ARP 2600 M synthesiser

General

In early 2020, the ARP 2600 came out again, this time from Korg's stable, but branded ARP. Pricey of course, monophonic, so maybe with some luck we could sell a few units. We knew it, suddenly everyone wanted the thing. Also in view of other people's recreations, there suddenly seems to be a 2600-vibe in synthesiser land. And now this ARP 2600 M synthesiser, are we getting another repeat of the earlier success? Basically, it's just the ARP 2600 FS that suddenly became so popular in 2020, but one size smaller.

Features of the ARP 2600 M

For those who missed all the fuss in 2020, and may not be familiar with the original model either, a brief summary. The ARP 2600 M is a semi-modular analogue synthesiser. So unlike Eurorack systems that you pick out all by yourself, there is a fixed selection of modules in here. However, you can patch those modules together, and with each patching configuration you get a new architecture, in fact a new synthesiser. Once that is in place, you can use the many sliders within those logistics to shape the sound the way you want it. This way, you really have a horizon of sound possibilities at your disposal, and you can also add a fat analogue sound character to that. Many sound designers boast that the 2600 is one of the best synthesisers of all time.

Other features

With just the oscillators, filter, reverb spring, envelopes and everything else, it would be a very nice synthesiser. But this is not the old synthesiser, but a model anno today, and you should expect more from it. For instance, it has a MIDI-IN, it has USB-MIDI, and it also has another USB connector to which you can directly connect a USB/MIDI keyboard. Is this 2600 M a synthesiser for everyone? Actually yes, it is good - even as a starter - to use this model to learn how to connect synthesiser components to each other and what the effect is. Of course, this smaller model is also a bit more affordable than the 2600 FS that came out in 2020. It is also worth remembering that the old 2600 was used by very big names in the music industry at the time. It is in order to underline that even this smaller 2600 is a very interesting, and downright beautiful synthesiser!