With the Prophet-5 DesktopSequential presents the in-house, compact reissue of the original produced from 1978-1984. The reincarnation of one of the most groundbreaking polyphonic analogue synthesizers ever is almost identical to the original and features some innovations that purists and fans of the original Prophet-5 will gladly accept. Its consistently beautiful and rich basic sound has been inspiring for over 40 years and has been used in countless songs.
What is new?
The instrument officially ended with revision 3 (or 3.3) back then. This "P5" modestly introduces itself as revision 4 and discreetly refers to a few innovations: Depending on the revision number, the up to ten times larger sound memory now contains a total of 200 Factory sounds and 200 User sounds. The iconic 40 sounds of the very first P5 are also included in the presets. Velocity and aftertouch can be assigned directly to the filter, VCA and LFO by pressing a key, and the parameters are dosed according to the way you play. The MIDI menu allows all settings that can be expected from a modern instrument.
The highlight of SequentialProphet-5 Desktop is found in the filter: Here you can choose between the original SSM 2040 chip from revisions 1 and 2 and the more modern SSI 2140 chip from revision 3. Sound details are noticeable in the overdrive behavior when leveling the oscillators, the resonance and the locking of the cutoff. The icing on the cake is the Vintage control, which shifts the accurate and precise circuits of revision 4 (oscillator drift, filter, envelope behavior...) towards the component-related inaccuracies of the original. This way the best possible vintage sound is achieved.
The sound generation
The two powerful oscillators, each based on a CEM3340 chip, feature sawtooth and square waveforms (incl. adjustable pulse width). Oscillator A can be synchronized to oscillator B, the second tone generator is additionally equipped with the triangle waveform and can be switched to low mode as well as disconnected from the pitch control. Both VCOs are combined in the mixer, where you also find the noise generator.
The nice basic sound is processed with a 24dB Lowpass filter full of character. It behaves similar to a Moog filter, but sounds different than the transistor cascade due to the chip used. The "P5" offers the choice of using the original SSM 2040 chip from revisions 1 and 2oder or the more modern SSI 2140 chip from revision 3. One of the special features of this instrument are the waveforms that can be activated simultaneously in both oscillators and the LFO.
Modulation
At the top of the panel, modulations are assigned. Poly-Mod is composed of the Filter Envelope and Oscillator B sources and is applicable to the frequency and pulse width of Oscillator A and the Cutoff. This is also where the somewhat harder sounds for oscillator and filter FM are created. The LFO with its three waveforms that can be activated in parallel is dosed and assigned via the modulation wheel, here in combination with the noise generator. The frequency and pulse width of the oscillators A and B as well as Cutoff are available as (simultaneous) targets. The two crisp ADSR envelopes are permanently assigned to filter and VCA.
B-Stock
This article is a so-called B-stock. This refers to the condition of the packaging.
Sequential Prophet-5 Desktop B-Stock at a glance:
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