Sequential Circuits Prophet 10

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This rarely seen monster analog synth is by far one of the fattest and nicest vintage synthesizers. The Prophet 10 is simply two glorious Prophet 5 synthesizers stacked together. That gives 10 voices with 20 of Sequential's unique analog VCO oscillators at 2 per voice for a big fat analog dream! The Version 1 series suffered from major overheating and unstable tuning problems making it clumsy and unreliable to use. It also had a standard 61 note keyboard and looked just like the P5.


Then came a bigger and better looking stacked keyboard version (as seen above); to be known as Version 2. Better chips were designed which soon cured most of the overheating problems. While Rev. 1 & 2 Prophets used chips made by SSM (Solid State Microdevices) which were fatter sounding but less stable, the Rev 3 Prophets changed to CEM (Curtis Electronics Manufacturing) chips. These increased their stability and reliability. Some audiophiles think they sound thinner than the SSM chips. However tuning and other functions were still somewhat unstable.


Version 3 (pictured top) was by far the best and most stable. 20 oscillators (2 per voice), 10 voices, 2 independent 61 note keyboards and all the great sounds and editing facilities as the Prophet 5! Built in Tuning tones and Auto-Tuning functions help make sure you won't go out of tune. And top notch circuitry and design prevent overheating. Multiple keyboard modes allow for true flexibility for different performance / voicing needs! The Prophet 10 is a truly fat and classic analog instrument. Used throughout the 1980's and on into the 90's by names like Tangerine dream, The Orb, The Who, the Pet Shop Boys, Vangelis, Genesis, the Human League, and filmmaker/composer John Carpenter.

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Demos & Media

Demo - Do not try this at home.
by
redmartian
The Analog Lab NYC- Sequential Circuits Prophet-10
by
TheAnalogLab
Audio Clip 1 A series of samples of various patches.
ManualDownload the original owner's manual from SoundProgramming.net.

Specifications

Polyphony - 10 voices
Oscillators - 2 VCOs per voice (20 oscillators); Poly-Mod; Noise
Sequencer - Sequencer: Polyphonic 6 track (4,000 to 10,200 notes)
Filter - Low pass resonant VCF with ADSR
LFO - 1 LFO with rate
Keyboard - Version 1: 61 keys; Version 2&3: 122 keys (dual manual kybd)
Memory - 32 patches
Control - CV / GATE (MIDI retrofits available and recommended)
Date Produced - 1980

Resources

Images from composer Jesper Kyd via Perfect Circuit Audio.