From andrea@sihp03.si.estec.esa.nl Mon Jul 25 10:08:26 1994 Date: Mon, 25 Jul 94 11:05:55 MET From: Andrea TONI To: analogue@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: -- ARP quadra -- > I am a big fan of ARP gear and I have always wanted to get a Quadra. It > seems that whenever I ask for a description of one all anyone ever > says is that its 4 arp synths in one under computer control. Does anyone > have a *more accurate* description of this potentially delicious beast? > Supposedly it does not have a good reputation. Can it be interfaced in > any way? I know that New Order used a Quadra on most of their early > records (after upgrading from an Omni during their Joy Division days) Since > early New Order is brilliant I figure that this synth must be a Gem. > Plus, does anyone know it's status on the used market: ie, approx price, > level of demand, difficulty to find, etc. > thanks, > Jonathan Hi, here it is .. some infos on the quadra I found on my mail box .... enjoy .. and btw where is Doctor/Mister/Professor Metaly !!!.. Doesn't he dare to read (or worst .. to post !!) on the analog list anymore ? hihihihihi !!?? Ciao, ------------------------------------------------ENV---ENV---ENV---------------- Andrea TONI (andrea@sihp03.si.estec.esa.nl) | | | Solar System and Space VCO-->VCF-->VCA--> DUCATI 900SS Science Division (SO) | | | ------------------------------------------------LFO---LFO---LFO---------------- >Could someone inform me on what exactly the Quadra was? I never saw one but >I thought it was ARP's version of the early-80's polyphonic/DCO/programmable >analogue synth. Supposedly it was plauged w/ problems: what kind? Did it >have any sort of control interface that can be converted to MIDI (ala DCB)? >Even though I have never heard one, I have always wanted to buy a Quadra >because I love the ARP synths and it sounded cool. Are they easy enough to >find, and what is their 'street price'? The Quadra was "MIDI before MIDI," as Tony Banks of Genesis described it. It was four different synths, each of which had been sold separately in its own box by ARP, repackaged under one hood and sold as a monster synth-rig. It contained a lead section (an Axxe), a bass section (a Little Brother), a polysynth section and a strings section (an Omni-2). The five octave keyboard was pressure sensitive and splittable, and it sounded GREAT. Almost every keyboard sound you hear on the song "Abacab" by Genesis is Quadra; it was Tony Banks's main axe for a long time. The problems with the Quadra were not specific, that I know of, it just suffered a bit more than other synths from the ravages of age. The keys broke, the membrane switches on the front panel failed, and so on. I've only seen one, ever, since the advent of MIDI. It was sold to my ARP-collecting friend, who paid $1700 for it and considered it a bargain. I could get more data on it from his copy of the manual, if people are curious. I should mention that the Quadra was by no means unique. There was a wonderful era right before MIDI when the Prophet model for the polyphonic synthesizer was not the only way to go, and a lot of bizarre beasties saw the light of day: not only polysynths like the CS-80 and Polymoog, but also wonderful organ/strings/synth combo keyboards that weighed a ton and sounded thicker than molasses, like the Quadra, the Korg Trident and Trident Mark II, the Crumar Stratus and Trilogy, and the Yamaha SK30 and SK50D. -- mike metlay * atomic city * box 81175 pgh pa 15217-0675 * metlay@netcom.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From analogue-request@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Wed Apr 21 12:38:57 1993 Date: Wed, 21 Apr 93 15:00:48 -0400 From: jdisegi@acs.bu.edu (Jonathan Disegi) To: eirikur@ranger.enet.dec.com, metlay@netcom.com Subject: Re: The demise of Moog, ARP, SCI, OBIE, etc. Cc: analogue@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Could someone inform me on what exactly the Quadra was? I never saw one but I thought it was ARP's version of the early-80's polyphonic/DCO/programmable analogue synth. Supposedly it was plauged w/ problems: what kind? Did it have any sort of control interface that can be converted to MIDI (ala DCB)? Even though I have never heard one, I have always wanted to buy a Quadra because I love the ARP synths and it sounded cool. Are they easy enough to find, and what is their 'street price'? The Quadra (haven't played one for years- so be kind) was basically an Oddessy, an Omni, and a mono bass synth in one box with a splittable 5 octave keyboard. Lots of knobs (sliders actually) with programmable presets. The synth section was, as I said, similar to an Oddessy- two VCOs with crude duo-phonic capability. The poly section had the Omni (= String Ensemble = Solina) sounds, plus some synth effects by running this through filters (like the Moog/Radio Shack MG-1 or the Moog Opus 3). You could split the keyboard to do things like bass in the lower two octaves, lead in the upper 2, and poly in the middle etc.. The keyboard had a form of mono pressure sensing that could be used for vibrato, filter sweep etc. It was not velocity sensative. The coolest thing was the front panel. In addition to lots of sliders, the panel was all brightly colored (printed into the faceplate) membrane switches. Lots of bright blues and oranges as I remember. Lots of LEDs too! The were many I/O jacks including CV/gate for the lead section. Don't remember any more about that. I've seen them used for $250 - $1000. The membrane switches seemed to flake out on most of them (anyone with a Sinclair ZX-81???). Nice sound- definately worth it if you want lots of analog sounds and knobs and don't miss the MIDI stuff. David David Rogoff, Teradyne Semiconductor Test Division rogoff@teradyne.com 818-991-2900 x4627 Forwarded message: Subject: Re: the Quadra-- a correction Date: Wed, 21 Apr 93 12:54:28 PDT I correct myself.... >The Quadra was "MIDI before MIDI," as Tony Banks of Genesis described >it. It was four different synths, each of which had been sold >separately in its own box by ARP, repackaged under one hood and sold >as a monster synth-rig. It contained a lead section (an Axxe), a bass >section (a Little Brother), a polysynth section and a strings section >(an Omni-2). The five octave keyboard was pressure sensitive and >splittable, and it sounded GREAT. Almost every keyboard sound you hear >on the song "Abacab" by Genesis is Quadra; it was Tony Banks's main >axe for a long time. The problems with the Quadra were not specific, >that I know of, it just suffered a bit more than other synths from the >ravages of age. The keys broke, the membrane switches on the front >panel failed, and so on. > >I've only seen one, ever, since the advent of MIDI. It was sold to >my ARP-collecting friend, who paid $1700 for it and considered it >a bargain. I could get more data on it from his copy of the manual, >if people are curious. having just spoken to the fellow in question, I amend: the Quadra had an Odyssey in it rather than an Axxe (two VCOs), an Omni-2, and the bass section used either the Omni-2's bass voicing or a pair of "electric bass" voicings from (probably) the Pro-DGX. mike metlay * atomic city * box 81175 pgh pa 15217-0675 * metlay@netcom.com