This thing sounds fucking KILLER, I'd be hunting one down right now if I had the funds to burn. Maybe after Christmas. Where would I be without Bad Gear??
Also, any solo synth that was cool enough for Zawinul (”the baddest MF”) is cool enough for me. I have the MOSS expansion in my Triton Studio, isn’t it the same?
the Prophecy has wave shaping that is lacking in the Moss plus i've read the Moss doesn't have the same edge. I have the Prophecy, as well as it's VST, and the VST is fine but it doesn't posses the same depth or power...but still fun to play with and it has a poly mode 😁
Totally agree - it sounds ancient and futuristic at the same time, and has bags of character; Korg would make a killing reissuing this (with a better screen)
@@allanroneyThe Solo-Tri Prophecy expansion board for Trinity gives you huge touchscreen for programming ease (plus lots of other improvements over the Prophecy minisynth).
@@AudioPilz I may be mistaken, but there might be an editor for it that should make it a more enjoyable experience. Sound Quest is always an option if you are so inclined to take advantage. Patch Base has one as well I believe for Mac and iPad.
@@AudioPilz there was a PC sysex editor that had a great UI - unfortunately my license no longer works as I guess the server shut down in 2005 or something. Mine is presets only now !
@@AudioPilz Ken Danger (332 The Rhumba of the Beast) could just change your mind, stick this through a good distortion pedal and industrial metal this thing !!! Alex Ball might have his number still !!
my friend had one of these, and I was playing in the wildest punk band in Hollywood at the time (Twister Naked) and one night around 1997, the singer and I took a 8 hour trip down trips Ville while our friend made that prophecy sound like drops of water falling into an infinite pool of water. In the morning when the sun came up, I was a synth junky nerd. I started selling some of my guitars and stuff and embarked on the synth junkie lifestyle of obsession. I always wanted one but never got one. Great vid like usual.
The Prophesy was one of my first synths. It’s a very deep machine with a very capable arpeggiator. It also worked great as my master controller for my external gear. Loved it.
Seriously, how do you achieve this productivity? Your throwing out 3 jams in every video, and everything sounds so good. Just how? And of course: just wow!
20 years ago, I was desperately looking for the long discontinued Prophecy when I found a brand new Korg Z1 in an unopened package. It's basically a Prophecy but with 12-voice polyphony. It definitely has a very unique sound. The Trumpet is easily the BEST emulation I've ever heard and with the large ribbon, it's expressive to a degree where it's hard to tell it from the real thing.
the 90s VA synths are beginning to really have a nostalgic sound of their own. the prophecy prices have been escalating in Brazil with no sign of stopping the tide...
I bought a Prophecy. I walked into a music store and somebody was playing it. It was one of those 'wow' moments I rarely experience nowadays. Mine got stolen in a burglary in 2000, but I still maintain that the Prophecy's modulation log and ribbon strip make for one of the most expressive synths you'll find. The closest keyboard players will get to lead guitar - as The Prodigy demonstrated.
For anyone with a prophecy who didn't know: if you adjust or modulate the noise pre filter in the Comb oscillator and clip the output max, adjusting the comb feedback morphs between gritty random pulses and straight metal head grind noise. Tune the filter to the keys and morph between granular sine with the filter set to near max resonance and cello like bowed string tones. The comb can be set up as a physical modeling oscillator with the right modulation mapping. I've definitely made more convincing distorted guitar leads using combed saw and noise relegated to transient plucking effect and serial filter arrangement. This synth is silly powerful, and I wish I hadn't loaned it out. With a DAW this is practically the only sound design tool needed for every sort of sound, once you've memorized the maze or gotten the right editor, VST plugin you say. That would make this beast a real asset to those who get dizzy looking at the green on green and clicking the red glowing domes. I actually swapped the original nobs out for better older looking things. Didn't improve the looks but made grabbing those slippery rounded hamburger bun assignable nobs obsolete.
Hey man, been binging this series and saw the new vid so I thought I'd drop a comment. When I was younger I would watch synth content while not understanding it. Now I know slightly more than absolutely nothing about music. The way you explain this shit is really digestible, even for an audio normie like me. Good work man, I appreciate this channel a lot
The humor and style make it easy to miss what an amazing job Bad Gear does when breaking down the functions and features of the instruments. Honestly these videos are more informative and useful than 99% of the "in-depth" reviews other channels have made of the same gear.
I Recently purchased a Korg Z1 which is a polyphonic version of the Prophecy and it's been a blast! A truly powerful machine and a great bang for the buck in today's market. I will admit though, that it is quite difficult and confusing to make custom presets on the tiny LCD screen and limited controls, but it's definitely still doable after a bit of practice.
I really don't understand the Z1's lack of fandom. It has great playability, plenty of real-time tweaking options (including the middle knobs that can easily be setup to control multiple destinations) and a pretty unique set of sound engines. It doesn't have a "fat" sound but what it does, it does really well. Why is it not liked?
The Z1 LCD is literally FOUR times the size of the Prophecy's, PLUS it's fully graphical. Even full workstations and suoer complex synths, by various major manufacturers, used the identical display until 2015, or later (around 20 years after Z1). Korg still uses it on Kross, a full workstation/advanced synth.
What a pleasure to see u feat this beauty. Thx! I recall when this xame out. We took our weekly drool fest at the local Guitar Center. My buddy and I werr heavy into industrial sounds and he was enchanted by the honkin beautiful Kurzweil in the corner... I saw this little thing looking like a toy atop a synth rig and then pressed a key and my god... We hadnt heard sounds like this before.. They were slightly out of our teeny weeny budget tho... so we went back home and kept making cookie cutter jams on the D50 instead. I have ALWAYS wanted a Prophecy... just fin because. I wanna satisfy that kid back then. If I had only known half of what i know now about making sounds, i think i may have stayed until closing time. BUT the guy at GC at the time was wayyy cool, he told us to come SAMPLE (with our Akais2k) all the gear we wanted. lol... ahh the naive but friendly 90's
What an absolute winner… the Prophecy is brilliant and extremely expressive. I got mine in ‘97 and carried it around with me on a date with my then girlfriend… the great thing is that my Prophecy is still in my studio upsetting my neighbours and my girlfriend could see the writing on the wall and married me anyway both are still happy with the arrangement. What took you so long to review this korg gem… I think the last korg you liked was the microkorg so are we to wait another couple of years for the hipster eclipse of another magic korg. It’s getting a bit regular. Hey your keyboard skills are improving probably Because of the bigger keys. I prefer this to the Z1 Great video 👍☢️
The 90s were full of synths pushing the boundaries digitally and the Prophecy is very much a love/hate instrument. I think we need a Badgear episode on the Yamaha EX5/EX5R, another synth trying to do a lot… great episode!
Those EX5 sample load times.......almost as fast as loading a game on the Commodore 64 via tape. It did sound great though, had the EX7 and did many complete tracks on it
This review is spot on. I had one of these. Some of my favorite sounds ever were made on it. Back then I had soundiver to program it and it was still a pain point. I haven't really missed it... until I saw this of course. Thanks for the flashback!
Speaking about 90s instruments, @AudioPilz, how about the Yamaha Romplers, MU50, MU80 and such? Would be interested in your opinion on those... ;) (side note: i have a DB50XG daughterboard laying around, which basically is a MU50 stripped off all UI - still trying to code a µC based UI for it to use it standalone)
Once again a gear I ever heared about its like a sound/ gear history channel and the best Audio Piltz is already a legend and so good and fun to explain everything to a novise as me. Every friday is my gearday. Love Audio Pilz.
The Prophecy is the only piece of gear that I sold at one point (because changes in artistic approach), only to get another one later. True one-of-its-kind thing.
Wow! Prophecy was my first synth, bought it in '95 second hand. I still have it and still use it. Absolutely love its sonic palette, and patching it isn't too bad once you get used to it. Ctrl panel also has a plugin for programming Prophecy.
I seem to recall first spotting the Prophecy sometime around 2000 during my first foray into Vintage Synth Explorer. The moment I realized it was a modeling instrument, after which I got a closer look at some of the other ones that were emerging simultaneously and followed it up, followed by the explosion of interest in original analog products, I discovered that I didn’t care what was under its hood; I just thought it was aptly named.
The krog proph is one of my favorite syntysizers. That bloke bt used to chuck his on the floor every night when he was touring ESCM, so really whats not to like. Love this channel, carry on!
Auidopilz right in the feels! 🤣 This was my first synth, it's so bizarre and out there. I regret selling it, but I got a trinity with the mossboard prophecy upgrade, I decided it wasn't worth having two similar synths.
The Prophecy was my first real synth. It was a lot of fun. Ended up eventually selling it to finance a Z1ex, which I still have today. But there was something about the Prophecy that was a lot more immediate than the Z1 that I still miss to this day.
catching up on back episodes today while working late-ish on a us friday. Of all of the songs that you have produced for this channel that i have heard...this is by far my favorite! You put the keyboard in a very good light!
The prophecy was the first great VA synth imo. Honestly, probably my favorite digital synth of the 90s. Sure, hard to create new sounds, but the presets were insanely good for the time.
I recommend you do a video on the Z1 too! I've been long thinking about experimenting with physical modeling and I wonder if the V-Synth GT or the Z1 would be the better choice for that.
I bought one of these in 1997 and I still have it. It’s so complicated, but it opened the world to what you can do with one synth voice. I have the plugin version now, but have to play it with the vintage for full effect. Fun fact: they originally were going to make it a keytar. The odd shape makes much more sense with that in mind.
Thank you for all these wonderful videos! In the late 90s I had a DX7 (which I loved) and a Roland XP-10. I really wish that I would have purchased The Prophecy instead of the almost useless brick that was the XP-10. At the time I was making Industrial music for fun with an old Fostex 4 track and the XP-10 was almost impossible to get original sounding user patches out of. I absolutely love this video series. It somehow gives me nostalgia for synths from the past I never knew existed.
Just come back from a long, dark walk in the woods. Perfect for my Friday night viewing. Thank you sir for bringing us this 'holy crap!' bad gear video!
I love the humour :D Great review as ever ! The Prophecy really sounds awesome, your tracks are amazing and you're darn right, the features can be cryptic and the UI can be frustrating. I think this synth really stands out in terms of originality and expressivity, like you hear a sound and you think "that must have been done with a Prophecy, no other synth can do that"
Awesome episode. I had a prophecy for a long time. I loved that thing. Made lots of fun sounds. Mod wheel 3 with the ribbon control was the highlight of this beast for me. Sometimes I miss it but had to pass it onto another synth cat. You’re no amateur my man. You always make these synths sing fantastic tunes.
My mate (who I just threw this video at) had one at uni in the late 90s, we spent soooooo long trying to figure it out. I can't even remember if there was a manual - there were definitely a lot of late nights, much head scratching over sysex, a few dodgy copies of Cakewalk, many missed lectures and some really terrible soapbar 🙂 He just told me he gave it to a neighbour about ten years ago 😭
Growing up in the Age Of The Workstation, the prophecy was the first synth I played that didn’t sound like Yanni. Rather, the presets sounded like something on a Depechmode, Tangerine Dream, or Hawkwind album. I think that was the moment I truely became a synth enthusiast.
I remember the Prophecy well. My best friend has one and has used it to great effect. If I remember right, he even went so far as to push the signal flow logic to such a degree that he got it to error out.
This just makes me want a Z1 even more! I love the ingenuity of 90s synths, despite the deep menu diving. Maybe I should just fix my Yamaha EX5 and be happy! Great work as always.
Bought mine last year out of curiosity. When the previous owner ran a finger over the ribbon I was sold. A year later, and I still haven't figured out how to get it sounding as good as he did.
the Prophecy can generate very complex and fresh sounds, I usually combine it with my modular, or my odysee, it was so ahead of its time that the interface was not ready for its capabilities, it requires patience but it is not bad, it happens that we have become accustomed to the easy thing, to touch two knobs and let the machine do everything for us ...thanks for this review !! 😃😃
This episode was awesome! Definitely a synth I forgot about in its obscurity!!! I would love it if Behringer were to recreate this one but make it a 6 voice poly!!
OMFG you finally did the Prophecy!!!!! I suggested this at least a year ago. Finest piece of bad/awesome gear. Cant tell you how stoked i am with this. I would relish mine back. As a "right time, right place" poece for me. Cutting edge difficulty. ❤️❤️❤️
The prophecy was my first synth. In the 9th grade I did an internship at a German province music shop just because they had one there. They even borrowed me the manual. With 14 I did my confirmation (as an atheist I'd certainly go to hell for this) to afford one for 1450 DM. Up to this day I could program the Prophecy with blindfolded eyes. Not every aspect aged well. But there are certain sounds you can hardly achieve otherwise.
Dude that was impressive.. the manual on that thing is crazy. we borrowed it from a friend, we had it for 2 years & felt like we had only just scratched the surface..
Amateur knob twiddles indeed!! I bought one of these when they launched, paying ONE THOUSAND quid for it (if you don’t know what a quid is, it’s the same as a smackeroonie) - I already had a 101 and hoped the Korg would give me a different sound. It did exactly that, but was so complex I ended up using mostly presets. It did sound (and does sound) wonderful at what it does and it was lovely to be reminded of the virtual winds and plucks you demonstrated in this video, so thank you as always - great honest and transparent reviews! I ended up selling it in the late 90s for much less than half of what I had paid ….
this was one of the first synths i ever played in the mid 90's at a music store in Hannover City when i cut school and i was impressed by it, especially the GM drums i liked lol
@@AudioPilz i don't know, whether there is a full set of GM drums, more than one Kit or just a couple of drums laying on the keys. i just remember, there is definitely a drum kit in that synth that sounded to me like GM back then, also that i wasn't able to sequence a beat somehow, probably because of the lack of a sequencer. unfortunately you left it out, but good gear review anyway once again!
You are definitely NOT and "Amateur Knob Twiddler" (lol!) - as you stated on at the 9:10 mark. You are an accomplished musical artist! Another amazing video! Thank You!
Aaawyeaaaa!! The long-waited episode is finally here! If you want to get your brain short-circuited I strongly recommend this piece. But, if you succeed, it is highly rewarding for ears!
I have owned two Korg Prophecies. I really wish I still had one. Back in the nineties they were also big with people making industrial and EBM mainly because of the arpeggiator and also the aggressive distorted leads and basses. In fact I remember going to gigs and Camden and it seemed to be di rigueur for the keyboard player in any self respecting industrial band to have a Korg Prophecy and an EMU Audity 2000 in their rigs.
"I assume people would self medicate to this" - well, you're not wrong and I feel called out. This was one of those dream synths years ago, when I had the Korg Triton. In fact the MOSS expansion board was built on the tech from OASYS which if I recall was how the Prophecy, Z1 and this expander board came to be. I was never able to source one (let alone afford it after spending £2k on a Triton lol)... and regretted it to this day. If I get spare cash and a Z1 comes up on the market - I'd buy it in a heartbeat. The Korg Prophecy sold me on the modelling synthesis, but that menu and manual - ouch.
WOW your performance at 7:00 gave me SERIOUS Wipeout (psx) and Powerslide (pc-cdrom) 90's racing game vibes. Bravo! And if you havent heard of Powerslide, look up the soundtrack. It was EPIC :D (Also the physics were amazing at the time).
This is actually pretty cool. Of course, Korg opted for it to be monophonic because polyphony required too much horsepower at the time, heh. Great video as always
I remember going to concerts of the electro industrial band Spahn Ranch and seeing this synth on stage all the time. If you want to see massive user manual(s) and arcane menu systems on a small screen, do the Kurzweil K2000.
The Prophesy was right with the Nord Lead in bringing “ analog “ subtractive synthesis back into the music production zeitgeist. The Korg VST is great and brought back a lot of the joy of its engine. I do miss the ribbon wheel however . It would be fantastic if Korg brought this synth back beefed up a bit in its Wavestate / Modwave /Opsix platform with that ribbon wheel intact .
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Audiopilz: *slaps roof of YT channel*
Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs: www.patreon.com/audiopilz
Agree 💯
I wonder if the Meeblip line, from the SE to the Anode, Geode, and Triode would make for a great episode series
most normal people aren't synth nerds.
@@fdarchives_ well they bloody well should be.
@docwhammo z1 was like prophecy's big bro right? (totally forgot about the Z1!) any negative differences?
How can this channel not have a million subscribers already? It's an absolute crime.
I agree!!! (Thanks;)
Maybe the Synthicate prevented it...
Yeah, I've said the same before too. Somthings fishy!! 🤔
Absolute true. But time will come I suppose
I've told all two of my synth friends about it, so I'm doing my part.
The Prophecy absolutely slayed for leads. Really fun to play as well.
A real solo synth!
This thing sounds fucking KILLER, I'd be hunting one down right now if I had the funds to burn. Maybe after Christmas. Where would I be without Bad Gear??
Also, any solo synth that was cool enough for Zawinul (”the baddest MF”) is cool enough for me. I have the MOSS expansion in my Triton Studio, isn’t it the same?
the Prophecy has wave shaping that is lacking in the Moss plus i've read the Moss doesn't have the same edge. I have the Prophecy, as well as it's VST, and the VST is fine but it doesn't posses the same depth or power...but still fun to play with and it has a poly mode 😁
I owned one of these. I love this synthesizer. Problem was the jacks on the back were known to break so I had it fixed and I sold it.
This one had this issue too!!!
This synth sounds to me te be the best synth ever featured in the series: totally unpredictable yet sonically pleasing.
👍
It really sounds odd. Love it.
Totally agree - it sounds ancient and futuristic at the same time, and has bags of character; Korg would make a killing reissuing this (with a better screen)
@@allanroneyThe Solo-Tri Prophecy expansion board for Trinity gives you huge touchscreen for programming ease (plus lots of other improvements over the Prophecy minisynth).
This falls in the Badass Gear category. This, despite all of its flaws, is still a fantastic sounding and deep piece of kit that I would love to have!
I really like the sound but the UI is such a nightmare;)
@@AudioPilz I may be mistaken, but there might be an editor for it that should make it a more enjoyable experience. Sound Quest is always an option if you are so inclined to take advantage. Patch Base has one as well I believe for Mac and iPad.
@@AudioPilz there was a PC sysex editor that had a great UI - unfortunately my license no longer works as I guess the server shut down in 2005 or something. Mine is presets only now !
Yeah that's an idea - Lets have some Badass Gear episodes!
@@AudioPilz Ken Danger (332 The Rhumba of the Beast) could just change your mind, stick this through a good distortion pedal and industrial metal this thing !!! Alex Ball might have his number still !!
my friend had one of these, and I was playing in the wildest punk band in Hollywood at the time (Twister Naked) and one night around 1997, the singer and I took a 8 hour trip down trips Ville while our friend made that prophecy sound like drops of water falling into an infinite pool of water. In the morning when the sun came up, I was a synth junky nerd. I started selling some of my guitars and stuff and embarked on the synth junkie lifestyle of obsession. I always wanted one but never got one. Great vid like usual.
I love to hear about moments of epiphany like this! Thanks!
This is an amazing story!
@@spkoftdvl ya , it was an amazing moment. I hated synths until that moment haha . but then, it was all clear and understood.
The Prophesy was one of my first synths. It’s a very deep machine with a very capable arpeggiator. It also worked great as my master controller for my external gear. Loved it.
Great controller features!
Seriously, how do you achieve this productivity? Your throwing out 3 jams in every video, and everything sounds so good. Just how? And of course: just wow!
Thank you so much!!! Just trying to keep things going...
I laugh every week when you include snips of those old Roland video manuals… never gets old!
Happy to hear that. Thanks! The Korg ones are fun too;)
Rumour has it that Monty Python is now working on either a Roland manual or scetch...
@@michelvondenhoff9673 Sadly they havent been funny for decades and most of them have turned into everything they used to pillory
All these earlier digi synths with abysmal displays make me ever more thankful to all those unsung heroes creating graphical SysEx editors 👏
Yeah, certainly more fun with an editor
I had a win95/98 editor - sadly it no longer works
20 years ago, I was desperately looking for the long discontinued Prophecy when I found a brand new Korg Z1 in an unopened package. It's basically a Prophecy but with 12-voice polyphony. It definitely has a very unique sound. The Trumpet is easily the BEST emulation I've ever heard and with the large ribbon, it's expressive to a degree where it's hard to tell it from the real thing.
Nice find!
I owned one back in 2007 , I love it bkz it was like beast , the keyboard is insanely sensitive and smooth , endless choices for sound designs
Agreed!!!
This channel is outrageously good! Love your jams and how artsy the presentations are. You are a talented artist.
Thank you so much!!!
Sounds really great ! By the way, congratulations for your collaboration with Alex Ball about Korg history !
Thank you!!! Alex' documentary is so great!
WOLCA!
the 90s VA synths are beginning to really have a nostalgic sound of their own. the prophecy prices have been escalating in Brazil with no sign of stopping the tide...
I'm totally into 90s VA sounds! It's the same around here
I bought a Prophecy. I walked into a music store and somebody was playing it. It was one of those 'wow' moments I rarely experience nowadays. Mine got stolen in a burglary in 2000, but I still maintain that the Prophecy's modulation log and ribbon strip make for one of the most expressive synths you'll find. The closest keyboard players will get to lead guitar - as The Prodigy demonstrated.
Yeah, the lead guitar is strong in this one!
For anyone with a prophecy who didn't know: if you adjust or modulate the noise pre filter in the Comb oscillator and clip the output max, adjusting the comb feedback morphs between gritty random pulses and straight metal head grind noise. Tune the filter to the keys and morph between granular sine with the filter set to near max resonance and cello like bowed string tones. The comb can be set up as a physical modeling oscillator with the right modulation mapping. I've definitely made more convincing distorted guitar leads using combed saw and noise relegated to transient plucking effect and serial filter arrangement. This synth is silly powerful, and I wish I hadn't loaned it out. With a DAW this is practically the only sound design tool needed for every sort of sound, once you've memorized the maze or gotten the right editor, VST plugin you say. That would make this beast a real asset to those who get dizzy looking at the green on green and clicking the red glowing domes. I actually swapped the original nobs out for better older looking things. Didn't improve the looks but made grabbing those slippery rounded hamburger bun assignable nobs obsolete.
Nice technique!
I had this "ticking all the whatever" monster fresh off the boat back then in the last millenium. A suprisingly good lead and the master keyboard.
Cool!
I had one in the late 90’s and it was the most distinct part of my Industrial band’s songs, I simply loved this thing
Nice! Certainly great for industrial!
Hey man, been binging this series and saw the new vid so I thought I'd drop a comment. When I was younger I would watch synth content while not understanding it. Now I know slightly more than absolutely nothing about music. The way you explain this shit is really digestible, even for an audio normie like me. Good work man, I appreciate this channel a lot
Thank you so much!!!
The humor and style make it easy to miss what an amazing job Bad Gear does when breaking down the functions and features of the instruments. Honestly these videos are more informative and useful than 99% of the "in-depth" reviews other channels have made of the same gear.
I Recently purchased a Korg Z1 which is a polyphonic version of the Prophecy and it's been a blast! A truly powerful machine and a great bang for the buck in today's market. I will admit though, that it is quite difficult and confusing to make custom presets on the tiny LCD screen and limited controls, but it's definitely still doable after a bit of practice.
Nice one!!!
I really don't understand the Z1's lack of fandom. It has great playability, plenty of real-time tweaking options (including the middle knobs that can easily be setup to control multiple destinations) and a pretty unique set of sound engines. It doesn't have a "fat" sound but what it does, it does really well. Why is it not liked?
The Z1 LCD is literally FOUR times the size of the Prophecy's, PLUS it's fully graphical. Even full workstations and suoer complex synths, by various major manufacturers, used the identical display until 2015, or later (around 20 years after Z1). Korg still uses it on Kross, a full workstation/advanced synth.
What a pleasure to see u feat this beauty. Thx! I recall when this xame out. We took our weekly drool fest at the local Guitar Center. My buddy and I werr heavy into industrial sounds and he was enchanted by the honkin beautiful Kurzweil in the corner... I saw this little thing looking like a toy atop a synth rig and then pressed a key and my god... We hadnt heard sounds like this before.. They were slightly out of our teeny weeny budget tho... so we went back home and kept making cookie cutter jams on the D50 instead. I have ALWAYS wanted a Prophecy... just fin because. I wanna satisfy that kid back then. If I had only known half of what i know now about making sounds, i think i may have stayed until closing time. BUT the guy at GC at the time was wayyy cool, he told us to come SAMPLE (with our Akais2k) all the gear we wanted. lol... ahh the naive but friendly 90's
90s all the way!!!
@@AudioPilz indeed 🤜
The synth leads on this are incredible. Wow. Seriously, I might consider picking this up after watching your video.
Also, that ending breakbeat jam was TOO GOOD!!!
Definitely worth giving it a try!
What an absolute winner… the Prophecy is brilliant and extremely expressive. I got mine in ‘97 and carried it around with me on a date with my then girlfriend… the great thing is that my Prophecy is still in my studio upsetting my neighbours and my girlfriend could see the writing on the wall and married me anyway both are still happy with the arrangement.
What took you so long to review this korg gem… I think the last korg you liked was the microkorg so are we to wait another couple of years for the hipster eclipse of another magic korg. It’s getting a bit regular. Hey your keyboard skills are improving probably Because of the bigger keys. I prefer this to the Z1
Great video 👍☢️
Thanks! I did like the Korg 707 quite a bit;)
🤩👍
Why prefer Prophecy over Z1?
@@ShallRemainUnknown Chunkiness and the full Log experience
The 90s were full of synths pushing the boundaries digitally and the Prophecy is very much a love/hate instrument. I think we need a Badgear episode on the Yamaha EX5/EX5R, another synth trying to do a lot… great episode!
Thanks! Great suggestion!
Those EX5 sample load times.......almost as fast as loading a game on the Commodore 64 via tape. It did sound great though, had the EX7 and did many complete tracks on it
This review is spot on. I had one of these. Some of my favorite sounds ever were made on it. Back then I had soundiver to program it and it was still a pain point. I haven't really missed it... until I saw this of course. Thanks for the flashback!
Thank you so much!!!
This is it. We found the most 90s instrument!
I agree!!!
no that was the cs-80
A Quasimidi Raven appears out of nowhere. Not sure if it counts as an instrument though 😁
Speaking about 90s instruments, @AudioPilz, how about the Yamaha Romplers, MU50, MU80 and such? Would be interested in your opinion on those... ;)
(side note: i have a DB50XG daughterboard laying around, which basically is a MU50 stripped off all UI - still trying to code a µC based UI for it to use it standalone)
I thought the Ensoniq Fizmo was the most 90s synth? Most 90s-looking, anyway.
Once again a gear I ever heared about its like a sound/ gear history channel and the best Audio Piltz is already a legend and so good and fun to explain everything to a novise as me. Every friday is my gearday. Love Audio Pilz.
Thank you so much!!!❤️❤️❤️
The Prophecy is the only piece of gear that I sold at one point (because changes in artistic approach), only to get another one later. True one-of-its-kind thing.
Same reason, except I bought three over the years. Would love to see Korg do an update version (Prophecy 2)
Legend!
Me 3
This is the best music gear content on RUclips, no question.
Thank you!!!
Wow! Prophecy was my first synth, bought it in '95 second hand. I still have it and still use it. Absolutely love its sonic palette, and patching it isn't too bad once you get used to it. Ctrl panel also has a plugin for programming Prophecy.
Nice!
My buddy bought this back in the day. He made some incredible psy-trance music with it that still sounds legit to this day.
Great for that genre!!!
The third jam introductions are always 10/10
Thank you!!!
we borrowed one.. we had it for 2 years & I think we had only just scratched the surface.
& yes we were in the studio for a good 6h a day. every day.
I seem to recall first spotting the Prophecy sometime around 2000 during my first foray into Vintage Synth Explorer. The moment I realized it was a modeling instrument, after which I got a closer look at some of the other ones that were emerging simultaneously and followed it up, followed by the explosion of interest in original analog products, I discovered that I didn’t care what was under its hood; I just thought it was aptly named.
Yeah, these were the days!
The krog proph is one of my favorite syntysizers. That bloke bt used to chuck his on the floor every night when he was touring ESCM, so really whats not to like. Love this channel, carry on!
Thanks!!!
Thank you, AudioPilz, for all the work you put into this video. My Prophecy is bent from someone jumping on it. I love it
Thank you so much!!!
The beauty of the prophecy is that it makes the VA a synthesis style of its own. Like FM, PWM, and so on.
Agreed!
Auidopilz right in the feels! 🤣 This was my first synth, it's so bizarre and out there. I regret selling it, but I got a trinity with the mossboard prophecy upgrade, I decided it wasn't worth having two similar synths.
Nice, a Trinity!
Man that first jam kicked ass! And the last one still manages to awake some UT memories ;)
Great vid as always!
Thank you!
Right around 2:04 I realized I'd made a huge mistake ignoring this synth. Good show.
Thanks!
The Prophecy was my first real synth. It was a lot of fun. Ended up eventually selling it to finance a Z1ex, which I still have today. But there was something about the Prophecy that was a lot more immediate than the Z1 that I still miss to this day.
I'd love to hear them side by side
catching up on back episodes today while working late-ish on a us friday. Of all of the songs that you have produced for this channel that i have heard...this is by far my favorite! You put the keyboard in a very good light!
Thank you so much!!!
The prophecy was the first great VA synth imo. Honestly, probably my favorite digital synth of the 90s. Sure, hard to create new sounds, but the presets were insanely good for the time.
Really like the presets too!
I recommend you do a video on the Z1 too!
I've been long thinking about experimenting with physical modeling and I wonder if the V-Synth GT or the Z1 would be the better choice for that.
There's actually a Z1 in the neighborhood;)
yes please i'm waiting too? especially in terms of the character of the sound as i read there are slight differences between the Prophecy and Z1 (?)
I bought one of these in 1997 and I still have it. It’s so complicated, but it opened the world to what you can do with one synth voice. I have the plugin version now, but have to play it with the vintage for full effect.
Fun fact: they originally were going to make it a keytar. The odd shape makes much more sense with that in mind.
Yeah, like the Korg 707
“I know it’s complicated but I’ll learn it! It sounds so cool! I gotta pick one up!”
*sits untouched on shelf for 2 years*
Great for cold winter evenings;)
That first jam had me out my seat in seconds.
😀😀😀
Thank you for all these wonderful videos! In the late 90s I had a DX7 (which I loved) and a Roland XP-10. I really wish that I would have purchased The Prophecy instead of the almost useless brick that was the XP-10. At the time I was making Industrial music for fun with an old Fostex 4 track and the XP-10 was almost impossible to get original sounding user patches out of. I absolutely love this video series. It somehow gives me nostalgia for synths from the past I never knew existed.
Thanks for watching!
Just come back from a long, dark walk in the woods. Perfect for my Friday night viewing. Thank you sir for bringing us this 'holy crap!' bad gear video!
Have a nice weekend!
@@AudioPilz and you 👍
I love the humour :D Great review as ever ! The Prophecy really sounds awesome, your tracks are amazing and you're darn right, the features can be cryptic and the UI can be frustrating. I think this synth really stands out in terms of originality and expressivity, like you hear a sound and you think "that must have been done with a Prophecy, no other synth can do that"
Thank you so much!!!
Great vid as always. Whatever the shortcomings may be with this thing, I am really liking the sounds coming out of it.
Same here!
Awesome episode. I had a prophecy for a long time. I loved that thing. Made lots of fun sounds. Mod wheel 3 with the ribbon control was the highlight of this beast for me.
Sometimes I miss it but had to pass it onto another synth cat.
You’re no amateur my man. You always make these synths sing fantastic tunes.
Thank you so much!!!
My mate (who I just threw this video at) had one at uni in the late 90s, we spent soooooo long trying to figure it out. I can't even remember if there was a manual - there were definitely a lot of late nights, much head scratching over sysex, a few dodgy copies of Cakewalk, many missed lectures and some really terrible soapbar 🙂
He just told me he gave it to a neighbour about ten years ago 😭
You have to find that neighbor!!!
@@AudioPilz he just told me he got his Bass Station back, but where's the f@%k+&g Prophecy?? I need to give it a slap 😊
The "self medicating" clip had me chuckling. Always great content mate, thank you
Thanks!!!
Growing up in the Age Of The Workstation, the prophecy was the first synth I played that didn’t sound like Yanni. Rather, the presets sounded like something on a Depechmode, Tangerine Dream, or Hawkwind album. I think that was the moment I truely became a synth enthusiast.
Yeah, that thing can be quite psychedelic...
One of my favorite all time videos! You're just amazing.
Thank you so much!!!
I remember the Prophecy well. My best friend has one and has used it to great effect. If I remember right, he even went so far as to push the signal flow logic to such a degree that he got it to error out.
Nice!
This one was an absolute gem. How have I never heard of this one??
It's an underground legend!
Too young maybe? Anyway.. keep exploring, it is funny state to be
This just makes me want a Z1 even more! I love the ingenuity of 90s synths, despite the deep menu diving. Maybe I should just fix my Yamaha EX5 and be happy!
Great work as always.
Thank you!
Dude, I’m so happy you chose the Prophecy!
Fun fact: the korg z1 is a polyphonic prophecy
😀😀😀
The Z1 is not quite the same as Prophecy.
Bought mine last year out of curiosity. When the previous owner ran a finger over the ribbon I was sold. A year later, and I still haven't figured out how to get it sounding as good as he did.
Some people just make it shine. Love what the Balkan guys do with it
the Prophecy can generate very complex and fresh sounds, I usually combine it with my modular, or my odysee, it was so ahead of its time that the interface was not ready for its capabilities, it requires patience but it is not bad, it happens that we have become accustomed to the easy thing, to touch two knobs and let the machine do everything for us ...thanks for this review !! 😃😃
Thanks for watching!
I had no idea Korg has an official plugin version of this. Trying the demo now. Excellent video as usual.
Thank you!!!
Still badass after all these years.
😀
Nice sound! Only two pieces of my gear still don't have review here: model samples & korg ms2000, so waiting. Thank you Florian, the best show
Thank you!!! These two are moving up my list;)
This episode was awesome! Definitely a synth I forgot about in its obscurity!!! I would love it if Behringer were to recreate this one but make it a 6 voice poly!!
It has already been recreated to 12 voice poly by Korg with the mighty Z1.
There's a VST too!
OMFG you finally did the Prophecy!!!!! I suggested this at least a year ago. Finest piece of bad/awesome gear. Cant tell you how stoked i am with this. I would relish mine back. As a "right time, right place" poece for me. Cutting edge difficulty. ❤️❤️❤️
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
@@AudioPilz 👍
The prophecy was my first synth. In the 9th grade I did an internship at a German province music shop just because they had one there. They even borrowed me the manual.
With 14 I did my confirmation (as an atheist I'd certainly go to hell for this) to afford one for 1450 DM.
Up to this day I could program the Prophecy with blindfolded eyes.
Not every aspect aged well. But there are certain sounds you can hardly achieve otherwise.
Nice!!!
Dude that was impressive.. the manual on that thing is crazy. we borrowed it from a friend, we had it for 2 years & felt like we had only just scratched the surface..
Amateur knob twiddles indeed!! I bought one of these when they launched, paying ONE THOUSAND quid for it (if you don’t know what a quid is, it’s the same as a smackeroonie) - I already had a 101 and hoped the Korg would give me a different sound. It did exactly that, but was so complex I ended up using mostly presets. It did sound (and does sound) wonderful at what it does and it was lovely to be reminded of the virtual winds and plucks you demonstrated in this video, so thank you as always - great honest and transparent reviews! I ended up selling it in the late 90s for much less than half of what I had paid ….
Nice, thanks!
this was one of the first synths i ever played in the mid 90's at a music store in Hannover City when i cut school and i was impressed by it, especially the GM drums i liked lol
There are GM drums???😳😳😳
@@AudioPilz i don't know, whether there is a full set of GM drums, more than one Kit or just a couple of drums laying on the keys. i just remember, there is definitely a drum kit in that synth that sounded to me like GM back then, also that i wasn't able to sequence a beat somehow, probably because of the lack of a sequencer. unfortunately you left it out, but good gear review anyway once again!
The Jams are fantastic! Still waiting for the album...
Thank you so much!!! Full tracks and extended jams can be found on Patreon (shameless plug;)
You are definitely NOT and "Amateur Knob Twiddler" (lol!) - as you stated on at the 9:10 mark. You are an accomplished musical artist! Another amazing video! Thank You!
Thank you so much! Amateur Knob Twiddler - Professional Gear Speedrunner;)
I love it when you say “ C U Next Time”. It makes me smile. I used to say the same thing to my rude customers in retail sales.🤟
Happy to hear that, thanks!
Wasn't expecting this one ! Your an absolute genius 🙂 well done audiopilz 👍
Thank you so much!!!
Aaawyeaaaa!! The long-waited episode is finally here! If you want to get your brain short-circuited I strongly recommend this piece. But, if you succeed, it is highly rewarding for ears!
Yeah, this one is quite a challenge!
I have owned two Korg Prophecies. I really wish I still had one. Back in the nineties they were also big with people making industrial and EBM mainly because of the arpeggiator and also the aggressive distorted leads and basses. In fact I remember going to gigs and Camden and it seemed to be di rigueur for the keyboard player in any self respecting industrial band to have a Korg Prophecy and an EMU Audity 2000 in their rigs.
Yeah, that thing can be SUPER noisy!
Screaming track, as usual, my friend. Wowzers. And to think that anyone with a few grand wants one of these things. Thanks for the true knowledge. 🔥✨
Thank you!!!
Got this synth in 96, still think it's one of the most sexy looking. Sounds good too.
Definitely not in it for the looks either;)
AAAAAAAH JAM 1 IS SOOO GOOOD, this is a lot better than i gave it credit for. Excellent video!
Thank you so much!
Korg recently released a VST version of this too, I've bought it and its excellent!
Really gotta give that one a try!
An absolute banger of a synth ive never heard of.. Also, this episodes jams alone are probably worth the patreon sub, thats how smooth it sounds.
Thank you so much!!!
Love your content and presentation mate. Entirely addictive.
Thank you!!!
"I assume people would self medicate to this" - well, you're not wrong and I feel called out. This was one of those dream synths years ago, when I had the Korg Triton. In fact the MOSS expansion board was built on the tech from OASYS which if I recall was how the Prophecy, Z1 and this expander board came to be. I was never able to source one (let alone afford it after spending £2k on a Triton lol)... and regretted it to this day. If I get spare cash and a Z1 comes up on the market - I'd buy it in a heartbeat. The Korg Prophecy sold me on the modelling synthesis, but that menu and manual - ouch.
Yeah, the Z1 is such a powerful instrument!
I really liked my time with the Prophecy in the late 90's!
Nice!
Same here, I made some good BigBeat and Ambient stuff with this synth, which is so 90ies.
That's another mad one, great content as usual!
Thank you!!!
wow, some of those sounds actually made my stomach hurt. excellent job
Always a pleasure;)
It's a great instrument, and it really shines through that you tried your best to showcase it! Thank you for the great video!
Thanks for watching!
WOW your performance at 7:00 gave me SERIOUS Wipeout (psx) and Powerslide (pc-cdrom) 90's racing game vibes. Bravo! And if you havent heard of Powerslide, look up the soundtrack. It was EPIC :D (Also the physics were amazing at the time).
LOVE these sound tracks. Thanks!
So 90's. Love it!
Edit: also, those jams you do are always amazing!
Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you capitulated and admitted defeat. This still kicks arse 25 odd years later
Gotta be honest about that;)
Dug mine out the loft yesterday and was having fun creating storm sounds and interference with the Morphing Noises preset. 😃
This was my first synth. The full manual is amazing and its how I learned synthesis . The sounds you can program with this thing are over the top.
This is actually pretty cool. Of course, Korg opted for it to be monophonic because polyphony required too much horsepower at the time, heh. Great video as always
Thank you!!!
the comb and ring mod on this sound amazing. Definitely going to try out the plugin version now
Super heavy sounds!
I remember going to concerts of the electro industrial band Spahn Ranch and seeing this synth on stage all the time.
If you want to see massive user manual(s) and arcane menu systems on a small screen, do the Kurzweil K2000.
Old Kurzweils were so hardcore!
Interesting! I was a temporal owner of a Z1...looking forward a review of thid gear too.
Z1 is super interesting!
The Prophesy was right with the Nord Lead in bringing “ analog “ subtractive synthesis back into the music production zeitgeist. The Korg VST is great and brought back a lot of the joy of its engine. I do miss the ribbon wheel however . It would be fantastic if Korg brought this synth back beefed up a bit in its Wavestate / Modwave /Opsix platform with that ribbon wheel intact .
I'd take a Volca Prophecy too;)
Wow I was not expecting to like that synth at all but you made it sounds so coooool! Awesome video as always! :)
Thank you!!!
I need to sell my Kawai Spectra, please do a video about it :D
Oh damn, let's see if we can find an excuse for that;)
I got a softspot for Kawai 🥸
I bought a Yamaha DJX2B because of this channel. And I had it circuit bent.
@@kevinbirge2130 I have an OG DJX because of this channel. Love it
@@unclebuttonz7865me to as the of DJx I'd underated due to the six track recorder if the step sequencer looped it would be even better