Sequential Prophet 6

Reviews | Sequential Prophet-6
84
D
espite DSI undoubtedly
making some fantastic
synths over the last few
years, there has been a
conspicuous hole in their line-up left by
the original Prophet-5. While the
Prophet 08 was its nearest true
successor, its DCO-based architecture
meant that, although it could nicely
emulate the vintage sound (and sound
much more modern too), it was an
altogether different beast. I dare say if
you’d surveyed synth heads a few years
back asking what synth they’d most like
DSI to make, it would be a unanimous
shout of ‘a new Prophet-5 with VCOs’.
Well, fast forward to 2015 (some 37
years after the Prophet-5 launched) and
we now have the Prophet-5’s spiritual
successor – the Prophet-6.
To say I was a little excited about
trying the P6 is something of an
understatement; in fact it had me
drooling in anticipation! The P6 arrived
in a rather boring brown cardboard box
but, once out of its temporary home,
the P6 revealed itself to be a thing of
beauty with its walnut end pieces and
trim – it certainly looks like a legit
Prophet-5 successor. One important
thing to note is the Sequential badge.
Most of you will know that before Dave
Smith Instruments, there was
Sequential Circuits which produced
classic analogues such as the
Prophet-5, T8 and Pro 1 (among
others). In 1987, Sequential was sold
to Yamaha and no more Sequential
branded products were made and, up
until a few months back, Yamaha still
owned the Sequential name. However,
this changed when Dave’s friend Ikutaro
Kakehashi (founder of Roland)
suggested to Yamaha president Takuya
Nakata that Yamaha give back the
Sequential name to Dave – Mr Nakata
agreed! Hence, we now have a
Sequential badged Prophet-6.
Small footprint
The P6 is a sturdy instrument weighing
in at 20lbs, although it’s surprisingly
compact due to its shorter four-octave
keyboard. The chassis is metal and also
hinges at the back for easy access to
the innards. Power comes in via a kettle
lead, as you’d expect on a premium
instrument. One great thing is that the
voice cards in the P6 are all in separate
sockets and can be removed easily
WHAT IS IT?
Six-voice analogue
polysynth built in the
Prophet-5’s mould with
VCOs, VCFs, VCAs, poly-
sequencer, arpeggiator,
solid modulation facilities
and high-quality effects
CONTACT
Who: Dave Smith
Instruments/Sequential
Tel: [phone]
Web: www.davesmith
instruments.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 It sounds warm and silky,
and has that vintage vibe
we all love
2 Knob-per-function ethos
and enough modulation
facilities onboard to add
serious movement and
interest to sounds
3 Snappy envelopes, wide
range and musical fi lters,
tasty effects
Sequential
Prophet-6 | $2,700
The spiritual successor to the Prophet-5 is fi nally here! Dan ‘JD73’
Goldman checks out if it’s the real deal…
The three-digit red
LED screen shows the
preset number and
more besides. There
are 500 preset and
500 user slots and
John Bowen’s original
Prophet-5 presets are
included too.
Screen And
Preset Buttons
Dave Smith has
designed all-new
discrete VCOs for the
P6 and they sound
right on the money.
They’re precise yet
have that vintage
mojo that us
synth-heads love!
A great-feeling
49-note semi-
weighted synth
keyboard is included
with velocity and
aftertouch, along
with red-backlit pitch
and mod wheels. The
keyboard’s range
can be instantly
extended using the
transpose buttons.
VCOs
Keyboard, Pitch
And Mod Wheels
INCLUDES AUDIO AND VIDEO
l
vault.futuremusic.co.uk
A new VCO polysynth
with built-in, high-
quality, 24-bit/48kHz
effects is an enticing
proposition! Two
effects are available
simultaneously per
patch and can
be tweaked in real
time using the
dedicated dials.
Effects
FMU297.rev_sequential.indd 84 9/8/15 5:24 PM