Prophet-5 – a question of maturity

A fine wine has to mature. It’s the same with classical instruments. Those early polyphonic synths tend to develop their own little quirks after many years of faithful service. You can look at it as a character quality! The Prophet-5, for instance, is characterized by increasing vagueness in certain electronic parts.

Prophet5-Jupiter-8-Synthex

This means, for instance, that the oscillators go out of tune easily. But (!) it’s exactly this quality of the Prophet which lends it its remarkable expressive vigor. Which is why in the following (first) soundfile you hear an out-of-tune Prophet-5. Each voice has developed its own individual beating.

Can anything be more beautiful?

Sequential Circuits - Prophet 5


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Test report: Sequential Prophet-5 – Milestone and Musical Legend

Filed under 2014, General

“Es genügt, einen Ton schön zu spielen” sagte der Komponist Arvo Pärt im Jahre 2005. Diese Aussage ist ebenso einfach wie ich auch exzellent: Es braucht kein Meer an Tönen, denn entscheidend ist der Klang. Dass so mancher Vintage-Synthesizer der 70er und 80er Jahre teils unerreicht hochwertige Klänge liefert, steht außer Frage. Doch tatsächlich leben wir “heute” in einer nahezu perfekten Zeit. Einerseits hat man – mehr oder weniger – noch Zugriff auf die Vintage Analogen, andererseits wird auch bei Neugeräten die wichtige Komponente des hochwertigen Klanges wieder zunehmend berücksichtigt. Doepfer, Cwejman, Synthesizers.com, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Studio Electronics, COTK, John Bowen und andere Hersteller bauen hervorragende Synthesizer, die den “Klassikern” in nichts nachstehen. All diesen (alten wie neuen) “großartigen” Instrumenten ist Great Synthesizers gewidmet. _________________________________________________________ In 2005 composer Arvo Pärt said: “Playing one tone really well is enough”. In other words, it is sufficient to play one tone 'beautifully'. I agree with that. All musical efforts are focused on the sound itself. Although I studied classical music (piano and drums), it’s the electronic sound that inspires me. Synthesizers are the epitome of new sounds and exciting tonal spheres. Today, many companies produce high-quality - excellent! - synthesizers: Doepfer, Cwejman, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Synthesizers.com, COTK, Studio Electronics, John Bowen and others. It's their products I'm really interested in ... apart from Vintage Synthesizers, which I have been collecting for 20 years. Subsequent to our former websites Bluesynths and Blogasys, Peter Mahr and I have now created GreatSynthesizers. We hope you like it.

1 Comment

  1. Carlos

    Yes, yes, and yes (great sound files, too). A beautiful instrument, a true classic, and one that has stood the test of time. When I first got mine, I finally had at my fingertips that polyphonic analog sound that I had been hearing in my head for so many years, but which had, until that moment, proven elusive. The Prophet 5 will always have a place in the pantheon.

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