Vintage Synth Explorer

Dave Smith Instruments • Prophet '08

Prophet '08

The Prophet '08 truly signals the return of the classic Sequential Circuits Prophet synthesizers, in a beautiful, modern and ultra-stable programmable analog synthesizer! Building on the Poly Evolver keyboard, the Prophet '08 offers eight voices of polyphony with a 100% analog signal path. The look is spot-on! Brand new, the Prophet '08 already looks like it's a classic vintage piece of history. And its sound really does blow you away!

Dave Smith is considered a legendary figure in the synthesizer world, he founded Sequential Circuits and designed such classics as the Prophet 5 and Prophet VS, and he was a pioneer in bringing MIDI to synthesizers. The new for 2007 Prophet '08 brings back much of the original technology from those old Prophets (Curtis filters and analog oscillators), updated of course, to meet todays musician's needs.

While it doesn't sound exactly like an original P5, it does sound and behave more like one than any other pretender. It's cleaner, purer and a little more predictable than its 25 year old predecessors. Actually, it sounds just like the Poly Evolver, minus the digital oscillators.

Regardless, the Prophet '08 is truly a modern day Prophet series synth. Unlike many (Roland) synths that are attaching vintage model names to their current synths even though they are almost nothing alike (Juno, SH, etc.), the Prophet '08 is the real-deal next generation version of its predecessors. As DSI says, the Prophet '08 is the product of evolution, not nostalgia. Of course, it includes features we now take for granted, like velocity and aftertouch. Add to that performance features like an arpeggiator, gated step sequencer, and the ability to split and layer sounds. The modulation possibilities are much deeper than anything Sequential ever produced, making it capable of producing sounds the "classics" simply could not.

Prophet '08 Special Edition

The year 2008 marks 30 years of great Dave Smith-designed synthesizers. To celebrate, DSI issued the Prophet '08 Special Edition. In addition to the standard Prophet '08 features, the Special Edition includes red lighted (pitch/bend) wheels, exotic leopard-wood end panels, and a special commemorative overlay signed by Dave. It also includes editor/librarian software and the "Dave Smith: Synthesizer Pioneer" DVD. It costs about $500 more than the standard model.

VISITOR COMMENTS

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Mike

Posted 359 days ago

This really is a proper analogue synthesizer. It's almost like a 1983 wonder-synth cryogenically frozen and unleashed in the 21st Century. The tone is lively and incredibly warm and it really, really sits well in any mix. It blows every virtual analogue synth out of the water.

Sadly, as donpepperoni mentions, it's not as solid as a Moog in terms of build quality. If you take care of it, it shouldn't be a problem though. I also wish you could edit more than one parameter at once, but then it's a small price to pay for such a great sounding instrument.

Igor

Posted 364 days ago

This synthesizer simply super, recommend!!!

Matt

Posted 408 days ago

Great warm sounding synth with 8 voices of pure analog. Nice layout, plenty of knobs, nice sequencer and low price. A dream come true for analog lovers. I even like the A/B split keyboard option. Down side is the cheep feeling of the knobs. Price wise you cannot beat it. Great job Dave.

donpepperoni

Posted 411 days ago

This synth is a real beast! It really starts to make sense when you get to know the details with this one. The presets are good but when you really get to grips with the modulation, appregiator and sequencer it opens up a whole new world of deep layered fat textures. The aftertouch is nice but I would like to see some more CV sockets in the back so that it can be hooked up to some more modular system like my Moog is. Although it's a quite a lot of money, this is amazing value. The look is really nice in my opinion but the one thing that lets it down is the quality of the knobs. I don't like the way they feel and they don't feel very solid like, say the Voyager. I suppose this is how DSI keep the price down. If you have the money, I say get one for sure. It is the best Synth in this price range and it is the most used one in my studio.

Alessandro

Posted 426 days ago

i was eager to buy one, i was so disipointed when i tried it, it sounds cold and harsh. Where is the analog here??

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