If you'd like to grab the soundtrack I made with the Prophet 12 for this video, have access to a growing community, and directly support my ability to make videos like this, it's available in my new Membership: bit.ly/JNJmembership Thanks for watching!
Watching this again. This is such a well made video and should be called The Prophet 12 Documentary. Thank you for this great edit on Dave's favorite synth. I always liked his Prophet VS and this reminds me loosely of that kind of synth.
What a lovely video and a fitting tribute to Dave Smith and Sequential. I have a P12 and I absolutely love it. It is really easy to program and achieve fantastic results. I've been saying for years that it is a vastly underrated synth. I'd say the same thing for the Prophet X as well. Great to see Andrew McGowan in the video. His contributions to Sequential's legacy need to be more widely recognized.
I miss his presence in the synth community. What a beautiful dude. And wickedly brilliant. I bought a Prophet X a few months before he passed. And whenever I sit down and hear those incredible stereo Prophet deluxe filters on whatever crazy tones i’m filtering, it gives me feels!
I love how Dave didn't give a hoot about trends and just focus on interesting sounds. Digital and analog go well together. Dave clearly knew it. It was ahead of it's time and I suspect it'll become cult over time if it isn't already.
Dave, Tom Oberheim, Dave Rossum, Chris Huggett, many others too, have often said that from an engineering point of view they are looking beyond the limitations of analogue sound generation and that digital sound generation was far more interesting to them. It could still surprise them and take them places they imagined, while still pushing them creatively.
@@gunark " digital sound generation was far more interesting to them. It could still surprise them" that's key, it was more surprising- to them to me, analog is not a fetish, because i have a few dco synths that don't sound much more alive than software, and hybrid does yield interesting results but re: this ruclips.net/video/HIFXZm_CERY/видео.html analog does one thing (and there's millions of videos flooding youtube debating wether synth x does it better than synth y) but does it well, and that's enough yes if you work with evolving pads , and you stick with subtractive forgoing wavetables or z-plane filters, yes you are limiting your palet, but to each their own - as a composer, moving beyond classical into synth work, sound design can replace deliberate action and ideas in polyphony, akin to how I'm more interested in the same but with layered monophony > generative, happy accidents, interesting sequencing and such from that viewpoint, a good analog polysynth is still like any string section, you can still write surprising movement, but doesn't have to surprise you as an instrument, it just has to have presence that said, much like a hobby guitarist would be searching for the best tone, the best musicians don't even care that much so even the nerding out about basic oscillator and filter character, is subject to the lines, riffs and hooks that the musician is choosing to do
Incredible hybrid synth. A programmer's dream. To get the best out of it you have to pay attention to your oscillator mix levels. With so many oscillators you have to make sure not to have the levels too hot. Also, just because you have 4 oscillators (and a sub) per voice doesn't mean you need to use them all the time, always. Some of the best sounds I've made are single or dual oscillator only.
This is really lovely and I would binge a whole bunch of synth history content from you! Can definitely appreciate the scope of work you put into this one
I’ve never owned a single Dave Smith synth, and I probably won’t ever, but this was still fun to watch. I love hearing instrument designers talk about their creations.
Very well made documentary of a really interesting synthesiser. The quality of this video’s editing, content and storytelling is top-notch. The personal stories from both designers and users around an instrument are - what I think - make all instruments special. Snobbery and gate-keeping do more harm than you would expect. Thanks for your effort in this project, Jameson.
I found those last 2 chapters very moving, and that piece of music you performed to accompany them possessed an elegiacally beautiful sense of loss, and yearning.
I bought my Prophet 12 a couple months after it went on sell, I never turn it off except to clean it and it is always in my studio. This synthesizer encourages me everyday to explore synthesis. I love this exquisite instrument:)! Rest in peace, Mr. Dave Smith…
Omg, I did not know that Prophet 12 is a synth I would really love! Had an eye on the Summit for the last years, but the filth and grit you can get out of the digital effects before filtering is something I really love. Thanks for this wonderful video!
The P-12 is definitely the piece of hardware in my studio that I play the most. My first synth was a Juno 106 (in the closet atm: not a murderer) that I bought about 20 years ago. I bought lots of gear in between but then in 2016 I picked up a Tempest, Pro 2, and OB-6 desktop. I had considered the P-12 at the time but convinced myself that the aforementioned combination was a better overall purchase. Between the vintage vibes of the OB-6 and the modern features of the pro 2, it seemed like the P-12 was not as compelling. I really enjoyed those three instruments, finding them all to be challenging/rewarding in a way that made me comfortable with the significant investment I'd made. I tend to hold onto stuff, and so I try to be pretty careful about what I buy but I knew I had some instruments that I'd be happy to hold onto for a lifetime. So, when the white P-12 was announced, I decided to purchase one right away. While the regular P-12 is no doubt the safer choice, in terms of appearance, I prefer the sense of contrast against the other Sequential machines on my A frame. Out of anything else I own, it reminds me of my 106. While it sounds pretty different, they're both relatively immediate instruments that invite interaction. The layout allows me to make all sorts of different sounds that I'd never have the skill/patience to get from a VST. As beautiful as the OB-6 sounds, the P-12 offers a much more textured and dynamic palette of sounds. It was super interesting to hear of the instrument's development, and also to hear people expressing their fondness for this machine - thanks for this great video
Beautiful video! Excellent storytelling and music, with real inside insights. Man, I absolutely love my Prophet 12 and will never give it up. I agree with you; Dave was way ahead of all the mere mortals when he made it and called it his favorite synth, despite analog fever peaking with the masses at that time. Pearls before swine. I'm an old school vintage analog guy with a bunch of old analog classics. But this thing is one of a kind from the genius himself, and it always sounds beautiful to me.
This video is so beautiful and gave me a deep certainty that the prophet 12 will become my first synth too. Thanks to all the amazing humans involved ❤️
34:15 This is a really nice patch! Great film, thank you for making it. You've inspired me to go back and experiment more with my Peak, which has been neglected a bit.
In the early 1960's my family bought a new HiFi console. Tube amp had wonderful warmth. Also had selection for AM, FM, short wave and long wave. I used to love tweaking on the frequencies between 'stations' and listen to the static and squelch plus other thumping noises that I pretended were stampeding rhinos. I am reminded of this by the sounds around 18:45. It is also a significant comment that sometimes the factory presets do not represent the capabilities of an instrument. I have tried units that only had one or two patches I would find usable until I got into reprogramming settings. Recently I reviewed the factory settings on my Roland FA-08 and considered that I would have not wanted it if I was unable to produce and save edits. I appreciate this posted video since I am trying to become a better friend with my Prophet12. It is also important to use the instrument for its' strengths instead of trying to shoehorn it into being a Juno106 or DX7, etc., sort of like when years ago I was struggling with an ARP 2500 when I should have instead relied on an ARP Odyssey or MiniMoog.
Andrew, Tony and of course YOU in one video .... wow ... that was so special James, I really want to explore more about P12 now. But synth aside, you all made an awesome gift to synth community and a thought to think about ... Thank you !
What an honest joy this was to watch. It was a humbling video for me honestly because I've spent so much time obsessing over the analogue feel/sound and came to realize that i've been overlooking a lot of amazing instruments like the prophet 12 because of it. I've had an affinity for sequential/dsi boards for quite some time and I don't know why it's taken me this long to see how beautiful and how much sense it makes to want for something like the 12 that can do both analogue and digital, especially when it's done as masterfully as the 12. You make her sing in the segments you play throughout the video and it sounds like phenomenal synthesizer.
This popped up in my feed, couldn’t have found a better celebration of my favorite prophet. This thing changed my view of synths after I got used to the P6 and I went through a lot of the same emotions discussed here when I first got it. Now I can’t just can’t see myself without it. It is truly a gift. Thank you for doing this!!
Great work, nice vid, thanks! I think the Novation Summit comes most close as for synths in the market and personally I find the oscillators sound better. What you call here „tiney“ can be annoying in my ears at times. It’s definitely a character and for me the choice was to go for the Pro2 as I find the oscillators together with the deeper modulation possibilities more challenging. But that is because I do different things with polysynths… The P12 surely is an underrated synth though and deserves more attention.
Man, I LOVED this. Thank you so much for making this documentary! It is so incredibly thoughtful and insightful. I never realized how much my Summit borrows from the design of the Prophet 12. Standing on the shoulders of giants is how we learn to grow tall, as they say. Rest well Dave Smith, forever in our hearts 💕
What a nice love statement to this synth. I love my Prophet12. I wanted it at the release but had to wait 2 years to have the budget. I tried it at the music shop and i found the presets cheap and flat. Then i started to make a preset and what I heard convinced me. I love the amount of possible automation and cross automation that this huge synth offers. A big and powerful sound laboratory.
Prophet 12 was my first synth. Bought it when it came out. Learned about synthesis and how sound design works with my P12. I love this synth. It is easy to make sound good. It is really easy to make sound dirty and broken. It's a bit more difficult to make it sound great... that's what Girth, Air, and Drive are for. The oscilators are super stable and clean, so the Charachter section helps a lot with subtle (and drastic) sound alterations. Good stuff! I'm excited for this video.
What a beautifully presented treatise on the P12 and its creators. Like Tony said, I too tried it out when it was released (in the Music Store in Köln) whilst I was on tour. I didn’t like the factory presets, I felt it had been programmed to make the most of what was different about it, I didn’t want it to sound like a P5, but I found that thing where you just want to keep playing was missing. My cousin Chad bought one a few years ago, and told me that once you get under the hood there were some unique and special sound possibilities, so I figured I needed more time with it, one day….. so thank you for this video, it explains a lot. Some beautiful sounds there, too.
This has been my main synth for only this year, although I bought it in 2012. I've spent so much time with soft synths that I've totally neglected my hardware. I must concur that, aesthetically, it is among the most beautiful synths I've ever seen. The UI is exquisite and pretty intuitive. I'll be learning this synth's capabilities for years. I'm totally in love with this synth. No way I'll ever sell it, just like there's no way I'll ever sell my Moog Prodigy that I bought in 1981. The Prophet 12 is a keeper.
It sounds different and good to me in these samples. Great video story here. Thanks for the great video. I still say my Pro 3 is my best sounding synth of all time. Since the mid 80's. It's an instrument and I don't even miss the polyphony with it. It sound so transparent, punchy, and musical anything you program on it sounds good. It stand leaps and bounds ahead of my other synths which I also like. It's just like this one is the leader of the pack that says, follow me.
I've seen this video twice now ... and most probably this wasn't the last time I've seen it. Of all the fine videos on your channel it is maybe the most emotional one and of all the videos on RUclips one that explains the »Prophet 12« best. I am now REALLY tempted to buy one (in a not so far future). Thank you so much, Nathan, for this video!
Part of me wishes that I had the budget when it was on the market to get the P12. On the other hand, I didn’t pay attention and wasn’t aware that the P12 largely picked up where the PPG Wave 2 left off. I’ve always wanted something like that in my arsenal. I’ve owned analogue polyphonic synthesizers with microprocessors and patch memory, and, I have owned multiple digital synthesizers, but I’ve never owned anything in this specific subcategory.
When I bought my P12 new ten years ago, it was immediately the uncool kid on the second hand market. So being unable to trade for a trendier synth if I wanted to, I certainly found more value learning and practicing my first synthesizer! Definitely paid off and any time I play other hardware, I feel totally spoiled by the P12’s great playability and programmability! Had it been another era, I would’ve ended up in the same situation with the DX7 probably… Thanks for the background and discussion on this wonderful instrument!
I’ve been programmed to think Dave Smith should have held up a hand 🤚 and told us about his FIVE FAVORITE FEATURES. It’s a miracle that I clicked on this video without a flashy thumbnail image of that. All jokes aside… such a cool story and a cool instrument. If it were possible for me to play it, I’d probably look into getting one. Happy enough to watch and listen to the pros do it. Such a great video…
I got to try the Prophet 12 and meet Dave Smith a little before it came out in a San Francisco studio. I remember it being excellent and Dave (and of course his team) were incredibly excited to share it. I tried chatting with him about his old stuff but he was more interested in looking forward. I am glad that perspective came through in this video. It is a great tribute to a unique synth and it's innovative creators.
Got one 3 years ago for 1400€.... one easy trick for better sounding patches is to set the levels of the oscillators between 60 to 80... not more. This helpes to get more headroom and the synth stays dynamic and punchy.... not nasty.
MIDI was a triumph of tech standardization that inspired the Internet as a platform and Web and so much besides. Dave Smith was viewed as a hero across the tech industry broadly.
Great video, good to hear some of the history behind it. I got one when it first came out. I remember the analogue resurgence was in full swing for synth nerds, but the P12 wasn't fully analogue and it got a great deal of well, pretty much outright hate for it. Within a year or 2 though, things changed and it began to be recognised for what it was capable of. I agree about the UI, it's an absolute masterpiece, it's actually a very complex synth, but it's not difficult to use. That said, there are a lot of subtleties to it, and it can take some time to understand them. It's unusual in that it can sound very analogue, very digital, or anything in between, most synths can do only one of those, but you have to know how to work it, it is very much a synth programmer's synth. I've still got mine, and it's not going anywhere.
I was going to buy a P12 a few years ago based on its features. Specifically digital osc with analog filters. Went into a store and tried it out next to an OB6. The OB6 is more limited in terms of the architecture, number of LFOs etc. But the filter and oscs on the OB6 just sounded more three dimensional. Not better or worse, just one sounded really good, the other sounded really good but there were shadows behind it and a little highlight on the edges. I still want a P12 to cover those 80's electro industrial Skinny Puppy-esque timbres. The OB6 is just too nice sometimes. I often find myself going down a synth nerd movie sound track hole with it, when I want to making more upbeat hard driving stuff. Gonna get a P12 desktop someday. And Poly Evolver rack.
What an amazing tribute to the P12. Before I saw this video I had not looked into this synth before, as I taught it was "just" a rev2 with more voices. Clearly it’s much more. I also did not realize how similar its architecture is to my Novation Summit, which brw is by far the best synth I have ever owned. But I remember being hesitant of it to begin with, due the fact that it did not have analog oscillators. The unfortunate legacy of 90s VA synths I suppose. But now I stand the Novation Peak/Summit slogan: “Analog where it matters - digital where it counts”
I wasn't aware of how Dave felt about the P12. The amount of things a P12 can do is amazing. Taking so many things from the past Prophets including the VS, it truly is an evolution to the next level. There is still a place for a Prophet 5 or an OB-X8 just like there is for a piano. Nothing sounds like an OB or P5, and I'm glad they're back, but so long as synth makers don't abandon fully analog synths, things like the 12 are the direction of the future.
A couple years ago, an amazing soul donated a Prophet X to our library. Time to go play with it and build a deep connection. Thanks for the inspiration.
I pined for this synth since it was first released. I went and tried one out at Noisebug when the P12 was first released. I absolutely loved it. I loved the sound of the oscilators and filters. I wish I could have afforded one.
Great video! i have had mine for 9 years... I play it every day, even though have quite a few great classic synths. Every single day I need to play a bit because it is like an adventure, designing sounds, just enjoying those almost 3D pads, with textures... or even trying to make it sound classic analog (that it toooootally can). I will NEVER sell it. NEVER. My fav poly synth of all times. When the P6 was released I made a comparison... and dude, the P12 oscillators are great! I love them with aliasing or not... it is just another dimension. You can replicate the pads used by Alice Coltrane in some of her records, you can sound totally DX7, you can make modern stabs... You can make whole records with this.
of all the synths I own and program, the Prophet 12 is amazing, so many people missed the bus with this synth, I thankfully didn't and still love it now like I did when it was released. it's no wonder it was dave's favourite. the legend lives on.
Wow, what a fantastic video. I had completely forgotten that the Prophet 12 even existed until now, which I guess is the whole point. The different viewpoints for developers and users was fascinating, well done!
Lovely video, new sub! 10:27 This was my experience with the Pro 2 which is super similar to the P12. People online who don’t own a Pro 2 are fond of saying it sounds ‘harsh.’ It may sound harsh if you leave the filter open on a bright wavetable. But that’s dynamic range. You’re meant to use the filter. I went through on the Pro 2 and did the same thing; replaced and remade all the U presets. It’s an incredible sounding synth, and it isn’t harsh. It’s got both the Prophet and OB analog filters, it’s smooth and pretty if you want it to be. Unfortunately the majority of synth people are lazy and judge a synth by the first 25 presets they hear, rather than building something from scratch. TL;DR . Don’t listen to what other people say about an instrument. Try it yourself and then decide. And if you don’t know cus you haven’t, stop repeating someone elses’ opinion, maybe. And i’m never selling my Pro 2. (Or my Prophet X which is also mind-blowing if you drop your own wavs into it!)
Your video seemed to drive the price up 150-200%. I have to wait a year and look for one. I had a module and didn't give it a chance, so now I will have to wait for another in the future. Great video and good to see these clips of Dave.
Great video! I have only used my Prophet VST but have been growing to love the sound and straightforward and limited character of the design. I never know anything about the 12 and it’s really cool to learn more. I’ll be keeping my eye on this one.
I still have my first synth. It's a Virus TI. I highly recommend you checking it out at some point, and for all the reasons it is NOT known for (hoover/rave/supersaw). It's the only reason I never bought a Prophet 12 as, at the time at least, I thought they had too much over lap. I've always found the Prophet 12 incredibly inspiring though. Great job on the video (really more of a documentary).
I just found your channel recently and I feel like our experiences are really similar. I got a classical undergrad and a jazz masters and then got into synths/production after that. I sometimes feel like I'm in this weird in-between place with production and composition where lot's of the methods that are popular in the electronic world don't suit me and my music very well -- but I just wanna bloop and bleep. All this to say, I'm really enjoying your content and perspective. You're on of the the only synthtubers whose musicality and technique are mature and practiced. Thanks for the great work! Also, thanks for showcasing the prophet 12 and poly evolver recently. For some reason I thought Dave Smith stuff only sounded old and nostalgic but you coax out of them are really fantastic!
Really entertaining but also instructive video. The whole analog vs digital argument is beside the point of music. The question to ask is: how does it sound? And the next question is: what can I do with it? It can take many years, perhaps even a lifetime, to answer that second question--and, really, if it's a well-designed instrument, even the first one, too. My first pro keyboard was an RMI 300B ElectraPiano. Purchased new in January, 1972 when I was 19 years old. I still have it. Not a synth, per se, but I get the whole thing about how one has to be some sort of musical sociopath to sell your first synth. My first synth was a DX-7, purchased new in 1984. I went into the store with cash in hand to but a Prophet 600 (couldn't afford a 5) but saw and heard the DX and went back and got more money. (Forgive me, Dave, but I helped Yamaha put you out of business--glad it all worked out in the end.) Everywhere I was reading about how hard it was to program FM--but never having had an analog synth, I had nothing to "unlearn" and found the architecture of the DX logical and not that difficult to understand at all. (Yes, it would have been much less time-consuming to program if it had the interface that the DX-1 had, but it only cost about one-seventh as much, so, a worthwhile tradeoff.) My next synth was a Roland Juno 106 that I bought from the guitar player in the band I was in at the time. Thanks to Dave and Kakehashi-san, and their wonderful invention of MIDI, I was able to blend the sounds of my digital DX with those of my analog Juno and create sounds and textures that were deeper and richer and more satisfying that either instrument was capable of on its own. There is no war between analog and digital in my world. They blissfully coexist. Thanks for 36:58 of my evening well spent. I'm going to go looking for a (cheap) used P12...
I had prophet 2 and 12. P10, Rev2, Ob6 and Pro 3 are on my racks now and many older Sequential and dsi synths went by. Evolvers, Mophos etc. That duo , P2 and 12 is a perfect sonic power. I remember REV2 being sought of and modules of 12 going for really cheap, so yeah, Dave was ahead of his time. I love a good hybrid, like Super 6, and planning on getting a 3rd wave. But P2/12 will always have special place in my heart. Unfortunately we never saw poly version of Pro 3 - I would really like to see where would digital oscillator lead to, how many, etc.
I LOVE my Prophet 12 desktop. I was never able to get a keyboard version; kinda glad I didn't for several reasons. But the 12 is just such a beast of a synth. Especially if you're at all into sound design. So much fun to fiddle around. So much fun to just pull it out, hook it up to something relevant (like a good keyboard), and bang away.
i have been on the verge of selling my p12 for about a year now. i get frustrated with it because in my experience the oscillators sound a bit flat and boring (i think because im used to the boom and instability of my analog synths). when you try to deepen the sound or give it some power and punch it gets kind of thumpy in the low end. this all could be user error or me not knowing what im doing. idk. but for the past few weeks i have been sitting down with it everyday and really focusing on the aspects of it that ive ignored and trying to approach sound design with it from a completely different mindset. this process has been really enjoyable and i might not sell it after all. it can really sound like an ensoniq esq-1 if you work those wavetables and fiddle with the character section. this video is super rad and it's a wild coincidence that it came out at the same time as my diving into the synth again
You may not realize this, JNJ Your music sends us to an out of body experience of wonderful, incredible, emotional experience that is somehow impossibly personal to each person who listens - like your are writing to the personal events of our lives. Your deeply thoughtful YT vids have the same quality, excellence and creativity. Somebody pinch me - we are all standing in the midst of greatness of masters of long ago.
I've been waiting for this since you mentioned the P12 a few weeks ago. The video exceeded already high expectations by a mile and to echo the other comments, what a tribute to Dave and his legacy
I wish they came out with a prophet 12 rev 2 with prophet 5 filters, MPE, and vintage knob. Sequential told me it won’t get any more features in firmware. It really would be great for MPE control by an external controller.
same, i was very disappointed with the presets when i bought it and i thought i made a huge mistake but the sounds ive created with it, most often are by far my favourite sounds ever
This is such a well put together video, really loved the interviews and stories told here! Definitely want to give the P12 another look, if I can find one!
Thanks! I was fortunate to be able to chat with Andrew and Tony about it. Really transformed the video into something much bigger than I had originally planned.
What has your experience been? I am interested in a synth to add to my arsenal for hip hop production. Currently I use an mpc4000 & native instruments maschine but would love to have some real analog bass & catchy leads with a synth.
I’m a prophet 12 owner… i have programmed alot of sounds for it… I would recommend it for many things, but not for bass and leads perse… I would always point to a moog, any moog for that as a starting point. But ofcourse there is an ocean of options. But, the prophet 12; although one of my favorite synths, is not that bass and lead synth.
@@JamesonNathanJones just finished the doc - fascinating! Great work man, and yea that was an interesting revelation! I totally see the shared DNA with the 3rd Wave and the P12.
Well this is going to be interesting! I had a P12, loved the hack and decimate effects, but most of the time all I could hear was the filter when changing patches… The 4 delay lines were fun too, tried some Karplus-Strong modelling, but it didn’t stay in tune in the high notes (you need some phase shift compensation in the delay lines for that). I wrote the iOS PatchMorpher app because of this synth: each patch has 440 parameters…
32:45... Hahahah! I still got my first synth. It's a Yamaha SY35, and it's still here in my studio leaning against the wall. I still have the printed receipt from 1993 when I bought it. This video really made me miss my Pro-2 and I'd love to try and find a Prophet 12.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
If you'd like to grab the soundtrack I made with the Prophet 12 for this video, have access to a growing community, and directly support my ability to make videos like this, it's available in my new Membership: bit.ly/JNJmembership
Thanks for watching!
Is there a fair comparison between the Prophet 12 to the UDO Super 6, which are both hybrids?
The music indeed was cool, where you were jamming with this synth in the beginning of the video. Might need to buy a membership plan to hear it all!
Watching this again. This is such a well made video and should be called The Prophet 12 Documentary. Thank you for this great edit on Dave's favorite synth. I always liked his Prophet VS and this reminds me loosely of that kind of synth.
Absolutely great content, thank you.
I miss Dave ❤️
We all do. :(
Absolutely
What a lovely video and a fitting tribute to Dave Smith and Sequential. I have a P12 and I absolutely love it. It is really easy to program and achieve fantastic results. I've been saying for years that it is a vastly underrated synth. I'd say the same thing for the Prophet X as well.
Great to see Andrew McGowan in the video. His contributions to Sequential's legacy need to be more widely recognized.
I miss his presence in the synth community. What a beautiful dude. And wickedly brilliant. I bought a Prophet X a few months before he passed. And whenever I sit down and hear those incredible stereo Prophet deluxe filters on whatever crazy tones i’m filtering, it gives me feels!
I love how Dave didn't give a hoot about trends and just focus on interesting sounds. Digital and analog go well together. Dave clearly knew it.
It was ahead of it's time and I suspect it'll become cult over time if it isn't already.
Haha Yeah I loved those old clips of Dave dismissing the digital vs analog debate entirely. 😂
That's cause Dave knew better than to get sucked in by what are now endless reddit debates - he was the designer. He KNEW.
Dave, Tom Oberheim, Dave Rossum, Chris Huggett, many others too, have often said that from an engineering point of view they are looking beyond the limitations of analogue sound generation and that digital sound generation was far more interesting to them. It could still surprise them and take them places they imagined, while still pushing them creatively.
Passed away too soon. Prophet X is another misunderstood gem.
@@gunark " digital sound generation was far more interesting to them. It could still surprise them"
that's key, it was more surprising- to them
to me, analog is not a fetish, because i have a few dco synths that don't sound much more alive than software, and hybrid does yield interesting results
but re: this ruclips.net/video/HIFXZm_CERY/видео.html
analog does one thing (and there's millions of videos flooding youtube debating wether synth x does it better than synth y) but does it well, and that's enough
yes if you work with evolving pads , and you stick with subtractive forgoing wavetables or z-plane filters, yes you are limiting your palet, but to each their own - as a composer, moving beyond classical into synth work, sound design can replace deliberate action and ideas in polyphony, akin to how I'm more interested in the same but with layered monophony > generative, happy accidents, interesting sequencing and such
from that viewpoint, a good analog polysynth is still like any string section, you can still write surprising movement, but doesn't have to surprise you as an instrument, it just has to have presence
that said, much like a hobby guitarist would be searching for the best tone, the best musicians don't even care that much
so even the nerding out about basic oscillator and filter character, is subject to the lines, riffs and hooks that the musician is choosing to do
Incredible hybrid synth. A programmer's dream. To get the best out of it you have to pay attention to your oscillator mix levels. With so many oscillators you have to make sure not to have the levels too hot. Also, just because you have 4 oscillators (and a sub) per voice doesn't mean you need to use them all the time, always. Some of the best sounds I've made are single or dual oscillator only.
This is really lovely and I would binge a whole bunch of synth history content from you! Can definitely appreciate the scope of work you put into this one
Thanks man!
I’ve never owned a single Dave Smith synth, and I probably won’t ever, but this was still fun to watch. I love hearing instrument designers talk about their creations.
great video! Also, thanks for introducing me to Tony's music which is fantastic.
Very well made documentary of a really interesting synthesiser. The quality of this video’s editing, content and storytelling is top-notch. The personal stories from both designers and users around an instrument are - what I think - make all instruments special. Snobbery and gate-keeping do more harm than you would expect. Thanks for your effort in this project, Jameson.
Thank you!
I found those last 2 chapters very moving, and that piece of music you performed to accompany them possessed an elegiacally beautiful sense of loss, and yearning.
Thank you!
@@JamesonNathanJones Agreed. That last couple of minutes was very moving. Great piece of work.
@@JamesonNathanJones What reverbs were you using on these patches?
@@bozziewald Just a tad of Statium from Specular Tempus on a send for some extra space.
I bought my Prophet 12 a couple months after it went on sell, I never turn it off except to clean it and it is always in my studio. This synthesizer encourages me everyday to explore synthesis. I love this exquisite instrument:)! Rest in peace, Mr. Dave Smith…
Dave was and is the King !!! ❤
Greatings from Frankfurt/Germany!
Omg, I did not know that Prophet 12 is a synth I would really love! Had an eye on the Summit for the last years, but the filth and grit you can get out of the digital effects before filtering is something I really love. Thanks for this wonderful video!
You need the summit too ;)
The P-12 is definitely the piece of hardware in my studio that I play the most.
My first synth was a Juno 106 (in the closet atm: not a murderer) that I bought about 20 years ago. I bought lots of gear in between but then in 2016 I picked up a Tempest, Pro 2, and OB-6 desktop. I had considered the P-12 at the time but convinced myself that the aforementioned combination was a better overall purchase. Between the vintage vibes of the OB-6 and the modern features of the pro 2, it seemed like the P-12 was not as compelling.
I really enjoyed those three instruments, finding them all to be challenging/rewarding in a way that made me comfortable with the significant investment I'd made. I tend to hold onto stuff, and so I try to be pretty careful about what I buy but I knew I had some instruments that I'd be happy to hold onto for a lifetime.
So, when the white P-12 was announced, I decided to purchase one right away. While the regular P-12 is no doubt the safer choice, in terms of appearance, I prefer the sense of contrast against the other Sequential machines on my A frame.
Out of anything else I own, it reminds me of my 106. While it sounds pretty different, they're both relatively immediate instruments that invite interaction. The layout allows me to make all sorts of different sounds that I'd never have the skill/patience to get from a VST. As beautiful as the OB-6 sounds, the P-12 offers a much more textured and dynamic palette of sounds.
It was super interesting to hear of the instrument's development, and also to hear people expressing their fondness for this machine - thanks for this great video
Beautiful video! Excellent storytelling and music, with real inside insights. Man, I absolutely love my Prophet 12 and will never give it up. I agree with you; Dave was way ahead of all the mere mortals when he made it and called it his favorite synth, despite analog fever peaking with the masses at that time. Pearls before swine. I'm an old school vintage analog guy with a bunch of old analog classics. But this thing is one of a kind from the genius himself, and it always sounds beautiful to me.
I preordered it a week after he announced it and never looked back. I still love it as much as the day it arrived. A truly magical synth
This video is so beautiful and gave me a deep certainty that the prophet 12 will become my first synth too. Thanks to all the amazing humans involved ❤️
34:15 This is a really nice patch!
Great film, thank you for making it. You've inspired me to go back and experiment more with my Peak, which has been neglected a bit.
In the early 1960's my family bought a new HiFi console. Tube amp had wonderful warmth. Also had selection for AM, FM, short wave and long wave. I used to love tweaking on the frequencies between 'stations' and listen to the static and squelch plus other thumping noises that I pretended were stampeding rhinos. I am reminded of this by the sounds around 18:45. It is also a significant comment that sometimes the factory presets do not represent the capabilities of an instrument. I have tried units that only had one or two patches I would find usable until I got into reprogramming settings. Recently I reviewed the factory settings on my Roland FA-08 and considered that I would have not wanted it if I was unable to produce and save edits. I appreciate this posted video since I am trying to become a better friend with my Prophet12. It is also important to use the instrument for its' strengths instead of trying to shoehorn it into being a Juno106 or DX7, etc., sort of like when years ago I was struggling with an ARP 2500 when I should have instead relied on an ARP Odyssey or MiniMoog.
Andrew, Tony and of course YOU in one video .... wow ... that was so special James, I really want to explore more about P12 now.
But synth aside, you all made an awesome gift to synth community and a thought to think about ... Thank you !
Thanks Andrea!
What an honest joy this was to watch.
It was a humbling video for me honestly because I've spent so much time obsessing over the analogue feel/sound and came to realize that i've been overlooking a lot of amazing instruments like the prophet 12 because of it.
I've had an affinity for sequential/dsi boards for quite some time and I don't know why it's taken me this long to see how beautiful and how much sense it makes to want for something like the 12 that can do both analogue and digital, especially when it's done as masterfully as the 12.
You make her sing in the segments you play throughout the video and it sounds like phenomenal synthesizer.
This popped up in my feed, couldn’t have found a better celebration of my favorite prophet. This thing changed my view of synths after I got used to the P6 and I went through a lot of the same emotions discussed here when I first got it. Now I can’t just can’t see myself without it. It is truly a gift. Thank you for doing this!!
Great work, nice vid, thanks! I think the Novation Summit comes most close as for synths in the market and personally I find the oscillators sound better. What you call here „tiney“ can be annoying in my ears at times. It’s definitely a character and for me the choice was to go for the Pro2 as I find the oscillators together with the deeper modulation possibilities more challenging. But that is because I do different things with polysynths… The P12 surely is an underrated synth though and deserves more attention.
Man, I LOVED this. Thank you so much for making this documentary! It is so incredibly thoughtful and insightful. I never realized how much my Summit borrows from the design of the Prophet 12. Standing on the shoulders of giants is how we learn to grow tall, as they say. Rest well Dave Smith, forever in our hearts 💕
Funny thing is the Summit and P12 module sit on the primary desk.
This is one of my favorite synthesizer video. Enjoy watching this many times. Very sentimental and moving. Miss Dave😢❤
What a nice love statement to this synth. I love my Prophet12.
I wanted it at the release but had to wait 2 years to have the budget. I tried it at the music shop and i found the presets cheap and flat. Then i started to make a preset and what I heard convinced me. I love the amount of possible automation and cross automation that this huge synth offers. A big and powerful sound laboratory.
Prophet 12 was my first synth. Bought it when it came out. Learned about synthesis and how sound design works with my P12. I love this synth. It is easy to make sound good. It is really easy to make sound dirty and broken. It's a bit more difficult to make it sound great... that's what Girth, Air, and Drive are for. The oscilators are super stable and clean, so the Charachter section helps a lot with subtle (and drastic) sound alterations. Good stuff! I'm excited for this video.
It’s a great synth for sure! Hope you enjoy the video :)
What a beautifully presented treatise on the P12 and its creators. Like Tony said, I too tried it out when it was released (in the Music Store in Köln) whilst I was on tour. I didn’t like the factory presets, I felt it had been programmed to make the most of what was different about it, I didn’t want it to sound like a P5, but I found that thing where you just want to keep playing was missing. My cousin Chad bought one a few years ago, and told me that once you get under the hood there were some unique and special sound possibilities, so I figured I needed more time with it, one day….. so thank you for this video, it explains a lot. Some beautiful sounds there, too.
A truly beautiful video! Didn't press play on this expecting all these emotions. Super good work!
Thanks Josh!
The premise, the guests, the music. Just a superb piece of work.
This has been my main synth for only this year, although I bought it in 2012. I've spent so much time with soft synths that I've totally neglected my hardware. I must concur that, aesthetically, it is among the most beautiful synths I've ever seen. The UI is exquisite and pretty intuitive. I'll be learning this synth's capabilities for years. I'm totally in love with this synth. No way I'll ever sell it, just like there's no way I'll ever sell my Moog Prodigy that I bought in 1981. The Prophet 12 is a keeper.
It sounds different and good to me in these samples. Great video story here. Thanks for the great video. I still say my Pro 3 is my best sounding synth of all time. Since the mid 80's. It's an instrument and I don't even miss the polyphony with it. It sound so transparent, punchy, and musical anything you program on it sounds good. It stand leaps and bounds ahead of my other synths which I also like. It's just like this one is the leader of the pack that says, follow me.
I've seen this video twice now ... and most probably this wasn't the last time I've seen it. Of all the fine videos on your channel it is maybe the most emotional one and of all the videos on RUclips one that explains the »Prophet 12« best. I am now REALLY tempted to buy one (in a not so far future). Thank you so much, Nathan, for this video!
Part of me wishes that I had the budget when it was on the market to get the P12. On the other hand, I didn’t pay attention and wasn’t aware that the P12 largely picked up where the PPG Wave 2 left off. I’ve always wanted something like that in my arsenal. I’ve owned analogue polyphonic synthesizers with microprocessors and patch memory, and, I have owned multiple digital synthesizers, but I’ve never owned anything in this specific subcategory.
When I bought my P12 new ten years ago, it was immediately the uncool kid on the second hand market. So being unable to trade for a trendier synth if I wanted to, I certainly found more value learning and practicing my first synthesizer!
Definitely paid off and any time I play other hardware, I feel totally spoiled by the P12’s great playability and programmability!
Had it been another era, I would’ve ended up in the same situation with the DX7 probably…
Thanks for the background and discussion on this wonderful instrument!
wanted to add, the Prophet 12 is my favorite electric piano.
Wow I had no idea what a cool synth this was excellent video thanks.
This was a great watch. Great job putting this together, Jameson!
I’ve been programmed to think Dave Smith should have held up a hand 🤚 and told us about his FIVE FAVORITE FEATURES. It’s a miracle that I clicked on this video without a flashy thumbnail image of that.
All jokes aside… such a cool story and a cool instrument. If it were possible for me to play it, I’d probably look into getting one. Happy enough to watch and listen to the pros do it.
Such a great video…
I got to try the Prophet 12 and meet Dave Smith a little before it came out in a San Francisco studio. I remember it being excellent and Dave (and of course his team) were incredibly excited to share it. I tried chatting with him about his old stuff but he was more interested in looking forward. I am glad that perspective came through in this video. It is a great tribute to a unique synth and it's innovative creators.
Dude, you have a talent. You should make documentaries and soundtracks to them. This was amazing. Lovely! Thank you so much!
Now the prices go up! Great Video. Thanks Andrew and Dave
Got one 3 years ago for 1400€.... one easy trick for better sounding patches is to set the levels of the oscillators between 60 to 80... not more. This helpes to get more headroom and the synth stays dynamic and punchy.... not nasty.
MIDI was a triumph of tech standardization that inspired the Internet as a platform and Web and so much besides. Dave Smith was viewed as a hero across the tech industry broadly.
Great video, good to hear some of the history behind it. I got one when it first came out. I remember the analogue resurgence was in full swing for synth nerds, but the P12 wasn't fully analogue and it got a great deal of well, pretty much outright hate for it. Within a year or 2 though, things changed and it began to be recognised for what it was capable of.
I agree about the UI, it's an absolute masterpiece, it's actually a very complex synth, but it's not difficult to use. That said, there are a lot of subtleties to it, and it can take some time to understand them. It's unusual in that it can sound very analogue, very digital, or anything in between, most synths can do only one of those, but you have to know how to work it, it is very much a synth programmer's synth. I've still got mine, and it's not going anywhere.
Amazing video! Thanks for putting this together. So cool that you got to hear from the original designers. Wonderful documentary.
Thank you Fernando!
I was going to buy a P12 a few years ago based on its features. Specifically digital osc with analog filters.
Went into a store and tried it out next to an OB6.
The OB6 is more limited in terms of the architecture, number of LFOs etc.
But the filter and oscs on the OB6 just sounded more three dimensional.
Not better or worse, just one sounded really good, the other sounded really good but there were shadows behind it and a little highlight on the edges.
I still want a P12 to cover those 80's electro industrial Skinny Puppy-esque timbres.
The OB6 is just too nice sometimes. I often find myself going down a synth nerd movie sound track hole with it, when I want to making more upbeat hard driving stuff.
Gonna get a P12 desktop someday. And Poly Evolver rack.
Andrew is a genius. You are an inspiration. Love how this turned out.
Thanks for your help on this one my friend!
Well thanks... I'm looking for one now...
Amazing synth and sublime music throughout. Gave my goosebumps goosebumps...
Thanks Chris!
Thanks
Thank you Kieron!
What an amazing tribute to the P12. Before I saw this video I had not looked into this synth before, as I taught it was "just" a rev2 with more voices. Clearly it’s much more. I also did not realize how similar its architecture is to my Novation Summit, which brw is by far the best synth I have ever owned. But I remember being hesitant of it to begin with, due the fact that it did not have analog oscillators. The unfortunate legacy of 90s VA synths I suppose. But now I stand the Novation Peak/Summit slogan: “Analog where it matters - digital where it counts”
Beautiful what u did at 5:00 I love that.
What a fantastically interesting video. Brilliant to hear the design side and digital/analog debates
I wasn't aware of how Dave felt about the P12. The amount of things a P12 can do is amazing. Taking so many things from the past Prophets including the VS, it truly is an evolution to the next level. There is still a place for a Prophet 5 or an OB-X8 just like there is for a piano. Nothing sounds like an OB or P5, and I'm glad they're back, but so long as synth makers don't abandon fully analog synths, things like the 12 are the direction of the future.
A couple years ago, an amazing soul donated a Prophet X to our library. Time to go play with it and build a deep connection. Thanks for the inspiration.
Got an X. Gateway to another sound dimension once you start sound designing.
I certainly wasn't expecting to be moved as much as I was watching this. We miss you Dave Smith, our prophet.
I pined for this synth since it was first released. I went and tried one out at Noisebug when the P12 was first released. I absolutely loved it. I loved the sound of the oscilators and filters. I wish I could have afforded one.
I keep coming back to this video, it's so well done and I love hearing the story of such an interesting synthesizer.
I am blown away how deep you went in this video. Very interested in seeing more content like this. A masterpiece in my book.
Great video! i have had mine for 9 years... I play it every day, even though have quite a few great classic synths. Every single day I need to play a bit because it is like an adventure, designing sounds, just enjoying those almost 3D pads, with textures... or even trying to make it sound classic analog (that it toooootally can). I will NEVER sell it. NEVER. My fav poly synth of all times. When the P6 was released I made a comparison... and dude, the P12 oscillators are great! I love them with aliasing or not... it is just another dimension. You can replicate the pads used by Alice Coltrane in some of her records, you can sound totally DX7, you can make modern stabs... You can make whole records with this.
of all the synths I own and program, the Prophet 12 is amazing, so many people missed the bus with this synth, I thankfully didn't and still love it now like I did when it was released. it's no wonder it was dave's favourite. the legend lives on.
Wow, what a fantastic video. I had completely forgotten that the Prophet 12 even existed until now, which I guess is the whole point. The different viewpoints for developers and users was fascinating, well done!
Lovely video, new sub! 10:27 This was my experience with the Pro 2 which is super similar to the P12. People online who don’t own a Pro 2 are fond of saying it sounds ‘harsh.’ It may sound harsh if you leave the filter open on a bright wavetable. But that’s dynamic range. You’re meant to use the filter. I went through on the Pro 2 and did the same thing; replaced and remade all the U presets. It’s an incredible sounding synth, and it isn’t harsh. It’s got both the Prophet and OB analog filters, it’s smooth and pretty if you want it to be. Unfortunately the majority of synth people are lazy and judge a synth by the first 25 presets they hear, rather than building something from scratch. TL;DR . Don’t listen to what other people say about an instrument. Try it yourself and then decide. And if you don’t know cus you haven’t, stop repeating someone elses’ opinion, maybe. And i’m never selling my Pro 2. (Or my Prophet X which is also mind-blowing if you drop your own wavs into it!)
32:55 as soon as you started that song up i was like "come on dude don't make me cry"
Also my favorite. I have the desktop version because of price and space. Wonderful machine
Your video seemed to drive the price up 150-200%. I have to wait a year and look for one. I had a module and didn't give it a chance, so now I will have to wait for another in the future. Great video and good to see these clips of Dave.
Great video! I have only used my Prophet VST but have been growing to love the sound and straightforward and limited character of the design. I never know anything about the 12 and it’s really cool to learn more. I’ll be keeping my eye on this one.
Thanks Michael! It’s been a lot of fun getting to know it.
Excellent content, this! Thanks for making. Looking forward to your future stuff.
This is undoubtedly one of the best synths ever made.
As a P12 owner and regular user for the last 8 years, Tony's perspective on the P12 is spot on how I feel about it.
thanks for doing this video J. ..that "oscillators before the filters" part with the chord stab made my eyes water. great job man.
Captivating video. Great job. It’s great to hear about the emotional tie people have to their instruments.
This was really great man! I’ve had a pro 2 for about six months now and I really love it!
I still have my first synth. It's a Virus TI. I highly recommend you checking it out at some point, and for all the reasons it is NOT known for (hoover/rave/supersaw). It's the only reason I never bought a Prophet 12 as, at the time at least, I thought they had too much over lap. I've always found the Prophet 12 incredibly inspiring though. Great job on the video (really more of a documentary).
Best 36 minutes i've spent in a long time. Thank you for a great story told.
Gosh, what a great video! I'm so glad I found this.
I just found your channel recently and I feel like our experiences are really similar. I got a classical undergrad and a jazz masters and then got into synths/production after that. I sometimes feel like I'm in this weird in-between place with production and composition where lot's of the methods that are popular in the electronic world don't suit me and my music very well -- but I just wanna bloop and bleep.
All this to say, I'm really enjoying your content and perspective. You're on of the the only synthtubers whose musicality and technique are mature and practiced. Thanks for the great work!
Also, thanks for showcasing the prophet 12 and poly evolver recently. For some reason I thought Dave Smith stuff only sounded old and nostalgic but you coax out of them are really fantastic!
Thanks Lucas! Really appreciate that
Really entertaining but also instructive video. The whole analog vs digital argument is beside the point of music. The question to ask is: how does it sound? And the next question is: what can I do with it? It can take many years, perhaps even a lifetime, to answer that second question--and, really, if it's a well-designed instrument, even the first one, too. My first pro keyboard was an RMI 300B ElectraPiano. Purchased new in January, 1972 when I was 19 years old. I still have it. Not a synth, per se, but I get the whole thing about how one has to be some sort of musical sociopath to sell your first synth. My first synth was a DX-7, purchased new in 1984. I went into the store with cash in hand to but a Prophet 600 (couldn't afford a 5) but saw and heard the DX and went back and got more money. (Forgive me, Dave, but I helped Yamaha put you out of business--glad it all worked out in the end.) Everywhere I was reading about how hard it was to program FM--but never having had an analog synth, I had nothing to "unlearn" and found the architecture of the DX logical and not that difficult to understand at all. (Yes, it would have been much less time-consuming to program if it had the interface that the DX-1 had, but it only cost about one-seventh as much, so, a worthwhile tradeoff.) My next synth was a Roland Juno 106 that I bought from the guitar player in the band I was in at the time. Thanks to Dave and Kakehashi-san, and their wonderful invention of MIDI, I was able to blend the sounds of my digital DX with those of my analog Juno and create sounds and textures that were deeper and richer and more satisfying that either instrument was capable of on its own. There is no war between analog and digital in my world. They blissfully coexist.
Thanks for 36:58 of my evening well spent. I'm going to go looking for a (cheap) used P12...
I had prophet 2 and 12. P10, Rev2, Ob6 and Pro 3 are on my racks now and many older Sequential and dsi synths went by. Evolvers, Mophos etc. That duo , P2 and 12 is a perfect sonic power. I remember REV2 being sought of and modules of 12 going for really cheap, so yeah, Dave was ahead of his time. I love a good hybrid, like Super 6, and planning on getting a 3rd wave. But P2/12 will always have special place in my heart. Unfortunately we never saw poly version of Pro 3 - I would really like to see where would digital oscillator lead to, how many, etc.
Great job with this video! Funny, informative, touching, good music. You did an excellent job with the editing.
I LOVE my Prophet 12 desktop. I was never able to get a keyboard version; kinda glad I didn't for several reasons. But the 12 is just such a beast of a synth. Especially if you're at all into sound design. So much fun to fiddle around. So much fun to just pull it out, hook it up to something relevant (like a good keyboard), and bang away.
Well what a treat this was. Thanks for such an in depth look into a beautiful instrument, and for such a loving tribute to Dave Smith.
Thanks so much for this video. I love seeing the passion that went into making these amazing instruments!
i have been on the verge of selling my p12 for about a year now. i get frustrated with it because in my experience the oscillators sound a bit flat and boring (i think because im used to the boom and instability of my analog synths). when you try to deepen the sound or give it some power and punch it gets kind of thumpy in the low end. this all could be user error or me not knowing what im doing. idk. but for the past few weeks i have been sitting down with it everyday and really focusing on the aspects of it that ive ignored and trying to approach sound design with it from a completely different mindset. this process has been really enjoyable and i might not sell it after all. it can really sound like an ensoniq esq-1 if you work those wavetables and fiddle with the character section. this video is super rad and it's a wild coincidence that it came out at the same time as my diving into the synth again
You may not realize this, JNJ Your music sends us to an out of body experience of wonderful, incredible, emotional experience that is somehow impossibly personal to each person who listens - like your are writing to the personal events of our lives. Your deeply thoughtful YT vids have the same quality, excellence and creativity. Somebody pinch me - we are all standing in the midst of greatness of masters of long ago.
Wow. I’m not sure I deserve all that, but I truly appreciate your kind words! 🖤
what a great video! when those pads started playing and the talk of ole boys passing... i teared up to be completely honest
I've been waiting for this since you mentioned the P12 a few weeks ago. The video exceeded already high expectations by a mile and to echo the other comments, what a tribute to Dave and his legacy
You’re a legend Billy Bob. Thanks for sharing all you do w us.
I wish they came out with a prophet 12 rev 2 with prophet 5 filters, MPE, and vintage knob.
Sequential told me it won’t get any more features in firmware. It really would be great for MPE control by an external controller.
same, i was very disappointed with the presets when i bought it and i thought i made a huge mistake but the sounds ive created with it, most often are by far my favourite sounds ever
Awesome man. Made me dig out my P12 and rack it up
man, what a video. This is really amazing work dude. thank you!
This is such a well put together video, really loved the interviews and stories told here! Definitely want to give the P12 another look, if I can find one!
Thanks! I was fortunate to be able to chat with Andrew and Tony about it. Really transformed the video into something much bigger than I had originally planned.
You can find them. For not epically painful prices. unlike the poly evolver. ......................................T.T
I also bought my Prophet 12 not knowing what it does, and as my first synth.
It's like having a Ferrari on my desk.
What has your experience been? I am interested in a synth to add to my arsenal for hip hop production. Currently I use an mpc4000 & native instruments maschine but would love to have some real analog bass & catchy leads with a synth.
I’m a prophet 12 owner… i have programmed alot of sounds for it… I would recommend it for many things, but not for bass and leads perse… I would always point to a moog, any moog for that as a starting point. But ofcourse there is an ocean of options. But, the prophet 12; although one of my favorite synths, is not that bass and lead synth.
@@oscarvanderburgh9915 thanks, I appreciate your honest opinion.
Just starting your video and I now already want one of these. LOL
Hahaha It was cool to learn that the DSP designer was the same as your 3rd Wave. Very different synths, but they share some dna for sure.
@@JamesonNathanJones just finished the doc - fascinating! Great work man, and yea that was an interesting revelation! I totally see the shared DNA with the 3rd Wave and the P12.
Me too
Great video. I especially loved the music right at the beginning - wonderful.
Well this is going to be interesting! I had a P12, loved the hack and decimate effects, but most of the time all I could hear was the filter when changing patches… The 4 delay lines were fun too, tried some Karplus-Strong modelling, but it didn’t stay in tune in the high notes (you need some phase shift compensation in the delay lines for that). I wrote the iOS PatchMorpher app because of this synth: each patch has 440 parameters…
Thank you for taking time and care to create a meaningful documentary.
32:45... Hahahah! I still got my first synth. It's a Yamaha SY35, and it's still here in my studio leaning against the wall. I still have the printed receipt from 1993 when I bought it. This video really made me miss my Pro-2 and I'd love to try and find a Prophet 12.
And now I’ve got one. Found one, not mint, but still in good condition. Played with it for an hour and it’s amazing.
Awesome sound design in this video! Beautiful