Joy of Synths #14 Leap Year: Arpeggiators & ARPs

A non-musician’s guide to creating sounds for podcasts, videos, and sampling for music using analog synthesizers.

Feb 29, 2024

Arpeggiators

Three of my semi-modular synths by Pittsburgh Modular have arpeggiator functions in the MIDI to CV converter. However, I never used them because I was not equipped with a keyboard controller. Fast Forward 3 years and I now own the Behringer Swing MIDI Keyboard controller that has a sequencer and arpeggiator button.

SEQUENCER vs. ARPEGGIATOR

A sequencer plays a sequence of notes which are converted to voltage. This voltage can be wired with a patch cable to an oscillator’s volts per octave input jack to control pitch by very minute amounts, or by a number of octaves.

The voltage comes out in the form of pulse wave, which has a high/low cycle. A pulse wave with even high/low, or on and off, in a cycle is a square wave. You can make it more on or more off with the “Duty” control, when available.

A sequencer should at minimum allow you to sequence notes and rests, and hopefully you can control the speed of the sequence as well as the amount of time a note is “on.” (See the Duty cycle dial on the Korg SQ-1 step sequencer)

ARPEGGIATOR

An arpeggiator on a keyboard plays the keys you mash down. If the synth was indeed polyphonic, or capable of playing more than one key at a time, this would produce a combined sound, or what’s called a chord.

Most analog synths are monophonic, so even if I press down 3 keys that form a chord, only one note of the 3 notes would play.

An arpeggio is simply pressing the 3 keys of a chord one key at a time for 3 sound events rather than all at once. Rather than “123 Chord” it’s 1-2-3, 1-2-3, or 3-2-1, 3-2-1, etc.

With a synth arpeggiator, if you mash down 3 keys, then you should hear those three notes repeat. Some arpeggiators can be set to play from lowest key to highest, highest to lowest, and possibly random.

While a sequencer plays notes as sequenced, an arpeggiator basically plays the notes you press down. This means you can have more variations, faster. Arpeggiation loops the keys(notes) you press down for a more immediate and performative recording.

There is overlap with a sequencer, so it’s not more or less musical than sequencing. Musicality will depend more on how you’ve tuned the oscillator and set the filter and envelopes and all forms of modulation.

GET BOTH

If you are looking to build a mood music library then an arpeggiator is something that’s worth looking for in a MIDI keyboard or sequencer. Ideally the controller will have a sequencer and an arpeggiator, like the Behringer Swing. The arpeggiation can be transmitted through the CV and Gate signals output jack on the Swing. Again, some MIDI to CV modules have built in Arpeggiators but you must use a MIDI controller, rather than directly connecting CV and Gate signals.

FOR THE LOVE OF ARP

Now, I don’t abbreviate arpeggiator as “Arp” because that is the acronym for Alan R. Pearlman, creator of the ARP 2600 and Odyssey synthesizers. I played the Behringer clone of the 2600 for a few weeks and really loved it despite its large footprint. Alas, the footprint was too big for me, taking up a desk, so back to Amazon it went. Plus I felt bad about recording a clone when there is the ARP Foundation dedicated to ARPs. It’s like asking your favorite artist to sign a bootleg for which they receive no royalties.

ARPS FOR ALL

There is no need for bootleg ARPs when there is the “ARPs for All” program of the ARP Foundation and the Record Co. You can book time in Record Co.’s studio in Boston, MA, and request original 1970s ARP Synths for playing or recording! Studio times are very affordable, and there doesn’t appear to be a surcharge for requesting the ARPs. If you are in the area, consider recording your very own ARP sound library. That may (or not) be possible in a few recording sessions. If you wind up going, please post a comment as to how it went.

GREAT WHILE IT LASTS

Once I exhaust the possibilities of recording my current synths I plan to travel up North and record a sample library of these vintage ARPs. Like most awesome opportunities, it’s perhaps better to do it sooner than later. For example, I totally missed the Keyboard Museum in Winter Park, Florida. This studio featured a huge collection of synths as well as 3 recording rooms. Time to start setting aside funds for travel in Fall 2024.

Wires that form the words "Joy of Synths"

END NOTE

It’s been 15 days of Lent and I haven’t recorded a thing. Recording a different patch a day is a good idea. So I’ll start today with the IMPLEXUS with single key presses and arpeggiations.

Joy #15 will arrive on the IDES OF MARCH, 03/15/2024. That will deal with some Shopping Mania and questions of ownership. Cheers! - Anthony Torres

This issue is sponsored by CoWolves. Buy vinyl at https://discogs.com/seller/cowolves.