Sequential Prophet 6

Reviews | Sequential Prophet-6
86
distortion that has become a feature of
recent DSI synths.
Under the effects section is a single
audio-rate capable MIDI-syncable LFO
– yes there’s just one LFO but with the
polymod section and the fact that Osc 2
can act as a secondary LFO, there’s
enough in the way of modulation to
keep things interesting. The LFO has
fi ve main shapes (plus a noise source
selected by choosing ‘random’ and
turning ‘frequency’ fully clockwise) and
these can be sent to up to fi ve
destinations including the frequency
and pulse width of both oscillators and
to the amp, LPF and/or HPF. The ‘initial
amount’ dial controls the amount of
LFO modulation sent to these
destinations and when set to 0, the LFO
modulation is controlled by the
modwheel, with the amount of
modulation dictated by the mod
wheel’s position.
Vintage vibe
Now the sound! Dave has gone back to
discrete VCOs, VCFs and VCAs for the
P6 and they really sound excellent with
that vintage vibe! The two newly
designed oscillators are pretty much
dead on pitch from the word go and
stay solidly in tune (as you’d expect). If
they do drift out due to sudden external
temperature changes (unlikely), simply
hold the preset button and 0 to run the
calibration procedure. Unlike the P5,
each oscillator now has a continuously
variable waveshape from triangle
through to square/variable pulse (much
like current Moogs) enabling a wider
range of tones than the P5’s hardwired
(though simultaneously available)
waveforms. With such stable VCOs
onboard Dave has included his famous
‘slop’ parameter which induces natural
sounding oscillator drift – just a small
amount can really liven up proceedings
and add extra movement and vintage-
style detuning to the P6’s otherwise
stable sound. I think this is a good
compromise and I’d rather have
> If you already have an old
polysynth or Prophet-5 that’s
unreliable. The P6 has that classic
sound you love with modern
functionality/reliability.
> If you’re after the vintage
polysynth sound for studio/live work
but don’t want to risk buying a
vintage polysynth, the P6’s killer
sound will more than fi ll the gap.
> If you want a new polysynth that
can cover a broad range of classic
analogue tones authentically and
reliably, including solid basses,
drums/FX, pads and leads.
Who needs a P6?
Here are three situations where a P6
could come in very handy!
builds but response can be further
tweaked in the global settings if
needed. There are performance controls
in the shape of standard mod and pitch
wheels but alas no P12/Tempest style
touch-sliders, though I can see DSI
have chosen to keep this synth fi rmly in
the P5’s mould so there’s nothing that
strays too much from the original.
One of the biggest draws of the P6
is the aforementioned knob-per-
function, zero menu-diving ethos. This
is very much a ‘use your ears not your
eyes’ board and I really welcome the
lack of visual distractions which keeps
you focused on the sound. However, the
basic three-digit LED display means
there’s no patch naming and you have
to remember your sound by number
(much like a Nord Lead 4), though an
editor is available from SoundTower for
a modest outlay which will help you
organise, name and dissect patches.
Finally, ‘live panel’ mode is accessed by
turning off the ‘preset’ button. I hope
the bank and ‘tens’ buttons become
operational as patch up/down buttons
(they are already labelled as ‘increment/
decrement’) which will speed up patch
selection greatly.
At the top left is the P5’s famous
‘polymod’ section which has now been
augmented to address the additional
high-pass fi lter (the P5 had just a
low-pass) plus there’s an additional dial
labelled ‘shape’ which modulates the
waveshape of Oscillator 1 for adding
movement to sounds. Below this is the
new digital effects section and to the
right, the great-sounding analogue
Round the back are a
headphone socket,
stereo outputs,
MIDI ports, USB
(for updates and
MIDI) plus pedal
sockets for sustain,
volume, fi lter cutoff
and for starting
the sequencer.
Connections
FMU297.rev_sequential.indd 86 9/8/15 5:24 PM