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Details from
isatellite:
"This is the famous Sequential Prophet-5, a rare Rev. 2 version, in near mint collector's quality condition. It is considered by many to be one of the best analog polysynths ever made. This one has been babied, and maintained throughout it's life. It comes with 5 new old stock spare SSM chips (VCOx2, VCF, VCA, ENV) worth over $500 so you can be sure this synth will be running for many years to come.
History: When I bought it I had a Kenton Electronics MIDI kit installed in it. It has been used on pretty much every song I've ever done and was featured as the main lead in the song Automat. I used it live once at the Autobahn show in Ohio back in 2003 and it was a solid performer live. It has been one of my favorite synths and I really hate to see it go. This synth has guts, and nothing sounds like it. I've owned 5 Prophet-5's throughout the years and this one sounds the best. I've owned many Rev. 3's and they have generally been more unreliable than this synth. You'd be hard pressed to find one in better condition at any price.
Version: This is the later version Rev. 2, just before they switched over the CEM chips. It uses the much better sounding SSM chips throughout, and has the rare cassette upgrade. This is how a Prophet-5 was supposed to sound, before it got a complete circuit redesign by Sequential Circuits. Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads said he preferred this version to the other Prophets. OMD swore by their Rev. 2 and were upset when Sequential changed the internals. Some have called this the Rev. 2.2 model, but that numbering has been debated.
Condition: See untouched photos for details. These were taken this morning, straight out of my camera. Based on 15 years of owning literally dozens of vintage synths, I would rate it a 9.9/10. It is in near mint electronic and cosmetic condition. I know the word mint is overused on eBay, but take a look at the photos and judge for yourself. As you can see, the cosmetic condition of this synth is pristine. There is no wear whatsoever on the graphics, knobs, silver switches, or lettering. The logo plates are all original and reflect like a mirror. The large Prophet-5 logo on the back is simply stunning and in pristine shape. Looks much better than the heatsync on the Rev. 3 models. There is no sun damage and all of the parts retain their original coloring. The wood is a gorgeous walnut with only a few small marks here and there on the wood edges that are barely noticeable in the photos. There is one indentation in the wood on the righthand side that is very minor and not noticeable in the photos. Rev. 2 Prophets almost invariably have a crack in the wood at the upper right due to a design defect in the modulation section. This synth has been taken care of and has no cracks in the wood. A couple of the knobs have marks on them, but they are all original, not Wine Country reproductions. Small mark on the top of the modulation wheel...barely noticeable. Small indentation on the right of the Prophet-5 logo on the face of the synth. The underside has some marks and paint scrapes in places. There are still two pieces of velcro stuck to the bottom where I had a controller attached for turning on a bubble machine during the performance of Bubbleboy in 2003. One screw is missing from the bottom of the synth. The red LED screen is bright and clear, and the plastic lens has only extremely light scratches from dusting it...but they would not show up in the photos. A little plastic polish and the lens will shine as new. The keys are highly reflective with only the occasional mark here and there. The internal components are all present and accounted for, and the internals are clean and free of rust and debris. This is the mintest example of a Rev. 2 Prophet-5 that I have ever owned or seen ever in over15 years of collecting synths. If you're picky about the condition of your gear, and you want the very best Prophet-5 ever made in pristine condition, this is the synth for you. I realize I'm asking a lot for this synth and it may not be the synth for your price range. If so, please don't send me threatening e-mails. If you can find another in this shape at any price, then buy it. It would be worth it. I'm the type of person that will pay additional $ for something that is the best of its kind, with no rust, and no issues. And this is the best example I have seen of a Rev. 2 Prophet-5 anywhere, at any price.
Functionality: This synth has been babied and maintained in top functioning condition its entire life. I literally just brought it back this weekend from having my tech go over it in detail and make sure everything was functioning 100%. It tunes up after about 20 minutes of warm up, and then never drifts after that. A few years back Tony Clark of Great Lakes Modular modified the power supply so that it was more stable than typical Rev. 2 Prophets. All of the knobs and buttons function perfectly, with no scratchy pots. I have never had to clean the sliders or pots, and they all work as new. All keys trigger perfectly with no double-triggering. I spent a great deal of money buying and installing completely new bushings about a year ago. The keys play like butter. All inputs and outputs, MIDI, velocity (from MIDI), aftertouch (from MIDI), modulation, pitchbend, keys, buttons, and pitchbender - everything works perfectly. There is nothing functionally wrong with this synth. The Kenton MIDI kit provides MIDI in, out, and thru and is considered to be the best MIDI kit available for the this synth. For more info on everything that the Kenton MIDI kit can do, please check out the Kenton site at kenton.co.uk. In case you are worried about the reliability of this synth, I have only had one SSM chip replaced during the 11 years I've owned it."
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