The stock theory propogated by some over the years that osc. drift is somehow part of the magic of early gear is highly over-rated from my experience. I owned a mini with drift and minis and memorymoogs that were rock-solid and the ones with drift are just problems with no upside from my experience-having solid tuning in a vintage synth already sounds great, there's no need to overdo it with something that's only problematic. Jam and Lewis had that same phasing problem with their OB-8 and only saw it as a problem to be addressed later in the mix.

I've always thought that some would like to see a random drift feature on some synths, which i think might enliven sounds on some synths that are a little on the sterile side. However I don't think this is useful beyond a small degree of variation and is only one of several variables.

OK, I'm not a P08 fan either, but this thread needs to die already.

Um how's it gonna die with you bumpin it?

Besides which it's not your call.

Why? Just when the bashing ended and some useful insights are starting to appear?

sage goes in all fields

Where does this awful crackling (e.g. at 0:07, at 0:18-0:37 and beinning at 1:40?) come from? It hurts my ears.

I suppose from the AD-converters or from a brickwall limiter. The recording is extremely loud, imho overcompressed.

Youtube related. Not a trace of it at the source: http://www.alanmarcero.com/mp3s/p08.mp3

I opened up a year old thread! Oh Noes!

Honestly though, this comes up in a google search earlier than any other link about this, so I figured this would be helpful for those of you who are debating between a prophet 5 and a prophet '08. Being an owner of both a Prophet 5 rev. 3.2 and a Prophet '08, I can tell you that there is a difference, but it isn't worlds apart as you might think.

If you MUST have the vintage P5 sound with all its quirks, then do yourself a favor and get a vintage p5. But also keep in mind there will be some maintenance involved with that decision. Curtis chips are expensive and difficult to get a hold of nowadays (unless you have a rev. 2, then you're really screwed with the SSMs). Power filter caps will need to be replaced (still available on mouser to do yourself, as they are screw-in for rev. 3.3), key bushings may need replacement, LEDs and switches may be bad, pots might be worn out, etc. It will be an uphill thing with your Prophet 5. If you drop 2+ G's on a P5, expect to drop at least another $200-400 on getting it going properly ($600+ if you aren't a do-it yourselfer), even on a good condition one. It won't be cheap, but there is quite a bit of satisfaction owning a vintage piece of gear. Just the fact that there are a limited number of good working vintage synths in the world makes it that much more special that you'll own one that is functional. However, the headache of dealing with tuning instabilities, memory glitches among other fun stuff (pot mux glitches) may or may not be worth it. I've had a few problems even in the very short time I've owned my P5 (6 years). And you'll be hard pressed to take it out of the studio unless you're Radiohead and can afford to buy a few of them.

The Prophet 08 on the other hand is rock solid, doesn't drift out of tune (unless you want it to), has many more features, and can pretty much replicate anything the P5 could ever do, and then some. The Mod source/destinations are enough to put a modular synth to shame (I know because I own one of those as well). And there are no worries that it will die and never come back, since Dave Smith Instruments is still active in the game and his support is top notch. I stress this, TOP NOTCH! They will bend over backward to help you with anything. I admit that the P08 lacks SOME of the guts/balls/growl or whatever you wanna call it that the P5 has, specifically in the low-end department. However, it seems to be a lot more friendly with the recording process. I find I have to do minor EQ with the P5 on low end and mid range whereas the P08 never has anything on it other than some reverb or delay on it in my recordings.

The one place where the P5 wins hands down is with Unison. I saw a comment on here that P8 unison sounds like the unison on a Juno 106. That couldn't have described it any better. The individual oscillators do not drift/fluctuate in a way that is pleasing to the ear in mono, even with the "Slop" turned up all the way. They seem to "slop" identically (hopefully they will fix this with future updates). It lacks some of the "realness" due to the missing pitch drift that the VCOs have on the Prophet 5. Depending on what you are looking for, this could be good or bad. If you already own a monosynth though, you have nothing to worry about. Even my lowly SH-101 does a better job of bass lines than the P5. If you have the bank to get a hold of a good monosynth for bass, do it.

In the end, if I could have only one of the two, I'd take the P08 over the P5. For me, it isn't a financial choice, but a recording/sonic choice. I end up using the P08 over the P5 most of the time because it cuts through the mix the way I want it to. It excels in synth pads and swells with 8 voices.

thanks for this. Its interesting to hear your opinion as the P5 is so revered but the P08 is much maligned at least on forums...
I agree with much of what you say - although in the end I did not choose a P08 myself (got a OB8)...why? Its difficult to describe but for me there is something about the DSI sound that sounds choked in the high end-limited...it doesnt have the bright and alive 'sizzle' of the vintage sound...Ive heard some call it plasticy and others say (OTT I think) that its a little soft-synth like...but I think describing the same attribute...
For me a P5 sounds much more alive, almost woody in its square wave tones, and more buzzy with its sawtooths....more organic...
The P08 can replicate the same style of sounds in a similar fashion (sync sounds, brass etc) but the nature of those sounds seemed different to me...

What would be ideal would be to hear some similar programmed sounds of both...because there is always that risk of placebo or bias when making assessments like this...and I'd love to be proved wrong as the P08 represents a great deal in my book...

Would you be interested in replicating a few standard patches on both? That would be great! Say a brass, a sync, a simple saw bass, a unison lead...

That would be so cool and interesting! thumbsup

resurrecting this because i think its a great idea.

The Pro 08 works best in single mono mode rather than all voice detune. Stack them for 3/4 oscillators, bit of detune, pan spread, 8va spread, programme them so that one comes in with the filter on the mod wheel, resonance on cc11, bit of LFO on the aftertouch...its a fantastic sound I think, toe-to-toe with my Moogs.

Has anyone programed any of the Original P5 patches on the P08?

If so, can we hear them?

If you have a Prophet 5 and a P08 can you post a YOUTUBE video comparing similar patches?

This may help resolve this debate. Let's stop talking about it...Let's start hearing some comparisons.

I had to chime in here. I think some of these comments are true and viable but some really do appear to be created by people who are talking absolute shizzle popsicle fairy lala land Poof and away gobble. In english i'm not convinced some of the commentary is even being delivered from people who own a proph8 and or have owned a proph5.

So here it is. I have never owned a proph5. I have, like many of you heard it many times. I have recently purchased a proph8. Is it supposed to be a replica of? Hell no! I have the pot edition and am loving it. A good friend of mine popped round last night and started trying to emulate some of the vintage patches. I'll say this - You can get DAMN close should you have the ability and time. (Personally i dont). He also owns a proph8 +5. His feedback was that you can create a replca patch so close that although you may hear a difference you will not be able to distinguish which is which. Personally i dont want to recreate a sound of the proph5. There is a few things you cant do on an 8 that you can on a 5. And there is a hell of a lot you can do on an 8 that you cant do on a 5. Just go listen for yourself. Go to your local store and try it. Personally i adore it. It is the best purchase i have made in a long time and supports my mostly ITB set up gloriously. I'm in love and totally biased. But lets not forget the intention was never to create a new5. It was to create an 8 and it is wonderful. Like someone posted above. If you want a 5 go and buy one!

For what it's worth i actually think the 8 sounds more like an oberheim than a P5. go figure

I had a P08 pe earlier, it kind of sucked imo. Sold it and never missed it. Recently bought a Prophet 5, never been happier. It sounds and handles so much better!

Crappy Youtube audio's not going to be resolving anything.

The lack of all the P-5 Poly-Mod options on the 08 is disappointing. My Rev1 P-5 also has the SSM2040 filters which I like a lot better than the 08 filters.

would there be any way to mod the current dsi stuff with a gnarlier filter??

get an external filter , the 08 filters are integrated into the main dco chips

I really like my 08

I understand why people dont like it , its brash , aggressive modern tone , its unusual filter character , its lack of warm vintage fuzzyness

but it does the business . it sits well in a track , its easy to tweak and come up with good sounds , its got loads programming options , its light and reliable

its a modern budget workhorse analog , a new generation roland juno but with more grunt.

I am not that familiar with the poly mod on the earlier sequential synths

but what can it do that the 08 cant , given you can modulate pretty much anything to anything and have envelopes , lfos and step sequencers a plenty?

plus everything is modulatable by midi via NRPN if you have to go even further

VCO cross-modulation and audiorate VCF and PW modulation (and the ability to disable VCO2 keyboard tracking) come to mind. Using P'08's LFOs doesn't yield similar results, as they don't have sufficent resolution/range.

- CM

i saw a profit 08 for sale the wekend for 900$.

do you think this be the good price - its a modular so no key

this thread (which from the title sounds like a ridiculous discussion) is over a year and a half old. just FYI...

It's a good price if it's the PE (Potentiometer edition).

Regards,
Frank

Remember as well that the PO8 has feature to simulate OSC drift.

A modular Profit 08? Wow, that sounds cool - I really want one!

On a more serious note, I have a 08 PE and love it to bits. As previously said, if it is the potentiometer edition and the condition is OK the price is very good.

And finally after 6 pages of absolute crap, we get to substantive discussion with people at least marginally qualified to discuss both synths head-to-head.
There was a question above about PolyMod....Cross-Mod and Osc--->PW can't be done on the P'08, but OSC--->VCF Freq is hardwired. The LFOs get up to 261Hz, so are usually OK for these types of "added distortion" sounds like audio-rate PWM. I've posted in the DSI forums that I'd love to see the control rate for CV doubled or tripled so as to make for smoother response at audio-rate

you should spend more than 30 minutes with them then, perhaps then you'd change your mind.

<--click me

His OB6 is nice though.