ..^.37
InterfA« Jflcki 37
Panel Conlrol Dtiiertptjon Chflrt 39, 40
Hintiori Using Your Odyi$ey .^ .41
Initint Odyscy 42
P*idi« ,._.43-54
SpKiltcatioas , , 5S, 56
Giva Your Odyuty iLittla Brother Back Com
Copyright 1976 by ARP Instnuneati, Inc.
320 Needbam StrHt
Nflwton, Massjchuioits
Second Edition
Firn PrimiaQ .
.
Mjrch, 1976

The Odysey b^loTigs to tho class of Variable synttiDsiscrs.
Avariable svnlhedzer, as opposed to a Preset synthesiaer,
allows you to shape every aspect of asound, from the
attack and decay to tha harmonic struciurc. Your
Odyssay is equipped with rantrols that will let you
precisaly shape each and every parameter of the sound
you are creating.
Synthesizers create sounds electronically in much the
same fashion that any naturaE sound is created
acoustically. There are definite Q[ementsof sound which,
when put together in diffeient combinatioiis, will
predsely repraduce anything from aclarinet to a
jadthammer, The Odyssey is atnusical instrunwnt
comprised of anumber of different electronic circuits;
each one is designed to control an element of sound.
This manual is an operational guide for the Odyssey,
but it should atso give you aworking knowladge of
electronic jnusic functions.
Checklist:
«Fill out your warranty card and send \k in.
•Save the crarton (It can be used to protect your Odyssey
until you get a carrying case),
*Place the Odyssey on asuitable pUying surface (Don't
worry about ventilation: it won't get hot).

EXTERNAL AMPLIFIER AND SPEAKER WHAT KIND OF AMP WORKS BEST?
The Odysse/, Jike alt electronic musjeal instniments,
i& designed to be connected to an amplifier artd
IcHid speaker system. This external equipment (amplifier
and l-oudsp&aker} niay be aguitar amplifier, P.A. system,
an electronic organ^ recording console, or even ahigh
fidelity or stereo system. Two outputs ar$ provided on the
reat panel of the synthcsizer-a phono fack labeled "Low'
'
and asma^lef phono jatk labeled "High." Use the outputs
in the following manner:
*If you are planning to plug your synthesiser
into aguitar amplifier, use the synthesiser's
"Low" output. Astandard (juitar oaicd can be
used for this connection.
«If you're using the synthesizer with an Organ Or
ahi-fi amplifier, use the output marked "High.''
An input jack is already available On most organ
models. In the event your organ is Sacking this
input, it will only take aserviceman afew
moments to install one. Ask him to vn.ts the
jacks so the volume of the synthesiser can he
controlled by the expression pedal of the organ.
The whole idsa of asyniheazer is to give you the
capability to ^pe and oontrol every aspect of amusical
S3und using the synthesizer's controls. Therefore the ideal
amplification system for synthesizers should introduce SS
little distortion or coloration as possible, for this reamn,
P.A, systems usualJy produce the cleanest ssund with
^nthesisers. Likewise a bass guiter amplifier is probably
the worst kind of amplification for synthesizers because
ba^ guitar amps usuaUy have poor high frequency
response. Some lead guitar amps alio have alot of
distortion and coloration. If you play your synthesizer
through such an amp, your sounds will tend to be
characteristic of the amplifier rather than the synthesizer.
Sometimes, however, the combination of the synthesizer
and an amplifier with agreat deal of its own coloration
will produce just the sound you might be looking for.
Also, don't be afraid to use accessory devices, sych as
phasers, fu£z-wow pedals, equalizers and so forth with
your Odyssey. You can get interesting results. "Hie
Odyssey can also be used as an accessory deviM for other
electronic musical instruments through use of the external
audio input Jack.

Let's Begin
By now your curiosity ts probably beginning lo eicert
itself, d.nd you may wish to start playing immadiateiy.
In this ease, simply tum to pisge 39, iraad tha bri&f dsserip-
tion of the control functions, and than sat up any of the
patches darling on page 43. V/hile thase patctias provida
some basic ideas of the vast potential that lies v/ithin the
Odyssey, you'U ultimateiy discover an ever greater
number of new and exciting sounds and effecrts on your
own,
if you prefer to systematioaUy examine each control of
your Odyssey before playing, continue on to the
information which folEovfs.

HOW YOUR ODYSSEY WORKS
Generally speaking, all the sEeclronic circuits in your
Odyssey perform one of thiee ba-sic funCEions:
LSfgnal sources: lh« "raw" lonea ot noise which will
ultimatfrly be shaped into musical sounds;.
2. Signal Modifiers: the "raw" K>unds ate passed through
signal modifiers where the timbre (or tons quality) 15
changed to produce the desirsd sound, and
Z. ConLrollers; devjoes which detemtme the op^rfttng
characteristics of the signaJ sources and the signal
modifiers. For instance, the keyboard is acontrollef
which produces a voltage to leH the oscillator what
pitch lo create. Sinrulajrly, the ADSR envelope
genarator creates an attack and decay signal that
controls the Voltage Controlled Filter fVCF) so that
the final musical sound has an attack and decay.
the sound of these vibrationsL The body of the violin is
actually atnechanical filter and corresponds to the
Voltage Controlled Filter (VCF) on the Odyssey. It is the
characteristic resonances of the body that give the violin
its distinctive tone quality. The fingerboard, like the
keyboard on your Odyssey, determines the pitch of the
sound. The movemanl of the bow, like the ADSR
Envelope Generator, determines the attack and decay
characteristics of the sound,
Interconnecting the various functions shown in Figure A
is known as creating a"patch." The block diagram
illustrated in Figure Ais, of course, a violin patch.
Similarly, it is possible to diagram any patch that you may
play on the Odyssey. Actually, this visual representatton
of apatch permits you to better understand what
functions of the synthesizer are being employed and how
each function coniributes to the finished sound.
Alt mechanical instruments work in asimilar vny. A
violin, for instance, has avibraiin^g string which would he
aagnaS souTce. The vibrating string corresponds to the
Oscillator in your Odyssey. The vibrations from the string
are transmitted to the body of the viohn which modifies

1
IS FIGURE A. GOIV DRAWN
ACROSS 5TPBNC
CAUSING
V[ERAriONS
1-~L
comtrol pitch
by pressing
THE 3TR3WG
AGAINST THE
FINGER eOARD
BODY OF THE
VIOLIH ACTS
AS AF1L1TH/
RESONATOR
(Modifzer)
MOV]t:0
F3WGER3 BACK
AND FORTH
PRODUCES
ViBRATO
:Co;; crolLL'ii
OUTPUT
-VIOLIN
SOUND
ZL
UKAV.'LNn FJOW
ACROSS Tire
STRINGS SHAPES
ATTACK AND
DECAY
(Con(ioli!6fl
OSCILLATOR
WAVEFORMS
AND NOISE
(Signal Souros]
j~[:
Voltage
COWTROI-LE^D
fCLTRR
LFO
PRODUCES
VIBRATO
(Co rj;rol]i?i i
OUTPUT
-VIOLIN
SOUHD

FIGURE B.
The figure above is sblock dit^ram of all the functions
and iiriternaE eonnections in your Odyssey, As w& proceed
with our discusuion on the Odyssey's functions, you will
be abl^ to see ajtactly how th& different functions
interact.

The Voltage CcmtroSled Oscillator on your Ody^cy
produces electrical waveforms [saw-tooth, pulsSj and
square waves) which are used to er&ate a wide rang& of
sound tiiTkbr&s. if asignal ^en&rated by an oscillator has
the same waveform as asound cr&ated by atraditionat
instrument, both will sound the sartse,
Different waveforms have different sounds. Yovt Odyssey
is capable of (Treating sIk bade waveforms, plus noise:
Sawtooth wave; full, brassy
Square wave; clarinet-like r^r^^r^
1
Pulse wave; bright, nasal
Modulated pulse ivavc; chorus-like, rich
XAJTTT
Sine wave; pure, whistle-like
Various phase-synced waveforms; bright, rich
Sound Sources

EXPERIMENT LLISTENING TO WAVEFORMS
1,Hoot up your 0T5YSSEY to a speaker and amplifier
as desHibed on pag* &. For the time being, set all
lone controls on your amplifier for "flat" responsa.
2. S*t aU the oontrob on your ODYSSEY to match the
posjtion^ shown in Figure C. Double check the
settings before proceeding.
ItIT\'-~. I
tt f» ft ft tY f
ttl 4^ ii *_
-L i-I -L 1
-"" "" z•' "

7' "
11f-|
The controls on youf ODYSSEY are now Bet so that
jrou will be able to hear the different ''raw''
waveforms ffom the ODYSSEY'S VOLTAGE
CONTROLLED OSCTLLATOR (VCO) whenever you
play the keyboard. Locate the three slide controls
under the AUDIO MIXER (white, green, and blue).
Raise the blue glider under the AUDIO MIXER and
play afew notes on the keyboard. The sound you are
hearing is the raw, unprocessed sawtooth wave.
The pitch of this tone cg.n be varied mantially through
use of the COARSE and FIHE turtin^ slideira. Thesfi
sliders are located in the pari of the panel marked
VOLTAGE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR I.
(Figure D),
Mold anote down and push each of these sliders
through its range. The COARSE slider- allows tuning
Ehrough agood part of the audio spectrum, while the
FINE tuning shder allows arange of about one
octave. When you are tuning the voltage contirolled
OEcillators, either to one another or to another
musical instrument:, you will first tune the COARSE
slider to the approximate range, and then use the
FINE slider to find the pitch exactly,

The slide switch next to th& tutiing sliders lowers the
frequency of VCO 1by afactor of about one
hundred when this switch is placed in its L,F.
poation. TTiis is far below the r^nge of hmnan
hearing: cons&quentiy you will not h^ar any
continuous tone but only amore or less rapid series
of clicks. The rate of this low frequency signal is not
controlled by the keyboard, but can be vaned by
adjusting the timing stiders.
Return th& tunirtg sliders to the center of their range,
and set the slide switch hdck to the audio range.
Now change the slide switch under the blue slider of
the AUDIO MIXER to the bottom position. Again,
pjay the keyboard and you will now he hearing the
sound of araw unprocessed square wave. Notice how
the square wave, especially et tow pitches, has a
hollow, clarinet-like sound.
The squere weve on your ODYSSEY can be turned
into another waveform called aPULSE WAVE by
raising the blue slider labelled PULSE WIDTH located
under the VOLTAGE CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR
1bo^. Raise this shder to the halfway mark and again
play on the keyboard, Nocioe how the pulse wave
sounds brighter, more nasal, than the square wave.
An even narrower pulse wave can be created by
raising the PULSE WIDTH slider alt the way to the
MIN marking. This waveform is very bu2zy and thin.
At the MIN marking, the top part of the pulse
waveform is Only about five percent of the total
waveform. Asquare wave, as its symbol implieE, has
atop part of its wavefomn that is exactly fifty
percent of the total waveform,
SQUARE WAVE (50%}
^^_^_^
PULSE WAVE (2!i%J
NARROW PULSE WAVE (5%)
FIGURE E.

EXPERIMENT 2. PULSE WIDTH MODULATION
1. Lower the PULSE WIDTH eontrol slowly thereby
gradually increasing Lh$ width of the putse wdv«
untU il becomes asquare wave again with the PULSE
WIDTH slider all the way down.
2. If you move the PULSE WI DTH cont rol up and down
while holding] down alow note, you will heat thai the
ehaniginq puEse width creates a kind of chofus-like
effect. The fasier you move the PULSE WIDTH
control, the more pronounced the effect. By changing
or "modulating" the pulse width while you play,
you are creating another waveform called the
"MODULATED PULSE WAVE. "
S. The ODYSSEY has special PULSE WIDTH
MODULATION controls that facilitate the generation
of the modulated pulse waveform, Bring the blue
PULSE WIDTH control all the way down, and raise
the pink LFO PULSE WIDTH MOD control atl the
way up. Play the keyboard and you will heair asound
whith is similar to the effect you created when you
moved the pulse width control Ijy hand in step 2,
If you lower the pink LFO PULSE WIDTH MOD
slider, the effect will diminish and finally disappear.
Notice that the pink LFO FREQ control to tfte right
of the Low Frequency Oscillator box changes the
speed of the chorus^iike sound.
Experiment with different combinations of settings
of the blue PULSE WIDTH control, the pink LFO
FULSE WIDTH MOD control, and the pink LFO
FREQ control,
J,.4 tt'
^
FIGURE F.

EXPERIMENT 3. PHASE SYNCHRONIZATION
1
.
Now look at th& part of the panel marked VOLTAGE
CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR 2, VOLTAGE
CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR 2is exactly like VCO
1except for two things:
•VCO 2does not hav^ alow-frequency
operating range,
«VCO 2can be SYNCHRONIZED to
VGOL.
Lower the blue slider under the AUDIO MIXER box
and raise the green sJider. Now play the keyboard.
You are now listening to VCO 2.
2. VCO 2can be switched between sawtooth wave and
square wave the same a$ VCO 1,and the frequency of
VCO 2, when it is not pha^e-synohroniaed, can be
varied in the same manner. VCO 2also has pulse
width modulation hke VCO 1- Try the experiments
that were done above on VCO 1with VCO 2.
:
..I
Phase-synchronisation of the two oscillators is
accomplished by the switch at the top right of VCO 2
labelled EYNC OFF/ON.

NNNMxNh
VC0 2
NOT PHA£E-3THCHKOH[ZED
[VjVJVJVv
PHASE-STHCHPOH IZED
I1I
!!.!
;h
When this switch is on, the audio signal from VCO 2
is forced to conform to the frequency of VCO 1.This
is done by causing the waveform of VCX!J 2 to hsgid
a9ain, or restart whenever VCO 1begins another
wavefofm. This is shown for sawtooth wave? in
Figure H, and the sanoe jjrinciple applies to square
and puSse waveforms as we!].
It is for this reason that the harmo-nic sound of
VCO 2will vary as the COARSE and FINE frequency
sliders for VCO 2 are changed, even though the basic
frei^juency of the waveform does not change (it
TEniains the same as VCO 1).
You can hear this effect in its raw form by setting
VCO 1to some relatively low audio frequency (near
the 100 Hi mark) and slowly moving the coarse
tuning control of VCO 2through its entire tuning
range from bottom to top after turning the PHASE-
SYMCHRONIZATION Switch of VCO 2on.
Experiment also with changing the frequency of
VCO 1while leaving VCO 2in about the middle of
its range, Some of the patches make use of this
spectacular soynd, unique to the ODYESEY.
At this point, too, with the SYH SWITCH off, you
should practice tuning VCO 1and VCO 2 to various
musical intervals by opening both the second and
third sliders under the audio mixer.

EXPERIMENT 4. NOISE EXPERIMENT 5, FREQUENCY MODULATION
Lower the blue and gt&en sliders under the AUDIO
MIXER boji 5nd raise She white slider. Play afew
notes On the keyboard and list&n to th& sound. You
are hearing what is known as WHITE NOISE. This
nois& contains all frec^usncifis ufi the ^udio spectrum
in equal amaunts^ aitd is hanuorticaUy IdentLC^ to the
noise you hear between stations on the FM radio
band.
Thepe is enoise generator svntcb located in the upper
left hand Corner of the ODYSSEY. Chartg^ the
position of this switch to PINK and again play afew
notes on the keyboard. Whereas WHITE NOiSE
contains equal amplitydes of each frequency, PINK
NOISE contains equal energy of each frequency.
Physically, this means that the higher frequencies are
presenE at lower volumes than the lower frequencies.
PlMK NOISE is the most musically useful kind of
noise because it sounds balanced to the ear, neither
too hi9h and hissy, nor coo low and rumblmg. You
will see later how to use the other functions on ihe
ODYSSEV to turn noise into a wide range of exciEing
sounds.
The pitch of the Voltage Controlled
Oscillator (VCO) on your
ODYSSEY is controlled by the
keyboard. You know this from the
previous experirMnts and you can
also 5ee that the keyboard is
connected to the VCO on the block
diagram, page 9. As you will now
experience, you can also change the
pitch or frequency of the VCO hy
bringing in "control voltages" from
o-ther devices on the ODYSSEY.
I. To begin experimenting with
Frequency Modulation, again
set the controls e:cactly as
shown in Pigure C.
Raise the blue VCO 1slider under the AUDIO
MIXER.
You vjiU now hear the sawtooth wave again when
you play the keyboard.
Hold down anote on the keyboand and slowly raise
the pink LFO oontial next to the TRANSPOSE
ill

SWITCH. Notice that aslaw vibrato is introduced
that becomes deeper as yau raise this contiroK
With this LFO control up ahout 1/4, adjust th$ LFO
FREQ control and observe how the vibtato rate can
be changed from very slow to very fast. About 3/4
should provide apleasing vibrato rate.
Change the HfsE slide switch from LFO -y\y^ to
LPO J~LJ~L .Instead of asmooth vibrato^ the
LFO J~i_n_ produces atrill. Notice that as you rais&
this slider, the bottom note of the triil stays the same
and the top note mo'ites depertding iS'rt ths settin^g of
the slider. Try tuning the trill for different intervals,
ILite afifth, octaves, etc. If you increase the LFO
SPEED control, the cdl! can become a useful musical
timbre, especially when the triJ] is tuned to simple
intervals, like octaves,
When you have finished experimenting with trills,
bring the LFO FM slider back down.
How raise the v\^ite slider under the S/H rnlixer box.
White holdirvg down anote on the keyboard, dowly
raise the yellow 5/H control under the VCO. Notice
that this control causes pitch of the VCO to jump
around in a completely random manner. The higher
you raise the yeUow S/H sHdsr, the wider the pitch
variations. At least one S/H Mixer sUder must be
ra,[sed in order for the yellow S/H control to be
activated.
8. Bring the yelEov S/H slider back down, and lower the
white S/H Mixsi slider.
9. Now set the slide switch under the yellow knob to
the ADSR position, and then raise the yellow slider.
Notice how the pitch rises. Leave this control set so
that you have raised the pitch abaut an octave,
10, How bring up all the way the four red ADSR
ENVELOPE GENERATOR CONTROLS (located in
the lower right hand corner of the panel).
11, Again play on the keyboard. You will hear the pitch
of the sound rise afid faH each time you hit akey.
Tlie settings of the ADSR controls will determine the
speed of the pitch change. You will learn more about
these controls when you get to the section on
"Controllers."

Modifiers
Modifiers are electronic devices that can process asignal
and change Us sound. Consequently amodifier- must have
an input and an output. Atone coriErol on ahi-fi set is a
simple modtfiei: sincG it changes the nature of the sound
signal that passes through its circuitry.
The ARP ODYSSEY contains four modtfieirs, the Voltage
ControUed Filter (VCF), the Voltage Conttolled
Amplifier (VCA), the High Pass Filter (HPF), and the
Rin9 Modulator. Any signal that is introduced into the
AUDIO MIXER, i.e., Noise. VCO or VQO must pass
through the VCF, HPF and the VCA hefore r&aching the
output of the ODYSSEY.
19,