Dennis Colin - A Remembrance
In 1971 I had the pleasure of working at Tonus
in Newton Highlands (later ARP Synthesizers) where I met Dennis Colin
who was the chief electronics development engineer (and many other titles)
of the ARP Synthesizer. We quickly became friends as I was rather astonished
by the way this fellow simply knew silicon. But to call Dennis
an engineer is a huge understatement: the way a great artist understands
color and a great chef understands the properties of food, Dennis simply
knew silicon. I was almost immediately convinced he was in there,
on a molecular level, discussing transit paths with the electrons. Every
minute spent with Dennis was an honor, an education, and a foray into
mystical realms of electronics, sound, synthesis, time, dimensions,
the universe, and more.
I lost contact with Dennis after I moved to California,
but we were re-connected around 2005 when I found him on the phone one
day. I could go on for pages praising his audio inventions and unique
creativity.
His daughter Melissa has arranged a funeral service
at MIT on Friday, Dec. 18. I know that Dennis would be honored to have
guests from the audio universe that he loved.
You can read more about the service here: beautifultribute.com/dennis-philip-colin/
And here's a note from daughter Melissa: "Those
attending my dad's memorial service will be in for a real treat. We're
setting up a few of his inventions: the ARP 2600 (one of the very first
prototypes made); the Musichrome Color Wheel; the Hyperphase effects
guitar pedal; the 500 watt tube amp. Also worth noting is you will get
to meet my dad's best friend Ken, who happens to be the very first employee
Alan R. Pearlman (Tonus, Inc. [later renamed ARP Instruments) hired."
And this! JUST in time to honor Dennis
Colin!
http://brightsparks.movie/
Barry
Barry Ober
www.soundoctor.com
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