With the Prophet-5 Sequential presents the in-house reissue of the original produced from 1978-1984. The detailed manufactured reincarnation of one of the most groundbreaking polyphonic analog synthesizers ever is almost identical to the original and features some innovations that purists and fans of the original Prophet-5 are happy to take. The keyboard synthesizer features a high-quality and very pleasantly playable 61-key Fatar keyboard, which even generates velocity and aftertouch and passes them on to the sound generator. The consistently beautiful and rich basic sound of the Sequential Prophet-5 knows how to inspire for over 40 years and has been used in countless songs.
The instrument ended officially with the revision 3 (or 3.3), this "P5" presents itself modestly as revision 4 and refers discreetly to a few innovations: In addition to the excellent keyboard, the (depending on the revision number) up to ten times larger sound memory now delights with 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 filter, VCA and LFO via keystroke, the dosage of the parameters is done with the playing style. The MIDI menu allows all the settings that can be expected from a modern instrument. The highlight in the new Prophet-5 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 from 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 two assertive 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" provides a choice of using the original SSM 2040 chip from revisions 1 and 2, or the more modern SSI 2140 chip from revision 3. Among the special features of this instrument are the waveforms that can be activated simultaneously in both oscillators and the LFO.
On the left of the control panel, the modulations are assigned. Poly-Mod is composed of the sources Filter Envelope and Oscillator B and is applicable to 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 targets (simultaneously). The two crisp ADSR envelopes are permanently assigned to filter and VCA.