I am close to 40. This synth embodies sooo much of my youth via sounds that some of the tones coming out of this can bring me tears in a good way. Hope Dave Smith knew that he didn't just create a synth, but the audio footprint of an entire era (from NY to Bangladesh) which was lived through millions on this planet.
When a synth sounds this wonderful with a single output and no effects, you know it's the real deal! I assume this is one the later numbered models that didn't need the modification. So full, so sweet sounding, thank you. Best demo I've heard so far, great job.
Man, I’m right there with you on all of this. Just got mine 2 days ago and I can’t stop tinkering with it while I’m supposed to be getting other work done. I didn’t expect to be so taken with it, but it is just such a high-quality piece of gear in every respect, and the raw tone is just sublime!
My god, this is the most incredible sounding synth I've heard dry. I see the comments from others on other synth videos saying they love it and I don't really get it, but this, this has really suckered me in. The sounds you get from it in the "Some Sounds" section of the vid are just sublime. I'll be interested to hear more about this, comparisons and how you feel about it in 6 months time, as I am sure literally everyone else will :D
I can recall these sounds in SO many movies back then. Never realized how much it set the tone, pace and overall atmosphere of the movies. Even though it was very omnipresent.
I have a deep love for 80s electro since my early teens. I lately found out that almost all of my favorite tracks of that era contain a Prophet-5. Lovely synth!
It really does sound incredible. The sheer size of it and the knob spacing along with the 5 octave keyboard..winner. Looking forward to seeing your comparison with Repro5 as I doubt I will ever be able to fork out the best part of $5000 CAD for one of these :)
Yes, but Behr won't clone the physical size of this! On the other hand, a 12-voice version of this could be hard to resist if it sounds anywhere as good.. Sequential have shown that 'vintage' is possible using modern surface-mount PCBs and digital control.
This is why Starsky is KING of Synth Land. We all humbly pay our respects. Compared to him I am nothing. I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
A sublime sound. Elegance in simplicity but never boring or fatiguing. What I find amazing is how lush it sounds, and it’s mono!!! Some day, somehow I’ll get to play on one of these. God knows when😂
Sounds amazing, and your presentation is, of course, setting a new bar! Wouldn't it be great if going with to such a simple and vintage synth actually knocked out a good handful of more complicated and modern synths? When it sounds good, it sounds good. Layering really great sounding, yet simple sounds is what the 80s were all about!
I can't imagine how could you resist opening the box for 2 weeks... I'd tear it apart the minute it gets thru my door no matter how busy I would be LOL
Hehe I am a bit more like Starsky on this one. I must have a holy moment like opening the box to my new Prophet 5 be special and apart from other worries. I might even light candles for the occasion. Then stare at the box for a few minutes, then slowly open it... enjoying the process. Mentally noting everything I’m doing. Then opening the box for the big reveal... running my hands down the wood panels, taking in the sights, pressing the keys even before plugging it in. Looking at the manual, and slowly letting it sink in I have a Prophet 5. Hehe.
I can’t tell you how excited I was today to find out this was reissued and to find your review! I am completely hysterical with joy. I don’t want my money anymore.
Oh my word, it's just arrived and it sounds every bit as good as I hoped it would! I was a bit worried that the five note polyphony would be an issue and that I should pay the extra and buy the 10 but it's not nearly as much of a big deal as I thought it would be. Really happy right now. Thanks Dave and the team!
Sounds amazing. I'm new to synthesizers and I feel that - although I've never owned any of the legendary vintage analog models - I am starting to appreciate the difference between analog and digital synths. The really good analog synths have a certain buzz that to me sounds like like powerful electricity being harnessed and controlled. It sounds so much more alive and potent compared to digital remakes. Sort of like if you were to open it up and feel around inside you'd electrocute to yourself to shit lol
@U tube fun Good analog synths just sound like they're "pushing air". Good quality components make a big difference too...there's nothing "complicated" about the sound but it hits parts of the brain where it doesn't have to translate anything. Ok a bit pretentious perhaps but yes you can tell the difference without even trying.
A guy who truly knows how to make music with synths, as always! You convinced me to buy to Blue Marvin's and I gotta say you are selling me on this one!
Great demo. I've had mine 2 weeks and used it on a session already where everyone cried Cyndi Lauper when I played that first patch :). I honestly think this is the best sounding synth I've ever owned and I have owned many classics since 1985 including Matrix 12, Minimoog, various Roland analogues... if it had voice pan spread I'd be in true synth heaven... it's my only complaint... because it would just be amazing to hear it like that.. Like you I tend to choose simple tones and add very subtle modulations... I tend to find a lot of synths with endless modulation possibilities often have a rather boring tone to begin with. The physical quality of the synth is beyond anything I've ever seen... only the Moog One and Minimoog reissue comes close in recent years (they had the Moog One in the studio on the session I was on and they all said the Prophet 5 sounded better!)... You'll keep it I am sure!
and a year later, replying while I wait for my P10 to arrive. How are you finding the Prophet rev4 after a year? On the voice pan spread, could you achieve a similar effect by tracking voices separately and panning in post? Just thinking out loud. I am going to be using it in studio so having everything to hand on board is less important. As the rev4 is a mono out would you get the same result as you do on the P6 or OB-6 with pan spread? (I have an OB-6 desktop module). Initially I thought it was a lost opportunity to not have stereo outs on the rev4 but I understand why the decision was made and I’m comfortable with it.
Starsky - I just realized what a cool name "Star Sky" is. Enjoyed the video. I wouldn't keep the Prophet 6 and Prophet 5, seems a bit excessive imo. But sometimes I think we (as folks who use synths and can never seem to part with them) just... can't let things go. I had a Virus KB and a TI Polar and had the hardest time parting with the KB even though it was basically the same thing (but super nice as a 61 key keyboard). Someday - GAS will just be recognized as a mental disorder (well, it probably already is within the spectrum of obsessive compulsive disorders and hoarding, lol). The stepping is definitely something that Sequential/DSI does - which sorta sucks IMO. My Polysix is just smooth as butter on that and I quite like that. Would be nice to have control over whether it did that or not, but I would imagine they won't implement that. Anyway, thanks for the video!
I'm really glad you got that, you deserve it with the amount of quality videos your produced this year. That thing is massive! I'm getting the Behringer Cat for Christmas. Before it gets really busy, I like to wish you and yours Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, All the best! - Mr.Tom
The interface and look of a synthesizer has its influence on the way you play and make sounds... When I look at the Prophet 5-10 it has such a simple interface, but such a delightful sound! I'm currently used to much more feature filled interfaces like for example the One. But has its own character and experience! I wonder when I can get a hand on the Prophet 5-10 to experience its vibe myself! Enjoy playing and thank you for your video!
Don't know if you can get the same sound out of a Pro 6? This sounds really nice but I would miss the nuts and bolts from the Prophet 6. Looking forward to see and hear a comparison. I noticed you laugh a lot during reviews and comparisons. that's because you have a lot of fun making them and that's why I like watching them. Congrats and thanks for the review. And btw, we can never have to much synths. Such great times for us synth geeks.
Thanks, Starsky finally tested it and he can be trusted, he is pretty independent unlike some others. When the hype is gone, I'll probably order the upcoming desktop version and test it myself against my other synthesizers, especially the REV2. Please test it against the Repro5 of u-he.
That stepped filter would drive me nuts.. no way! I prefer a silky smooth analog filter sweep that doesn't keep latching on to notes. Essential to have a non-stepped filter when making slow epic brooding (bass) sounds..
Iconic synth ,good demo, but please explain ,Cv-Gate control means that One of the voices can be sequenced separate,and the 4 other voices be played at the same time?
I think if you use the filter envelope with poly mod routed to oscillator one while it’s synced, set the attack and decay to zero, the sustain will act as a smooth way to manually control the pitch without stepping. This works in other keyboards, it should work with the new Prophet 5/10. Haven’t got mine...YET
Yeah that's right. I think I mentioned that somewhere - but maybe edited out of the final version for whatever reason. Same with the filter stepping. Everything controlled by envelopes is smooth, its just the auto tuning of the knobs when setting up a tone. Really handy in some cases, frustrating in others.
I can buy a new synth that actually sounds & looks like a vintage one? - I find so few modern synth that really have the same emotion as classic instruments. - they did a great job with this - nice playing also.
I have owned the prophet 6 and rev 2 , miss the 6 much more than the Rev 2……..currently both are gone this appears very organic and knob per function , authentic ……do you still feel strong about it , appreciate the classic sound? And from what I can tell on you tube it separates itself well from the other prophets, Some crossover but it sounds different, I have the Pollybrute so don’t need more complex modulation routing …..
As a P10 owner and a Repro 5 owner, I’d still love to see your comparison of them! I’ve done a bit of testing and I have to say the P10 seems to just have more mojo (very scientific :p). Need to test more. I can never seem to quite replicate the P10 patches in Repro, though, which was a surprise to me.
Concerning the filter cutoff stepping, I almost asked about whether there was something to do with the characters in the parameter display. To explain where that query comes from, I have a Roland JX-8p and an MKS-70 (to replace my previously-owned JX-10), all of which step like crazy through all their editable parameters but have a 2-character parameter display. My Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue’s filters don’t step at all (practically), but the Voyager’s parameter display has3 characters. Is any event relevant to this synthesizer, or am I rambling? I definitely enjoyed the way you were using the keyboard tracking of them self isolating filters to try generating organ simulations with additive synthesis. That is something which I have occasionally experimented with on my subtractive instruments and observed in other demos. Subjectively, I would be thinking with a combination of my own musical interests and what the late Dave Smith originally had in mind with this model. He wanted it to have 10 notes of polyphony from the start, but he went with five because the original components from 1977 kept overheating. When he came out with the P10 in 2020, he said it was the instrument he had always wanted to build. For my own part, having owned the JX-10 & MKS-70, each of which had a maximum of 12 notes and placed strong emphasis on their split/layer functions, I can see the practical advantages of having 10 versus 5 notes of polyphony.
Roland had the pedigree and back catalogue to dominate the analog synth market. Drum machines too. But they chose the digital route. The clues were there from the release of the original Bass Station keyboard, people love the real thing.
I'm not familiar with the original P5 - does anyone know if the original stepped with the filter resonance? One thing I really like about old synths that don't step like that is that resonating inharmonic frequencies often makes the sound more interesting to me (like the SH-101. I believe the Behringer MS-1 does something more akin to the P5 in terms of stepping, missing those inharmonic frequencies).
You can do inharmonic things using osc B which you can fine tune. But I’ve no idea if the original did this. I imagine it must have otherwise there would be uproar! :)
Hi Starsky, can you please check your Vintage knob again? My is much more extrem and is bringin on position one the OSC in a heavy detuned state (actually not usable in chords playing). I set it up with init patch and having both OSC on SAW with both tuned to C-1 and no fine tune. Then turn Vintage to 4 see, that everything is very tight. Turn it to 1 .. is it heavily detuned? It did sound very subtle in your video, but the patch was not very good on recognizing it. But even patch 111 sounded much more detuned on mine in pos 1. Would appreciate if you can check on that.
@@StarskyCarr AFAIK (and tested) the detune setting with UNISON held, works only for Unison. The issue with the Vintage knob is on normal play (non Unison) and it is all over the place. I do not think (and could not get any change) that it works that way in poly regardless of the unison detune setting. A test would be great on your end with a very simple 2 OSC sound.
Sorry, I misunderstood. When doing as you did one of the voices is horrible! If you play single notes up the keyboard each will play a different voice. One of mine sounds completely broken!
@@StarskyCarr i had the same problem... seemed my P5 went beserk with high notes at the bottom I had to hit Globals and Record to reset and then press tune a number of times over several days.. no problems since and I've been playing it a lot since. PS my Vintage knob (:D) had little to no effect in the first days I had it... now it is roughly like the effect you showed.
Man You do the absolute best videos. Im torn of what to get between the Prophet 5 and the OB6 to share a space with Moog One I know the differ but HELP!!! not trying to break the banks again :)
nice choice to have to make :) I've never played the Moog One, but I suspect the OB6 would give a greater range of sounds as a pairing... and leave you with a fair bit of cash left over. Not as much wood though ..
wow that unison sound @ 29:20 is giving me early 90’s acid/rave/Shamen flashbacks. i’m thinking about getting a P5..do you wish you had the P10 instead?
Yeah, I should’ve got the 10… but it was a stretch to get the 5. I’d have been amazed to get my hands on a 5 a couple of years ago - so was trying not to be greedy. I don’t necessarily miss the extra 5 voices - but 10 would be better in general.
Starsky Carr yeah i’m on the fence. there’s a 5 in stock near me but no 10s. if the 10 didn’t exist i’d be thrilled with the 5... and then there’s the sequential obx rumours. decisions!
Great video demo. Simplicity and quality are great features. Makes live performance more accessible. First time I had appreciated the chromatic stepping of filters. I guess it works better for FM. I will probably go for the desktop version to save space; can add arpeggiators and sequencing that way. Dave's vintage knob is awesome LOL Love the way it loosens the envelopes, not just the tuning. I'd like to make a video like this with my Moog One; I guess I don't have to fully understand it to be able to show some of what it can do.
it’s not overpriced when u realize just how much sound potential there is in it and how much music you can make on it which in turn means money. it’s a very classy synth
This may be a dumb question, but can you use the usb port to controll plugins? I kinda want this synth as my main keyboard but I don't know if I can use it to get piano sounds from my VST's
Do you ever feel limited by the Mono out? I'm saving for either this or the UDO Super 6 and am completely torn! This is the nicest sounding synth since my OB6.
Damn it! I'm now 3 grand worse off 😁 Got my 5 on Monday and it is fab, big and heavy too! The ease of use of this synth is just the best, SO easy to program and store patches. Time to get rid of my Korg Prologue, which by the way gives the Prophet a damned good run for the money.
@@StarskyCarr I'd keep it if I could afford to have both! Like the channel a lot. Have you covered any old synths before? I used to own a Polymoog Synth, Prodigy, JP4, OSCar, Casio CZ, Ensoniq at one point in the 80s! Fab that analog is back. DX7 is spawn of the devil 🤣 Keep up the good work and best wishes from Fife, Scotland.
STARSKY I've decided to get a Polybrute because of the price range and options it gives. HOWEVER.... based off of countless videos you've made of making various gear sound alike or close enough, I was curious if you could do one with the PB making it sound like the Prophet range keyboards.
@@anoniconoclast2030 for that kind of money, ill settle for a P6 or Rev 2. It gets me close enough to the sound of a P5 with more options and more money left over to add to the purchase of a Polybrute which has its own sound/identity. By the time I've paid them off I'd have paid either a lot less or a little more for two dope poly synths than paying a high price for one synth.
@@mpmi7588 But the others wont have the superior sound and awesome playing experience you would get with a prophet 5. A Polybrute pales next to a Prophet 5. You will always feel like you got left out with anything less.
@@anoniconoclast2030 maybe. or... feel like I have new classics that can get close enough to the old classics that the average ears won't notice nor care. I've watched/heard enough comparisons to know that even if the Rev 2 doesn't sound just like a P5, that it can still capture a good 80% of it. Especially with them filters. The polybrute however will just have its own Arturia based sound. Yeah the P5/P6 are classics but the Rev is on its way to being one and the polybrute could be one in time like its mono brother the matrixbrute. If any of some of the newer synths of the past 5-6 years were out sound wise in the late 70s-80s, they'd be considered classics.
@@StarskyCarr I ordered last Thursday and it was initially showing as a 26 week wait but I got an email from them saying it is expected in the last week of this year. Check their price on the Pro 3 SE too! It’s only slightly more than the standard.
I’ve no idea! I can’t remember sorry. But when doing something like this it’s normally a mix of both.. maybe a few I’ve started from scratch, some where I’ve played a bit with a preset and some presets.
It’s a sequential thing -unless they update with the option for smooth which I doubt - I think we’re stuck with it. It only really matters in long slow sweeps, but is annoying if you’re trying to automated them with CC for example.
your comment about the complex tones got me wondering - have you had your hands on a Novation Summit at any point? I've managed to get the bones of an entire track just latching *one* chord with that thing, it's ridiculous.
I’ve not played with one in depth... actually just the leak. But I can imagine what you’re getting from it. Love the notation stuff - I’m a big fan of the BS2.
@@StarskyCarr the BS2 is phenomenal. I never bothered getting one as I've got the rack, super bass station and a mono station (and most of Behringer's mono synths) but the AFX mode has got me looking at a BS2 lately. Running the mono station through the Summit's effects is good fun for big lead sounds though.
Hey Carl, great stuff as always - I was about "downgrade" my Prophet 5 to the new SSM filters before this, but now I'm not so sure - I notice some of my favourite sounds here are with the SSM filters - can you compare those closely in a follow up? No one has really done that in depth and I think that's a major selling point of this new version. Still loving your old Munro Sonics - Jezz ☺️👌
Had a more extensive play with them yesterday - and it’ll be in the P5 vs P6 comparison I’m putting together. Tbh I’d say it’s not worth it. Differences are subtle in most sounds but the older filter does have more harmonics (a second resonant peak) and if you’re listening intently I’d say it can sound richer and more aggressive. So better... yes (but not a huge difference) ...worth the hassle/cost not so sure
@@StarskyCarr Yes, there’s something about the SSM isn’t there? Looking forward to your demo, though the difference actually doesn’t sound so pronounced as with the Analogue Renaissance Rev-1Downgrade on an OG TBH 👍
Great demo as always. So much vintage analog goodness in there! I noticed that you have your volume cranked in this demo. I've found that the line output on the Prophet 5 is considerably lower than other Sequential synths such as the Prophet 6. Is that your experience as well?
@@Beatsmith2005 did you actually read what you typed lol. How can something sound as good as you’d hoped it wouldn’t. What short bus took you to school. Hahaha moron
I am close to 40. This synth embodies sooo much of my youth via sounds that some of the tones coming out of this can bring me tears in a good way. Hope Dave Smith knew that he didn't just create a synth, but the audio footprint of an entire era (from NY to Bangladesh) which was lived through millions on this planet.
When a synth sounds this wonderful with a single output and no effects, you know it's the real deal! I assume this is one the later numbered models that didn't need the modification.
So full, so sweet sounding, thank you.
Best demo I've heard so far, great job.
Man, I’m right there with you on all of this. Just got mine 2 days ago and I can’t stop tinkering with it while I’m supposed to be getting other work done. I didn’t expect to be so taken with it, but it is just such a high-quality piece of gear in every respect, and the raw tone is just sublime!
It just ooooozes the 1980s golden era of Synths. I only need one kidney!
It will cost you both now, as China has flooded the organ black market with Uyghur kidneys.
My god, this is the most incredible sounding synth I've heard dry. I see the comments from others on other synth videos saying they love it and I don't really get it, but this, this has really suckered me in. The sounds you get from it in the "Some Sounds" section of the vid are just sublime. I'll be interested to hear more about this, comparisons and how you feel about it in 6 months time, as I am sure literally everyone else will :D
Vintage sounds can be a shock in 2020
@17:21 what a sound!❤❤Well done Mr. Carr. She is something else. Thanks Dave 👼
Getting mine tomorrow morning. I’m so psyched. Only took me ten years to finally get one! And luckily it’s brand new 😎
Thank god you’ve done a review on this! No one going into this kinda detail, thank you!
I can recall these sounds in SO many movies back then. Never realized how much it set the tone, pace and overall atmosphere of the movies. Even though it was very omnipresent.
Awesome Starsky! cant wait for the U He Repro-5 comparision! keep awesome content
I have a deep love for 80s electro since my early teens. I lately found out that almost all of my favorite tracks of that era contain a Prophet-5. Lovely synth!
Just having binge-watched all Stranger Things episodes before, I can´t help but having that association in my ear when hearing this lovely machine :)
I am SOOO close to buying this - sounds sublime - will be in so much trouble
It really does sound incredible. The sheer size of it and the knob spacing along with the 5 octave keyboard..winner. Looking forward to seeing your comparison with Repro5 as I doubt I will ever be able to fork out the best part of $5000 CAD for one of these :)
American Musical could make that happen!
They managed to release it before Behringer cloned it...
Quite possibly!
Yes, but Behr won't clone the physical size of this! On the other hand, a 12-voice version of this could be hard to resist if it sounds anywhere as good..
Sequential have shown that 'vintage' is possible using modern surface-mount PCBs and digital control.
@@ewanstefani Brophet Mind 12... God help us all...
Behringer will take forever to get this thing out.
This is why Starsky is KING of Synth Land. We all humbly pay our respects. Compared to him I am nothing. I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
We also pay lots of money to these companies because of him. It's a love hate relationship... lol. Just jokes (for the most part) 🕶️💜
I’m astonished how good it sounds with no effects. You kind of forget there aren’t effects until effects are actually applied.
Vintage analogs a different level
A sublime sound. Elegance in simplicity but never boring or fatiguing. What I find amazing is how lush it sounds, and it’s mono!!! Some day, somehow I’ll get to play on one of these. God knows when😂
Sounds amazing, and your presentation is, of course, setting a new bar! Wouldn't it be great if going with to such a simple and vintage synth actually knocked out a good handful of more complicated and modern synths? When it sounds good, it sounds good. Layering really great sounding, yet simple sounds is what the 80s were all about!
I can't imagine how could you resist opening the box for 2 weeks... I'd tear it apart the minute it gets thru my door no matter how busy I would be LOL
Hehe I am a bit more like Starsky on this one. I must have a holy moment like opening the box to my new Prophet 5 be special and apart from other worries. I might even light candles for the occasion. Then stare at the box for a few minutes, then slowly open it... enjoying the process. Mentally noting everything I’m doing. Then opening the box for the big reveal... running my hands down the wood panels, taking in the sights, pressing the keys even before plugging it in. Looking at the manual, and slowly letting it sink in I have a Prophet 5. Hehe.
Sounds lovely. I used to get a shot of a Prophet 5 occasionally back in the 90s. A lovely synth.
Sounds great, looks great. There is something about being inspired to play.
I can’t tell you how excited I was today to find out this was reissued and to find your review! I am completely hysterical with joy. I don’t want my money anymore.
You had to didn't you... looks beautiful. I'm a modern rev 2 owner... but this is another level with its vcos.
Omg I am light years away from having an audience or making money with my productions but I need this
Same let's start a band or production team!
Great review, thank you! Sounds legendary, still very fresh ...
Watched the whole thing intently... thanks Starsky, you're great!
Got the Prophet 10 (6 voices min for me)... bit of a beast. Love the poly unison mode yet still have 5 voice poly when using it.
I should’ve got the 10... not that I’m
Unhappy with owning a prophet 5 😀
@@StarskyCarr You can always add the additional voice card!
@@MT-mt8bd I did 😀 there’s a short video of me doing it
This legit sounds really good. And I just found out it's in mono. Wow
Special thanks for twiddling all the time with the vintage knob and rev button! This shows potential of this wonderful instrument.
Oh my word, it's just arrived and it sounds every bit as good as I hoped it would! I was a bit worried that the five note polyphony would be an issue and that I should pay the extra and buy the 10 but it's not nearly as much of a big deal as I thought it would be. Really happy right now. Thanks Dave and the team!
Sounds amazing. I'm new to synthesizers and I feel that - although I've never owned any of the legendary vintage analog models - I am starting to appreciate the difference between analog and digital synths. The really good analog synths have a certain buzz that to me sounds like like powerful electricity being harnessed and controlled. It sounds so much more alive and potent compared to digital remakes. Sort of like if you were to open it up and feel around inside you'd electrocute to yourself to shit lol
@U tube fun Good analog synths just sound like they're "pushing air". Good quality components make a big difference too...there's nothing "complicated" about the sound but it hits parts of the brain where it doesn't have to translate anything. Ok a bit pretentious perhaps but yes you can tell the difference without even trying.
What a demo. Amazing and honest review with top sound and vision. Thanks
A guy who truly knows how to make music with synths, as always! You convinced me to buy to Blue Marvin's and I gotta say you are selling me on this one!
Congrats! This thing sounds as good as it looks.
Great demo. I've had mine 2 weeks and used it on a session already where everyone cried Cyndi Lauper when I played that first patch :). I honestly think this is the best sounding synth I've ever owned and I have owned many classics since 1985 including Matrix 12, Minimoog, various Roland analogues... if it had voice pan spread I'd be in true synth heaven... it's my only complaint... because it would just be amazing to hear it like that..
Like you I tend to choose simple tones and add very subtle modulations... I tend to find a lot of synths with endless modulation possibilities often have a rather boring tone to begin with. The physical quality of the synth is beyond anything I've ever seen... only the Moog One and Minimoog reissue comes close in recent years (they had the Moog One in the studio on the session I was on and they all said the Prophet 5 sounded better!)...
You'll keep it I am sure!
and a year later, replying while I wait for my P10 to arrive. How are you finding the Prophet rev4 after a year? On the voice pan spread, could you achieve a similar effect by tracking voices separately and panning in post? Just thinking out loud. I am going to be using it in studio so having everything to hand on board is less important. As the rev4 is a mono out would you get the same result as you do on the P6 or OB-6 with pan spread? (I have an OB-6 desktop module). Initially I thought it was a lost opportunity to not have stereo outs on the rev4 but I understand why the decision was made and I’m comfortable with it.
Starsky - I just realized what a cool name "Star Sky" is.
Enjoyed the video.
I wouldn't keep the Prophet 6 and Prophet 5, seems a bit excessive imo. But sometimes I think we (as folks who use synths and can never seem to part with them) just... can't let things go. I had a Virus KB and a TI Polar and had the hardest time parting with the KB even though it was basically the same thing (but super nice as a 61 key keyboard).
Someday - GAS will just be recognized as a mental disorder (well, it probably already is within the spectrum of obsessive compulsive disorders and hoarding, lol).
The stepping is definitely something that Sequential/DSI does - which sorta sucks IMO. My Polysix is just smooth as butter on that and I quite like that. Would be nice to have control over whether it did that or not, but I would imagine they won't implement that.
Anyway, thanks for the video!
‘turning resonance all the way up. Watch your ears.’ My dog’s ears started twitching 🐶😂 Great review!
Very nice review. More relaxed than others. And yes, they should have thought about the wood. But I think it will make dentists an lawyers happy.
This is the best video showing this wonderful machine.
For those who have to wait for their Prophet at least until January, this doesn't make waiting easier!
sorry about that :)
I'm really glad you got that, you deserve it with the amount of quality videos your produced this year. That thing is massive! I'm getting the Behringer Cat for Christmas. Before it gets really busy, I like to wish you and yours Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, All the best! - Mr.Tom
Best wishes to you and yours as well. Thanks .
Those are some satisfying sounding buttons. Synth sounds good too...
The interface and look of a synthesizer has its influence on the way you play and make sounds...
When I look at the Prophet 5-10 it has such a simple interface, but such a delightful sound! I'm currently used to much more feature filled interfaces like for example the One.
But has its own character and experience!
I wonder when I can get a hand on the Prophet 5-10 to experience its vibe myself!
Enjoy playing and thank you for your video!
what a cool ass synth. literal chills woah guys
Don't know if you can get the same sound out of a Pro 6? This sounds really nice but I would miss the nuts and bolts from the Prophet 6. Looking forward to see and hear a comparison. I noticed you laugh a lot during reviews and comparisons. that's because you have a lot of fun making them and that's why I like watching them. Congrats and thanks for the review. And btw, we can never have to much synths. Such great times for us synth geeks.
Thanks, Starsky finally tested it and he can be trusted, he is pretty independent unlike some others.
When the hype is gone, I'll probably order the upcoming desktop version and test it myself against my other synthesizers, especially the REV2.
Please test it against the Repro5 of u-he.
Eager to see those comparisons ! thanks for the video :)
Here you go... ua-cam.com/video/AkF5aI3t7hY/v-deo.html
I just bought the desktop. Best synth since my Jupiter 06
I've had my Prophet 5 on order since the 21st of October (in the UK) and it still hasn't arrived. Videos like this just make me endlessly envious :(
You're damn right, that very first bit *was* too nice to play once...
That stepped filter would drive me nuts.. no way!
I prefer a silky smooth analog filter sweep that doesn't keep latching on to notes. Essential to have a non-stepped filter when making slow epic brooding (bass) sounds..
I know, it's odd that they leave it on and there's no option to turn it off.
Iconic synth ,good demo, but please explain ,Cv-Gate control means that One of the voices can be sequenced separate,and the 4 other voices be played at the same time?
I think if you use the filter envelope with poly mod routed to oscillator one while it’s synced, set the attack and decay to zero, the sustain will act as a smooth way to manually control the pitch without stepping. This works in other keyboards, it should work with the new Prophet 5/10. Haven’t got mine...YET
Yeah that's right. I think I mentioned that somewhere - but maybe edited out of the final version for whatever reason. Same with the filter stepping. Everything controlled by envelopes is smooth, its just the auto tuning of the knobs when setting up a tone. Really handy in some cases, frustrating in others.
it is a beautiful piece of weaponry, nice one fella
I can buy a new synth that actually sounds & looks like a vintage one? - I find so few modern synth that really have the same emotion as classic instruments. - they did a great job with this - nice playing also.
I have owned the prophet 6 and rev 2 , miss the 6 much more than the Rev 2……..currently both are gone this appears very organic and knob per function , authentic ……do you still feel strong about it , appreciate the classic sound? And from what I can tell on you tube it separates itself well from the other prophets, Some crossover but it sounds different, I have the Pollybrute so don’t need more complex modulation routing …..
I used a Rev2 a few years back - the filter also stepped.
Yup my rev2 filter steps from the knob but not from LFO/ENV
As a P10 owner and a Repro 5 owner, I’d still love to see your comparison of them! I’ve done a bit of testing and I have to say the P10 seems to just have more mojo (very scientific :p). Need to test more. I can never seem to quite replicate the P10 patches in Repro, though, which was a surprise to me.
Concerning the filter cutoff stepping, I almost asked about whether there was something to do with the characters in the parameter display. To explain where that query comes from, I have a Roland JX-8p and an MKS-70 (to replace my previously-owned JX-10), all of which step like crazy through all their editable parameters but have a 2-character parameter display. My Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue’s filters don’t step at all (practically), but the Voyager’s parameter display has3 characters. Is any event relevant to this synthesizer, or am I rambling?
I definitely enjoyed the way you were using the keyboard tracking of them self isolating filters to try generating organ simulations with additive synthesis. That is something which I have occasionally experimented with on my subtractive instruments and observed in other demos.
Subjectively, I would be thinking with a combination of my own musical interests and what the late Dave Smith originally had in mind with this model. He wanted it to have 10 notes of polyphony from the start, but he went with five because the original components from 1977 kept overheating. When he came out with the P10 in 2020, he said it was the instrument he had always wanted to build. For my own part, having owned the JX-10 & MKS-70, each of which had a maximum of 12 notes and placed strong emphasis on their split/layer functions, I can see the practical advantages of having 10 versus 5 notes of polyphony.
Thanks… I eventually bought the additional board so it’s 10 voices now - should’ve done that from the start!
You deserve it! And more! Congrats!
That's it, I can take it no more. I'm buying one!
Fantastic review! Riveted!
Wish Roland would reissue the classics like Dave...
Roland had the pedigree and back catalogue to dominate the analog synth market. Drum machines too. But they chose the digital route.
The clues were there from the release of the original Bass Station keyboard, people love the real thing.
I'm not familiar with the original P5 - does anyone know if the original stepped with the filter resonance? One thing I really like about old synths that don't step like that is that resonating inharmonic frequencies often makes the sound more interesting to me (like the SH-101. I believe the Behringer MS-1 does something more akin to the P5 in terms of stepping, missing those inharmonic frequencies).
You can do inharmonic things using osc B which you can fine tune. But I’ve no idea if the original did this. I imagine it must have otherwise there would be uproar! :)
@@StarskyCarr Good point. Thanks
Hi Starsky, can you please check your Vintage knob again? My is much more extrem and is bringin on position one the OSC in a heavy detuned state (actually not usable in chords playing). I set it up with init patch and having both OSC on SAW with both tuned to C-1 and no fine tune. Then turn Vintage to 4 see, that everything is very tight. Turn it to 1 .. is it heavily detuned? It did sound very subtle in your video, but the patch was not very good on recognizing it. But even patch 111 sounded much more detuned on mine in pos 1. Would appreciate if you can check on that.
Have you checked your detune settings ? (hold UNISON and press the select keys - there are 8 levels of detune).
@@StarskyCarr AFAIK (and tested) the detune setting with UNISON held, works only for Unison. The issue with the Vintage knob is on normal play (non Unison) and it is all over the place. I do not think (and could not get any change) that it works that way in poly regardless of the unison detune setting. A test would be great on your end with a very simple 2 OSC sound.
Sorry, I misunderstood. When doing as you did one of the voices is horrible! If you play single notes up the keyboard each will play a different voice. One of mine sounds completely broken!
@@StarskyCarr i had the same problem... seemed my P5 went beserk with high notes at the bottom I had to hit Globals and Record to reset and then press tune a number of times over several days.. no problems since and I've been playing it a lot since. PS my Vintage knob (:D) had little to no effect in the first days I had it... now it is roughly like the effect you showed.
@@neilloughran4437 maybe vintage improves with age :)
Ahh yes another satisfying review on a product ill never have the luxury lf owning 😫
Im.getting mines for my birthday
I will buy it....only for the modern piano emulations 23:37
Now you and Alex Ball need to jam together =]
I'd need to practise ;) he's got real skills
Man You do the absolute best videos. Im torn of what to get between the Prophet 5 and the OB6 to share a space with Moog One I know the differ but HELP!!! not trying to break the banks again :)
nice choice to have to make :) I've never played the Moog One, but I suspect the OB6 would give a greater range of sounds as a pairing... and leave you with a fair bit of cash left over. Not as much wood though ..
wow that unison sound @ 29:20 is giving me early 90’s acid/rave/Shamen flashbacks.
i’m thinking about getting a P5..do you wish you had the P10 instead?
Yeah, I should’ve got the 10… but it was a stretch to get the 5. I’d have been amazed to get my hands on a 5 a couple of years ago - so was trying not to be greedy. I don’t necessarily miss the extra 5 voices - but 10 would be better in general.
Starsky Carr yeah i’m on the fence. there’s a 5 in stock near me but no 10s. if the 10 didn’t exist i’d be thrilled with the 5... and then there’s the sequential obx rumours. decisions!
@@ghost_mall I've since bought the extra 5 voice board!
Great video demo. Simplicity and quality are great features. Makes live performance more accessible.
First time I had appreciated the chromatic stepping of filters. I guess it works better for FM.
I will probably go for the desktop version to save space; can add arpeggiators and sequencing that way.
Dave's vintage knob is awesome LOL Love the way it loosens the envelopes, not just the tuning.
I'd like to make a video like this with my Moog One; I guess I don't have to fully understand it to be able to show some of what it can do.
Nice review. 3.499 € sound good in my pocket too. It's a nice synth but overpriced. Dave making a lot of money !
it’s not overpriced when u realize just how much sound potential there is in it and how much music you can make on it which in turn means money. it’s a very classy synth
Really nice demo.
This may be a dumb question, but can you use the usb port to controll plugins? I kinda want this synth as my main keyboard but I don't know if I can use it to get piano sounds from my VST's
Yes all the knobs send MIDI
To those blown away by the sound..vintage analogs a whole other level..
Do you ever feel limited by the Mono out? I'm saving for either this or the UDO Super 6 and am completely torn! This is the nicest sounding synth since my OB6.
It does sound sturdy and strong
I don't have the room for the keyboard P5. Do you know if the desktop version sounds identical please? Many thanks .
Yes it’s identical.
@@StarskyCarr many thanks 👍
RIP Dave Smith
Damned ,got my prophet 5 today (partly your fault )Thanks for that.....!
Anything sounds good.
Damn it! I'm now 3 grand worse off 😁 Got my 5 on Monday and it is fab, big and heavy too! The ease of use of this synth is just the best, SO easy to program and store patches.
Time to get rid of my Korg Prologue, which by the way gives the Prophet a damned good run for the money.
I’m a big fan of the sound of the Korg ‘logues’ - the VCOs are so rich. I’ve a mono and a miniXD.
@@StarskyCarr I'd keep it if I could afford to have both!
Like the channel a lot.
Have you covered any old synths before?
I used to own a Polymoog Synth, Prodigy, JP4, OSCar, Casio CZ, Ensoniq at one point in the 80s!
Fab that analog is back.
DX7 is spawn of the devil 🤣
Keep up the good work and best wishes from Fife, Scotland.
STARSKY I've decided to get a Polybrute because of the price range and options it gives. HOWEVER.... based off of countless videos you've made of making various gear sound alike or close enough, I was curious if you could do one with the PB making it sound like the Prophet range keyboards.
I’ll have to try to get my hands on one.
I hate to say it but it seems like you NEED a Prophet 5. At this point nothing else will do.
@@anoniconoclast2030 for that kind of money, ill settle for a P6 or Rev 2. It gets me close enough to the sound of a P5 with more options and more money left over to add to the purchase of a Polybrute which has its own sound/identity. By the time I've paid them off I'd have paid either a lot less or a little more for two dope poly synths than paying a high price for one synth.
@@mpmi7588 But the others wont have the superior sound and awesome playing experience you would get with a prophet 5. A Polybrute pales next to a Prophet 5. You will always feel like you got left out with anything less.
@@anoniconoclast2030 maybe. or... feel like I have new classics that can get close enough to the old classics that the average ears won't notice nor care. I've watched/heard enough comparisons to know that even if the Rev 2 doesn't sound just like a P5, that it can still capture a good 80% of it. Especially with them filters. The polybrute however will just have its own Arturia based sound. Yeah the P5/P6 are classics but the Rev is on its way to being one and the polybrute could be one in time like its mono brother the matrixbrute. If any of some of the newer synths of the past 5-6 years were out sound wise in the late 70s-80s, they'd be considered classics.
@starsky carr, the 10 is only £59 more than the 5 on Bax! On back order currently but worth the wait for the saving.
Wow there it is for £3,299 6 month wait though. Everywhere else it’s still £3,999
@@StarskyCarr I ordered last Thursday and it was initially showing as a 26 week wait but I got an email from them saying it is expected in the last week of this year. Check their price on the Pro 3 SE too! It’s only slightly more than the standard.
Do i hear some Yves Deruyter - Yvesday starting @ 22:20 ? Great review! And what a fat sound - only my wallet hates me already.. constantly.. Cheers
Beautiful sounds! Are these custom sounds or presets?
I’ve no idea! I can’t remember sorry. But when doing something like this it’s normally a mix of both.. maybe a few I’ve started from scratch, some where I’ve played a bit with a preset and some presets.
It's possible to get rid of the stepping in the filter yes or is it hard wired?
It’s a sequential thing -unless they update with the option for smooth which I doubt - I think we’re stuck with it. It only really matters in long slow sweeps, but is annoying if you’re trying to automated them with CC for example.
@@ghost_mall I don't think it does. You can even hear it in envelope sweeps (I'm sure I can anyway, but maybe not... I could be imagining it)
Father Christmas has been very nice to you indeed 😁
your comment about the complex tones got me wondering - have you had your hands on a Novation Summit at any point? I've managed to get the bones of an entire track just latching *one* chord with that thing, it's ridiculous.
I’ve not played with one in depth... actually just the leak. But I can imagine what you’re getting from it. Love the notation stuff - I’m a big fan of the BS2.
@@StarskyCarr the BS2 is phenomenal. I never bothered getting one as I've got the rack, super bass station and a mono station (and most of Behringer's mono synths) but the AFX mode has got me looking at a BS2 lately. Running the mono station through the Summit's effects is good fun for big lead sounds though.
Nice woodwork btw...!
What would you recommend between this and the ob6? I love the sound of both and can’t decide
For some reason I'd go P5... but really the OB6 is a better tool.
Keep the pro one - the mixer circuit is different to the prophet and allows a slightly grittier overdriven sound to the filter. Gives it that punch.
plus the sequencer.. this makes the P1 feel like it was built in a shed!
@@StarskyCarr If you have an early model with the upside down transformer on the main board I would agree :-)
Jesus I need to get one of these...
legend
Hey Carl, great stuff as always - I was about "downgrade" my Prophet 5 to the new SSM filters before this, but now I'm not so sure - I notice some of my favourite sounds here are with the SSM filters - can you compare those closely in a follow up? No one has really done that in depth and I think that's a major selling point of this new version. Still loving your old Munro Sonics - Jezz ☺️👌
Had a more extensive play with them yesterday - and it’ll be in the P5 vs P6 comparison I’m putting together. Tbh I’d say it’s not worth it. Differences are subtle in most sounds but the older filter does have more harmonics (a second resonant peak) and if you’re listening intently I’d say it can sound richer and more aggressive. So better... yes (but not a huge difference) ...worth the hassle/cost not so sure
Having spent the extra hours it’s feeling more worth it ;)
@@StarskyCarr Yes, there’s something about the SSM isn’t there? Looking forward to your demo, though the difference actually doesn’t sound so pronounced as with the Analogue Renaissance Rev-1Downgrade on an OG TBH 👍
Great demo as always. So much vintage analog goodness in there! I noticed that you have your volume cranked in this demo. I've found that the line output on the Prophet 5 is considerably lower than other Sequential synths such as the Prophet 6. Is that your experience as well?
No
no
Man, I pre-ordered the P10 and won’t ship until at least February. Lucky guy you!.
Wish I’d gone for the 10 now.
It sounds as good as I hoped it wouldn't. Crap.
how does it sound like crap u bellend
@@gregbradshaw7220 I don’t think you have very good reading comprehension but thanks for your input
@@Beatsmith2005 if you were praising it you would have typed “it sounds as good as I had hoped it would.”
@@gregbradshaw7220 You're wrong and you know it 😂
@@Beatsmith2005 did you actually read what you typed lol. How can something sound as good as you’d hoped it wouldn’t. What short bus took you to school. Hahaha moron