Sequential Prophet-5 synthesizer
The new sequential Prophet-5 is Dave Smith’s return to the analog poly-synth that changed the world. It is “the best of all the Prophet-5s”, as Dave puts it, as it embodies all three revisions of the legendary synthesizer – Rev1, Rev2, and Rev3 – through the use of genuine Curtis analog VCOs and filters (as also in the Rev3) as new 2140 low-pass filters designed by Dave Rossum, like the 2040 filters he designed in the original Rev1 and Rev2. A Rev switch allows you to choose between the two filter designs.
The result is a pure renewal of any analog classic you could wish for, with the authentic, muscular tone of the original and the technical control of a state-of-the-art modern instrument.
Vintage sound, vintage button
In addition to purchasing genuine sequential Prophet-5 hardware components, they’ve done extensive research into exactly what made the original sound: warm, organic, and vibrant. We found that much of this desirable character was due to small fluctuations and differences in the response times and frequencies of the individual VCOs, filters, envelopes and amplifiers from voice to voice.
To give the same mojo to the new Prophet-5, we created the Vintage button. Use it to dial in as much old-school randomness as you want. Go from a very stable “4” – as in Prophet-5 Rev4 , that’s how we refer to the new version in the house – all the way to “1”, as in Prophet-5 Rev1, the rarest and most temperamental of all Prophet-5s.
Poly Mod and Enhanced Unison
In addition to the unmistakable tone of the oscillators and filters, much of the classic sound of Prophet-5 was the result of Poly Mod, which is faithfully present here as well. True to the original, modulation sources are Filter Envelope and Oscillator B. Destinations include oscillator A frequency, oscillator A pulse width, and low pass filter. The possible range of sounds defies its simplicity. Another welcome reprise is the Unison mode, which now features a configurable voice count (1-5 voices) with variable detuning and chord memory. And now Glide works both inside and outside Unison.
Velocity and Aftertouch
While sequential’s mission was to make the new Prophet-5 as accurate, authoritative and true to the original as possible, we couldn’t resist adding a few modern improvements to increase expressiveness: touch sensitivity and aftertouch. . These allow the new sequential Prophet-5 to perform in ways the original never could by putting filter sweeps, LFO mod and volume changes at your fingertips.
Effortless programming
The purity of the new Prophet’s sound is matched only by its simplicity to program. The front panel with button per function gives you instant satisfaction and direct access to all sound shaping controls. Disabling the Preset button enters live panel mode, with the Prophet-5 switching to the current settings of its knobs and switches. What you see is exactly what you hear. Included are 200 permanent factory programs and 200 rewritable user programs, including the original 1978 40-program set that made its way into countless recordings and movie soundtracks over time and beyond.
The whole package
All this punchy, punchy, analog goodness is housed in a full, five-octave, semi-weighted Fatar keyboard with USB, MIDI, Gate, and CV ins/outs, and a premium, steel and hand-oiled, durable black core made of walnut wood making it as satisfying to watch as it is to hear and play.
The new Prophet-5 history has never looked or sounded so good.
