The original synth was used to make many sounds in the iconic film, including the voice of R2-D2.
Korg is releasing a small batch of full-sized ARP 2600s in celebration of May 4th, AKA Star Wars Day.
The synth, originally made by ARP in 1971 and used to create many of the droid sounds in the original Star Wars movie, is available now to US customers on Reverb.
Korg acquired the rights to ARP around 2014 and has since recreated many of its synths. In 2020, the Japanese company released a limited run of full-sized 2600s. These sold out quickly and now change hands for large sums on the second-hand market. At the time, Korg said it would never make more full-sized ARP 2600s, though smaller "module" versions have been released in larger quantities.
Today's extra batch of 2600s are priced at $4,499.99 including shipping. That's a little up from their price when first released in 2020 ($3,899.99), but less than current second-hand prices. They're now available to buy from Korg's Reverb shop, while stocks last.
The sound design for the original Star Wars movie was done by Ben Burtt. He said that creating R2-D2's voice was the most challenging aspect of his work on the film. He ultimately created the sound by blending noises from the ARP 2600 with his own voice.
Watch a video about the ARP 2600.