A first impression on the Blue Marvin

Hello All,

I recently received the Behringer 2600 Blue Marvin and wanted to share with you my first impression on this Blue Marvin:

It starts with just the dry sound from the Blue Marvin, using only the 2600's reverb at about 20%. Then around 1:05 I start to screw up the sound more and more, while as from about 1:30 adding external effects (see below for details) and at about 2:45 the sound is totally screwed ;-) All done with the 2600. Then slowly afterwards trying to get back to the original sound (a bit after 4:00) though still with the external effects.

Other than a MIDI keyboard and the following external effects, only the B. 2600 Blue Marvin has been used to produce those sounds:
- Reverb by Source Audio - Ventris Dual Reverb (E-Hall reverb with Swell reverb)
- Delay by Electro-Harmonix - Grand Canyon (tape delay with stereo ping-pong effect)
- Leslie effect by Neo Instruments - Ventilator II

Thank you very much for listening and kind regards, Garfield.

That sounds great! Gotta love new-synth-day. I’m not keen on some of the Behringer drama, but these ARP clones do sound very good and you can’t argue with the “bang for the buck” factor. Looking forward to more!

EDITED Oct 26th 2021, 05:42

Wow. That sounds incredible! I imagine that you will have endless fun with your Blue Marvin.

Tearin' up, yep! Exactly what you'd expect from a 2600 in the right hands. I had much the same reaction to my "Xmas Tree" model...the form factor kept reminding me that this was a NEW synth, but I swear that it sounds like you'd expect a pretty new "Orange" to sound back at the end of the 1970s. Until, of course, you flip the filter over to the rev.2 4012...yow!!!

Frankly, the sole problem I've had with my Behringer 2600 is that word right there: Behringer. I (and others) would feel better about this if Tribe would just find a way to get Uli to behave and not steal things (coughcoughPlaitscough).

Hi TumeniKnobs, Farkas and Lugia,

Thank you very much, much honoured by your comments :-)

Yeah, it's indeed a bit pity that it got a Behringer logo on it, otherwise it's a great instrument. It's kind of addictive, once I start to play with it I just can't stop any more, keep on having fun with it, trying to get the most out of that filter and it provides me at certain times a bit that kind of old-days-JM-Jarre feeling, great, I love it!

Lugia, I am glad I followed up on your advice, I bought together with this 2600 that Lehle DC filter, so the stereo output (bit of a fake stereo isn't it? Or do I miss there something other than that pan slider?) goes into the stereo (!) Lehle DC filter input and the stereo Lehle DC filter output goes then to the mixer. Makes me sleep better at night and while playing I am a bit less worried about smoking up my new monitors, still the 2600 can do scary things that I sometimes feel quite pity for my monitors that they have to handle such signals ;-)

The 2600 does go under 30 or likely even under 20 Hz if you let it go! I can't see the details on my graphical EQ on the mixer, because it just dives too deep. The above track is best to be listened on a pair of good monitors and subwoofer(s). On my HiFi installation it doesn't sound as powerful and clear as on my monitors. I guess that tells me something about the "quality" of my HiFi installation ;-)

Thanks a lot for listening and kind regards, Garfield.

Not only do the VCOs go below 30 Hz, you actually have a pitch continuum right on through the LFO settings. After switching to LFO from OSC, run the COARSE tuning up to where it matches (more or less) what you had at the bottom of the OSC mode...then head for the basement! This is super-useful, btw...the ability to sort out scalar intervals in the subsonic and modulation ranges simply by using the keyboard is something majorly important. Ever since Stockhausen's "Kontakte" and the "magic moment" in it where he shows how the scalar continuum extends across the pitch - rhythm gap and then can even make SLOWER "pitches" in the periodic ranges by using the individual pulses to ping a filter, having the ability to simply PLAY that continuum was (and kinda still is!) a big deal.

Hi Lugia,

Thanks a lot for the additional information, much appreciated! :-) Yeah the LFO and also the S&H possibilities I have to check further, I had at one time some kind of interesting rhythm out of that, on the other hand I feel it's pretty difficult to get that nicely under control meaning that one still can listen (pleasantly) to the sound, quite a challenge ;-)

Stupid question perhaps but I really don't want to blow or even damage my monitors, with that DC filter in place and let's say really going (far) below the 20 or 30 Hz line, are you sure that's not going to harm the monitors in any way? I don't have money left to get a new pair ;-) I guess keeping the gain at a reasonable mild level should help protecting them?

I am abroad now but once back into my basement studio, I will check it out and experiment a bit more with that, thanks a lot! Kind regards, Garfield.

There'll be a point at which the Lehle will start blocking the signal until, by the time you're at DC, it won't pass anything. And actually, the DC on outputs thing with the 2600 goes back to the beginning, as ARP figured that if you wanted to use the 2600 for something of a complex modulation source, you'll need those to be DC-coupled. Smart...but a tad annoying.

Now, how that "stereo" crossfader gets used is interesting. One method is to use it to send a rather complex patch to either the left or right, this then leaves the opposite external output free for routing a lead line. You can also use the stereo out inputs in conjunction with the electronic switch, to create something that abruptly flicks from left to right and back. And so on...like pretty much the entire unit, there's stuff you can explore for weeks at a time and STILL only scratch the surface.

@GarfieldModular, this demo sounds great! Thanks for posting .... $#@&, now I want one of these!

Hi Nickgreenberg and Lugia,

Nickgreenberg: Thank you! If you get one, I don't think you would regret it, it has a very high addictive usage potential :-)

Lugia: Thank you very much for the further details! Yeah... I think for the next weeks/months I will be only scratching the surface then ;-) At the same time, that's the beauty of this beast, isn't it? :-D

Kind regards, Garfield.

Lugia: Thank you very much for the further details! Yeah... I think for the next weeks/months I will be only scratching the surface then ;-) At the same time, that's the beauty of this beast, isn't it? :-D

Kind regards, Garfield.
-- GarfieldModular

You bet! Honestly, every time I've sat down at a 2600, it's always thrown me some new and interesting curveballs. As standalone synths go, the 2600 is a 100% WIN...which is probably why it's still firecracker-hot some 50 years on.

Hi Garfield. Nice to hear your Blue Marvin! I especially like around six minutes, when it gets slow and very atmospheric. Beautiful tones :)

Hi Ryan and Lugia,

Ryan: Thank you :-) Interesting that you like it around six minutes, somewhere as from that point starts my favourite part of that track too!

Lugia: I forgot to reply regarding your filter comment. The above track has been done entirely using the 4012 rev. 2 filter :-)

At first I didn't hear much difference between the 4072 and the 4012, then I played a bit more with it, till I discovered that the 4012 is my favourite. Can't really put it under words why, this might sounds a bit silly, but I have the feeling that when I use the 4012 the Blue Marvin is somehow more communicative towards me and I feel the sound is a slightly bit more lively too. No huge differences, at least not with my untrained ears, however there is a subtle difference I am able to notice.

Kind regards, Garfield.

The engineering behind the differences in the 4012 and 4072 is pretty interesting...

The 4012 is, of course, the "lawsuit filter". This was the amusing stand-off between Moog and ARP, when Moog accused ARP of stealing their transistor ladder concept (they did), only to have ARP whip back around and accuse Moog of lifting ARP's exponential CV converters (and they did, too). More or less ended in a "agree to disagree" state, but ARP did redesign that filter...and screwed it up.

The 4072 is the "post-lawsuit" filter, and its mellower, less edgy sound comes from a circuit design mistake that rolls the response off between 12 - 16 kHz. It was released anyway, as the voicing IS actually pretty neat if you're shooting for a mellower result. But until the recent releases and DIY clones, you never really had the two VCFs side by side unless you happened to have two different 2600s. To my ear, the 4012 is the go-to for bass and really cutting leads, while the 4072 works great on pads and countermelodies.

Still kinda wish they'd put in the HPF from the Odyssey, tho...

Hi Lugia,

Thank you very much for the additional information, very interesting!

It explains it perhaps also why I feel the high tones of the 4012 filter sound a bit harsh (not sure if that's the right word), now I know why :-)

Great info and kind regards, Garfield.