Prophet 5
| Prophet-5 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Manufacturer | Sequential Circuits |
| Dates | 1978–84 |
| Price |
US$4,495 (Rev 1, 2) US$3,995 (Rev 3) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | 5 voices |
| Timbrality | Monotimbral |
| Oscillator | 2 VCOs per voice |
| LFO | 1 |
| Synthesis type |
Analog subtractive Analog FM (Poly-Mod) |
| Filter | 4-pole resonant low-pass |
| Attenuator | ADSR envelope (2) |
| Aftertouch expression | No |
| Velocity expression | No |
| Storage memory | 40 patches (120 patches on later units) |
| Effects | None |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 61 keys |
| Left-hand control | Pitch and modulation wheels |
| External control | CV/Gate |
The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer that was designed and manufactured by Sequential Circuits between 1978 and 1984. With five voices of polyphony, the Prophet-5 is one of the first polyphonic analog synthesizers with patch memory. About 6,000 units were produced in three revisions by Dave Smith and John Bowen. This was later accompanied by the Prophet-10, a version with ten voices of polyphony through an additional circuit board and keyboard.
The Prophet-5 is known for its use by progressive rock bands and film composers. Due to its success, the Prophet-5 has been emulated in software synthesizers and analog hardware. Through his company Dave Smith Instruments, and later under the Sequential Circuits brand, Smith has developed updated versions of the Prophet-5.
The Prophet-5 was developed by Dave Smith and John Bowen for Sequential Circuits, with the goal of creating a true polyphonic analog synthesizer with the ability to store and recall patches. Initially, they developed the Prophet-10, a synthesizer with ten voices of polyphony; however, these were extremely unstable and overheated almost immediately. As a result, Smith and Bowen pared back the number of voices to five, which led to the Prophet-5.
There were three "revisions" of the Prophet-5 between 1978 and 1984. The first, Revision 1, is the least common, with 182 units having been produced. Revision 1 Prophet-5s were primarily hand-assembled by Smith and Bowen, and housed in a koa wood casing. Revision 2, which was mass-produced in quantities over 1,000, saw the addition of cassette patch storage (with a memory of up to 40 patches) and a walnut casing. By Revision 3.3, the memory storage had expanded to 120 patches. However, Revision 3 also introduced new circuitry that increased the stability but decreased the warmth of the Prophet-5. Revision 3 is the most common version. Inclusive of all revisions, approximately 6,000 units were produced.
Following the success of the Prophet-5, Smith and Bowen reintroduced the Prophet-10. This was achieved by simply stacking two Revision 3 Prophet-5 sound boards, which were played with two separate keyboards. Early Prophet-10s were still prone to overheating and unstable tuning, as well as memory issues. The Prophet-10 was not as successful as the Prophet-5.
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