Sequential Prophet 6

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Relayer
Posts: 15
Joined: 01:12, 13 June 2014

Sequential Prophet 6

Post by Relayer »

Apparently the CEO of Roland called over to the CEO of Yamaha and asked him to give Dave Smith back the rights to using the Sequential name since Yamaha had basically shelved the name and wasn't ever going to do anything with it. Yamaha respectfully agreed and now Dave has the rights and has introduced @ NAMM the SC Prophet 6, 6 voice analog synth!
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Tom_1970
Posts: 312
Joined: 23:17, 14 December 2012
Location: The Netherlands

Re: Sequential Prophet 6

Post by Tom_1970 »

Very, very nice!
What's it gonna be for me..... Prophet 12 or a Prophet 6???

This NAMM provided me with some tough decisions.

My wife wants a Kilpatrick Phenol first and who am I to argue with that. ;-)
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kimsnarf
Posts: 275
Joined: 17:55, 4 January 2013
Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Sequential Prophet 6

Post by kimsnarf »

Tom_1970 wrote:What's it gonna be for me..... Prophet 12 or a Prophet 6???
That really depends on what type of sound you want most. The Prophet 12 excels at atmosphere, metallic, "pluck"-ish, delay/echo, distortion. Like the Jupiter-80 it is great for ambient soundscapes, but is much more hands-on so you can evolve the sound dynamically while playing, rather than having to stop to reprogram it. Although the Jupiter-80 covers some of these tonal areas it just doesn't sound as good in them. For instance, the Jupiter-80 has lots of bell sounds, but you can hear that they are samples as you move up and down the keyboard. On the Prophet 12 it sounds perfect no matter the pitch. In this aspect it is like an FM synth on steroids.

For the above-mentioned tonal areas the Prophet 12 just sounds clearer, more authentic. It is like a quality set of speakers/headphones with a forward-leaning treble. It puts you on edge and is energetic, but without becoming painful. Clean but not clinical. Here the Jupiter-80 feels kind of dull in comparison, and actually sounds harsher (unpleasant) on the edgy sounds. The Prophet 12 feels right at home in a sci-fi horror movie, balancing suspense, terror and relief, interspersed with beautiful melodic passages.

But neither the Prophet 12 nor the Jupiter-80 can do convincing analog. The simple, meaty sounds are lacking in both synths. You can do approximations, but it just sounds fake. In the Prophet 12 this artificial flavour is mostly due to the filter (as I understand it). The Curtis filter is perfect for the above-mentioned sounds, but falls short on the simpler sounds. For instance, a basic sawtooth bass/lead is very similar between the Prophet 12 and the Pro 2 until you play with the filter. Then the Pro 2 pulls far ahead. I find neither the Prophet 12 nor the Jupiter-80 satisfying for these kinds of "vintage" sounds. I understand why Synth Legends for the Jupiter-80 never became a success and was abandoned. That is where the Prophet 6 comes in.

The Prophet 6 probably is not the best tool for soundscapes, but it promises to really dominate in the "vintage", simple and meaty department. It shares a filter with the Pro 2, but is polyphonic, so it should be great for both bass/lead and strings/pads. From early sound demos I have already heard Jupiter 8-ish, fat brass sounds that are sorely missing on both the Jupiter-80 and the Prophet 12.

I already have digital (Jupiter-80) and hybrid (Prophet 12), so for me the Prophet 6 (analog) looks just about perfect to cover all bases. I wasn't aiming at owning two Prophets, but they are fundamentally different and there really is no competition in the modern, analog, polyphonic segment. The Roland JD-XA is a step in this direction, but based on the JD-Xi demos it is too toylike both in sound, features and build quality, and it has too much overlap with other Roland SuperNATURAL VAs like the Jupiter-80. Also, it lacks the polyphony for convincing, analog chords.
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Tom_1970
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Joined: 23:17, 14 December 2012
Location: The Netherlands

Re: Sequential Prophet 6

Post by Tom_1970 »

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I still have time to consider, listen to demos, read manuals etc.
For the coming months we want to buy MX-1, Killpatrick Phenol and a Korg ARP Odyssey, so I am not in a hurry. ;-)
spottingjonah
Posts: 107
Joined: 16:01, 2 August 2013
Location: Tennessee, USA

Re: Sequential Prophet 6

Post by spottingjonah »

I played with the prophet 6 for a brief spell at NAMM and it was indeed very nice. Happy to see VCOs coming back, but I wish there was a bit more polyphony and an extra octave of keys.

On that note, In the Jupiter 80 V2, isn't one of the LFPs (Maybe LPF3???) supposed to be based on the Prophet 5? I know there's no formal indication of this from Roland, but I thought I read a review that indicated this. Thoughts?
TJ80
Posts: 103
Joined: 00:48, 20 May 2013

Re: Sequential Prophet 6

Post by TJ80 »

Yes, LPF4 is supposed to be a Sequential filter, 3 a Moog and 2 the JP8. I enjoyed a demo at Messe in 2012 and the Roland guy indicated as such. I also found a demo in French on you tube that states much the same.

Having spent many hours fiddling about with them, it all becomes a bit subjective, depending on what it is you are trying to achieve, the most significant differences being more obvious, to my ears anyway, with the resonance cranked up.
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