Does anyone here have an ARP Odyssey?

Lounge
1

I have questions about the signal path and some of the controls and settings, in particular the VCO-1 in LF mode.

1 - On VCO-1 the KBD OFF/LF setting turns VCO-1 into an LFO. The User Manual says “If this is set to AUDIO KYBD OFF, VCO-1 is disconnected from the keyboard CV, and will oscillate as an LFO. You can use this signal to modulate VCO-2 or as an audio source for sound effects.”

Under the VCO-2 there are two switches with a setting for the modulation source can be selected as ‘LFO’ - in the FM Modulation section and in the Pulse Width Modulation section. I have seen videos which seem to show that these are modulated by the LFO in the 4th panel, not by VCO-1 in LFO mode.

Is one or both of these in fact selecting the VCO-1 in LF mode?

2 - When VCO-1 is in LF mode, bypassing the keyboard input, is it still subject to the Portamento, Transpose and Proportional Pitch Controls?

3 - When VCO-1 is in LF mode, is it a square wave or saw?

2

I’m not in front of one, but if memory serves, as to your question #1, I think the idea is that VCO-1 in LF mode can modulate VCO-2 as a LFO through the SH Mixer given the appropriate settings–I don’t think it gets its own bus. If that’s right, the answer to #3 depends on the setting of the VCO-1 switch in the S/H mixer.

I think the answer to #2 is probably “no” but that’s a guess.

1 Like