Way Out Ware TimewARP 2600
Without doubt a hardware classic, the ARP 2600 reappears in software form. Mike Hillier dances the TimewARP again...
Price: £170.00
Manufacturer: Way Out Ware
Website: http://www.maudio.co.uk
Produced between 1971 and 1980, only 3,000 ARP 2600s were ever made. Originally designed for the education market, the ARP 2600 became a popular instrument among progressive musicians, including Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and The Who’s Pete Townshend – who was known to play his guitar through the synth using the ARP 2600 as a unique vocoder.
The design and construction of the original synth was ground-breaking, employing internal normalised connections, sliders and patch cords to create a modular synth that even a novice could quickly get to grips with.
Back in the software world, Way Out Ware’s exceptional emulation of this stunning synth uses physical modelling techniques to re-create every possible nuance of the original. Alan R Pearlman, the ARP 2600’s designer, was consulted throughout the creation of this virtual instrument, and this has given Way Out Ware the opportunity to re-create an authentic imitation of the ARP 2600, but at the same time improving the original design. The new virtual ARP has eight-voice polyphony and substitutes the original spring reverb – which Alan believed to be full of unpleasant frequency spikes – for a smoother- sounding reverb that retains many of the characteristics of the original.
Patch and learn
If you’re new to modular synthesis, the design of the TimewARP can initially be quite confusing. It is not immediately apparent what each module does and how you go about using it. Anyone who had the opportunity to use one of the few original hardware synths, of course, will have no trouble, as the layout is almost identical.
Learning how to use the synth isn’t as hard as it first appears, however. Because it was designed for the education market, the original synth was clearly labelled and came with a patch manual that gave users a number of ready-to-program patches as well as tuition on how to create new ones. Way Out Ware has built on this idea, including the original patch manual in PDF format on the install disc and pre-programming all of the patches into the Patch Manager, which also includes presets by the likes of Richard Devine, Robert Rich and Bruce McPherson.
The patch manual itself is excellent. It walks you through all the features available in TimewARP and within minutes you’ll find yourself wiring modules together to create everything from simple lead and bass patches to complex rhythm sequences.
Sound design
Once you’ve read the patch manual you’ll be more than ready to approach the TimewARP for yourself, creating authentic patches that even hardened ARP 2600 fans would find difficult to distinguish from the hardware originals. Because it’s software, though, you can do much more than the original users could, automating patch changes in real time, loading micro tunings and synchronising the internal clock to MIDI beats.
An exciting prospect for users of TimewARP is the ability to run the plug-in as an effect plug-in within your host, routing your audio through the TimewARP’s filters, preamp section, reverb and even the synthesis engine, using the audio as an oscillator, modulator or even as a control voltage source, creating interesting vocoding effects. This is an excellent feature that adds greatly to the instrument’s sound-design capabilities. And if you are looking to re-create Pete Townshend’s Who Are You guitar tone, this is what you’re going to need – although you’ll still need to work out what his ‘secret’ patch is.
We were very impressed with the sound quality of TimewARP; the physical modelling approach to re-creating the instrument scores full marks, emulating every sound with the texture of a real analogue synth. Setting up nasty patches with feedback loops and unintended CV connections is possible and you can create interesting noises and bleeps that you would probably never come across with a standard synth. MTM
9/10 Verdict - Way Out Ware has created an excellent virtual emulation of the classic ARP synth that should see the virtual analogue field progress seriously in terms of accuracy.
WHY BUY
+ Excellent patch manual+ Instrument or effect plug-in
+ Genuine ARP sound
+ Polyphonic mode
WALK ON BY
- No sequencer emulation- Seriously heavy CPU usage
Score: 9/10
This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 33
Filed under
Software,
Synths
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