User Poll – What ARP Odyssey Should Korg Make?

Korg successfully blew some people’s minds yesterday by announcing that it was going to build a new version of the ARP Odyssey, promising that it was going to be “a faithful recreation of the legendary 1970s analog synthesizer.”

After that settled in, though – people familiar with the ARP Odyssey started wondering which version of the legendary 1970’s analog synthesizer Korg plans to faithfully recreate:

  • Odyssey Mk I (1972 – 1975) – The white-faced Odysseys used a 2-pole voltage-controlled filter (VCF) design similar to old Oberheim SEM modules.
  • Odyssey Mk II (1975 and 1978) – The main differences in the Mk II are the addition of CV/Gate control, a new black and gold color scheme, and a 4-pole VCF modeled after the classic Moog filter.
  • Odyssey Mk III (1978 to 1981) The Mk III featured a new 4-pole filter design; and an orange and black color scheme.

With all these versions – what do you think the ideal Korg ARP Odyssey would be?

Take the polls above, and let us know what you think! And if you’ve got other ideas, leave a comment below!

112 thoughts on “User Poll – What ARP Odyssey Should Korg Make?”

    1. The smaller keys (not mini btw) on the MS-20 mini are very nice and you get used to it in no time, so I think it’s a good compromise in order to save some real state in the studio

  3. Mk 1 or Mk III’s cosmetics are nicest, I like the Mk II’s Moog-ish filter. But either way, 4-pole is a must.

    Knowing Korg, it will be a slightly updated color/graphic scheme with a choice of filters (similar to the MS-20 Kit version filter type option.)

    Unless they are re-creating an exact duplicate of a specific revision, they should mix it up a little.

    1. But their 4 pole filter had a design flaw in it, whats the point of replicating something that’s crap? That’s why they chose the moog filter in the first place – it was the best.

      1. The design flaw you speak of amounted to 4 resistors being the wrong value. Although it took them a couple of years to discover and address this problem, ARP eventually fixed this design flaw in the 4075 filter when they released the ARP Solus. I’m sure Korg will modify the filter as ARP did in the Solus.

    1. Neither the PPC pads nor the knob give you a musical performance experience. ARP was just trying alternatives to the “Moog wheels” to be more distinctive. All things considered, I’d simply suggest that there be separate controls for Pitch and Mod. The first needs to be fluid and the second needs to be able to hold at a set level. It fits the general vintage goal set. It calls for a gentle upgrade, for the sake of flexibility over adherence to tradition. Just a casual observation.

    3. No knob, give us Moog-type wheels, or at *least* use a slider for the pitch bend, like the Octave Cat. Come on, Korg – that stupid knob, and the PPC pads, were always the worst things about the Odyssey/Axxe. I used to sell ARP back in their heyday in the mid-late 70s, and nobody, I mean nobody, liked that knob. There was a shop here in the Bay Area (CAE) that made a pitchwheel box accessory to attach to the side of an Odyssey and I sold a lot of those.

      ARP just wanted to set themselves apart from Moog (and they got burned over copping Moog’s filter design.)

      Put the wheels in the same space as the knob/pads, there’s plenty of room on the panel. It’s a bit awkward up there but it’ll do.

      Or even better, make the case a wee bit wider than the original and add the wheels where they should be, at the end of the keyboard. The panel could benefit from a bit more space between the sliders by spreading them out anyway.

  5. Tuning stability.
    Quality of the switches, not just the sliders.
    LFO sync
    Free running LFO.

    I have a Model 2800 (1st gen, but black and gold body), and also an external 4012 filter clone (AMsynths AM8012) which is the pre-lawsuit, moog style 4-pole. Can speak from experience. Prefer the 2-pole in the Odyssey. World doesn’t need yet another Moog ladder, imo. What I really love about the Ody is that the envelopes match the filter very very well. Super peaky, from zero to wide open, very fast. In euro, you need quite high voltage swing envelopes (MakeNoise Function is good) to get similar punch out of AM8012. +5V envelopes don’t do it.

    This is a bit of a kick in the balls to folks building ARP clones like the TTSH, and the AMSynths Athena project. Can’t say this isn’t awesome and exciting though.

    Bring on the EMS Synthi-A clone, KORG! I love you!!!

  6. Forgot about the best part of the Ody — the duophonic keyboard. It’s really killer. The keyboard action on the Odyssey is surprisingly good, as a matter of fact. Well, with new bushings it is. (Thanks, Kevin Lightner, for amazing restore job a few years back!).

    If this were to be offered at 700 for mini-keys (w/MIDI in), and 1500 for full sized, damn, I’d go mini in a heartbeat.

  8. Bravo Korg! Full size keys, mod&pitch wheels, more robust sliders. (I do not like this type of sliders at all to be honest. Difficult to keep clean and does not offer any advantage as far as I know.) otherwise mkIII style all the way!!

  9. A short list of ideas I would not be opposed to:
    1. An inconspicuous little 2-or-3-way filter selector switch on the back panel (like I wish the MS-20 kit had).
    2. Optional user-exchangeable front panel and slider cap kits.
    3. Program memory/editor via USB/MIDI. Maybe on a more-expensive version only. And I’m NOT suggesting adding patch selector buttons or anything to the synth. Just really comprehensive MIDI control.
    4. Regardless of the color scheme, call it the Mk IV.
    5. Optional wood endcaps for an early Axxe/Omni look (which is true to ARP if not to Odyssey).

    1. The 4075 is the quintessential Odyssey sound, the first model 2800 with the 2-pole has a bit of a harsh quality to it, and the fabled moog lawsuit (that didn’t happen!) was made in such short supply, nobody really knows what that sounds like! 🙂

      There is so much mis-information on this synth (I’ve owned 6 of them) from people who either get their info from (terrible) Vintage Synth Explorer, or worse, don’t know what they’re talking about at all. I’ll have to stop reading these threads, it’s too frustrating.

      1. To my ears, the 2 pole (Ody MkI) is about the most liquid-y warm, smooth filter I have. Only smoother one I have experience with is SH-101. I absolutely trust your experience that its harsher than the others Ody filters you’ve compared it to, but wouldn’t want newbs to think it was a harsh filter like say, a Polivoks, or MS-20. Those sound a bit harsh to me, Ody Mk1 (I think it’s 4023?) is pretty darn smooth. Of course, 2-poles let more high end through, by definition 🙂

      2. I knew what it sounded like, I used to sell them at Don Wehr’s Music City in San Francisco, and the guy I worked with also worked as an ARP clinician. We had all three versions in the shop together once (and Bill knew which serial numbers were the ladder filters) and they each had their own sound. We compared the Mk I to the SEM and it was fairly close – it sounded like an angry Obie. Listen to George Duke in Frank Zappa’s bands from that era, that was a Mk I. The Mk II ladder was very different sounding, harsher than a Minimoog, but very fat. In fact, now that I think about it, we didn’t have a Mini in the shop that time, but we had a Moog System 35 modular to compare.

        I think we called the later Mk II/Mk III “accurate”, it had less character than the others. Smooth and clean. The Mk III had only just come out at the time – I remember a whole ARP shipment of the new stuff coming in and going “ohmygod, it’s so… orange! And has football leather on the sides!”

        Those guys would do anything to be different from Moog, even dumb things like PPC. And the orange 2600 was just… weird.

        Bill could play the hell out of an Odyssey, and we always tried to get the customer to buy the footpedal with it. It opened up a whole world of expression. So Korg, you have to make the VC footpedal to go with the Odyssey!

  12. why not just re-invent? make an ARP worthy of today with new ideas not another awkward feature-barren remake! the ms20 was full of potential that shines through the tricky patching. the odyssey tho has great control interface, but no ring mod, no osc sync, no cross-mod/FM, no nothing really! seems like a nerd journey of re-creation and not a new synth that would actually be palatable to modern ears and useful today.

    1. Note that David Friend was the main proponent of said Avatar system!
      From The Rise & Fall of ARP:

      “Friend, who had been largely responsible for several of the company’s major successes, including the Omni, and whose standing at ARP prospered as a result, was the driving force behind the Avatar. “Pearlman was opposed to the Avatar,” Friend concedes, “but several of our best sellers had been developed over his objections.” Aligning himself with Pollock, Friend obtained approval to proceed. The executive committee voted to fund the project, a move the board supported. “Everybody thought it was going to be the hottest thing since the wheel,” notes Friend.”

      http://www.rhodeschroma.com/?id=arp

      1. Interesting. Thanks for the info! It probably wasn’t a bad idea overall…the technology just wasn’t there. In fact the only guitar controller I’ve ever played that was both reasonably priced and really responsive is the Fishman Triple play…and that only came out last year!

  16. Well said, yet unfortunately Korg is giving in to this nostalgic exercise because of purely profit motive. And you are absolutely correct, the sound palette is not palatable to today’s music. This is not comparable to classic instruments, this is a dated instrument with a dated sound!

      1. Let’s be clear you haven’t clue as to what you’re saying “Brian”. Most producers and electronic artists I know have a studio full of vintage gear, and it has become like a right of passage to have them. Yet they only actually use a Virus coupled with a Korg Radias for actual production. So idiocy and tool factor are all yours.

        1. I’m afraid you know the wrong electronic producers then, “DigitalC.” The ones I know use their analog gear all the time, while you’re selecting your Virus presets.

      1. Admin: Personal attack deleted. Please keep your comments on topic and constructive.

        Also – you can help avoid having your comments flagged as spam if you use a single name to post comments, instead of using multiple names, and avoid posting the same comment multiple times.

  17. None of those! They pick the ugly duckling MS-20 and now this? The Polysix is much beloved though. If they want to rule the world they would make a Polytwelve with some analog effects built in. I won’t complain about any new analog synth, I love them all. But as a business decision I would do the Polytwelve.

  21. I really hope they do full size keys. I HATE the mini keys on my MS-20mini. Hate!!!!!

    Also, I hope they aren’t afraid of offending people by “improving the design.” I think it’s a cop out…. One I think people saw through with the MS-20 mini’s lack of PWM etc…

    I’d like to see full midi implementation, pitch and mod wheels, better build quality, and PRESETS. Yup… I said it. PRESETS. Unless they plan on pricing it under $1000, there is no excuse. Synths like the Sub 37 blow the old odyssey away…. And nostalgia shouldn’t be a good reason for a huge price hike.

    Also, I hoe they use the original filter. There are too many moog sounding filters on the market. They should take Arturia’s lead and give us something interesting to play with.

  22. I personally would like to see an updated(contemporary a bit) White face MKl with LED colored-sliders! MKl because I love so many albums that that version is on , Visage, Magazine, Ultravox, mostly John Foxx’s Metamatic the MKl Gold Face ARP Odyssey is the most prominent synth on that album according to John F. But if it had MKll (first version) internals that would be cool too!

  24. I think that a velocity sensitive keyboard would be a terrific improvement on the original Odyssey, but I doubt if it is going to happen. This makes me think that , nostalgia notwithstanding, the Moog Sub37 could be a better choice for a “new” mono/duophonic synth.

  25. Please don’t use the mk 3 casing, as it was a stupid idea letting the keys hang over with no protection. Many of those got broken.
    Have a sync in/ out for syncing the lfo with a volca or whatever.

  27. MK-II looks drop dead gorgeous no matter how I toss it up, so their heads would be in the right place in my eyes if they went with that scheme. If I could suggest, maybe make the colors on the sliders “pop” more? The picture synthtopia provided isn’t the best, but I’ve seen other pics.

    As for the filter, if they can’t blow our minds again and provide all three, I say make it as close to the MK-II as possible. Now that Moog (apparently) isn’t as violently reactive as they used to be about people designing sound filters based around their topology, I bet they’ll let it slide. Besides, we already have the new Tom Oberheim SEM modules if we want that classic sound seen in the MK-I units.

  29. It would be good to see memories on this synth. As an obvious update.
    An analogue with memories is worth having apart from a tb 303 ,xoxbox etc.
    If your working on lots of tracks to recall sounds is very important.
    The less dependent the better a synth is on a computer the better.
    I have notched up hours of wasted time as my ‘software mates’ try to recall sounds etc via computer interfaces.

  30. Odyssey MK II is what I always wanted! Also, I think KORG is going to use that look. Seems to be more his approach in design, like the MS20 & MS2000, and i like it a lot! Not to mention the illuminated sliders… awesome!!!

    It would be nice to have midi, mod&pitch wheels, some kind of memory for user bank presets, and why not more polyphony or not, just saying.

    Someone said something like bigger than the Microbrute but smaller than Minibrute, and I agree with that. 2 size versions of this synth, more where to choose is always better!

  32. re which filter to choose – I would say whichever one sounds most unique to the Arp sound. I agree we don’t need another moog sounding filter, we have moogs (etc) for that 🙂 I would definately buy one so long as it gives me a sound my other synths don’t make. 🙂

  35. It would be good to see memories on this synth. As an obvious update.
    An analogue with memories is worth having apart from a tb 303 ,xoxbox etc.
    If your working on lots of tracks to recall sounds is very important.
    For me it doubles the synths value and usability .
    The less dependent a synth is on a computer, the better the work flow.
    I have notched up hours of wasted time as my ‘software mates’ try to recall sounds etc via computer interfaces.
    Sent from my mobile, irritating device .

  36. If you really want to impress us make a synth without static sounding smt components or find a way to make them fizzle and subtly distort like in through hold PCB components. The difference can be heard.

  38. Wow, why did 58+ people down vote a comment that asked Korg not to make it a ‘mini’ with mini keys? Mini keys are the worst trend in synthesizers, making it harder for both trained piano players AND beginner, or casual synth players to play the keyboard. Ever get your fingers jumbled up on those tiny keys? If you down voted, don’t you feel that the best keyboards of the past 40 years built with normal size keys (MiniMoog, ARP Odyssey, Jupiter, Juno, MS20, CS80, etc)??

    1. I’m not a great player by any stretch, but I find both sizes useful. Sometimes it’s even easier for me to play a complicated part on the mini-keys.

    2. For studio users, the smaller size of the MS-20 mini is actually a plus.

      If you’re playing piano parts, an 88-key weighted keyboard is obviously the way to go. But if you’re spending a few minutes at a time playing some bass and lead parts into a DAW, mini is good.

      1. get a master keyboard… never deal with mini keys again.

        personally id rather they all have no keys, as i just feed it midi eventually anyway. real-estate is more important then every sound source in the studio having 88-weighted keys… id be working in a gymnasium.

        1. I second the master keyboard idea. Even some very good synths have crap keybeds that undermine the experience, so it makes sense to have the better mechanism and personal attachment when you play. I’m using a Korg Triton LE, a Samson Carbon and CME XKey. None are perfect, but all of them are decent. They each specialize a bit, but also cross over well, so my focus is not disrupted. Everything I’ve liked recently called for a central controller, from soft pianos to modules. Factor it in seriously. Its helped me to enjoy things a lot more. If you’re super-synth-serious, buy a QuNexus. It speaks MIDI, USB, CV and OSC. Talk about well-covered…..

  39. Take a look at the Odyssey in this video…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bacxgzseUvo

    This is just like the Odyssey I owned from ’79 to ’82. Notice that instead of the white modulation pressure pads in the lower right corner as shown in the Odyssey MkII graphic at the top of this post, there are modulation controls like those found in the same location on the Odyssey MkI. So there must have been an interim model between the MkI and MkII … ?

    1. maybe it was the odyssey ‘classic’. ‘Made from old parts toward the end of ARP,
      and sold across America via guitar centre shops’
      (From Peter Forrest’s book)

        1. thanks.
          this seems to have been just a misunderstanding. latest update googlisch translation:

          Update at 18:46 : “although at first we talk about that “come to Europe”, everything could be delayed, or even less than that. What happens is that Korg doubt about the form of distribution in Europe and this has spread the rumor that would not get to be distributed. It is possible, therefore, that the situation is resolved before the release date and the Odyssey arrives at the same time everywhere. We’ll have to wait a bit to see what happens; apologies for the confusion!”

          1. so nothing about the brand name being unavailable in europe.
            this seems to be just the standard internet non-event.
            it would be bizarre not to be able to buy a product on a single continent in this day and age.
            black market in arps does sound cool in a dystopian kind of way though.

  43. I don’t care what they ultimately decide to put under the hood, but the black and orange design is awesome. Perhaps they can tilt the front panel up a tad?

  44. I love that Korg is re-issuing the classics… The Odyssey is a special synth, if only because it was the Minimoog’s direct competitor back in the day. Honestly, I would have preferred to see a re-make of the Octave Cat. Just sayin…

    So… ARP/KORG Odyssey? I say screw it and give it the Voyager treatment. Add tons of cheap features, full midi for every control, and don’t mess with the oscillators. Keep them unstable. Let people warm up their synths. Those oscillators are a huge part of how the odyssey sounds.

  46. A lot of people never had the oportunity to enjoy a real ARP. Playing an Ody with its nice keyboard and those sliders -when they worked- it’s simply an awesome experience. Even the PPC is a real treasure when you learn how to use it, and we all have a midi keyboard with wheels yet.
    Thank you KORG! Sure offer the filters as options, put some swiches on the back as LFO free-run, aftertouch destinations if you wish and MIDI… This is going to be a great year!

  47. Very pleased to see this. Korg have to follow up with the 2600, and if they can fix the problems with the original design, the Quadra. The Odyssey, 2600 and the Quadra are the three must-have ARP synths in my view. I’d buy all three providing the price is not too high. I’d be looking at $1200-$1500 for the Odyssey, say $2500 – $3200 for the 2600 and $1800 – $2200 for the Quadra as being about right.

  48. I seem to remember playing an ARP with a copper top. It sounded wonderful but I can’t remember which one it was. It sounded astonishing and was real fun to play but I seem to remember it being longer and thiner than these three.

  49. I would love to see a 3 way switch on the osc FM sections, so you could select LFO Sine, LFO Square or the other osc for crossmod, like on the Octave The Cat.

    A sub osc for osc one would be great, like on the Octave The Cat would be really helpful.

    Alternatively they could put an analog expander module port and then bring out an expander, thinking across the lines of the Octave Cat Stick but then also throw in patch points so it was intergratable with eurorack.

    I mean an other improvement would be if they just made an Octave The Cat and a Cat Stick instead and would fit in the modern synth market a lot better. I just hope if korg are reissuing ARP products they bring out a 2600 for like $1599.

    On a not Octave related note, a filter feedback knob which seems to be popping up on pretty much every modern analog synth would be much appreciated for a bit of modern grit.

  50. Korg’s mini keys on the MicroKorg XL are the only one’s so far that are playable to me. I haven’t had the chance to try an MS-20 mini. Most of the time I’ve found all the mini keys to be too hard to press down. Missing notes and stuttering because you don’t have enough time to accent the note. If they use MicroKorg XL type keys that would be an excellent choice. If they go with the other style like on the original MicroKorg or the Arturia Minilab etc please use lighter springs in the keybed or give it midi in, Korg.
    Also I liked an earlier idea about slanting the control surface up a bit. That would be excellent. Another thing that would be sharp as hell is to light the labels on the different sections LFO OSC etc. Way better than reading silk screened letters in the dark with a goose neck lamp. Plus it would look amazing. I’ve had my mini brute for a few weeks and I know where everything is and don’t need to read it, but damn it would look cool. 😀

  51. Extra features that the Korg Odyssey may benefit from:

    – Timothy Smith filter upgrade for the 4075 filter (it’s generally believed Arp intended the filter to be designed this way, but due to a few errors implemented the wrong values for a couple of components).

    – Audio path upgrade (if not for the whole unit, then at least for the filters as they can be quite noisy).

    – Speed switches for the LFO, AR and ADSR.

    – Free-run LFO switch (the LFO on a stock Odyssey will always re-trigger every time a key is pressed).

    – Triangle and sine waveforms on the oscillators (it’s my understanding a very small modification of the stock oscillators is necessary to add these additional outputs).

    – Waveform mixer for each oscillator, rather than a mixer that only lets you choose one waveform from each oscillator, as this would result in more complex waveforms coming from each oscillator.

    – Upgraded VCA (the stock Odyssey VCA isn’t very good, and is typically upgraded by users).

    – Power supply upgrade (I would assume Korg is definitely doing this one, as the original Odyssey power supply was sort of underpowered, and not efficient by today’s standards).

    Personally I’d rather these things over a comprehensive MIDI/USB implementation.

    1. this list is very good cause is simply the list of all the mods that generally odyssey owners do on their machines, so is sort of a review of all the well known lacks and desiderd modifications of the instrument consolidated in 35 years of experience. I will add just independent octave switches for the oscillators…
      By the way, you can see in the comments what comes from ody owners….(I got two: white and orange with the first filter and the third, plus an early axxe with the moog filter, and I worked a lot on all three.)
      e.

    2. +1 on the mixable oscillator. I previously posted that they should have done the Octave Cat instead, and it was partially for this reason. It’s also the reason why Arturia’s MiniBrute is so amazing. 🙂

      also agree with the noise issues. I think many of the excited younger guys (who haven’t played a vintage analog) don’t know much about how noisy some of these synths were. And NO, it does not add to their charm. 😛

  52. If Korg tries to satisfy all these ideas/ demands on this forum they’ll have to make at least 20 different versions of the Oddy. Why can’t we be happy with this great news and celebrate the upcoming birth of an awesome analog synth. Thank you Korg and Mr. Friend!

    1. I think it’s O.K. to ask for more, especially when there have been leaps and bounds in manufacturing, as well as 40ish years of Odyssey users weighing in on the strengths and weaknesses of the original.

      Believe it or not, the Odyssey isn’t magical and CAN be improved upon with minimal extra cost. Also, the R&D for the mods Gaakhead mentioned have already been done, and implementing them would be very easy.

      Also, add the fact that most Modern Analog synths boast MUCH better specs than an original Odyssey, and it makes perfect sense.

      I’m not saying Korg should go so far that it isn’t an Odyssey any more; I think they should address the faults and limitations of the original.

      1. >>Believe it or not, the Odyssey isn’t magical <<

        What planet are you from?
        Obviously, you've never owned an Odyssey or you don't like "synths with balls".
        If there wasn't something magical about the Odyssey, Korg wouldn't be "rebooting it."

        I'm 100% sure Korg will not use those crappy plastic sliders in their new design and this will be the biggest improvement on the Odyssey. The LFO Free Run option could easily be implemented along with a MIDI-sync option.. As for mixing waveforms, the Odyssey's younger bother, the ARP Solus, had 2 sliders, one for each VCO, that mixed the waveforms. However, I have both a Solus and an Odyssey, and I must say this feature isn't as useful as you might think it is and adding it would help destroy some of the vintage appeal of the Odyssey.
        .
        As for signal patch upgrades, just using more modern components in the power supply and signal path should help eliminate excess noise and improve the frequency response of the instrument considerably. However, when it comes down to redesigning the VCAs, you definitely don't want to go there. Sure those old synths like the Odyssey, the 2600, the Minimoog, and the SEM had noisy VCAs, but the noise helped give them a bit of balls.

        As for which filter to implement, that is the crucial decision. All 3 filters are great, and everybody has their favorite. I wouldn't be surpirsed if Korg didn't offer all 3 filters.

        Although I own an Odysssey and 9 other ARP instruments, I still consider this to be wonderful news. Lets do the 2600 next.

    2. I mean, I’m excited. But it’s less like a birth, and more like digging up a grave. If they don’t update the synth to fix it’s most glaring flaws, why re-release it at all? At that point, it’s just a money-grab. Albeit, a money-grab that many nostalgic synth-heads will be very happy about. But a money-grab nonetheless.

  55. Sliders gunk up more easily than anything else. Korg should create an entirely new slider that is impervious to everything and so advanced, it makes robots crap a cup of bolts with envy. Seriously, pleez address that. It seems like a small point until the crackling and failures set in.

    1. Those sliders always were one of the weakest points on most ARP synths. I do ingnore the technical aspects behind but I do have an old and big Yamaha synth whose sliders still play and feel like new. During the years eventually all of my ARPS needed a visit to the doctor. Just as Fungo McGurk says in the previous comment: Korg, improving the silders in the new Ody would be historic!

  56. Personally I like the fact that there is noise in these synths. After all one of the problems of the all powerful mega-poly digital era of synths is that something has been lost. I believe it is the heart and soul of the instruments. Analog synths are like mechanical musical instruments. The sound is travelling through it, on the way, picking up other artifacts. Mathematical calculations don’t. The feel of analog is because of the errors. It is a continuous train of sound. So for me don’t change the ARP much other than give it a bit of midi.

    Too many synths can send the ring modulator to control the filter resonance amount reversed by an envelope gated to a step sequencer which is stepped by a LFO in turn modulated by the ring modulators’ sample and hold. And who cares?

    The thing is the Odyssey is history. Well done Korg. Well done this site for showing the survey. Good idea.

    1. I think you’ll find many examples of the Arp Odyssey that you have heard were modified, and not as noisy as the stock models. And personally I prefer a synth be without noise issues, rather than with them, because you can always add noise/distortion/saturation if you want it, but removing it is far more difficult.

  58. I THINK THIS IS EXCITING. KORG HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE MY GO TO SYNTHESIZER FOR INSPIRING SOUNDS AND INNOVATION. MY FIRST SYNTHESIZER WAS AN ARP AXXE AND I WOULD SPEND MANY SATURDAYS AS A GEEKY KID IN THE MUSIC STORE IN BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA. THE SALES GUY ALWAYS LIKED FOR US TO COME IN AS I KNEW HOW TO MAKE SOUNDS ON THE ARP KEYBOARDS AND HE COULD DEMO THEM. WHEN I FINALLY BOUGHT MY ARP AXXE I WAS ON CLOUD
    NINE FOR YEARS AND SQUEEZED EVERY SOUND I COULD OUT OF ITS TONE GENERATOR…HAPPY DAYS. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHAT MY FAVORITE SYNTHESIZER COMPANY DOES WITH THE ODYSSEY.
    MAYBE RESURRECT THE 2600 WITH KORGS KARMA OOOOOOOOOOO GIMMMIE!!!!

  59. Noise Schmoize… Billy Currie of Ultravox ran his Odyssey through a distortion pedal for more raw brutal sounds.

    If you want to make a synth fuzzier/louder/distorted it can be done post output to great effect (pun intended)! Dirty crackling sliders suck.

    I personally would like to see it become like the Mini-Moog Voyager was to the Type-D Mini.

    I agree that the Arturia Brutes are awesome for their waveform mixing. I would like to see this on the Ody as well.

    Gaakhead had the first and best post on this subject. IMHO.

  60. everything like the middle one (I like the look the best) except the latest filters, a redesigned pitch bend, and new sliders; usb midi like the minibrute (notes only).

    but keep that front panel the same!!!

  61. Need to add Patch Storage! Advanced real time arpeggiator control/dial, delay effect would be nice, at least 6 note polyphony would be nice, 61 keys would be great. But at a minimum, patch storage and arpeggiator!

  63. I’d like to suggest that from both a mechanical and electrical engineering aspect, today’s end price point still has much to do with cutting corners…which I do not advocate as a tech for music gear service (24 years).

    My suggestion to Korg: sure, we want a lot of features, but please use quality PCBs, PCB design (plating, higher temp rated, something close to MIL-Spec), verify your SOA, component quality, serviceability, etc.

    I’d rather see a quality built unit stand out amongst all of the garbage cranked out every day from mass production than an “every feature” model built poorly.

    There will always be plenty of DIY and entrepreneurial types to pick up for the many futures that everyone wants so badly to fully populate the reissue, but will invariably cause a majority outcry when the final price tag is announced.

    Finally, I’d suggest that they should’ve done a poll first, then if the “every-feature” model was voted in, Korg take deposits from those who could actually pony up the money.

  64. Great news! At first I thought it was a Hoax. I had the white panel Odyssey and also used an Orange/Black panel Avatar as an Odyssey expander module sequenced from a Roland TB303. The ARP sliders were the most obvious weak point on all ARPs and were the reason my Odyssey died back in 2000 when there were no companies making replacement sliders or restoring synths like there are today. I prefer the cabinet of the MK1 and MK II as the keyboard on the MK III project too much and are vulnerable, as I discovered on my Omni 2 that also shared the protruding keyboard that featured on all of the later ARP models. Having said that, I don’t mind which model Korg reissue as they are all great variants of a classic synth, I still have a fully functional ARP Omni with all the caps replaced would love another Odyssey. With second hand Odysseys commanding ridiculous used prices, I’m sure Korgs offering will be a lot cheaper and include MIDI and CV/Gate/Trigger interfaces.

  65. Tone and filter quality is the most important – the only reason to want an arp vs anything else. Too many features will dilute the focus away from the odyssey’s most important aspect – ITS TONE QUALITY. You can always connect a midi-cv converter.

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