DSI Prophet '08 analog synth
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- KVRAF
- 2017 posts since 21 Mar, 2002 from Hutchinson, Kansas
I'm interested in hearing the thing. It really can't be compared to buying a vintage unit, though, since it'll not likely come with the headaches of a vintage unit. A real Prophet-5 is now going to be 25-30 years old, and comes with all of the hassles associated with such an ancient unit. Ditto for the Pro-One. While you might find a P5 or a Pro-One for less than the price of the Prophet-8, you may have to sink a lot of money bringing it up to condition, and it'll never be "like new". On the other hand, some of that age may have done something nice to the sound of a vintage unit, so it might be worth it if you really have to have that vintage sound.
For $2k, the Prophet-8 looks like a good deal, and is positioned nicely in the market. The Evolver synths give every indication that Dave Smith still has what it takes to put out a quality instrument, and I don't doubt that the build quality is there.
I'd likely not buy one (I have an analogue or two, including a P-5), but it's nice to see it being made available.
For $2k, the Prophet-8 looks like a good deal, and is positioned nicely in the market. The Evolver synths give every indication that Dave Smith still has what it takes to put out a quality instrument, and I don't doubt that the build quality is there.
I'd likely not buy one (I have an analogue or two, including a P-5), but it's nice to see it being made available.
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- KVRer
- 12 posts since 7 Nov, 2007
I'd agree with a lot of that from wilsontherocker, execept the last point. Even in a few mins of tweaking you can feel it cover much more ground than synths like the matrix 6 or prophet 600 , which those people who've had it a lot longer seem to agree on , like this guy on the musicthing prophet 08 blog :
>What really has blown me away is that, to my ears, the 08 sounds like a rev3 P5/juno-60 hybrid. I can see covering a lot of ground with this baby.
>What really has blown me away is that, to my ears, the 08 sounds like a rev3 P5/juno-60 hybrid. I can see covering a lot of ground with this baby.
Last edited by cub005 on Wed Nov 07, 2007 5:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRist
- 492 posts since 17 Jun, 2006
RRP £1499 here in the UK, around $3000 equivalent.
The Prophet 08 is a great synth, no doubt, one which intentionally goes way beyond the creative scope of its illustrious predecessors. However I firmly beleive most users will buy it due to its analogue credentials, and on that score, it's clearly inferior to those illustrious predecessors - and at a premium.
The Prophet 08 is a great synth, no doubt, one which intentionally goes way beyond the creative scope of its illustrious predecessors. However I firmly beleive most users will buy it due to its analogue credentials, and on that score, it's clearly inferior to those illustrious predecessors - and at a premium.
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- KVRer
- 12 posts since 7 Nov, 2007
but.. 'inferior' here can be so subjective because there's no small bunch of people who might find its sound more useful for them in modern dance music than the vintage sound of the prophet 5, for instance . Most of all I think its great that new poly analog keyboard synths are being made again, and I think a lot of people will buy it and like it.
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- KVRian
- 660 posts since 12 Sep, 2007 from Sweden
Well the synth has to be targeted at those who want a unit similar to vintage synths - feature-wise, virtual analogues like the Virus TI provide much greater value, offering nearly unlimited polyphony, effects, routing etc. But those aren't truly real analog synths.
Since it borrows its name from a legendary vintage synth, people will expect it to sound like its predecessor.
I'm still a bit divided - real analog with less features at a premium (little phatty, prophet 08, andromeda a6) or a virtual analogue like the Radias, Virus etc. There's something special with "real" analogues, but I doubt people would hear the difference in a finished mix.
Since it borrows its name from a legendary vintage synth, people will expect it to sound like its predecessor.
I'm still a bit divided - real analog with less features at a premium (little phatty, prophet 08, andromeda a6) or a virtual analogue like the Radias, Virus etc. There's something special with "real" analogues, but I doubt people would hear the difference in a finished mix.
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- KVRer
- 12 posts since 7 Nov, 2007
for me, it's also about where the character of the sound takes you at the start of the process. I've had the fuller flavor of many different analog synths help stimulate me to develop ideas and run with them in a way my VA synths haven't. On the point about the prophet 08 /vintage, I think my point of view would be that I've found the poly evolver much easier to work into newer styles than my old Prophet 5, but I also think the '08 moves a little closer to the prophet sound, and I think that mid-point might be appealing for a lot of people.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 42 posts since 21 Sep, 2007
I just prepared a kind of mp3 demos featuring short instances from my own Prophet 08 programs, and they are available in our website www.voispectra.com to give you a general impression about it. For sure those programs reflects mostly my personal sonic flavour of P08, and there is really much more content that can be extracted from that
KP
KP
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- KVRian
- 1144 posts since 26 Sep, 2005 from Germany
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wilsontherocker wilsontherocker https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=71106
- KVRist
- 206 posts since 7 Jun, 2005 from Asheville, NC
Right on. I wasn't really suggesting the matrix 6 to be an equivalent of the P08. I haven't played either of them so I couldn't really make a real comparison. I was just suggesting they're somewhat similar when comparing spec, which I suppose is always a dangerous and assumptive thing to do.cub005 wrote:I'd agree with a lot of that from wilsontherocker, execept the last point. Even in a few mins of tweaking you can feel it cover much more ground than synths like the matrix 6 or prophet 600 , which those people who've had it a lot longer seem to agree on ...
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 42 posts since 21 Sep, 2007
hifiboom wrote:thank you prophet your demos show very vintage style sounds.
I think this synth sounds very good.
I guess the demos on the DSI site just show more modern sounds.
So its more up to the programming skills of the sound designer.
thank you for taking the time to do the demos.
You are welcome
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- KVRian
- 1144 posts since 26 Sep, 2005 from Germany
you have some great music stuff on your site, very mood and fine sounding.prophet08 wrote:hifiboom wrote:thank you prophet your demos show very vintage style sounds.
I think this synth sounds very good.
I guess the demos on the DSI site just show more modern sounds.
So its more up to the programming skills of the sound designer.
thank you for taking the time to do the demos.
You are welcome
congrats!
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 42 posts since 21 Sep, 2007
hifiboom wrote:
you have some great music stuff on your site, very mood and fine sounding.
shocking well produced.
congrats!
Thank you! We have also plan to release our debut album in case of an agreement with a label company
Cheers
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- KVRian
- 1144 posts since 26 Sep, 2005 from Germany
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- KVRist
- 272 posts since 1 Dec, 2002 from Germany
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 42 posts since 21 Sep, 2007
Hi guys,
I also added a demo track which features exclusively my Prophet '08 programs (for the drums Stylus RMX has been used). It is available in our website
Cheers
I also added a demo track which features exclusively my Prophet '08 programs (for the drums Stylus RMX has been used). It is available in our website
Cheers

