Arp 2600 infinitely sustaining note

[bluedimensional]

hey all,

i am having a similar issue and have tried the suggestions in this thread and still am stuck. Last week, i was using it and the sequencer with no issues. Now, i have a stuck note - or, actually, indefinitely sounding notes. I would've posted a thread but i am new here so am replying to this one.

I have a grey Arp 2600 (no moog filter), 3620 keyboard, and ArpSequencer.

I have the initial gain all the way down, and i have notes that never stop. i am doing this without keyboard or sequencer connected. I have an infinitely sustaining note.

manual start fires as expected, and then the note just sustains forever. (when keyboard is connected, whatever the last note played is, that's what sustains forever.)

I can trigger my gates with sample and hold, and it acts as expected. I've patched my ADSR and AR to places to test those, and they work great.

Bottom line is, everything seems to be as expected, except for infinite sustaining note. any thoughts? Am i doing something wrong or do i need to get it looked at?

[ppg_wavecomputer]

The VCA Gain slider is all the way left?

ARP Sequencer gating a note infintely?

And, of course, you've checked the VCF/VCA sliders in the mixer section to the very right?

Stephen

[Bitexion]

Are you certain this isn't something caused by a "rogue" slider in your patch? There are several ways to make a note drone by bypassing the VCA. Go over every setting, see if you haven't inadvertently forgotten a slider that makes the sound drone.

If all fails, move every slider on the synth randomly until something changes Go over every patch cable connection too, you might have "disabled" the VCA with an plug.

There are so many "this goes into this goes into this goes into this" modulation options that you can easily get lost.
Infinately sustaining notes will happen if the VCA isn't used, then you just hear a constant sound from the oscillators, because nothing is making it stop. Kind of like patching the VCO output directly to a speaker.
The VCO's never stop running, they're always generating their signal.

[gcoudert]

Could it be this?

Roger Powell, who is credited as a “consultant” on I Sing, worked for ARP in the early 1970s, and in 1971 he toured the United States putting on demos and talking to musicians and dealers. He later played keyboards for Todd Rungren and Utopia, and now makes his living as a software engineer. In Mark Vail’s book Vintage Synthesizers, Powell recalls Zawinul’s initial experience with the 2600: “Joe came up to Boston to play at the Jazz Workshop. I met him and showed him the 2600. It took him a little time to pick up on some of its features. For instance, the 2600 lets you route the output either through the VCA [voltage-controlled amplifier] or directly from the VCF [Voltage-Controlled Filter]. If the output came from the VCF, the sound would always be on. After Joe had the instrument for a week or so, he called and said, ‘Hey, man, the sound is fantastic. Now tell me, how do you make it stop?’ But he kept at it, and became one of the 2600’s leading musical innovators. Eventually he had two 2600s, one of which was controlled by ARP’s model 1601 16-step analog sequencer.

[Bitexion]

It's a common misunderstanding with modular synths aswell, the sound won't stop! That's because there is nothing to limit the sound going all the way out. "But I used the VCA", yeah, but you didn't apply any envelope/trigger to the VCA, so it doesn't stop the sound when you release a key, the VCA just passes the sound through it then.

[cornutt]

It's a common misunderstanding with modular synths aswell, the sound won't stop! That's because there is nothing to limit the sound going all the way out. "But I used the VCA", yeah, but you didn't apply any envelope/trigger to the VCA, so it doesn't stop the sound when you release a key, the VCA just passes the sound through it then.

Yeah, I had that problem when I put together my first MOTM-190 VCA. It took me a bit to realize that the "Gain" knob is an initial gain setting, and that channel won't shut completely off unless you set it to zero.

[ppg_wavecomputer]

[...]. For instance, the 2600 lets you route the output either through the VCA [voltage-controlled amplifier] or directly from the VCF [Voltage-Controlled Filter]. If the output came from the VCF, the sound would always be on. After Joe had the instrument for a week or so, he called and said, ‘Hey, man, the sound is fantastic. Now tell me, how do you make it stop?’ But he kept at it, and became one of the 2600’s leading musical innovators. Eventually he had two 2600s, one of which was controlled by ARP’s model 1601 16-step analog sequencer.

That's essentially what I wrote:

[...] And, of course, you've checked the VCF/VCA sliders in the mixer section to the very right?

Stephen

Incidentally, Zawinul apparently had the same problems with his Oberheim Four Voice...

Stephen

[Reginator]

Hi bluedimensional, I posted an answer to your question yesterday on muffs but I'll repost here for convenience. Also everyone here has pretty much given similar answers so you should have your bases covered...

There's a few things that will keep the sound on indefinitely. If the picture you posted is the problem patch then the audio is coming from the VCF slider in the Mixer section. Lower this and the sound should go away.

If that isn't the problem patch then have a look at the following.

* VCA slider raised in the Audio Mixer - If Initial Gain in the VCA is raised you'll always have sound (you've already checked this).
* VCA slider raised in the Audio Mixer - A constant voltage/gate in either of the Control inputs in the VCA section (Linear or EXP'L) will let the sound thru.
* VCF slider raised in the Audio Mixer - If it's raised you'll always have sound from the filter.
* Envelope section - A constant voltage/gate in the Gate input will keep the gate open.
* Audio patched directly to the Mixer after the VCF & VCA sliders.
* Calibration of the VCA.

I hope this helps.