Dave Smith Prophet 8

[Kevin Nolan]

I use two Prophet T8's and a P10. All I can say is that the Prophet sound is absolutely wonderful. I haven't powered up my P10 yet (purchased quite recently) but the T8s, with polyphonic aftertouch, are jaw droppingly incredible.

If the P08 retains the same sound quality of the originals, and Polymod (among the best analogue effects ever created, I believe unique to Prophets, and up there with ring modulation IMO), then the P08 will be fantastic. I'm not sure how Polymod works, but it radically alters the sound in an enormous variety of ways. I made a huge sounding string/brass patch with Polymod that sounds almost 'virtual acoustic' - it could never have been made without Polymod. I have no idea how I made the patch, but it’s a vital one for me now.

So if the P08 has that Prophet sounds, and has Polymod; then I recommend it as a serious contender - and to me as serious as a Moog Voyager is to the Minimoog - for any synthesist. If I'm correct it’s a true analogue synth? While I adore all forms of synthesis including VA, I have to say, there is a different quality to pure analogue. It think it has a lot to do with 'phase' - in VA and digital synths phase is retained too perfectly and you can hear it clearly all over music from the past ten years or so. But you do not hear it in analogue synths, giving them a looser, less stylised but more generic but adaptable sound and application. I do not believe that Jarre could have done Equinoxe on VAs alove for example, or that Tomita could not have done Bermuda Triangle on VAs alone (had they been available then of course). Those albums could only have achieved their depth and breadth of texture on actual analogue synthesizers. There is no doubt in my mind that real analogue is equally valid and vital today to broaden the palette of any synthesist; and you won't find a better analogue sound than the Prophet series, new or old.

In short - well done on getting the P08. It will compliment the OASYS more IMO than (the admittedly magnificently sounding) V-Synth GT, Nord Lead or Virus. You’ll have a range of options open to you that they simply can’t provide, being non analogue.

Kevin.

PS - Now here's a thought for the M3 and next Korg OASYS/Workstation -
Get your old Korg designer Dave Smith (also the designer of the Wavestation) back on board - to provide his P08 as an actual analogue synth board add-on.

Surely a new marketing possibility - a digital workstation with an actual analogue synth from the Sequential Circuits staple on board (though I think Yamaha own the Sequantial Circuits name so Korg can't use that). Hmmm...

[dhjdhj]

If this is true, then we are all wasting our time using modern technology (including listening to the results on CD or other digital media)



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I do not believe that Jarre could have done Equinoxe on VAs alove for example, or that Tomita could not have done Bermuda Triangle on VAs alone (had they been available then of course). Those albums could only have achieved their depth and breadth of texture on actual analogue synthesizers.

[Kevin Nolan]

I'm not saying that (and singled out only albums from the past using purely analogue gear). All forms of synthesis have their place of course and are all equally valid. I'm really just making the point that the P08 (and indeed the latest Moog reincarnations) offer fabulously modern and stable access to pure analogue and in my opinion would compliment the OASYS very well (I also own a Nord Lead 2 and V-Synth GT and they are magnificent, no dount about it - but I for one can hear that 'phase issue', especially in a relatively fast 'Attack' phase of an ADSR envelope applied to a virtual analogue filter).

Kevin.

[sharp11]

I'm not saying that (and singled out only albums from the past using purely analogue gear). All forms of synthesis have their place of course and are all equally valid. I'm really just making the point that the P08 (and indeed the latest Moog reincarnations) offer fabulously modern and stable access to pure analogue and in my opinion would compliment the OASYS very well (I also own a Nord Lead 2 and V-Synth GT and they are magnificent, no dount about it - but I for one can hear that 'phase issue', especially in a relatively fast 'Attack' phase of an ADSR envelope applied to a virtual analogue filter).

Kevin.

I absolutely one hundred and fifty percent love my P8, it's the finest synth I've had in years.

It's easy to program and to the person who complained you can't see the positions of the knobs, though true, there's some play designed into the knob so you turn it a bit and it registers its position - then a few more degrees either way changes the values.

This works well and is a good compromise, IMO.

The thing just sounds awesome and has many, many possibilities for sound creation - tons of modulation routings and an easy to understand interface that anyone with a modicum of synth -programming experience can get around quickly (unlike the equally cool in its way Korg Oasys, which requires a lot of study).

Yes, it's 100 percent analog.

Love it.

The Oasys covers ground the P8 cannot, of course, but it's hard to beat the experience of putting your hands on a real analog synth and having that immediacy and warmth of a real musical instrument. I have to imagine people who've bought the P8 and sent it back just don't really know how to get the best out of these things.

The Oasys and P8 are perfect partners - I'd also add that my Supernova 2 holds up very well with these two, however, I can't say the same about the Virus, it just doesn't have the sound these guys have - it aliases easily at the high range and its filters are not quite as luxurious.

The Virus does great clangy stuff though, so its job is secure.

Ed

[dhjdhj]

I didn't say it wasn't easy to program --- my "complaint" (which was really just an observation as to why I didn't go for it) is that you can't look at the front panel and "know" what sound will come out. The notion of tweaking each knob and then looking at a display doesn't cut it, particularly for live performance.

If you have a Minimoog in front of you, a quick glance at the panel lets you see immediately how many oscillators are on, their pitches, filter value, VCF and VCA envelopes, and with a bit of practice you can just know what knob to tweak before you play to get the change you want. Same for Arp Odyessy and their genre.

For live performance, this is really important unless you're just using presets in which case a front panel is a waste anyway.

It's easy to program and to the person who complained you can't see the positions of the knobs, though true, there's some play designed into the knob so you turn it a bit and it registers its position - then a few more degrees either way changes the values.

This works well and is a good compromise, IMO.