Prophet-08 Owners.. Are you happy with your synth?

[jonnypowell]

I just bought a Prophet 08 SE for quite cheap off eBay, and I have to say it's a great little synth, but doesnt have that much guts to it..
It is quite bright (so was my original Pro-5) and lacks quite a lot of beef in the bottom end.
I much prefer the sound of my Jupiter-6, but the Prophet is more versatile.
The Prophet is DCO, which is probably why it sounds this wqay.. Although it does have that great analogue drift, it still lacks the depth I'm used to hearing from Analogue polys..

Any other owners have their opinion on the sound of the Prophet vs other analogue synths?

[ValdiKaldi]

Hi there!

I love my P 08! But I think the presets are not so good! Lack in the bottom end? I think the lows are really clear sounding, not muddy burbs! Have you tried the software editor The editing programs for Korg, Alesis and Waldorf Synthesizers and other midi related software

Only thing I can complain about, I would like the filters have sliders, not knobs and the envelopes aswell! But its a thing for me to get used to.

[jonnypowell]

Yeah, I've tried programing my own bass sounds, but can't get anything close to my Jupiter or Voyager.. I have big genelecs that go down real low, so I can really hear the difference. Still a good synth, but not amazing.

[rachel]

Maybe you've got a phase thing going on with the oscillators? People say the same
thing about the Jupiter 6 being a bit thin with no bottom end, but I think it is
how the synth is programmed. Sometimes if you tune your oscillators in a certain
way, phase cancelling comes into effect and all your bottom end drops out.


rachel

[jonnypowell]

Originally Posted by rachel

Maybe you've got a phase thing going on with the oscillators? People say the same
thing about the Jupiter 6 being a bit thin with no bottom end, but I think it is
how the synth is programmed. Sometimes if you tune your oscillators in a certain
way, phase cancelling comes into effect and all your bottom end drops out.


rachel

Never had that problem with my Jupiter.. It's not a phase thing, because even with one Oscillator I notice this.

[analogbass]

Most of the newer stuff excepting true analogs like a Voyager or modulars has a cleaner sound, without the same bottom or beef as vintage. Pretty much stating what's already obvious to anyone who knows much, thus to make that arbitrary comparison's rather mindless. To say it doesn't stack up with vintage applies to most of today's stuff. The question might better be framed as happy with it vis-a-vis other contemporaries.

Still sounds good, is a different type of animal. The general standard of comparison should be against what's widely heard, mainly newer contemporaries rather than vintage that's rarely heard.

[darkwater]

No problem with the bottom over here. Sounds PHAT! Not sure what the problem could be.

[clusterchord]

well phat means different things to different ppl. IME i never heard anything in LF region from a DCO machine that i'd dare call phat. P08 aint an exception here either.


further, comparing the thinny late CEM filter from MAtrix1000/MarionMSR-2 origin with a ladder in a Vyg, or IR3109 in JP6 is well.. asking too much of that design. aint gonna happen. sure u can program to your hearts content, but theres something to be said about embedded/inherent sound characteristic of every design, which cannot be overcomed who external processing/beefing.

not all sounds need phat, it aint end all, however if phat is what u r after, a real Prophet5 will de-class both P08 and JP-6. that being said, i love DCO machines, esp Rolands. they have their place. i just dont use em for what they dont do so well. and if a desktop P08 ever comes out, im thinking id like one, i dig its pure character in HF range, the stepseq/matrixmod/arp/velocity etc..

[rolo]

I have quite a few Analog Polys like Oberheims, Sequential, Rolands... The new prophet is very versatile, but is missing something. I tried one for a couple days, after that, the thrill was gone.

Originally Posted by jonnypowell

I just bought a Prophet 08 SE for quite cheap off eBay, and I have to say it's a great little synth, but doesnt have that much guts to it..
It is quite bright (so was my original Pro-5) and lacks quite a lot of beef in the bottom end.
I much prefer the sound of my Jupiter-6, but the Prophet is more versatile.
The Prophet is DCO, which is probably why it sounds this wqay.. Although it does have that great analogue drift, it still lacks the depth I'm used to hearing from Analogue polys..

Any other owners have their opinion on the sound of the Prophet vs other analogue synths?

[analogbass]

Originally Posted by clusterchord

.. asking too much of that design. aint gonna happen. sure u can program to your hearts content, but theres something to be said about embedded/inherent sound characteristic of every design, which cannot be overcomed who external processing/beefing.

..

My point as well...vintage is better but the new stuff's pretty good in terms of today's sounds, and is best compared with others of it's own tribe IMO. It's not lacking in regards to it's contemporaries.

[Dave Peck]

If you want a huge low bass sound try using two oscs, sawtooth from one and hard sync'ing the second oscillator and use a sine wave. This will create a huge fundamental in the waveform and massive low end.

[jonnypowell]

Originally Posted by analogbass

My point as well...vintage is better but the new stuff's pretty good in terms of today's sounds, and is best compared with others of it's own tribe IMO. It's not lacking in regards to it's contemporaries.

I wasn't comparing it to its "contemporaries".. But comparing it to Analogue synths which it claims to be.
Dont know why you keep puhing that point across to us?

[cub005@yahoo.co.]

I think the point there is that the p08 has a part-modern sound that'll be more useful in modern electronica - cleaner highs particularly , and part-vintage, which was the original idea as a new synth , rather than just the fully vintage sound.

I was impressed a lot on trying it- there's good helpings of color and life to the sound with a strong low end, & as repeated often the character isn't typically DCO.

[GYang]

P 08 didn't impress me enough to keep it.
PEK will stay.

[analogbass]

Originally Posted by jonnypowell

I wasn't comparing it to its "contemporaries".. But comparing it to Analogue synths which it claims to be.
Dont know why you keep puhing that point across to us?

Uh, because you don't seem to grasp simple stuff, that's now been pointed out by several here, not just me. When a new car review comes out, any comparisons will be against other contemporary models, not against a car that's 30 years old, or haven't you noticed? That happens for a variety of reasons; i'll let you piece those together.

I think most with fundamental experiences with vintage know it sounds better, so repeating the obvious (1) tells us zero, and more importantly (2) isn't that relevant when most who will consider it will already have vintage and be intrested in what new colors it can provide in addition to what they already have or will compare it largely with new stuff, not old. That's what the majority do, that's largely what's heard in today's music if you haven't noticed.

In addition, the new stuff can sound different in good ways, even if not as good. Couple that with greater flexibility and features and each can inspire in different ways, whether better sounding or not.

As a couple of others here have mentioned, the new Prophet's a different animal, is not analog in the ways older gear, and thus the technology's best compared to what is more current fare.

I mean, to take it and compare it to any vintage-let's have 55 threads on here, one that compares it to a Mini, another that compares it to a Memorymoog, another that compares it to a modular.

If that's not clear enough by now...

[Sounds Great]

This discussion is surprising to me. I thought the whole premise behind the 08 was to recreate the sound of the Prophet 5 as closely as possible in a new synth.

[analogbass]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

This discussion is surprising to me. I thought the whole premise behind the 08 was to recreate the sound of the Prophet 5 as closely as possible in a new synth.

Maybe in marketing literature, however common sense would suggest that anyone familiar with new offerings over the last couple of decades would already have figured out that the new stuff has it's own character. In general not as good but on the other hand given the additional features, midi, flexibility, durability and warranty they can still be better for some, as long as they inspire.

[cub005@yahoo.co.]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

This discussion is surprising to me. I thought the whole premise behind the 08 was to recreate the sound of the Prophet 5 as closely as possible in a new synth.

uh-uh - actually dave bryce and stefan trippler both said on the boards that that wasn't the paramount priority during development. It's basically designed as a new synth with elements of the P5 + a cleaner modern sound at the higher ends - sounds good to me. It's also been pointed out it actually shares some qualities with the T8's sound too.

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by cub005@yahoo.co.

uh-uh - actually dave bryce and stefan trippler both said on the boards that that wasn't the paramount priority during development. It's basically designed as a new synth with elements of the P5 + a cleaner modern sound at the higher ends - sounds good to me. It's also been pointed out it actually shares some qualities with the T8's sound too.

Ok, I guess I misunderstood that.

And I believe the T8 wasn't much different than the Prophet 5 except the addition of weighted keys, aftertouch, and velocity. Although some people said that took AWAY from the sound.

I don't know, I had a T8 for many years but never had the 5.

[Popbott]

Originally Posted by rolo

I have quite a few Analog Polys like Oberheims, Sequential, Rolands... The new prophet is very versatile, but is missing something. I tried one for a couple days, after that, the thrill was gone.

Sup Rollie! Dang you are NEVER satisfied! Spoiled b*tch has too much classic Oberheim and Moog coming out of his a**!!!

[carlheinz]

No problems because I never bought it.The lack of horizontal bank and patch select buttons like the old prophet and jp-6 and obx- obx-s -a -8 ....or d-50's or dx-7's put me off right away.Juno's had these too.Where did they go?Now have an up /down arrow or you must type in the preset and hit enter.

[Orren]

Honestly, I think the Prophet '08 is a great synth. I love the sounds of the Prophet 5, and I think you can get those from the P08. But I like it not for what it's supposed to be, or for what it's not, but for what it is. I write industrial metal music, and this synth just cuts through a mix with analog goodness.

Orren

[MonoBrow]

Originally Posted by Popbott

Sup Rollie! Dang you are NEVER satisfied! Spoiled b*tch has too much classic Oberheim and Moog coming out of his a**!!!

Man if i could crap these stuff i would never ever come off the toilet again.

[danger]

Jonny: what if you try to use this synth for leads, pads, drones etc? And keep the voyager for bass?

[jonnypowell]

Originally Posted by danger

Jonny: what if you try to use this synth for leads, pads, drones etc? And keep the voyager for bass?

Yipp, that's the plan. I just like some different synths for bass as well.
Moogs can be too heavy/phat for some tasks. I used to own a Prophet-05 which I think rocked for bass. Especially in unison..

[danger]

Jonny: that sounds cool, because if a synth is really good at something then it's worth to have, right?

[dan p]

Originally Posted by jonnypowell

Yipp, that's the plan. I just like some different synths for bass as well.
Moogs can be too heavy/phat for some tasks. I used to own a Prophet-05 which I think rocked for bass. Especially in unison..

Use one oscillator for your moog sounds with slight resonance and you can thin the sound out.Two Osc's can be too fat depending on your song.
I have an old vintage model d.Thing is downright finnicky!Luv the sound though.


P

[jonnypowell]

Originally Posted by dan p

Use one oscillator for your moog sounds with slight resonance and you can thin the sound out.Two Osc's can be too fat depending on your song.
I have an old vintage model d.Thing is downright finnicky!Luv the sound though.


P

No, stll not quite right. I like 2 waveforms together. My jupiter 6 is good for this which I should get back soon (being modded with the europa).
I bought a Jupiter 8 which the seller dropped on the way to pack-and-send! Doesnt fire up so I made hime refund me m cash back. ****!!!

[terrytee]

Dave smith in house factory building the revolver. see 1st link on list, sorry i can't seem to direct link this video
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.


Maybe the modern day build procedures have something to do with its sounds, i don't know am not an electrician but the sound of the new analogue stuff does seem a lot less dirty.
minimoog and voyager side by side

[desotoslo]

drrr..

wouldn't there be a market niche for an analog synth that mirrored the early 80s sound, dirtiness included?


that'd be nice.