Hello Fritz,
Beware of false Prophets!
…no idea what I meant by thatJ
Every time I hear an Alan Howarth 80’s movie theme (Escape from New York…..) or the Pink Floyd helicopter sounds I remember all of my Prophets (5 v1,5 v5,and 10) fondly!
Cheers!
Never heard a prophet I didn't like :>)
fritz
Sent: Sunday, October 13, 2013 7:58 PM
Subject: RE: [newmellotrongroup] Off topic: Analog Fun
Sorry, but let me be the first to say that Banks never used a Sequential Pro-One, but an ARP Pro-Soloist. The rev.2.2 Prophet’s pretty fat in unison mode, too :-)
To be fair the Prophet 5 did even more things that a Pro One never could. But that classic lead sound that Tony Banks used with his Pro One was just plain perfect for those solos! Other than a couple of sounds the Pro One is pretty cheesy until (as Genesis did) you beef it up with effects. With the push of a button the Profit 5 became monophonic in unison mode but it was a much fatter sound than the Pro One… especially the rare Rev.1 which was by far the best sounding but least reliable of the series. I wish I had never sold mine. My Rev 3’s and Prophet 10 never did have the bite of the Rev. 1. I got my Rev. 1 for $500 from a friend at Sequential Circuits after Eddie Jobson turned it in for a newer model. The SSM chips which were designed by Emu sounded great but were prone to failure. After the Rev. 1 they moved to the Curtis chips and never sounded the same. Emu actually designed the scanning keyboard for Sequential as well. I knew people at both companies well so I got some good deals and factory training. They were both groundbreaking companies with sounds you hear on more records and soundtracks than you can imagine.
Analog polysynths are great but a pro 1 did things the Prophet 5 only dreamed of, Minis and Synthi A's are monophonic for a very good reason.
Whilst saving up for my next keyboard I have bought a Monotribe and a Volca keys. I still love the mellotron but I am doing much more with subtractive synthesis these days. I mainly use the almighty MicroKorg or the wonderful Synth1 plugin. But even to my ears analog synths sound more pleasing, but I can't afford a true analog polysynth. The Volca is polyphonic but works much better as a monophonic synth. These are 2 of my latest efforts for all of you who love endlessly repetitive electronic loop music.
I have more sense now than to buy a vintage synthesizer but I suppose I wouldn't be able to resist a MiniMoog if one turned up here.
ReRED Recording,Analog Sound Design
Audio Mastering, Recording & Restoration, Logistics