As for the sound, well the jury's still out on that one...
And it always will be.... Is there any software emulation that has 100% nailed the hardware?
Let me know when you think any software has emulated the Quadra and then post your results for the Quadra hardware owners to pick apart.
In Synth Magics case, it's going to be easy. But if you desire the Quadra but don't want to spend the thousands plus future maintenance...what is your solution?
And it always will be.... Is there any software emulation that has 100% nailed the hardware?
Let me know when you think any software has emulated the Quadra and then post your results for the Quadra hardware owners to pick apart.
In Synth Magics case, it's going to be easy. But if you desire the Quadra but don't want to spend the thousands plus future maintenance...what is your solution?
For live I think it's a very good solution. I use mine in rehearsal but I'd never take it out live...the tuning has mind of its own.
I think it would be impossible to capture properly in software, it is just too organic, cranky and inconsistant..
My frame of reference for the Quadra sound might be jaded because the last time I played one was around 1980. I sold my Omni 15 years ago. But I am absolutely loving the Quadra software. I have never found anything like it in Reaktors user library.
The overall sound is pretty unique..and I think fairly close to what I remember. Of course having the real thing immediately shows the softwares weaknesses.
Personally, I love the looks of the Quadra. Therefore the software visual I think adds to the fun.
I've noticed this one has different panels to the left and right of the keyboard. The "normal" Quadra that I know has level panels that do not reveal the space under the keys. This one looks strange to me. Were there different versions?
I've noticed this one has different panels to the left and right of the keyboard. The "normal" Quadra that I know has level panels that do not reveal the space under the keys. This one looks strange to me. Were there different versions?
There was definitely models 2461 and 2463. A tech once told me he thought there were three versions. Not sure what the differences between them might be.
I've never noticed any external differences in pictures, and have never seen a Quadra with a gap like that showing under the keys. My first thought was that the key bushings may have been fitted the wrong way up or that the key stops are set too high (causing the front of the keys to lift up). Considering how big a gap that is, I would have thought that would cause some key triggering issues though. Can't quite work it out, but I'm sure there is a logical explanation. Maybe the chassis was different on some models? Seems an unlikely design choice, although nothing about the Quadra is what one might expect.
I'm sure the new owner will be very happy. One monster of a synth!
Just noticed the prominent use of the Quadra on perhaps my very favorite Car's song, 'The Dangerous Type'.
That is an unmistakable poly sound that I'm quite sure has to by the Quadra, that buzzy rhythm chunk sound starting at about 1:05. As well as the smoother synthstring on the right.
Of course you have to have just played the vinyl like I did to hear what a masterful mix job was done on this song, especially the drums. The production on some of the Car's songs seems a little boxy to my ear, but not this one, it's perfect.
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I'm pretty sure that's a Prophet 5 rev 1 on "Dangerouis type", at least that's what Greg Hawkes used
for this sound when performing the song live back in 1979:
To my ears it sounds pretty much identical to that of the studio version.
Hawkes also used a Mini-korg 700, ARP Omni and a Vox continental organ a lot on their early records
(the P5 debuted on Candy-O), but afaik he never used a Quadra.
I'm pretty sure that's a Prophet 5 rev 1 on "Dangerouis type", at least that's what Greg Hawkes used
for this sound when performing the song live back in 1979:
To my ears it sounds pretty much identical to that of the studio version.
Hawkes also used a Mini-korg 700, ARP Omni and a Vox continental organ a lot on their early records
(the P5 debuted on Candy-O), but afaik he never used a Quadra.
But this live version lacks both of the sounds I was referring to. He was already an Omni fan and the Quadra came out in 1979. Listen to the poly buzz rhythms playing along with the rhythm guitar (opposite side) on the studio song
I'm not familiar with Genisis stuff. The Quadra (I go back to the quadra days and arp days in general) is and always was... a synthesizer sandwich. It is an Odyssey and Omni and axxe bass section built in to one box.
Nothing new was invented for the box. Arp was struggling and reusing every bit of technology they had to get the box out... mostly to try and counter the tremendous death spiral the Avatar had sucked them into from which there would be no return.
And the drag of course, was that activating the Odyssey section of the quadra still left us with the miserable 2-note polyphony max in that particular right-hand section.
Luckily, we were only three years away from full polyphonic instruments appearing and finally killing off the old dinosaur limitation.
The abacab section you referenced in the video at 23 seconds is simply the familiar sound of an Odyssey patch with vcf set a bit less bright and a fast adsr setting.
"Almost" polyphonic from the brute force technology approaches that were available in those days. The Omni area of the quadraSandwich is turned off during that section.
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Nothing new was invented for the box. Arp was struggling and reusing every bit of technology they had to get the box out... mostly to try and counter the tremendous death spiral the Avatar had sucked them into from which there would be no return.
From what I remember the Quadra was sort of an attempt at a stop gap against the Prophet 5's and OBX's that were out at the time while Arp was developing the Chroma. Incidentally I saw the West Coast premiere of the Quadra at the old Hanich Music in West Covina back in 1978. It was quite impressive to this 17 year old at the time. A few years later after actually learning how synthesizers worked, I finally got to try one out for myself and found it to be less then impressive.
I'm not familiar with Genisis stuff. The Quadra (I go back to the quadra days and arp days in general) is and always was... a synthesizer sandwich. It is an Odyssey and Omni and axxe bass section built in to one box.
Nothing new was invented for the box. Arp was struggling and reusing every bit of technology they had to get the box out... mostly to try and counter the tremendous death spiral the Avatar had sucked them into from which there would be no return.
And the drag of course, was that activating the Odyssey section of the Quadra still left us with the miserable 2-note polyphony max in that particular right-hand section.
Luckily, we were only three years away from full polyphonic instruments appearing and finally killing off the old dinosaur limitation.
The abacab section you referenced in the video at 23 seconds is simply the familiar sound of an Odyssey patch with vcf set a bit less bright and a fast adsr setting.
"Almost" polyphonic from the brute force technology approaches that were available in those days. The Omni area of the quadraSandwich is turned off during that section.
I'm not sure nothing new was invented for the Quadra. It was, I believe, the realisation of technology developed for the mighty Centaur (the Avatar being the other synth to come out of the Centaur project).
While the poly and string sections were borrowed from the Omni, I think the rest of the Quadra was all pretty fresh. It was amongst the first synths to feature a microprocessor for a start, and this made possible several new features. Preset memories (well, sort of!), interval write, a programmable trill mode and a 'sequencer' (arpeggiator). While the Jupiter-4 may have beaten the Quadra to market with an arpeggiator, the Quadra's can create far more complex patterns when combined with the trill mode and interval write. Then there are individual portamento rates for each lead section oscillator, an ADSASR envelope, a wonderful 14-stage phaser (with some interesting modulation capabilities), hermetically-sealed touch switches, insert points ...and enormous potential for external control.
It is often written that the Quadra's lead section is like an Axxe or cut down Solus/Odyssey, but to me it offers a lot of unique possibilities. The Quadra's lead section also comes with the bonus of aftertouch which neither the Axxe, Solus or Odyssey have. Looking beyond features, creating a basic lead sound on the Quadra will reveal that even the tone is different to other ARP synths ..and a great sound it is too.
The Quadra is sometimes dismissed as having a weak 'divide-down' poly section, but some of the presets demonstrate how when you layer in the lead section with 2-voice switched on, the two lead oscillators track the highest and lowest notes of any chords played, creating a very powerful sound in much the same way as an orchestral arrangement. While I'm a big fan of Prophets and Jupiters, I have played a Quadra next to both a P5 and JP8, and in terms of strings and brass, the richness and sheer power of the Quadra's sound can simply blow them away. On the flip side the Prophet and Jupe can craft detailed sounds the Quadra can only dream of. They also offer true polyphony, but that is not always a big deal for strings/brass/pads etc.
So the Quadra can indeed be described as a synth sandwich ...which can at times make other synths seem like a piece of lettuce!
I will be offering a mint 1-owner Quadra for sale in the near future, including original owner's manual, ARP foot switch, and ATA foam-lined case, in case anyone is interested.
As an aside, I saw the Centaur at the 76 or so Namm show in Atlanta that year. Maybe it was 77 or 78. Namm was still moving the show around a lot back in those days. I'll have to drag out the pics and price lists to check.
The Centaur was HUGE in size.. about three times bigger than the quadra... I mean huge.. set on a huge angled metal stand that looked like it could support a skyscraper... and surrounded by velvet ropes except during the hourly Arp demos... and it didn't sound different than anything else Arp had. I have some pics from the show somewhere. The Arp booth had about 50 reps in it. Massive number of people working there at that booth at that show.
The signs around the demo area in the middle of the booth were showing the Centaur as "coming soon" ... which of course, it never did. In fact, I'd bet the one that Arp had at Namm was the only one they actually ever built.
By the way, it was at that same show that Yamaha were showing their standard ol PA mixers... connected to a one inch MCI machine with.... America's "Ventura Highway" on the tracks..hahahahah. You could stand there and "mix" the song on the pa mixer.
Also at the same show, Orchestron was there and you could also play that... boy did that thing suck. I still have the dealer price list for that somewhere from the show. The sound disks themselves were in the neighborhood of $600 each with the Orchestron models up around $45,000. Plus, if you dropped any of the sound platters, they looked like they'd shatter in a second.
All of this at a show where in those days, music stores were still very much mostly violin rentals, trumpet repair, and piano/guitar oriented.
The old days were so..... well ... you had to be there.
As an aside, I saw the Centaur at the 76 or so Namm show in Atlanta that year. Maybe it was 77 or 78. Namm was still moving the show around a lot back in those days. I'll have to drag out the pics and price lists to check.
The Centaur was HUGE in size.. about three times bigger than the quadra... I mean huge.. set on a huge angled metal stand that looked like it could support a skyscraper... and surrounded by velvet ropes except during the hourly Arp demos... and it didn't sound different than anything else Arp had. I have some pics from the show somewhere. The Arp booth had about 50 reps in it. Massive number of people working there at that booth at that show.
The signs around the demo area in the middle of the booth were showing the Centaur as "coming soon" ... which of course, it never did. In fact, I'd bet the one that Arp had at Namm was the only one they actually ever built.
... and it didn't sound different than anything else Arp had.
Even if true, I would have no problem with that, being that everything Arp had sounded fantastic!
But I doubt it, just like in the case of the Quadra, that thinking discounts the fact that combinations of sounds do indeed create results that are sometimes more than the sum of the parts.
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