ARP Pro Soloist
| Pro Soloist | |
|---|---|
ARP Pro Soloist
|
|
| Manufacturer | ARP Instruments, Inc. |
| Dates | 1972 - 1977 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | Monophonic |
| Timbrality | Monotimbral |
| Oscillator | 1 |
| LFO | yes |
| Synthesis type | Analog Subtractive |
| Filter | 24dB/oct Low Pass, plus 14 fixed filters (Resonators) |
| Attenuator | yes |
| Effects | none |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 37-key synth action with Aftertouch |
| External control | none |
The ARP Pro Soloist was one of the first commercially successful preset electronic music synthesizers. Introduced by ARP Instruments, Inc. in 1972, it replaced the similar ARP Soloist (1970-1971) in the company's lineup of portable performance instruments.
ARP Instruments, having developed the large and powerful ARP 2500 for studio work, released the Soloist as a light, portable, easy-to-use performance instrument that could be placed on top of an electric piano or Hammond organ. In contrast to the flexible modular design of the 2500, the Soloist had no patch panels or cables. A set of toggle switches allowed the performer to quickly choose one of 18 preset monophonic patches that were not modifiable (note that "Voice" was ARP parlance for Preset, or Patch). This lack of programmability was compensated by giving the performer control over the voice expression, adding "growl", "wow", "brilliance", portamento, pitch bend, and/or vibrato to the timbre. A pressure-sensitive keyboard allowed players to use aftertouch to control all of these effects.
While moderately successful in its niche, the Soloist was not regarded as a serious synthesizer by most professional musicians. The limited set of voices, combined with tuning stability problems, kept it from wider use. Nevertheless, it found a place on recordings by such artists as Quincy Jones and Steely Dan. During the recording of Steely Dan's Countdown to Ecstasy (1973), Donald Fagen was so irritated with having to tune the Soloist so often, he threw it down the recording studio stairwell and jumped up and down on it. Shortly after, a producer joined in with some alcohol and they burned the ARP into a pile of melted plastic.
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