Dave Smith Instruments today announced that they are now shipping the Rev2, the successor to their Prophet ’08 poly synth.
Like its predecessor, the Prophet Rev2 features two DCOs per voice, and Curtis filters at the heart of its sound engine. But the Rev2 offers a number of significant enhancements designed to make it more powerful.
“The Prophet Rev2 came out of our desire to enhance and improve everything we could about the original Prophet ’08 and, in many cases, double its power,” notes Dave Smith. “The fact that we were able to deliver such a boutique-quality instrument at a price that’s affordable to working musicians is a testament to how aggressively we took up the challenge.”
The most obvious difference between the Prophet Rev2 and its predecessor is polyphony. The Prophet Rev2 has 16 voices as its standard configuration — twice the polyphony of the Prophet ’08. (An 8-voice option is also available, as is a voice expansion card for 8-voice users wishing to upgrade to 16 voices at a later date.)
Since the synth features bi-timbral operation, two completely independent sounds can be stacked or split (layered together or assigned to two different zones on the keyboard).
Additional features include waveshape modulation, a sub oscillator per voice, digital effects, a modulation matrix twice as extensive as its predecessor, a polyphonic step sequencer that allows up to 64 steps and up to 6 notes per step, a gated sequencer that provides 4 different 16-step sequences for complex modulation, and an arpeggiator.
Other improvments include a five-octave, semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and channel aftertouch, an integrated power supply, USB support, and an OLED display.
Audio Demos:
https://soundcloud.com/davesmithinstruments/sets/prophet-rev2-sound-demos
Pricing and Availability
The 16-voice Prophet Rev2 is available now with a US MAP of $1999. US MAP for the 8-voice version is $1499. US MAP for an 8-voice expansion card is $599.
The Prophet ’08 sound never jived with me but I actually like the demos on this a lot more than I though I would. Bi-timberal and that clean OLED screen for $2k is very tempting. Maybe wait for the desktop.
Just wish the P6/OB6 had that nice screen. Too soon for a rev2?
the presence of a sub osc will make a big difference, I think.
Where did you hear the P’08 sounds that never jived with you? On YouTube? Do you/did you own one?
There are many great sounding synths that far more often than not sound like !@#$ when someone is doing a homemade “demo” online (e.g. the PolyEvolver; good luck finding a demo that does that synth justice). Perhaps you heard so-so to poor P’08 demos.
What is it about the P’08 sound that doesn’t jive with you?
I have a DSI Mopho, which is essentially one voice of the Prophet ’08. When I dial in the sub-oscillators on the Mopho, it just makes crushing basses that sit so well in my DAW mixes. I always thought that the lack of a sub-oscillator was a deal breaker for me as far as picking up a Prophet ’08. Now that the REV2 has come along with this new feature (and many others), I am interested again in the P’08 in its REV2 form. I’m thinking of selling the Mopho and putting that money toward a REV2.
I know that it’s subjective, but please do your best (and others out there as well) to describe why you don’t jive with the P’08 (or conversely, for those of you who like it, why you do jive with it).
Thanks. Have a great day.
He doesn’t jive w/ the Prophet 08 – I never did either. Does he have to write a white paper?
LOL. No. No white paper is needed. Just a sentence or two would be appreciated.
I didn’t feel the P08 sound either, but for some reason like the Rev2 much better. I think I want one.