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Weapon of Choice: Prophet 5
The
Prophet 5 was an analog synthesizer manufactured
by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California between 1978 and
1984. The Prophet 5 was groundbreaking in that it was one of the
first analog synthesizers to implement patch memory,
a feature which scanned the settings of every parameter on the synthesizer
and stored it into internal memory. It is also one of the first
polyphonic synthesizers, with a maximum polyphony of 5 voices, meaning
that up to 5 notes can sound at the same time.
The Prophet 5 was also known for its modulation capabilities. The
"Poly-Mod" feature routed the output of the filter envelope
generator and the second oscillator in each voice (OSC B) through
two mixer knobs, which could then be connected to the pulse width
and pitch controls on the the first oscillator (OSC A), to the filter
cutoff frequency control, or all three at the same time. Since OSC
B was not limited to being an LFO, this allowed the Prophet 5 to
generate 2-operator FM synthesis and ring modulator-style effects,
as well as complex sweeping sounds.
Three revisions were produced, the first two using oscillators manufactured
by Solid State Music, and the last one (Revision 3) using chips
from Curtis Electronics.
SSM vs. Curtis
The Revision 1 and 2 Prophet 5's used SSM oscillator
and filter chips while the Revision 3 instruments
used the CEM chips. There is great and ongoing debate about whether
the earlier SSM oscillators produced a richer, more musical timbre.
The instability of the early SSM-based Prophets, however, renders
this debate moot for all but owners who are either technical enough
to tweak/maintain their own Rev.1 or 2 instruments, or wealthy enough
to pay a dwindling breed of analog synth technicians to do it for
them. The most common and stable of the 3 revisions was the Revision
3. For an example of the Curtis-based Prophet 5, see; i)
Peter Gabriel's soundtrack for The Last Temptation
of Christ, ii) Peter Gabriel's Shock the
Monkey album (where it is paired to mesmerizing effect
with an early Fairlight CMI), or iii) Pink Floyd The Wall
Concert in Berlin DVD where a Rev 1 P-5 can be seen in
several shots and where its unmistakably wonderful drone/pad sounds
can be heard quite clearly.
Users
The Prophet 5 is prized by amateurs and professional musicians alike
for its excellent bass sounds and sound effects, as well as its
uniquely warm sound that is characteristic of all synthesizers Sequential
Circuits manufactured during its short lifetime. The Prophet 5 has
been used by many famous artists including Kraftwerk,
Duran Duran, No Doubt, Vince
Clarke, the Talking Heads, Gary Numan on his solo albums
and his work with Tubeway Army, Thomas Dolby, New Order, Michael
McDonald of The Doobie Brothers on the album Minute by Minute specifically
for string pads on the song "What a Fool Believes", Annie
Lenox on Medusa, the Prodigy, INXS, the Cars, Phil
Collins, Richard Barbieri, David Bowie, Icehouse (e.g. the pads
on "Great Southern Land"), Hall & Oates, Philip Glass,
Jean-Michel Jarre, the Sneaker Pimps, Steely Dan,
Tony Banks extensively on various albums by Genesis,
Rick Wright, Kitaro, Level 42, Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys, filmmaker/composer
John Carpenter, and even Men Without Hats in almost all of their
albums. One of its best remembered appearances is probably in "Bette
Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. The Prophet 5 was also used by Yellow
Magic Orchestra and Cosmic Groove Transmission (Legendary underground
house artists).
Sequential Circuits also manufactured a double version of the Prophet
5 called the Prophet 10, which featured 10 voice polyphony and two
keyboards, stacked on top of each other.
-- courtesy of wikipedia
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