DSI announces Prophet 12!

[zoomtheline]

Really like the learn type mod matrix trick.

[Dr. Phibes]

Hmm, not convinced by that 'Character' section and its artsy terminology. Several of the functions just reminded me of my ill-fated attempts to utilize the sync function on the ESQ-1.

[Kenneth]

Hmm, not convinced by that 'Character' section and its artsy terminology. Several of the functions just reminded me of my ill-fated attempts to utilize the sync function on the ESQ-1.

Yeah, kind of seems like more of a rudimentary EQ of sorts... Not sure why they went with the weird terminology.

[Stab Frenzy]

Really like the learn type mod matrix trick.

Yeah that's a killer step forward for programming IMO. I think we'll see it being copied in future by other companies, and that's a very good thing.

[ColorForm2113]

Really like the learn type mod matrix trick.

Yeah that's a killer step forward for programming IMO. I think we'll see it being copied in future by other companies, and that's a very good thing.

I'm really shocked its taken this long for something like that to really but put into use (as far as I know its not on any other synth) it seems like such a simple idea, but genius

[Arddhu]

I guess it hasn't come up that often as it only really works on synths with near knob-per-function interfaces. It's definitely one of the most exciting aspects of any of these current new synth methinks.

[musomark]

The guys at INHALT posted this video of some of the factory presets they are working on for the Prophet 12.



Sounds wonderful to my humble ears.

[ColorForm2113]

yeah im loving everything im hearing and seeing from the demos. i think i could be happy with this and my voyager and no other hardware (lets not kid ourselves...i could never have only two synths for the rest of my life)

[SquareWave]

A long audio demo on this site:

http://www.rozzer.net/2013/04/16/dave-s ... ni-review/

Some dark and evil sounds toward the end - I'm thinking that might be the strength of this board...

[Bitexion]

yeah im loving everything im hearing and seeing from the demos. i think i could be happy with this and my voyager and no other hardware (lets not kid ourselves...i could never have only two synths for the rest of my life)

Yeah, I thought I'd stop wanting synths when I got the monster Andromeda A6, but I still kept on acquiring 80s synths after that. It's like those heavy metal guitarists who can never get enough guitars, even though the collection spans several rooms. Lovingly spoofed in The Spinal Tap movie.

"This one is so special it can't be played. It even has the price label on still. In fact, don't even look at it"

Or why Jay Leno can't stop buying new cars even though he has every supercar imaginable already.

[calaverasgrande]

tell me about it. I can't justify my collection of gear at all. I'm not even in a band really.
But I have a shoe rack full of pedals, and more synths than I have stands.
This one sounds pretty interesting though.

[Bitexion]

Do I need a $2500 Yamaha Motif XF and a $2500 Andromeda A6 AND a $XXXX modular system? Probably not. But they're still here.
And I'm going to check out a Prophet 12 whenever one arrives at a store near me. Probably won't buy it though, I too have more synths than I have stands.

[mikewelch7]

Today, I stopped by DSI HQ in San Francisco to drop off a product for repair. Carson Day was kind enough to show me the P12 he's doing his QA work on. I had a chance to spend 20 minutes or so with this synth.

First observation is that the Prophet 12 is very well designed from a layout standpoint. I immediately dove in and began shaping sounds. As a longtime user of the Evolver, I found that DSI has taken the best of the design layout from that instrument, and brought it forward with evolutions from the P08 and Tempest. An example of this is the excellent oscillator section. Controls are available, Evolver-style, per voice to shape pitch, wave, frequency, etc. Other variations and permutations can be found around the display window, which shares the Tempest look-and-feel. The implementation of the wave forms involves a combination of standard waves combined with a handful of carefully selected waves with interesting timbres (not at all what I was expecting coming from the wave table format of the Waldorf XTK) that can then be further modulated through the display. Waves appear to be selectable left and right, which should make for some mind bending sound design!

I love the sound of this synth! I cycled through the 50 pre-sets which were complete on the QA unit and found a sound palette ranging from precise to wild. My first question for the DSI crew, once I came out of my synth trance was: 'how soon can I get one?' They reported that pre-order pipeline has been very robust and has exceeded demand. However, they manufacture in San Francisco (!), and as they are not attempting to coordinate with an offshore contract manufacturer, they're able to scale quickly.

On a side note, DSI is such a class company! I really love doing business with them. Every interaction I've had has been positive. They truly understand customer service and always stand behind their product. Their HQ is in a very cool location in North Beach, near Beat central (a few blocks from Ferglinghetti's book store, Kerouac's and Ginsburgs old haunts, etc). Gotta love any company putting out innovative products, focused on service, and manufacturing locally. It is a pleasure to invest in them!

[Bitexion]

The Prophet'08 is also a superbly designed instrument, so I wouldn't expect anything less from the P12. You can just dive straight in and find anything you need on the fly, almost. Then read the manual for the deeper stuff inside the menus, if you brought it home with you.

Dave Smith used to post on this forum quite often back in the days. Seems like a great guy. John Bowen was also active here for a while, one of the other SCI/DSI guys.

[bhrama]

having trouble with the youtube insert tab...

new video from LFO