ARP 2600 "The ARP for the studio. The ARP for the stage." ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1979

ARP 2600 synthesizer "The ARP for the studio. The ARP for the stage." full page colour advertisement from the September 1979 issue of Contemporary Keyboard.

People around me are starting to make their New Year resolutions.  Or is that "New Year's"? Or "New Years"? My resolution should really be along the lines of learning grammar. But instead, the only resolution that I can come up with that my lazy ass could even come remotely close to actually fulfilling is to try and get the blog's Advertising Timelines updated. But even that sounds tiring and makes me more anxious about the whole thing.

And posting this ARP 2600 ad only piles more anxiety onto that growing mountain of what-the-f**k-am-I-thinking.  :)    But yet I can't help but adding onto the ARP timeline work-load with this juicy number.

The ad is just too dang good to appear only twice - in the September and November 1979 issues of Contemporary Keyboard. Everything about this ad makes it deserve at least a six month run.  The dual-theme concept (around here we call it a "Betty and Veronica" sell) is a great way to showcase the 2600's abilities and the two gorgeous photos play off these two themes nicely. With the studio perspective photo, the reader sees the front panel of the 2600, riddled with cables - obviously the result of a musician's hard at work coming up with that perfect string sound. With the stage perspective, the reader sees the opposite side of the 2600 with the left-side control panel on proud display. Definitely works.

The ad-copy only builds upon the photo for each perspective. On the studio side, ARP reinforces the sound recording capabilities of the 2600. Lead lines, string sounds, electronic effects. On the stage side, ARP drops the names of a number of musicians and bands - from Chicago to Weather Report. ARP is pulling out all the stops.

If I'm not mistaken, this is only the second ARP 2600 solo advertisement to appear in CK, appearing roughly three years after the first 2600 two-page extravaganza ad appeared in the December 1976 issue.

That first ad featured an awesome 1+1/3 page-sized photo of Joe Zawinul surround by two ARP 2600s. And almost two full columns of ad copy.

I also posted a 1971 - yes, 71 - ARP 2600 reference sheet back in 2010.

Yup - this thing has been around a long time. According to Vintage Synth Explorer's ARP 2600 page, from 1971-1980. It's Wikipedia page clocks it's lifespan lasting until 1981.

Either way... a looooong time.