The characteristic sound of the Arp2600 is mostly the filter. Now the
question is, which filter? The Arp2600 had several different versions,
all sounding very different from each other. I too have played with an
early gray version with the 3604 monophonic keyboard, and I found the
filter to be nasal in quality, not really much to my liking to be
honest.
At one point Arp did have a Moog ladder type filter in the 2600, maybe
this is what you liked? I don't know how the filter types matched the
external appearance. There's no reason to believe that they had to
track each other. At one point the 2600 also had an LM3900 based filter
that I've heard less positive things about.
More information on Arp filter types is located here:
http://www.arptech.synth.net/modmain.htm . It says the Arp 4012
submodule is the ladder filter type, in the 2600 from 1970 to 1976. The
Arp 4072 submodule is the LM3900 type, in the 2600 from 1976 to 1981.
I'm wondering how accurate those dates are as the gray 2600 I tried
definitely did not have a Moog ladder type filter.
If you heard the Moog ladder type filter, then you'll want the MOTM-490
filter. If you like the nasal sounding filter, well, I think the
MOTM-440 sounds much better.
John Loffink
jloffink@... The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site
http://www.microtonal-synthesis.com/The Wavemakers Modular and Integrated Synthesizer Web Site
http://www.wavemakers-synth.com/ > My first real encounter with modular synthesis was couple of
> hours with an ARP2600 (an earlier grey model), and it
> changed my life.
>
> I wonder, what is so typical of the 2600's sound (which I
> love)? Is it the filter? The oscillators?
>
> What would I need (if possible at all) to get that sound
> with a MOTM system?
>
> Thanks,
> Robert (counting down the weeks for his first MOTM shipment)
>