Sequential Prophet 10 REV4 | Downward and deeper

MIDERA

MIDERA Prophet 10 posts

"Prophet 10 REV4 with Strymon DIG as pseudo chorus and delay pedal.

My first assessment was wrong. Just plain wrong. At first it seemed so basic - like nothing more than nice wood sounding like something my Virus TI could mimic. It took a few days - but now I am convinced that this synth is far more complex than any other synthesizer I've used. It has only 1 LFO, and this small section called Poly-Mod - how is it able to develop into so many other sounds? It can go from an ambient drone to something I thought I'd only hear on a DX7. Who went from the P5 to a DX7 and thought 'This is the path foward?' I mean, it happened. Nothing against the DX7, I quite love FM because it's really interesting... maybe people just couldn't afford the P5, that's probably a big part of it, but I bet some people ditched their P5 for a DX7.

Sequential helped me out regarding the loose pot from my previous video. It is now fixed. No issues with it. Just a glorious synth.

Now my question is - do I hang on to my other synthesizers? The JX3P, the Polaris, the Polysix? They have nothing on the P5/10. The Polaris wins in a pissing contest for which one has the most massive Bladerunner sound. The JX3P has that Roland Chorus, the polysix has... And anyway they all seem so redundant now. I don't even know what to do about my SY77 anymore. That one had 'the best keybed' and now - I know it doesn't. The Prophet 10 has a slightly better keybed. But... I will probably keep these synths. I have an incredible ability to sell things and regret it. I could easily get another Polysix and JX3P, but I don't think I could as easily get a Polaris. Plus, once the Juno 6 and 60 get to unobtainium value, these will rise because they're next in line... not a great reason to keep them, I admit. But it's still a reason.

Anyway, this track originally had a bunch of stuff before this, but I decided that I didn't want it to take 7 minutes for someone to get to this part because I know most people leave before 2 minutes are up. Of course, it's still 20+ min long."

Battle of the Sequential (and DSI) Prophets | From VCO (P10) to DCO (P08) to DSP (P12) ambient pads

video upload by MIDERA

"A friend of mine suggested 'why not compare your Prophets?' And I thought that was an interesting idea. So I sat down with my Prophet 10 and started recording. Only... I didn't actually record the audio. I recorded about 10 minutes of video and looked over and never hit record in my DAW. I should have kept it in the video, the biggest sigh as I put my hand over my face and said 'You've got to be kidding me.' It sounded so good too.

So, I went through the process again. I recorded the Prophet 10. Then I decided to record something similar with the Prophet 08. Then I decided to record something similar with the Prophet 12. All three synths I tried to record something similar, and go through similar sound processes. The end sounds weren't identical, but the process was as similar as I could make it. Everything is recorded mono out into the Strymon El Cap to be equivalent in this regard. The P08 and P12 obviously would have advantages in a stereo playing field.

What's my take on the comparison? The Prophet 10 is just a joy to use. Absolutely brilliant synth to play. At no point did I need to access menus or set, in a difficult way, modulation sources/destinations. They're already preconfigured and give you such a wide range of sounds. I surprisingly found the Prophet 12 to be the most difficult to work with, despite it's excellent UI. But you can't really use the UI to its full potential when you need to use both hands to change things (or what I mean is, if you want the great UI to work, you need both hands so that you can hold a source and twist a knob).

I won't argue that the Prophet 12 is better for some things than what the Prophet 10 or 08, because it's a hybrid synth and has a lot of other waveshapes and people don't always desire making 'analog sounds' whatever that means. From what I understand, some folks prefer to make sounds without even using the filter (or leaving it wide open), and with the P12, you can do that more easily.

Either way, the Prophet 10 to me was the winner here, it might not be the best sounding (although I do think it is), but it provided the most enjoyable experience."

Sequential Prophet 10 | An exploration of the Poly-mod section

MIDERA

MIDERA Prophet 10 posts

"Warning: This video uses FX like reverb that may upset purists. Additionally, the sounds you will hear are exploratory. Please bear that in mind when listening.

So - my first day with the Prophet 10 was frustrating. I just don’t think I understood it for what it was (I thought - wow this doesn’t sound 10x better than my other synths), but mostly because I was making a lot of the same sounds I normally make with it. Not that it does those sounds poorly, but that I just didn’t think that was worth the money per se.

But I suppose one does not buy a Prophet 5/10 purely for its sound, but also it’s looks, build quality, etc. Also - after I published my last video I sat down with it and had way more fun. I was probably mostly in a bad mood.

So today - this is my exploration of the Polymod section. I just sat and messed around with it. Maybe it’s not good. I dunno. Was fun though, going through it.

Towards the end I discovered a loose knob... you can see I end up testing all the knobs - I suppose it’s funny to leave in something like that, the moment of realization. Hopefully it’ll be a simple fix.

Finally, my studio session ended with me dropping a camera battery on my Moog Matriarch and causing a small divot in the overlay. So that was fun..."

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Update: See this post for a change of opinion. I actually posted the above because I thought it sounded pretty amazing.

Sequential Prophet 10 REV4 | The surface

MIDERA

MIDERA Prophet 10 posts

"Warning: This video contains FX and may not be suitable for synthesizer purists.

Finally got this home. I have a lot to say about it... I was really underwhelmed when I first started playing with it. I'm used to spending a few hundred dollars on gear that sounds great. this time, i paid far more. the build quality is amazing, but the sound isn't something THAT much better than what else i have. I’d say more but I’m way too tired...

Ok - I have had more time to think about it. Here are some of my thoughts from the next day: For me to be blown away by the sound of a synthesizer, I want to hear it 'push air'. Only a few synths have really done that for me, the OB-Xa and the Polaris. I do not hear that from the Prophet 10. That doesn't mean it doesn't do it, or that it's a bad synth if it doesn't, but that's usually the first thing that makes me go 'wow' and I didn't hear that here.

I didn't play ANY presets. I threw it into the front panel mode because I'm more interested in what I can do with a synth than what others have done with a synth. Maybe that was a mistake? I tried desperately to come up with cool sounds, but I feel personally like I failed (whereas, I felt like I immediately connected with the Moog Matriarch). The Matriarch, however, had a sequencer and arpeggiator which made interacting with the unit far more immediate for me - I made 9 videos within 9 days with that, and I could listen to those videos over and over. I liked what I did. I tried to not use FX... but I didn't like anything I came up with (on the Prophet).

The reality is, I think I hit my limitations here. I am not a great sound designer, I rely on FX. I am also not a good pianist. While I am very good at playing some Vince Guaraldi jazz music - I can't do much of anything else. This synth is among the pinnacle of synthesizers, and I am not capable of bringing out the most. This speaks to the reality - I need to improve my skills, both sound designing and music theory. I could have come up with these lame sounds on any synthesizer I have. In fact - when I first played this, I complained to my friends that it sounds no different than my Virus TI, which I think says a lot about the Virus, but also says a lot about me. My capabilities are the limiting factor.


Eventide blackhole VST and Strymon DIG used for FX."

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Update: See this post for a change of opinion. I actually posted the above because I thought it sounded pretty amazing.

The shores of broken tears | Chroma Polaris, Hologram Microcosm, and Emotional Cello

video upload by MIDERA

"I started off wondering whether I wanted to keep the Polaris. I use it so infrequently, and I have a Prophet 10, which must be better. Right? And then I thought maybe I should try it out with the Microcosm again and maybe try out looping on that thing. So I did that. And then it was done but I felt like it could use something else. So I then added to it with Emotional Cello VST... And yes, it felt blasphemous to use the Prophet 10 to control a VST, but it had a simple USB connection and 5 octaves so I used it. The Prophet 10 was not used for audio in this track at all. It wasn't needed.

Also - for the record, the Polaris has some girth under its belt. There is a sound there that is certainly lacking in the Prophet 10, which is polite beyond a doubt comparatively."

Sequential OB-6 | Inside (ambient demo)

video upload by MIDERA

MIDERA OB-6 posts

"I have honestly stared at this synth more than any other synth for the last three years, online that is. I watched videos upon videos and thought "it sounds good... but what is it that people *love* about it?" I wasn't going to spend $2000+ on a synth without testing it. No, I only do that with everything else (like the Prophet 10 and Prophet 12). Ok, so I do do that.

I managed to play one locally. Twice. The desktop version. I walked away from my first experience thinking "Wow, their Virus TI2 sounds amazing." I own the TI1, so obviously I didn't need that. But the point was, I didn't really think the OB-6 was that great.

Then, I managed to go back, this time with my own headphones. My opinion didn't change. However, this time they had an Oberheim OB-Xa, which sounded incredible, I could hardly believe my ears. I left, again, disappointed by the OB-6.

Fast-forward, I was going to do a trade, my JX-3P + cash for a friend's OB-6 keyboard. Well, they took the JX-3P but needed the OB-6 for a show, so I let them bring that later. In the process, they decided not to keep the JX-3P, but did let me borrow their OB-6, for a few hours, just to sit and play, which was awfully kind of them. What you hear is my time with it. Or rather, the first half of that time with it. I knew nothing about it, but I *DID* tune it prior to starting recording - and it managed to get out of tune by the end.

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Pulse | MIDERA - Downtempo IDM with Spectralis 2 and Sequential Prophet 10

video upload by MIDERA

"Just another track - used the Spectralis 2 and Sequential Prophet 10.

Tonight I can feel the development of a cold, a gift from my daughter who has been sick since the day before Easter.

I'm so tired... but I wanted to get this out there, just to be done with it.

Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2
Sequential Prophet 10
Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb"

Roland Jupiter 6 | Industrial ambient exploration

video upload by MIDERA

"I've spent so much effort trying to dislike the Jupiter 6 because I like the Prophet 10 more. I tried figuring out how to do things that I like on the Jupiter 6. I realized that using cross-mod WITH sync, I can better control Oscillator 1 pitch. With just cross-mod, it's almost a worthless utility.

The Jupiter 6 doesn't at all feel equivalent to the Prophet 10, but I guess it's got its own thing going. I think the results end up slightly different than what I would get on the Prophet 10.

Strymon Volante and Eventide Blackhole VST used."

Sound design comparisons - Roland Jupiter 6 vs Sequential Prophet 10 vs Roland JD-800

video upload by MIDERA

"For some reason I really wanted to do an experiment where I sit down with the Jupiter 6 and Prophet 10 and just explore how they sound as I go through the settings/parameters. At the end, I would ask myself - which one do I like best? And then I thought, why not add something completely different. So I did. I added the JD-800.

I wanted to keep the comparison consistent in one way: they would be routed (mono) through the Strymon El Cap and then given the same amount of reverb. So the only difference is what's going on in the synthesizer itself.

It feels like a bit of a failed experiment because 1) their levels were hard to control (it's not patch comparisons so I don't think "X sounds better than Y because it's louder), so hopefully that's ok, and 2) they all kind of sound good in completely different ways.

My actual EXPERIENCE was that I much preferred using the Prophet 10. I think I like the sounds from the Jupiter 6 or JD800 best, but the JD800 has advantages (plethora of different waveforms) and disadvantages (no sync or cross mod).

So what did I learn from this endeavor? Probably nothing, but I haven't actually sat to listen to my work, so I don't actually know yet."

Sequential REV2 | Revelations Patch Bank

video upload by MIDERA

"I had access to the Sequential REV2 for 1 month and decided to make a patch bank with it. In 2019 I had a REV2 desktop and made some patches that I really liked, so I decided to finish the bank of patches and sell them. Please visit here for details on how to purchase these patches: https://www.midera-artist.com/synthes...

I chose to not use any external effects for these patches. Everything you hear can be achieved using the REV2 by itself. These patches will install on Bank 1 of your REV2. I do not think it is backwards compatible with the Prophet 08 unfortunately.

I wrote my review of the REV2 here as well:
https://www.midera-artist.com/sequent..."

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DSI Prophet 12 | The Xophen Soundbank, a bank of 99 patches including pads, leads, brass, FM bells

video upload by MIDERA

"Included is a series of patches I have made since July 2021. I recorded everything here within one run, so you will hear whatever mistakes I make as I go through all of the patches to give you a feel for how they all sound. There is no reverb on these sounds (as much as I would have preferred how they sounded). Anything you hear will sound the same on my unit as it does on yours. Small amount of master limiting was used.

A few notes though - you are advised to turn your Master Volume up. This is because there is a strange behavior on the Prophet 12 where if you lower the Master Volume, you may hear very strange differences in panning of voices, hence, my Master Volume is at Maximum and my VCA values are much lower to compensate. This has worked well for me. I actually had sent my unit in for diagnostics for fear that something was wrong. Sequential informed me that this was normal behavior.

To read my review of the Prophet 12, go here: https://www.midera-artist.com/dave-sm...

To purchase my soundbank, go here: https://www.midera-artist.com/synthes...

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Dream Weeper | Sequential Prophet 10 and Rhodes Mark I Piano somber ambient

video by MIDERA

"The Prophet 10 really does start to shine when mixed with FX. Here, I use the Boss MD500 (only stereo tremolo active) going through (in stereo) to the Strymon DIG. I think this is a fantastic pairing. The Prophet just really sounds great when stereo FX are used. I had been missing my REV2 because I came up with some great pad sounds that I just didn't think I could replicate... but it wasn't the REV2 that was so great, it was the implementation of the FX (which, admittedly were internal mixed with reverb). Of course, the REV2 was good and because it used internal FX that was indeed part of the sound - so the REV2 is great. My issue with it was the filter just didn't sound that great to me and the oscillator bleed was really too much for me (listening back, I think I overestimated its annoyance). But I do kinda want that synth back. But I have the Matrix 1000 which I think is a bit better.

Now - what really needs to be said about the Rhodes piano? It's just awesome. The sound from the Rhodes goes through the Retro Flyer Preamp and then into the Strymon El Capistan and then to the Eventide Space.

Sadly - one of the angles of video was overblown - whoops. I noticed it while I was filming, but I just wasn't going to stop recording. So - enjoy an overblown video.

Cheers

#Prophet​ #Rhodes​ #Ambient​"

Sequential Prophet 10 ambient improvisation and exploration

video upload by MIDERA

"So, I sat down with the Jupiter 6. I wasn't having any fun. So I stepped over to the Prophet 10 and came up with the first sound you hear. So I decided maybe I'd just record it and see where it took me. That's about all that happened. Now I am tired and must go to bed.

I forgot to add when I uploaded this: I made this a 'Prophet 5' by reducing the voice count to 5 and I had 'round robin' originally set to how voices play and after one of my friends got one stating how they enjoyed the original way the prophet 5 works (not round robin, but playing the same note cycles the same voice), I decided to use that method and I agree, it IS better.

Strymon El Cap and Eventide Blackhole VST used for FX."

Saturday night session: Rhodes Mark 1 Stage piano and Sequential Prophet 10

video by MIDERA

"First - let me apologize, the video is pretty bad/bright. Maybe just don't watch the video. Tab over and do something else while you listen...

Anyway, I rearranged my studio (you probably wouldn't notice) and installed the Avion Studios Retro Flyer preamp into the Rhodes (with - I must admit, a lot of headaches, most likely due to my own incompetence). Needless to say - it's all hooked up and the tremolo you're hearing is coming straight from the Retro Flyer preamp.

I thought I might enjoy the Prophet 10 on top, but I'm not so sure about it. I've actually still had a lot of trouble fitting this into my studio. I think I just do way better with FX riddled synths. I'm not sure what it is. The Prophet hasn't made its way into any of my music really.

In the first piece (made up) - I use both of them. Maybe some sort of slow funk? I'm just not much of a pianist to really claim how to make this sort of music, but hey, it was kinda fun and that was the point.

The second track is something I made back in 2011, on a rainy day in April. I recall I wrote it when I was feeling very sad about my Dad having passed the year before. I really enjoy playing this, but I do really like the original, which you can listen to here: [embed below]

The third track is The Great Pumpkin Waltz by Vince Guaraldi.

The final track was just me messing around, I didn't have any idea what I was playing when I sat down, and that becomes obvious pretty immediately...

0:00​ Rhodes and P10
6:18​ Beneath the weight of grief
8:08​ The Great Pumpkin Waltz
9:38​ Improvisations"

Midera · Beneath the weight of grief

The caverns of hell | Prophet 08 soundscape

video upload by MIDERA

"I think the Prophet 08 is the one of the best DSI synths (my opinion is incoming). It's better than the REV2 for sure, which seems to share a hardness with the Prophet 12. A stiffness? I don't know. It has something I just don't like. The Prophet 08 and Poly Evolver seem to have been saved of this strange sensation. However, the Poly Evolver, specifically MY Poly Evolver, has been a bit problematic since I got it. First, the encoders were bad, so I needed to use deoxit on them. After 4 months, I needed to do it again. However, I decided to replace all of the encoders with 'clicky' detented encoders, the correct ones as described by Sequential via email, since they no longer had the potentiometer edition boards available. I spent about 10 hours replacing all of the encoders. What I learned was that the encoders actually take 2-4 clicks to make a change. This is frustrating because I don't think it is the correct encoders (DSI has not admitted this to me, stating that these are correct). Either they have different number of detents or something about the specifications are wrong - or it's right and they never fixed how the OS views the detents. Either way - it annoys me, making the interface frustrating.

As for the REV2 and Prophet 12, I just never got or never get tones like these. Audio Mod acts very differently in the P12 than the P08 and PE. I don't know why, but they are very different.

Anyway, I do wish I had the regular PE edition of the Poly Evolver... but I'm tempted to just sell it, because I'm too annoyed with myself and the amount of work I did to make it almost as frustrating as before and the Prophet 08 is a joy to use. I could sit in front of this thing for hours and play it. It just does a lot of things right. I wonder who on the team was working there when the P08 came out, and if they left afterwards. I thought the next thing out was the Prophet 12... I don't know.

Strymon Volante and Eventide Blackhole VST used in this track."

Rhodes Piano and Prophet 10 somber jazz

video by MIDERA

"I don't know what to call it? It's a bit too slow to be funk, I'm not really good enough at playing to even achieve that. So - it's somber jazz. I've been working on this piece for about a week, although I don't think I'll ever be satisfied, it's been fun to play.

Nothing much else to say about it really.

Rhodes Mark I Stage Piano 73
Sequential Prophet 10
Strymon DIG
Eventide Space
Avion Studios Retro Flyer Preamp"

Rhodes piano and Sequential Prophet 10 Ambient mood

video by MIDERA

"I had filmed using another angle, but apparently I didn't actually hit 'record'. With 2 minutes left I heard the shutter snap as the unit shut down and I realized there would be no 'overhead' shot. I wasn't going to re-make the video. So this is what you're stuck with. Shot #2.

I used the Sequential Prophet 10 which went through the Tomkat Super Day Dreamer pedal, into the Boss MD500 and had some Eventide Blackhole VST on it.

The Rhodes Mark I Stage Piano 1977 went through the Avion Studios Retro Flyer preamp and then through Eventide Blackhole VST."

Exploring the Roland Jupiter 6

Exploring the Roland Jupiter 6 | What did I get myself into? video upload by MIDERA

"I spent too much money on this. I told myself I shouldn't get it. I knew I didn't need it. I knew it wouldn't add anything to my setup. I knew it would be a project... And yet, I bought it. The Jupiter 6.

The Jupiter 6 belonged to someone I know and have bought other things from. When we started our discussion, only 2 issues were known. The Master 2 knob and the ENV2 keytracking weren't working. I figured I could fix this. Then VCO MOD ENV-1 tracking wasn't working. Then, the unit wouldn't power on at all. They managed to get the power working again (the switch itself wasn't working). So I decided to go ahead with the purchase.

I drove an hour to pick it up.

I got it home and, yes, those issues persisted, but I tested it out and decided right then that this was indeed a mistake. My Prophet 10 is a better synth with less issues. Anyway, a few days passed and I decided it was time to open it up. I replaced the power switch. I tore out the 2 faders that weren't working. I cleaned them and fixed them. I cleaned out a few others that seemed to have intermittent issues.

All seemed well... until I made this video. It was at the very end of this video when I realized that Oscillator 2 has one voice that isn't working correctly. The Pulse wave is silent. Digging deeper into this, I've found that IC36C pins 4 and 5 are not receiving any voltage. This is voice C (or 3). Unfortunately, so far this is beyond my skillset to fix, but it seems something (hopefully common between these two pins, both related to Pulse wave and PWM) is not working. It's not a bad chip, because I swapped chips and the issue persists on the same location, i.e., it didn't follow the chip. One possibility is that this location is not soldered properly, and those two aren't receiving any information. I'm not sure. I'd have to delve deeper, but again, I'm just out of my depths here.

So what are my thoughts now? I'm frustrated that I put so much money into something that really needed more work than I originally thought... But then again, I've also learned a lot, like how to repair faders, how to do some basic IC chip testing.

I am shocked by people saying it's 'cold'. I don't know what that is about at all. Doesn't sound cold at all to me. It sounds like a proper Roland synth. But wow it has a ton of range. I didn't properly capture it here, but a few sounds I have made sounded like hitting a stringed instrument... it's like you can feel the electricity, where I don't often feel that way with the Prophet 10. It's really a great sounding synth. To me, it retains everything I liked about my Juno 6 and added a lot more. The only thing I really miss about the Juno 6 is the better feeling faders and the smoother cutoff when modulated.

All I can say is - I can't wait to have this thing back to 100%.

Happy New Year!"

Experimentation | Ambient IDM (Prophet 10, Roland System 8, Machinedrum, Virus TI, Spectralis 2)

video by MIDERA

"A few things I'm working on here:

1) Still deciding whether to keep the SLR Magic 40 1.33X anamorphic lens. In my second part of the video, I left my lens wide open, I thought it looked ok, but it's obviously very soft. I think stopping down to f4 is ok (as the first portion of the video was filmed there. In my previous video - I used the 2.39:1 aspect ratio with no bars, but that actually makes it difficult to add things to Youtube because it's not an approved aspect ratio, funny enough. So I've gone back to desqueezing the video and leaving the bars.

2) Sequencing: I have been trying to find the best, quickest way to write music. I'm starting to realize that I had what I worked best with all along - the Spectralis. I've tried a bunch of different ones, but nothing ever seems to work in the way that I work very well. The downsides that I have noted are fading away as I begin to adventure into other MIDI capable patchbays (visible in the video).

What else is there to say... it's a journey that's left me confused - the lenses, the look of the film, the sequencers... Just trying to enjoy the process of jumping into things I don't know and just trying it out.

Gear:
Prophet 10 REV4 (pads)
Radikal Technologies Spectralis II (sequencing, FX)
Elektron Machinedrum (Drums)
Roland System 8 (Arp)
Strymon DIG (For P10)
Boss MD500 (For P10)
Eventide Blackhole"

Primordium | IDM - Virus TI, System8, Moog Matriarch, Prophet 10, Spectralis 2, Machinedrum, DIG

video by MIDERA

Gear used:
Access Virus TI (keys/pluck)
Roland System 8 (soft pads)
Moog Matriarch (Bass)
Sequential Prophet 10 (Drone/pads)
Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2 (Sequencing, Filterbank)
Elektron Machinedrum (Drums)
Strymon DIG
Boss MD500
Eventide Blackhole VST