Prophet VS. I cant make my mind up.

[ROLAND RAZZ]

Originally Posted by Sp12Jazz

I love this thing, however i cant justify keeping a 2000$ synth around that i dont use as much as i should, mostly due to the lack of instant programability.
If i take the time to program it, i can come up with some really nice stuff, however i rarely have this much time and would rather have a smaller, less expensive synth covering the wavetable territory. What would be the alternatives for the VS? Is the Microwave close?

Also, are there anywhere libraries/patches for the VS to download? Couldnt find much useful stuff with google. Maybe this would make me keep it after all.

And lastly, i once heard that if certain parts of the VS die it becomes impossible to repair because some parts are not available to buy anymore. Is that true?

If you could get a decent price selling it and have some extra cash, the new Prophet 12 looks like a beast. Of course the PO8PE would be good as well and less money.

[minime123]

the beauty of the VS, in my opinion, is the vector synthesis. there are 2 other synths i can think of that offer vector synthesis... the korg wavestation, which can sound similar at times and has many of the VS waveforms built in, but isnt quite the synth the VS is. regardless, i still highly recommend the wavestation - i have one in my personal studio and we usually have a wavestation AD or wavestation SR for sale as well. the other is the yamaha tg33, which is a great synth, but the sound is quite different from the VS. for the overall tone of the VS, the korg dw8000 reminds me of it somewhat. so does the waldorf microwave series. but these arent going to give you the 4 oscillator sounds with vector synthesis.

in my opinion, VS's can be a serious pain. i test all the items we sell, pre and post servicing, and fully testing a VS to ensure theyre 100% functional can be a very lengthy and difficult process because theyre a deep instrument and they often have strange, subtle problems that are hard to detect and are hard to reproduce. that said, theres nothing like a healthy VS. i dont ever plan on being without one.

as for parts, so far, we have always found parts when we needed them, but there are a couple parts in there that are very hard to source.

mini

[dubnspace]

If you don't use it, sell it.. there are plenty of people out there who I'm sure would love to take it off your hands.. I have one, it's my only digital synth.. and the only one I would really want short of a PPG or something.

[Psyfi]

What about the Prophet-V? You would save loads of money and still kind of have the same synth to hand. I prefer the Native instruments Pr0 5 for re-creating the Prophet-5 sounds. the prophet-V Pro 5 section sounds completely different to my Rev 2 but maybe it's based on the Rev-3? I've not used a rev 3 so can't be sure but the NI software is very close to me rev-2 at least in some basic patches. Anyway I wouldn't turn my nose up at it before at least giving it a go. There is a free trial DEMO version downloadable from he Arturia website you might as well give it a go. If you do can you please report back and let us know how close it is to the original?

http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en/...resources.html

[SWAN808]

Originally Posted by Sp12Jazz

I love this thing....
If i take the time to program it, i can come up with some really nice stuff

then it seems sad to have to sell it...

Maybe the Microwave could give you something similar for less money...but the VS sounds like it has a lot more size and grit than a MW...

[Sp12Jazz]

Ok i managed to load a couple of more banks into the VS and i am really surprised how good this thing can sound. Maybe i shouldnt part with it after all.
Only thing i didnt manage is to get the Vector Surgeon programm running on my 10.6.8 Imac. Anyone using this software with a Mac?
And another thing, did anyone ever try to control the VS parameters with a hardware controler? Would be really cool to have a controller for this baby.

[mike vee]

not exactly the same but the Poly Evolver keyboard is equally unique/awesome

[Psyfi]

Originally Posted by Sp12Jazz

Ok i managed to load a couple of more banks into the VS and i am really surprised how good this thing can sound. Maybe i shouldnt part with it after all.
Only thing i didnt manage is to get the Vector Surgeon programm running on my 10.6.8 Imac. Anyone using this software with a Mac?
And another thing, did anyone ever try to control the VS parameters with a hardware controler? Would be really cool to have a controller for this baby.

I wouldn't part with it simple because you feel you need to justify having it around in relation to it's current market value. How many people have parted with machines they wish they never had simply for some momentary notion of monetary value Vs it's real value as part of your set up. So what if it's not used every day on every project. Maybe it should be, maybe it's only meant to be used on special occasions when nothing else will fit the bill. Imagine what you will think when it's gone and one of those moment come along when the VS would have shined.
I say keep it and love it.

[chrisso]

Once had a VS. I've also had a Microwave, a K2000 and borrowed a Wavestation.
Nothing sounds the same or as good as the VS.
The few sample libraries that are out there are no match for the actual synth.
Having said that, I sold mine because i was worried about future repair bills. I kinda regret selling it though.
Sell the VS by all means, but don't kid yourself anything sounds remotely like it.

[rids]

I've had a Prophet VS. I currently have a Poly Evolver Keyboard and a Waldorf Microwave, which I think are the two closest synths soundwise. The Poly Evolver is the closest synth in terms of sound and I actually think it's a better synth all around, not just because of all the knobs, but because of the sequencers and the larger array of features and modulations options onboard. The VS can do Microwave-ish sounds sort of. I think the VS can have custom user waveforms. But if your after wavetables, the Prophet VS is not your machine.

Which brings me to the main difference/advantage over the PEK (if your inclined), those Microwave-ish waves on the VS are due to the wave blending (aka the Vector stick). I think the filter on the VS is better than the PEK somewhat, but I'd rather have the PEK anyday. I would love to compare these synths side by side with just the digital side of the PEK and the VS one day. As with all 80s synths, the VS has that 80s organic vibe to it. The PEK is just as organic. People seem to love praising the VS over the PEK, but I'd love to see/hear a side by side comparison to point any difference besides the Vector and filter. (The sound quality of the youtube demos of the PEK are terrible. That's not how it sounds in person FYI, because in person it's much more Hi-Fi sounding, actually a lot more.)

You could always sell the VS, get a poly evolver rack + soundtower's editor and have $1000 in the pocket.

[dougt]

I also had a VS for a few years and like my PEK better. Better interface, features, and for the most part even the sound. Also don't have to worry about those CEM5530 sample and hold chips in the VS dying...