Instead, it has a wrap‑round steel case with all of the controls on the front and various connections on the left‑hand side. The M lacks the wooden case of its larger sibling, which means that it also lacks the lid that protects an original 2600 or the main cabinet of the FS when they’re not in use. It’s a very unusual approach, but I have to admit that I was impressed. Rather than discovering the packaging protecting the 2600 M, or perhaps an inner box containing the packaging containing the 2600 M, I found myself removing a small suitcase that contained the synth itself together with its power supply, a manual, a sheet of ARP stickers, a packet of patch cables and a Korg microKEY USB keyboard (the last of which isn’t part of the M, but an optional accessory) all ready for use. When I opened the box from Korg, I had a surprise.
So, has Emperor Zorg’s malevolent Shrink’O’Matic harmed anything, or has it simply made the 2600 more convenient and more attractive to a wider spectrum of potential owners? Let’s find out. It was perhaps no surprise when the FS sold out almost immediately, nor when - a year later - Korg announced that they would be shipping a smaller, more affordable and more obtainable version, the ARP 2600 M. This is because, after I returned the review unit to Korg, I was unable to stop myself from ordering a new FS which, as well as being perfectly calibrated, is clearer, brighter, quieter, and hasn’t suffered from a crackly or intermittent connector in two years. I don’t think that I’ve touched my original ARP 2600P since. I reviewed the first version, the ARP 2600 FS, in late 2019 and fell in love with it (see March 2020 SOS review). Now, having secured the blessings of David Friend, co‑founder and eventual President of ARP Instruments and one of the designers of the original, Korg have recreated the 2600 not once, but twice. It’s not as impressive as the ARP 2500, nor is it as convenient as the Odyssey, and it’s certainly not as easy to use as the ProSoloist, but it embodies a wonderful compromise of the impressive, the convenient and the straightforward.
But the world never seems to get tired of what might be ARP’s finest creation. I’m sure that there have been millions of words written about the ARP 2600, and I have probably contributed more than my fair share over the years. Back by popular demand: Korg have miniaturised the ARP 2600 but kept the spirit and sound of the original very much alive.
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