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Hi Dana,
>>> Has anyone here tried to build the ARP filter?:
>>> http://www.arptech.synth.net/pdf/4012.pdf

No, but I have used some ARP synths and some moog synths.

> Yes, it is a copy of the Moog filter, but with slightly different
> circuitry.

I also have an early Roland synth (SH-2000) from the pre-lawsuit period 
(and I really understand why, because it really can sound like a moog 
sometimes).

> Yes, I would also ASSUME that they sound the same, but I do hear what I
> think are slightly different filter qualities, when I hear an ARP
> record, vs. a Moog record....

Yes, but that is probably because of other factors than only the 
filter. The way the VCA and the mixer is done interacts with the sound, 
and even the way the envelope generators are build have influence.

However, my experience is this:
Even though several brands copied the moog ladder filter at first (and 
was stopped by lawsuits; that incidentially forced other brands to come 
up with other solutions, so that we now have meny different filter 
types - again thanks to Bob Moog´s´patent!), the other brands can 
sometime sound a little bit like moog, but they do exhibit slightly 
different qualities, BUT; these qualities are not differences in the 
sound itself (i.e. they can sound sort of similar in one particular 
setting), but a difference in how the sound reacts and interact with 
other sounds. By early Roland SH-2000 can on some settings sound a 
little bit like my minimoog, but only in isolation and in very specific 
settings. In other settings it is no match at all.
The same with early ARP; you can get it to sound moogish, if it has a 
ladder-infringement-filter, but most of the time is doesn´t.

So will the ARP 4012 sound drastically different?
I don´t think so, but it depends. If you do freefloating sounds in 
clear isolation in a controlled setting (i.e. a good studio), it can 
make nuances and differences. In rougher settings (live work, a full 
band or something similar), I think the nuances of differences will be 
lost.



tw.  :)

"Those great moments come when musicians are playing together..."
(Bob Moog)