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Average rating:
5.0 out of 5
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This synth sums up analogue. It will be forever remembered for that synth solo during 'In The Cage' by Genesis. A massive, beautiful oddity. Different to its contemporaries, not better or worse. It's better to do a few things great than most things ok. For leads and strings...and maybe brainless bass...the quadra is peerless!
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The legend of this synthesizer is fully justified and springs from the very musical construction and pairing of different elements, which - in themselves - are quite simple, compared with what REAL polysynthesizers like the Prophet 5 or the Memorymoog can do, but together work very intuitively, giving you a whole orchestra in the hands... Do read Gordon Reids splendid article about the Quadra (search "Arp Quadra for sale" on altavista.com and you will get it). The key to the strength of this axe is it�s layout as a whole, not due to single elements. Arp-manufactors said that the policy in constructing an Arp like the Quadra was to leave all the unnecessary things, limiting yourself to a few useful elements. That does sound like the Brian Eno-strategy of synthesizer construction. The point is that it makes instruments like the Qudra and the much smaller Omni come into a class of their own,with a human touch like nothing else on this planet. It makes it a very playable instrument that you are able, with your keyboard playing, to let the different sections of the Quadra fade in and out of the context, for example using the single trigger option (or the foot pedals). The keyboard split with the somewhat unpredictable division of the sections is something to experience.The Quadra is like getting a studio/orchestra in your hands,but a very intuitive one, unlike most modern "workstations".And the result is - with Gordon Reid`s words, sonically glorious and very musically fulfilling-, especially when you use all the Quadra`s mixing possibilities, hooking it up with outside gear like delay-machines, voltage pedals etc. or even breaking into the soundpath in different ways (see above mentioned article). MY dream was to create the ultimate ARP, an Advanced Arp with the Quadra hooked up to two Arp Omnis and an Avatar. But beware, all dreams come to an end, and your Arp-dream might end with the instrument one day malfunctioning in some - or all - of it�s sections. Most Arp instruments seem to have been born as mortal dream-catchers, so you better go and dig your garden or grow biodynamic vegetables or take more care of your small child or your wife, instead of dreaming of sounding like Tony Banks 30 years ago. Or they might all leave you, your loved ones, I mean. So now you got the warning: the sound of this axe may carry you away to different planets..And then you might end up discovering that you have become a prisoner of your own dreams and that it costs you lots of money and wasted human opportunities to spend the days locked up in the cellar with your "Advanced Arp", even though it gives you unlimited pleasure...Shit, why can`t we have it all!
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I've owned my quadra for about 5 years and out of my 35 or so synths this is in the top few. It's instant analog synth satisfaction.One of my fave features is dual portamento sliders- one for each oscillator. Set them at slightly different levels and you get a very rich glide unlike most synths. The phaser is awesome. I wish you could route external signals through it. The strings on the Quadra sound much closer to the Solina to me then the Omni does, and I own both.A little tough to keep running perfectly but worth it. Very Genesis.Looks great too!
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Huge,steel, beautiful!! Cry baby,, sing out loud. Howl and scream. Time has moved on but the Quad looks and sounds as mad as ever. Strings to cry along to. Mad crazy phaser. As analogue as a synth can be. My poly section has died. Still enough going on to keep me fine.
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This is a classic synth. Theres so much goin on inside. An omni..sounds spooky, a string ensemble and an Odyssey(well a cross between an Axxe and an Odyssey). Also, that flanger..yummm! These babies must be rare and expensive as i'm the only reviewer so far. I'm just about the only person who's seen one let alone owned one. They obviously sound great and look the business. A huge and heavy synth. All my frieds want mine, but they can't. She's mine all mine! Full marks of course. I am reviewing 4 synths after all.
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