It is here!

[Benzebub]

Just picked it up from the music store a few hours ago. Been playing constantly since I got home. Will post more later as I discover more about it.
I will be happy to answer questions.

[chysn]

Congratulations! That's awesome.

[Benzebub]

Thanks.

First impressions: It does not sound like any other DSI instrument that I have tried (Mopho x4, Tempest, Pro 2).
It is very easy to get good sounds out of it. The others you have to work a little harder on (not a bad thing in my book, though) but this one is more of a sweet area synth than a sweet spot synth. If that makes any sense at all.
I was toying with the idea that "what if this synth can replace the Mopho?" but I have definitely concluded that it cannot. They each have their sound and character.
The Mopho is more modern sounding with a sharper character (brassier as some describe it) but the Prophet 6 is a lot more warm and lush. Not that they cannot get in to each others territories but they each have their character and strengths.
Where the slop of the Mopho ends the Prophet 6 picks up and it can get very drifty if you will. They sound more like professional choir singers in unison rather than one vocalist multi tracked and auto tuned. Once again, hope that makes any sense at all.

I must say that using a triangle for sub oscillator was a good choice. Now you can dial in just some additional lower tones that do not cut through as much. I found good use for it for pads/strings played an octave up with the sub added.

The digital effects are nice but I was surprised when I turned them of the first time and it still sounded very rich. This synth does not need them, they are just a very good bonus!
I was pleased that the distortion was added after the mixer but pre effects. On the Pro 2 it sounds quite messy with distortion and delay at the same time since it distorts the wet signal as well but on this it really works.
It works especially well on a monophonic sound to get a more, dare I say it, vintage tone.

Will explore this more in the weekend and write back other findings. Hopefully I can get some recording as well.

[chysn]

It is very easy to get good sounds out of it. The others you have to work a little harder on (not a bad thing in my book, though) but this one is more of a sweet area synth than a sweet spot synth. If that makes any sense at all.

It totally makes sense, yes. I think the Little Phatty is the same sort of synth, in that it's easy to dial in a sound, and almost difficult to make it sound bad.

It works especially well on a monophonic sound to get a more, dare I say it, vintage tone.

This is something I was going to ask about. I'm hoping to see a "Prophet 1" with a single voice/three octave implementation of the Prophet 6's architecture, with or without effects. In general, does the sound lend itself to leads, bass, etc.?

[Paul Dither]

Thanks for the report, Benzebub! And congratulations on your purchase. You pretty much confirmed a lot of the things that I was assuming based on the demos that are already out there (esp. the ones by Marc Doty, since they're rather pure than spectacular). With a bit of luck I'll be able to check one out next week in a store nearby. I can't afford one right now, but I'm curious to check it out in person.

[Benzebub]

This is something I was going to ask about. I'm hoping to see a "Prophet 1" with a single voice/three octave implementation of the Prophet 6's architecture, with or without effects. In general, does the sound lend itself to leads, bass, etc.?

I would say, yes, it can make nice leads and basses. Vacation is coming up in a week and hopefully I can get some demos done.
The filter is well suited for bass. You can add some resonance to color the sound without it killing the low end.
A mono synth based on the Prophet 6 would be nice but what I'm also hoping for would be a "DSM-03 Twin VCO" so you can turn a Pro 2 in to a single voice Prophet 6.

[Benzebub]

Thanks for the report, Benzebub! And congratulations on your purchase. You pretty much confirmed a lot of the things that I was assuming based on the demos that are already out there (esp. the ones by Marc Doty, since they're rather pure than spectacular). With a bit of luck I'll be able to check one out next week in a store nearby. I can't afford one right now, but I'm curious to check it out in person.

Thanks Poptones. I hope you get a chance to play around with one. I have watched all of Marc Doty's P6 videos and he does a dry good job of making it sound unlike other demos around IMO. He is very good at showing a synthesizer in a wide range of sounds.

[dslsynth]

Congratulations with your Prophet-6, Benzebub! Hope you will love it.

Wonder how its sync sound compares to the Prophet-5 especially in unison mode?
https://youtu.be/08TmfKdeFf0?t=2m57s

No need to restart the vintage vs modern discussion but it would be nice to know how well the Prophet-6 does in the intricate art of sonic massiveness.

Showcrash mentioned something about a pitch CV dark noise feature of the vintage synths on the other forum. Would love to see a modern voice architecture design allowing one to experiment with that (especially when not being an eurowreck myself).

[Paul Dither]

Well, it's not here yet, but after having checked out the Prophet-6 extensively at my local dealer (it must have been about 5 times by now), I finally decided to sell my Prophet '08 for it. I know that both are not fully comparable and have their own strengths, but in the end there are only so many instruments you can use on a daily basis and I'm not a collector. I’ve also balanced the reasons for quite a while.

In the end, it was all about the immediacy and sound: It’s just so plain easy to come up with lots of cool sounds within seconds on the Prophet-6. In a way, that makes it a nicer counterpoint to my Pro 2 and Evolver. While the latter two might not be overly complicated, they are just made for more complex sound design. So I've got that field covered to one extreme already. Amongst other new synths, I would compare the Prophet-6 rather to something like the Sub 37. The interface experience is very similar to me, with the Prophet-6 following even a slightly more stripped down pattern, as it doesn't have a display for any sort of menu diving at all.

When I sat down in front of the Prophet-6, I also thought about how many times I was trying to emulate the Poly-Mod section on the Prophet ’08. And whilst one can get close with some modulation tricks, there’s nothing like the real thing that gets you there without using numerous modulation slots. So those were my reasons. And of course I can’t deny that I would have always liked to own a Prophet-5 back in the day - and the Prophet-6 does get close enough for my taste. It has what the Prophet '08 sound suddenly lacked in my view after I returned to it from my Sub 37 honeymoon (no so much the Evolver or the Pro 2, which might be due to the true stereo signal path of the first and the different filters of the latter). This is of course a subjective matter, but the Prophet-6 immediately sounded ballsier and more precious to me. Keep in mind though that I really liked to use and program the Prophet '08 a lot of which the SoundCloud link in my signature is still a testament - hence I went back and forth for a while.

I also really like the effect section. It's all good quality and for some reason I developed a penchant for the Spring Reverb emulation that works great with arpeggios and sounds that have short attack and release times.

So with a bit of luck, I might end up ordering one in October.

(Btw, "Paul Dither" was formerly known as "Poptones." I hope this doesn't lead to any confusion.)

[chysn]

I'm sure you'll love it.

I'm still hoping for a monophonic version with a three-octave keyboard. That would really spark my interest.

[Paul Dither]

I'm sure you'll love it.

I'm still hoping for a monophonic version with a three-octave keyboard. That would really spark my interest.

Oh, I already know that I do, which is why I'm glad that my local dealer is only 15 minutes away.

I hope my post didn't come across like I went from being a Prophet '08 enthusiast to someone who can't wait to get rid of his Prophet '08. This is definitely not the case. Basically, both instruments are different enough to justify owning both if one has the space and/or money. It's just that it clicked immediately when I first tried out the P6.

And yes, I could see a monophonic version being appealing as well. Not sure, whether Dave would be into that, but after all he came up with the P6 as well although he was giving everybody the impression that he wouldn't go that far (back). Fact is, the new VCOs provide a different sound, which would also make sense in a mono. It's just a bit hard to imagine how such a synth would relate to the Pro 2. But maybe developing a kind of budget version of the P6 would be already a good reason in itself.

[dslsynth]

I would be really curious to find out if DSI/Sequential will make a lower voice count Prophet-6 based machine. The trouble with a Prophet-1 is that its a lot of control panel and not so much actual voice contents. I really think they should make a Prophet-2 or a Prophet-3 instead with a three octave keyboard. Or make a module. Also it makes sense to make a more complex voice architecture machine instead of continuing the vintage compatible direction that Prophet-6 started.

Good luck with your Prophet-6 allocation process. I hope it will serve you well!

[Paul Dither]

Well, I'm sure they have their next product in the pipeline already. Maybe they'll do more of a budget synth this time considering that most of their latest releases had a sort of flagship status (Prophet 12, Pro 2, and Prophet-6).

I think the allocation process will be smooth. In fact, I would say the same things about the Prophet-6 Gaz Williams said about his Sledge yesterday. It's just a joy to tweak it.

[dslsynth]

Hehe! That is good to know. Congratulations with your new machine. Any plans of painting it warm yellow?

[Paul Dither]

Hehe! That is good to know. Congratulations with your new machine. Any plans of painting it warm yellow?

Oh, I haven't acquired it yet. Next month if all goes well. But I sold my Prophet '08 for a not too shabby price to a Nashville studio. I won't paint the P6 yellow though. It's warm enough without that color scheme.

[dslsynth]

I won't paint the P6 yellow though. It's warm enough without that color scheme.

Wonder if that is the reason for Mophos warm yellow color!? . o O ( run for cover )

Sounds great with your good Prophet 08 price. Hope you will like the Prophet-6. Did listen to some of your Prophet 08 sounds on your soundcloud earlier today. They are really good. Or well I actually listened to the sounds via this site as the new soundcloud player do not work on my current system.

[Paul Dither]

I won't paint the P6 yellow though. It's warm enough without that color scheme.

Wonder if that is the reason for Mophos warm yellow color!? . o O ( run for cover )

Sounds great with your good Prophet 08 price. Hope you will like the Prophet-6. Did listen to some of your Prophet 08 sounds on your soundcloud earlier today. They are really good. Or well I actually listened to the sounds via this site as the new soundcloud player do not work on my current system.

Thanks for the compliment! And as I said earlier, it's not that I didn't enjoy the Prophet '08 anymore - amongst The Analog Organist I'd be the first in line to defend its capabilities. Letting it go was also sad insofar it was my first ever DSI synth.