Rackmount ARP 2600 Clone

It's a good year so far for re-imagined ARP synths - we've seen Korg's Odyssey and now from Switzerland we have TheWarp, described as a modern reinterpretation of the legendary ARP 2600 semimodular synthesizer produced by ARP Instruments from 1970 to 1981. It is based on the original schematics and built entirely with analogue components in traditional style. Redesigned to fit within the standard 19" rack size, the actual instrument retains the graphic design, the size of the sections and feel of the original. TheWarp comes fully calibrated with a 2 years guarantee on defective parts and is shipped worldwide on a direct sales basis.

The men behind the project
TheWarp is the result of a teamwork between Neil Otupacca, electronic engineer and former keyboardist of the swiss rock band Gotthard, well known in the swiss Prog-scene for his skills on the Minimoog and the Hammond organ, and Roberto (Bob) Raineri-Seith, electronic music composer and "analogue synthesizer guru" since 1984 at raineri-seith.com . Neil was responsible for the whole engineering work and is now in charge of production; Bob defined and elaborated the concept and is responsible for marketing and sales. Graphic designer Shanti Maffioli was in charge of the front panel redesign. All three live in the same area in southern Switzerland, so the contact was easy and constant throughout the entire developing and testing phase of the instrument.

Here's more details in the team's own words

Specifications

• 3 VCO's each with sine, triangular, sawtooth and variable pulse waves (all oscillators are identical to VCO 2 of the original instrument), frequency range 0.05 Hz > 20 Khz
• 1 VCF / Resonator, 24db lowpass-type (2012 submodule version)
• 1 ADSR Envelope Generator
• 1 AR Envelope Generator
• 1 VCA with initial gain
• Ring Modulator
• Sample & Hold
• Noise Generator (low, pink and white noise)
• CV, Gate and Trig inputs (5-15V)
• 2 x 4 multiples.

TheWarp is 19" wide, 12 U high (480 x 520 mm) and 13 cm (approx. 5 inch) deep, so it also fits nicely (without the detachable power cable) in a pop-up mixer rack case like the SKB19-P12U. It comes completely calibrated and a recalibration routine would become necessary only after many years or in case of replacement of components. The trimmers are sealed and thus almost insensitive to oxidation, consequently their electrical characteristics remain stable even in a longer period. Concerning the power supply, in a first moment we were oriented to a switching-type power supply with an automatic input range from 110 to 240 VAC at 50/60 hz, but in the testing phase we noticed that the response to current peak levels wasn't accurate enough; so we opted for a traditional linear power supply (110 or 220 VAC) that we adapt to the users specific needs and / or the country of destination before shipping.

Operational concept
It is worth remembering that both TheWarp and the original 2600 are semi-modular and pre-wired synthesizers, a constructional concept introduced in the late 60s that was also adopted by other manufacturers (notable semi-modular synth were the EML Electrocomp 101, Roland's System 100 and Korg's MS and PS series). "Semi-modular" and "pre-wired" means that no patching is needed for playing the instrument in its basic and more common functions. Patching becomes a more "in depth" programming option that enables more advanced, experimental and sometimes unorthodox (but very interesting) functions and results. With the exception of the sections that were not retained, all functions and technical specs are identical to those of the original instrument, so you can widely refer to the original ARP 2600 owner's manual for the main functions.

Pricing and Availability:
TheWarp is sold on a pre-order basis and the sale price is CHF 3'400 (equals approx. 3'600 US $ / 2800 Euro depending on the exchange rate plus shipping.

More information:

• TheWarp