I think my first post in this thread was me saying something like, 'the Vintage knob on the software isn't as extreme as on my hardware' and I've wanted to test that out. The answer was "sort of, but not really" (I think I had the software set to 5 voices when I drew that conclusion - more on that below).
Methodology (in case a hardware owner wants to validate/dispute the results):
1. Created an INIT patch on both. On the hardware, hold RECORD and press PRESET. On the software, select an INIT patch from the browser.
2. Set the Voice mode to Round Robin on both. On the hardware, hold BANK SELECT then press GLOBALS, then Program Select button #2. On the software, go to the settings icon.
3. Set the software to 10 voices (the INIT patch is only 5). Or keep it at 5 if you don't have a 10-voice Prophet Rev 4.
4. Added "ReaTune" to a track in Reaper, played the same middle C repeatedly and noted the setting within roughly 0.5 cents. I wasn't getting more granular than that. Repeated that 10 times.
5. Dialed in knob positions by eye on the hardware and used the tool tips on the software. Wasn't trying to get it 100% exact. Close enough is good enough.
Things I observed during this test:
1. The differences are smaller than I thought.
2. The voices get progressively more out of tune. So if you want the tightest tuning, using 5 voices can help.
3. As you can see though, some voices on both the software and the hardware can get really out of tune with the vintage knob maxed out. We're talking 30 cents off for the highest voices.
Assumptions:
1. I'm assuming the most "in tune voice" was voice 1.
2. I've similarly assumed that the most out-of-tune voice was voice 10. Limiting it to 5 voices helps confirm that.
3. I'm otherwise kind of guessing/assuming on the voice numbers. I don't think there's a way to know for certain, but I think those assumptions hold true. Either way, this is close enough.
Results:
The numbers represent the average number of cents off each voice was from being a perfectly in tune middle C.
Important Edit: I modified this to use the Absolute deviation so -14 and +14 average out to 14, not to zero. Interestingly, doing so changed the results to show the software is actually a little more out of tune than the hardware.
Code: Select all
Rev 1
Hardware 14.75
Software 18
Rev 2
Hardware 8.2
Software 9.2
Rev 3
Hardware 2.05
Software 4.95
Rev 4
Hardware 0.6
Software 3.45
Code: Select all
Voice Tuning Abs Vntg Hardware/Software
1 1 1 Rev 1 Hardware
2 7 7 Rev 1 Hardware
3 -4.5 4.5 Rev 1 Hardware
4 12.5 12.5 Rev 1 Hardware
5 -11.5 11.5 Rev 1 Hardware
6 18.5 18.5 Rev 1 Hardware
7 -17 17 Rev 1 Hardware
8 24 24 Rev 1 Hardware
9 -23 23 Rev 1 Hardware
10 28.5 28.5 Rev 1 Hardware
1 1 1 Rev 2 Hardware
2 4 4 Rev 2 Hardware
3 -2 2 Rev 2 Hardware
4 7 7 Rev 2 Hardware
5 -6.5 6.5 Rev 2 Hardware
6 10.5 10.5 Rev 2 Hardware
7 -9.5 9.5 Rev 2 Hardware
8 13.5 13.5 Rev 2 Hardware
9 -12.5 12.5 Rev 2 Hardware
10 15.5 15.5 Rev 2 Hardware
1 1 1 Rev 3 Hardware
2 1.5 1.5 Rev 3 Hardware
3 0.5 0.5 Rev 3 Hardware
4 2 2 Rev 3 Hardware
5 -1.5 1.5 Rev 3 Hardware
6 3 3 Rev 3 Hardware
7 -2 2 Rev 3 Hardware
8 3.5 3.5 Rev 3 Hardware
9 -2.5 2.5 Rev 3 Hardware
10 3 3 Rev 3 Hardware
1 1 1 Rev 4 Hardware
2 1 1 Rev 4 Hardware
3 1 1 Rev 4 Hardware
4 0.5 0.5 Rev 4 Hardware
5 0 0 Rev 4 Hardware
6 1 1 Rev 4 Hardware
7 0 0 Rev 4 Hardware
8 0.5 0.5 Rev 4 Hardware
9 0.5 0.5 Rev 4 Hardware
10 -0.5 0.5 Rev 4 Hardware
1 3 3 Rev 1 Software
2 3 3 Rev 1 Software
3 -10 10 Rev 1 Software
4 16.5 16.5 Rev 1 Software
5 -14 14 Rev 1 Software
6 22 22 Rev 1 Software
7 -23 23 Rev 1 Software
8 27 27 Rev 1 Software
9 -28.5 28.5 Rev 1 Software
10 33 33 Rev 1 Software
1 3 3 Rev 2 Software
2 0 0 Rev 2 Software
3 -6.5 6.5 Rev 2 Software
4 9.5 9.5 Rev 2 Software
5 -7 7 Rev 2 Software
6 11 11 Rev 2 Software
7 -12.5 12.5 Rev 2 Software
8 13 13 Rev 2 Software
9 -14.5 14.5 Rev 2 Software
10 15 15 Rev 2 Software
1 3 3 Rev 3 Software
2 -2 2 Rev 3 Software
3 -4.5 4.5 Rev 3 Software
4 6 6 Rev 3 Software
5 -3.5 3.5 Rev 3 Software
6 5.5 5.5 Rev 3 Software
7 -6.5 6.5 Rev 3 Software
8 5.5 5.5 Rev 3 Software
9 -7 7 Rev 3 Software
10 6 6 Rev 3 Software
1 3 3 Rev 4 Software
2 -2.5 2.5 Rev 4 Software
3 4 4 Rev 4 Software
4 4.5 4.5 Rev 4 Software
5 -2 2 Rev 4 Software
6 -3.5 3.5 Rev 4 Software
7 -5 5 Rev 4 Software
8 3 3 Rev 4 Software
9 -4.5 4.5 Rev 4 Software
10 2.5 2.5 Rev 4 Software
That the calibration process has been modernized along with the electronics shouldn't be surprising and it doesn't make the automatic tuning process any less than on the older gear. The benefit is that it should be less necessary than on the older gear.
But funny enough on the Internet you can find just about anything, including the rev 2 user manual.
