Sequential Prophet 5/10 Series

The original Prophet-5 revolutionised the industry when it was launched in 1978. Dave Smith and Sequential Circuits blazed the trail with the Prophet-5, which was not only fully programmable and could instantly recall presets (a gamechanger for live performers), it also featured five voices of true analogue polyphony. The Prophet-5 quickly became a legend and unquestionable classic, going on to shape the sound of popular music for years to come. With the Prophet-5 & Prophet-10 Rev4, Sequential have brought the iconic synth into the modern age.

3 Revisions In One

The Sequential Prophet 5 & Prophet 10 Rev 4 is not a reissue, it’s the successor to the original Rev 1, Rev 2 and Rev 3 models. What the Rev 4 offers that the vintage units don’t is the ability to sound like every revision (bearing in mind that no two vintage Prophets sound exactly alike, regardless of the revision), encapsulating the beautiful sonic character of those sought-after synths. The P-5 & P-10 Rev 4 achieve this in a few ways. First up is the Rev switch, which alternates between two distinct flavours of low-pass filter - an SSI 2140 (a modern recreation of the SSM 2040 found in the Rev1 & Rev2) and a CEM 3320 (for that classic Rev3 sound). When you alternate between the Rev1/2 & Rev3 filter types, the Filter Envelope’s response and shape are also adjusted to match the sound of the original revisions.

Vintage Knob - Vintage Sound

Next is the Vintage knob. As part of the P5 & P10 Rev4’s development, Sequential extensively researched what gave the original Prophet models their quintessentially organic and warm sound. What they discovered is that per voice variations in the frequency & response time of the VCOs, envelopes, filters & amps is a significant part of what makes the original Prophets sound “alive”.

The result is the Vintage knob, a powerful feature that can be used to recreate the characteristics of the various Prophet 5 revisions. At the lowest setting, “4”, you’ve got a rock-solid polysynth with a more modern sound. As you start to turn up the Vintage knob, you can continuously blend between the revisions and imbue your patches with as much old-school mojo as you want. With the Vintage knob maxed out, “1”, you’re in truly temperamental P5 Rev1 territory.

Original Prophet Components

Last and certainly not least are the genuine Prophet-5 components, which were sourced for the Prophet-5 & Prophet-10 Rev4. Each voice boasts bona fide Curtis 3340 VCOs (voltage-controlled oscillators), the same ones used in the Rev3. These rich analogue oscillators have that incredible Prophet sound and are a potent sonic foundation for your patches.

Aftertouch & Velocity Ready

There’s no doubting that Sequential’s goal of creating an instrument that’s sonically true to the original P-5 has been nailed with the Rev 4. However, the addition of aftertouch and velocity sensitivity is a massive enhancement to the Rev 4’s expressive potential and makes it a more suitable instrument for live performance. You can make Filter & Amp envelopes respond to velocity and assign aftertouch to the Filter & LFO amount, which makes the Rev 4 a far more dynamic synth than its forebears.

Poly Mod & Upgraded Unison

A huge part of what made the original Prophet 5’s sound stand out from the crowd is the Poly Mod section, which is present on the Rev 4. The vast range of timbres that can be coaxed out of the Poly Mod section is staggering and its immediacy makes it a lot of fun to experiment with. The original’s Unison mode has been taken to the next level with the Rev4, as you can now choose how many voices are stacked, the amount of detuning between them. Another addition to the Rev4’s Unison mode is Chord Memory, which gives you the ability to play entire chords with a single key. The P-5 & P-10’s Glide can now be used monophonically and polyphonically.

If your Prophet-5 or Prophet-10 Rev 4 isn’t updated to the latest firmware, make sure you head over to Sequential’s website and update to the latest OS. The most recent firmware adds a polyphonic Unison feature (PU2), which stacks two voices for immensely thick chords.

Effortless Interface

Something that made the original Prophet such a joy to program is its intuitively laid out, knob-per-function interface which puts its sound-shaping controls at your fingertips. This aspect has been retained with the Prophet 5 & Prophet 10 Rev 4, which is as effortless and inspiring to programme as its predecessors. The Preset button has also been carried over to the Rev 4, which makes every knob immediately jump to its physical position - a lovely feature to have when programming as you can see how every section is affecting the sound.

Another key upgrade to the P5 & P10 Rev4 is its preset storage size, with 200 permanent factory programs (which have been meticulously crafted by leading sound designers) and 200 customisable user ones. The original 40 presets have been also included, so you can experience what it was like to play a brand new Prophet back in 1978! These sounds were what kickstarted the Prophet legacy and they can be heard on a wide range of film scores and recordings.

Modern Connectivity

Sequential have kitted the P-5 & P-10 Rev 4 out with modern connections, which allow it to be controlled and act as a controller for your external hardware and software. There’s, fittingly, full-size MIDI I/O (In, Out & Thru), USB MIDI (which can also be used for patch management & firmware updates), CV & Gate I/O and inputs for pedal controllers. Alongside the other updates and improvements, the Rev 4’s up-to-date connectivity makes it a no-brainer if you’re after that vintage Prophet sound.

Buy a Sequential Prophet-5 or Prophet-10 today and experience its legendary sound for yourself.