MATRIXSYNTH: ARP 2600 Owner's Manual - To PDF or Not to PDF


Sunday, April 08, 2007

ARP 2600 Owner's Manual - To PDF or Not to PDF

Via Way Out Ware:

"The TimewARP 2600 Manual is free and full of information about our product and how to use it.

Even better, the TimewARP 2600 Manual contains an entire chapter on audio synthesis basics written by Jim Michmerhuizen, the author of the original ARP 2600 Manual and Founder and Director of the Boston School of Electronic Music.

Essential reading for anyone interested in the vocabulary and methods of classical analog synthesis."

Update: Originally this post pointed to a pdf download of the manual I found on the web. It was brought to my attention that the author Jim Michmerhuizen was still selling the manual in hard copy. I updated the link to his site instead. I did a search for the manual and found a copy of the pdf immediately. I'm curious what others think of scanning manuals and making them available for download in general. Good mojo or bad mojo?

Update 2: via Sam Ecoff on AH: "I thought I'd weigh in on this as I own two different versions of the ARP 2600 manual. I own the original Tonus version, which I believe was authored mostly by David Friend (somebody please correct me if I'm mistaken) and the later ARP version written by Jim. While both are interesting reads from a historical point of view, they both share the same general weakness in my point of view: unless you already have a solid understanding of modular synthesis, they are a tough nut to crack for a newbie. For those that are interested, I put up a scan of my copy of the Tonus version (which is out of print, btw) here: link."

Also check out Sam Ecoff's Electronic Music Books based primarily on the ARP 2600, also posted here.

Update 3 via loren in the comments of this post: "The ethics of copywrite aside, I thought it should be pointed out that you can download a legit free pdf version of the Arp 2600 manual at the Way Out Ware's website, which you can find here. From my understanding after talking to Jim and the guys at WOW a couple NAMMs back that he gave them permission to use the original manual for their software version."

Update 4: You can find the Boston School of Electronic Music website here. Based on the copyright date of 2015 - 2016, I'm guessing it launched in 2015. If anyone knows otherwise, feel free to leave a comment.

16 comments:

  1. Thanks Matrix.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The author of this manual still sells this.
    By posting copies, you cheat him.
    http://michmer.net/store.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, that's no good. I updated the link to his site. I'll need to track this down with the source.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmm... The first search result for ARP 2600 Manual is the pdf on guitarfool, so anyone searching for it will find it. I'm curious what others think of this.

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  5. True, that manual is a good read.

    Now; bare in mind I am not stating my opinion in the following paragraph. I am stating Fact.

    Jim may be the original Author, but, is he the copyright holder? Most people who write manuals are pens-for-hire, and their work is the copyright of the company they work for. I knew someone who got into a spot of trouble in this area -- distributing material he wrote with his own two hands, and the research of his own two eyes -- because it was purcahsed and printed and sold, his contract was worded such (as it usually is, I'm told) that he no longer "owned" his own work.

    Now: that was fact. My opinion.

    $45us seems to be quite a high price for what may possibly be photocopies, or, worse -- a printout of a PDF that someone else scanned.
    I'm assuming Jim is selling us (the general public) something that is actually worth buying, and that shipping is a few dollars and everything. This brings the arguments -- I only sell ten a year, so I should charge a lot vs if it were cheaper, a lot more people would buy them. I'm not going to way into that.

    Yes, I am aware (and a part of) systems of commerce where the buyer is put directly in touch with the creator of art/technology. And, in this modern day and age, it is a highly appropriate system, and I hope it continues. There will always be a place for real walk in stores, too. And I like that. Nothing beats the feel and smell of walking into a shop full of all sorts of things, some you've never seen before - and finding that one thing you can just afford, and buying it then and there, or putting it on lay-away.

    In terms of Good/Bad Mojo.
    If someone is sharing a manual that no-one else sells, that the big corporation who made it doesn't care... where is the harm? If Yamaha asked me to stop sharing their manuals I have on my site, I would do it in a heartbeat. Not because of fear of legal action, but, out of respect for the company.

    People posting their traces/schematics of, say - o use a real world example -- one a Zvex's pedals, that is certainly not on. He is a real living breathing individual -- one guy -- who is making things. You wouldn't walk into his house and steal his microwave would you? Maybe you would?

    Moog Manuals. Did Bob Moog ever express an opinion of people buying and selling his manuals for the products that he (in name, anyway) owned? His designs?
    Were people using these documents to learn, or to scavenge and make money from it?

    So, I guess, for me, the Mojo issue comes down, ultimately -- are you using the service manuals to fix your beloved equipment, or to learn about the technologies you love, or are you using it to make money? Money that you didn't earn.

    I am ranting, forgive me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yeah Loscha, it it looks like you painted yourself into a corner there.

    You were attempting to justify theft or usage of something that's not your own.

    Car jackers do this too.
    They say "I don't have a car, he has three and his insurance will pay him, so it's all good."
    The car jacker may honestly believe this and think he does no harm.
    If you're the one being jacked, this is especially painful too.

    Matrix makes a good point.
    Blogger is so huge, a search engine will soon make Matrixsynth the #1 source for this manual even over Guitarfool.
    This makes Matrix take on a Robin Hood scenario where his free offerings will squash an original owner's site via ranking.
    With power comes responsibility, but it's easy to shirk responsibilty when cloaked as a generous gift to the masses.
    Justifications like "greater good for the greatest number" come to mind.
    This "backed up to the archives" thing bothers me therefore.
    My personal take is it's not ok to "backup" something someone else went to the trouble of making a store for, when the "backup" has such high web ranking.
    It's much easier to post to this blog than set up a store.
    With a pervasive attitude on the web of "copy first, take down if complained about", it places the original authors or seller in positions of being webcops. They have to search for their own material, write to a site and then even if removed still have high ranking cached copies existing for months.

    TAKE THE TIME TO ASK FIRST!!!
    Blogger's web ranking provides an unfair advantage to Robin Hoods.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for saying what I wanted to say for some time, anon.
    By every definition, backing up means copying your OWN data.
    Anything otherwise is theft. Period. If it's not yours, it's not ok to copy.
    You can justify it right and left, but no matter what it's theft.
    Not yours. Don't care if you're the pope.
    Bad mojo.

    I enjoy this blog, but I get a kick out of matrix sometimes.
    He says he is backing up something in case it leaves the web.
    If it leaves the web, it wasn't HIS decision!
    Perhaps the owner wants his data to leave the web. Who knows?
    I myself had an auction up that Matrix did his ~backup~ thing to.
    A scammer used the pic later even after the auction listing expired.
    I had to answer several emails explaining things too.
    Now I can't say the scammer used the photo from Matrixsynth, but I can't say he didn't either.
    But it was MY photo on MY site and used for the express purpose of selling MY Arp.
    I didn't say it could be copied to remain forever on Matrixsynth.
    Does every person have to write and ask for their material to be removed if that's their desire? Asking first is better mojo.

    What if this was music?
    Is it ok to backup a song because it might leave the web?
    Well maybe few of you have had songs published, but I have.
    I would furious if some blogger backed up my music and called it backing up.
    It's up to me to back up my music OR delete it.
    I don't walk into some stranger's house and start backing up their hard drive.

    Matrix, I think you would have a different outlook if you had your own original stuff up and it was copied by someone else.
    You completely miss the point I and others are trying to make.
    There is a reason we don't all have blogs like this, you know.
    You don't understand what it's like to create something and have it copied.
    You always justify it one way or another.
    I have this little cartoon vision in my head when I hear this talk too.
    It's of a teacher scolding a child for copying the test of the classmate in front of him.
    The child is saying : But I was just backing up his answers!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't really understand the problem, if you are serious about doing repair work you do you probably want the "real" hard copy manual.

    I would place PDF copies of documents in the same category as books stored in a library. There is no library where you can go and read "service manuals" and because of this I can see why people with a general interest in service manuals for educational purposes would just download and share PDF's with each other.

    Another point is that authors of content are not "forced to become webcops". Record companies are making assumptions that piracy is "lost income" when it is in fact income they never would have received anyway.

    Seriously there is so MUCH music being produced now that if you purchased every record you liked you'd have to spend several hundred dollars a week on records. If you want to live like a drug addict and do this then that's fine but from an artist's point of view it doesn't make much difference since royalties are such a small percentage of the retail price and most are just recouped for promotion costs anyway.

    The correct way to perceive piracy is that it is a form of "promotion". If the artist tours or releases a new product then you will go and give the money directly to them via these avenues.

    Free downloads are also good for consumers because they facilitate an informed choice. ie. if you rely on advertisments to decide weather or not to purchase a product then you would have to buy every product ever created because they only advertise benifits. If you study a service manual you can see exactly what the features of the product are and what its limitations are.

    Once again, I don't think when companies build a product they budget like "we will make 5 million dollars from product sales and 10 million dollars from service manual sales" because if every company did this then they would go broke. The service manual is not the product, it supports the product and allows the product to be maintained or upgraded. No one advertises service manuals on television because they simply aren't a product in their own right. Unless you actually own the product or are undertaking reverse engineering then there is no point in purchasing the product.

    Based on my philospophy a company ie: Yamaha would have no problems allowing the distribution of it's service manuals because it adds value to the product. If someone can say "I've used this synth for 20 years and Yamaha provided great support for the product in that time" it gives consumer's confidence in that brand and establishes a reputation. It's basic customer relations.

    If a company denied people access to it's product information then it becomes very hard to decide if a purchase of a second hand product is worthwhile.

    Some companies may prefer this since it may encourage them to buy a new product, but it could just as well backfire and result in the customer choosing a product from a company that provides good support and service.

    Basically it comes down to consumer rights verses company rights. I believe that a consumer has a right to do what he wishes with a product after it has been sold, and in the interests of the environment and building brand loyalty should be given adequate information needed to maintain that product.

    If a corporation wants to exercise it's rights to tell people what they can and can't do with copyrighted information then people will either find a way around copy protection ie. CD's/DVD's or they will buy a competitor's products.

    If people DO use copyrighted information to make money then they will rise to public attention pretty quickly. Meaning that no one needs to be a webcop because it is painfully obvious when someone is ripping off someone's product and the end result will be a court-case. It is futile trying to enforce laws that try to prohibit the transfer and evolution of ideas and knowledge. If someone tries to use that knowledge for his own profit then it is plagiarism and can be punished. The new digital copyright laws seem to indicate that you are guilty of plagiarism if you merely "read" the information.

    Regarding information as property is ridiculous, if we are going to do so then I should be charging people for reading this because I should, in theory, receive compensation for the time it too me to write this article. You should pay me to read this because my effort was expended, and my electricity used to power my laptop, and my laptop cost money.

    If we regard information as property human intellectual development will be stunted since only a minority will have access to information. Those studying service manuals today will help design the products that people will use in 50 years time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. PS. Western society needs to get over the idea of "owning" everything. If you don't want things "backed up" don't convert them to digital media. Maybe release everything on vinyl instead?

    re ts..
    "A scammer used the pic later even after the auction listing expired."

    The problem is with the scammer, not matrixsynth backing up images.

    Not everyone who reads matrixsynth is conducting ebay scams. Some people are idiots, but don't take it personally because if they didn't use your photos they would have used someone else's! Either way I hope they were severely dealt with by relevant authorities.

    If you are trying to maximize the sale price of an item by listing it on ebay then you have to deal with all the scamming and idiots emailing you. If that is too much trouble why not just take the synth to a damn second hand store and accept a lower price for it?

    You sleep with dogs and then complain about fleas!

    ReplyDelete
  10. ts: You're a douche, I want people sharing my music, it means they like it.

    Go suck up to the labels, you're only in it for the money anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  11. i have a friend who did graduate work at MIT in the early 1970's. As a poor college student he was approached by a certain guy to design a battery powered guitar amplifier---for which he gave up all intellectual property rights in exchange for a considerable sum.

    when you go to the Pignose amplifier website you are informed that some 'world famous type' swedish so-and-so has brought to you (once again) ----another marvel of tone and class distinction etc. basically, the point being my friend Steve's name isn't anywhere as he signed away all claims to his intellectual property when he took a check for it. i can't comment in this case but these things are never simple...or seemingly fair on the surface. when he told me what he'd done i didn't have the heart to tell him that the pignose has achieved all kinds of notoriety but that there is a seeming disconnect as to the fairness of ascribing credit for original design.
    Or does the tech monkey just get credit for sitting at the typewriter and get a banana for reproducing the work originally germinated by shakespere?

    ReplyDelete
  12. I prefer pdf files.
    Such a noncens to use paper for all kinds off stuff.
    And the pdf last forever!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ethically (and out of respect to the author who is still selling the manual), posting links to free copies isn't quite fair.

    Unethically, if the author doesn't possess the copyright on the manual, then it's free game on the Interwebs.

    Oh, and PDF's last as long as the media it's on lasts- and contrary to what popular belief, paper *does* last forever. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. The ethics of copywrite aside, I thought it should be pointed out that you can download a legit free pdf version of the Arp 2600 manual at the Way Out Ware's website, which you can find here:

    http://www.wayoutware.com/manuals.html

    From my understanding after talking to Jim and the guys at WOW a couple NAMMs back that he gave them permission to use the original manual for their software version.

    ReplyDelete
  15. "when you go to the Pignose amplifier website you are informed that some 'world famous type' swedish so-and-so has brought to you (once again) ----another marvel of tone and class distinction etc. basically, the point being my friend Steve's name isn't anywhere as he signed away all claims to his intellectual property when he took a check for it. i can't comment in this case but these things are never simple...or seemingly fair on the surface. when he told me what he'd done i didn't have the heart to tell him that the pignose has achieved all kinds of notoriety but that there is a seeming disconnect as to the fairness of ascribing credit for original design."

    You have to realize that when people create IP sometimes it doesn't take them very long to do it. When they sell it to somebody often it is far more difficult to MAKE it, MARKET it, STOCK it, etc.
    I am an engineer that designs guitar pedals for a company, i do not get credit on their websites, i just get paid hourly to design their pedals. I couldn't deal with all that Marketing BS and your MIT buddy probably couldn't either, if he thinks that he was paid enough money for what he designed then he should be more then happy to see it mass produced. Designing electronics is the easy part, everyone knows that building, marketing and customer service are far more expensive, time consuming and the difficult part of the equation.
    ....Saying something is swedish-made and lying is a whole other topic!

    ReplyDelete
  16. if the author, selling the manual, adds value to the product (nice printing, acid-free paper, nice binding, etc.) then his business should not be impacted by the free exchange of information (the pdf). a quality book/manual will long outlast a CD or dvd (or an obsoleted operating system or software for that matter). ever try to read your documents you wrote in wordperfect back in windows 3.1?

    on a larger scale, the free exchange of information represents a shift in power downward to the common people (read=democratization of information/power). should one of the authors of the manual hold complete power over the dissemination of that information? should that information "go away" because the author wills it at anytime? is he even the copyright holder?

    perhaps the work is more important/greater benefit to the society than to the author(s) alone. perhaps it is ethical for the public to own information that benefits it, and it is unethical for the gatekeeper of information/knowledge/power to withhold it (or simply be in a position to do so).

    ReplyDelete

To reduce spam, comments for posts older than one week are not displayed until approved, usually same day. Do not insult people. For items for sale, do not ask if it is still available. Check the auction link and search for the item. Auctions are from various sellers and expire over time. Posts remain for the pics and historical purposes. This site is meant to be a daily snapshot of some of what was out there in the world of synths.

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