Sequential Circuits • ProphetVS
(click to enlarge)
Here's a very cool keyboard from Sequential. Notice the joystick for controlling your sound modeling. The Prophet VS uses Vector Synthesis as its revolutionary new means of sound creation. It uses a total of four oscillators per voice with 127 waveforms (32 user) and dynamic waveform crossfading via the joystick. This was Sequential's first digital synth, and it was also their final synth unfortunately. But after Sequential was gone, Vector Synthesis technology went into the popular Korg Wavestation and Yamaha's SY-22 and TG-33.
Pictured above is the common rackmount version of the PVS. The ProphetVS is still a very sought after instrument because it has an incredible range of sounds! Its only problem is that there's practically nobody left that can fix it if something went wrong. It is used by Brian Eno, Trent Reznor, Apollo 440, Depeche Mode, Vince Clarke, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Erasure and filmmaker/composer John Carpenter.
The first thing to go on these is not the custom ASIC's or 5530's, it's the after touch ... the keyboard used a primitive method to do aftertouch and the sensors wore out quickly or burnt out, both of mine seem to work perfectly. Not bad after 24 years. I also have the original WaveWrangler application (which was kindly supplied to me by an ex Sequential employee, cheers!) that allows you to send custom waveforms to the VS, requires Mac System 7, so I keep an old Performa around for the task. Theres a very good article by Vector Synthesis creator, Chris Meyer, here: http://manfreda.org/LordFrito/Prophet%20VS/Birth.htm. Sadly no one ever seems to mention him. Cudos Chris. Thanks for a great synth.
I wonder if these were used on that record of if he junt had them to recreate the older OB-X and other analog sounds from previous tours.
particularely the custom digital and the CEM based sample hold IC! :)