Different Fur ARP 2600

[WeAreAs1 at aol.com]

Hello Grant,

The Different Fur studios were located in the San Fransisco area, and during 
their heyday (the late 1970's and most of the 1980's), were owned and 
operated during by brilliant synthesist Patrick Gleeson.  A lot of 
high-profile major-label records were recorded there at the time, including 
releases by Santana, Journey, and Jefferson Starship.  I think some (if not 
all) of the soundtrack to "Apocalypse Now" was recorded there, as well (with 
Patrick playing some of the synthesizers).  Patrick also released a few 
excellent all-synth records from that studio, mostly recorded with his HUGE 
Emu modular system.  Among them were his GREAT album of original 
compositions, "Rainbow Delta", and an excellent electronic realization of 
Gustave Holst's "The Planets".  In the mid-1980's, Patrick sold the Emu 
(probably for a song!) and bought a large Synclavier system.  A bit later, he 
gave up his share in the studio as part of a divorce settlement.  His wife 
may still be running the place these days (if it's still in business).  

I don't know what Pat is doing these days.  Maybe he went back to teaching 
mathematics?  He was a math professor at one of the universities in San 
Fransisco when Herbie Hancock asked him to join his "Headhunters" band in the 
early 1970's.  Pat's ARP playing is all over the "Headhunters" album (most 
people think that Herbie played the synths, but Herbie was playing only 
Rhodes at the time).  That album is considered one of the great seminal works 
in the soon-to-explode jazz fusion genre.  After a couple of records with 
Herbie, Pat started the Different Fur studios.  Who knows - maybe he used 
that 2600 on those Herbie Hancock records!  Does it have any modifications?

Best regards,
Michael Bacich

P.S. - You probably should check with Parts Express about the replacement 
speaker for the 2600.  They have tons of odd replacement speakers for car 
stereos, TV's, etc.  You can find them at www.partsexpress.com.  Ask them to 
mail you one of their print catalogs.  However, the 40 ohm thing may be tough 
to find.  You might consider modifying the circuit to work comfortably with 8 
ohm speakers (transformers would probably be the easiest way), then replace 
both speakers.