Alan R. Pearlman has passed away

January 7, 2019

Alan Pearlman passed away
Today was announced the passing of one of the pioneers of synthesizers, Alan R. Pearlman (1925-2019), co-founder of ARP instrument inc with David Friend.

ARP started in 1969 and through the 70’s they became the main competitor of Moog. Many of the ARP synths became classics : ARP 2500, ARP 2600, ARP Odyssey and ARP AXXE.

Even if you don’t know ARP, you know the sound of the ARP 2500. It was in a movie that made a dent in science fiction audio signature. I’m talking about Close encounter of the third kind from Steven Spielberg who came out in 1977. In it, we can see the ARP 2500 played by ARP’s vice president of Engineering, Philip Dodds. In it, we can see the ARP 2500 played by ARP’s vice president of Engineering, Philip Dodds. The story goes that he was originally send to the movie set to install the synth and was subsequently cast as the musician who plays the famous 5 notes in an attempt to communicate with the aliens.

Even if you don’t know ARP, you know the sound of the ARP 2500. It was in a movie that made a dent in science fiction audio signature. I’m talking about Close encounter of the third kind from Steven Spielberg who came out in 1977. In it, we can see the ARP 2500 played by ARP’s vice president of Engineering, Philip Dodds.

Sadly, ARP went bankrupt in 1981. But in 2015 Korg in collaboration with David Friend, Alan Pearlman revived the ARP Odyssey in virtual soft, virtual hardware and even real analog hardware.

Personally, I love my Odyssei virtual iPad app. It sounds great and it’s has a great synthesis engine. I already did a video about it if you are interested to know more.

Thank you Mister Pearlman for your legacy.

Take the time to watch the movie links I put below. You will find David Friend presenting the Korg ARP Odyssey at the 2015 NAMM.

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The sound of the ARP 2500 has become a science fiction audio signature!

The musical exchange in the movie Close Encounter of the Third Kind did leave a mark in science fiction over the years and it was provide by an ARP 2600!

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