Synthesizers with awesome arpeggiators

[ranzee]

I've begun doing a series of videos on my YouTube channel about synthesizers with amazing arpeggiators. I tend to look for ones that have deeper editing and pattern/motif features and the ability to send ARP to MIDI OUT. I'll post the videos in the replies below.

Do you have a synth with a cool ARP? Tell us why you love it and what it can do that is so unique.

[ranzee]

The DeepMind12 has a really deep ARP with the pattern edit feature.

[ranzee]

Roland GAIA SH-01 has a really big ARP section - it also offers editing via a 3rd party computer application. Roland did have software for this, but have discontinued it - and it is difficult to track down.

[ranzee]

Roland MC-505 has an amazing ARP section - and I never realised how deep it goes until someone recently pointed it out to me. Great stable MIDI clock on this machine - and the ARP sends notes out through MIDI.

[ranzee]

A lot of people don't realise that the MicroKorg has a huge ARP - and it sends notes out via MIDI OUT.

[AnalogKid]

I have a Korg Z1. The fully polyphonic arpeggiator on the Z1 is awesome. If you want a synthesizer with an awesome arpeggiator, get a Z1

[meatballfulton]

Get your hands on a Yamaha Motif if you can...the arpeggiator is insane. It's really a four-track sequencer that can interpret the chords being played. It does everything from drum patterns to melodic riffs and on most models in the family you can create your own arp patterns.

[ranzee]

Get your hands on a Yamaha Motif if you can...the arpeggiator is insane. It's really a four-track sequencer that can interpret the chords being played. It does everything from drum patterns to melodic riffs and on most models in the family you can create your own arp patterns.

That's the Karma mode right?

I've got a Korg M3 with Karma-labs implemented - and I think it often gets overlooked as a major player in the synth world. It's a pitty Stephen hasn't made a standalone box for this - so you can just hook up a bunch of gear via MIDI and program it (although technically you can still do that with the M3).

[fh991586]

The Roland JP-8080 has a nice arp feature, and it sends it out via midi.

[Purveyor]

Novation's KS4 arp is a ton of fun and highly useful.

[Jabberwalky]

The Novation Ultranova has a really crazy arp with a ton of patterns, and great midi sync. It doesn't reset on keypress, but rather listens to clock, so you're always in time when playing new chords.

[meatballfulton]

Motif Arpeggiator video...note that this is not the same things as "styles" found on arranger keyboards. Note that each patch can have access to five arp patterns which can be switched in real time by pressing the soft buttons below the display.

[nuketifromorbit]

While the non TI Viruses lacked programmable arps, I did like the fact that you could scan through the preset patterns with an lfo or other modulation source. The emu command stations also had really deep Arp modes.

[Rokk]

Novation Supernova line has great arps, even polyphonic with lots of useful patterns.

[groy]

Should give a shout for Mutable Instruments and Shruthi here. A bit random, but the arp on that thing does the normal up/down/up+down/random, octave, + rhythmic patterns, + swing options, but also has this weird 'Warp' option that works with all these things and plays the notes entered in one of a dozen and a half or so mathematical sequences (like fwd and backwards, ‘ping pong’, and more crazy things like ‘Philip glass augmentation’ and ‘Vedic recitation pattern’. I really have no idea what’s going on with it, so am not doing it justice in describing it here. But I know that you can quickly get some crazy unexpected nonsense patterns going, and occasionally some very musical happy-accidents. It also has a basic programable step sequencer that essentially triggers your sequence like an arp would. And it can send out via midi.