Sound on Sound has published a sneak preview of the upcoming Sequential Prophet XL synthesizer – a 76-key version of the Prophet X:
Official details are still to be announced, but it sounds like it will feature both an extended keyboard and additional polyphony, compared to the Prophet X.
Wouldn’t Prophet X-L for naming been better? Then they could release an 88 key X-XL (the 49 key X-S could perhaps work, depending on how limited it would be, and what the price would be, though the 25 key X-XS they could probably skip).
Also when reading Prophet XL, my mind did not go to a larger Prophet X, and for a second I was intrigued.
They can call the 88-key one “Prophet XL Max.” What about a “Prophet XR” that’s a little cheaper build quality with the same internals? (Not to be confused with the Prophet XL Desktop/Rack)
Just call it iProphet and give it rose gold keys
this is becoming silly, reminding us of what roland, korg and Yamaha do. Just make a new synth, instead of “prophet xxlz omega|”
Sample import for this X-pensive synth… Sample import for Tempest abandoned.
Buy American is now bye American.
“Sample import for Tempest abandoned.”
That was never intended. Just asked for.
Fake news brought to you by ULI TROLL.
I welcome the move up from 61-notes, I’d have an 88-noter (or a rackmounted/desktop version) given a fair fight between 61, 76 and 88 choices (and rack). More important to me is the 32 voice into 16 filters design, which on the surface of it seems a curious development. Guess it takes 16 “stereo” voices and allows for 32 mono voices (which in layering two sounds makes some sense, except you now cannot layer, as you’d be out of voices.) Instinctively, surely you’d ideally want 32 filters as well? Be interested to know about its multi-timbrality, or are all 32 voices just on one MIDI channel?
I have no complaints with the naming or the synth itself. Always happy to see more great work from Dave and Sequential.
PROPHET XL …………… 76key ………
but it was better to increase the user memory at least 500gb / 1tb so who has already bought the 8DIO libraries can load them without problem? only V8P 8W Black Edition Epic Orchestra is about 85gb, not counting the others ………….
If they’d been smart about it they would have built is with hot swap SSD bays.
Pretty cool the 88 notes .. but I wish they’d just reissue their old VCO stuff.
Prophet 6 and OB-6 are both VCO.
If the key mechanism is the same as the Prophet-T8, with polyphonic aftertouch, I will buy this.
^this 100%
Somehow the old Sequential managed to make great polyphonic aftertouch keybeds in the 1980s – can’t someone figure it out in 2018?
Let me know when the 88 key Jesus edition comes out.
32 voices would seem spare in most synths, but in this one, its a major leap ahead, IMO. 64 might seem like a bit too much because so much of it is orchestra-thick. You can make it sound very simple if you like, but that 8Dio stuff is all about going big. 32 voices feels right for a hands-on player’s synth. I get the loose feeling that Jens Johansson could make this thing eat the first three rows of an audience.
More surface real estate but no new knobs and no extra filters. It smacks a touch of budget. That’s ok, not all companies can do everything. However, will it be worth the extra? How many “bodge a new model out of what we’ve got” synths do well?
The Prophet T-8 had a rather nifty keyboard with poly aftertouch.(1983). I expect nothing less.:)
This is directed to the agressive anti dsi troll posters who tried to dominate the top of the comments section.
If you are actually real people with real opinions ( that I happen to not agree with ) good on you,
However, if you are troll posting on behalf of another individual / company that has an interest in damaging dsi
I suggest that you stop because it is in the end only going to work against you and all of this negativity poisons the online music gear community for the rest of us.
And,
The Prophet xl looks pretty cool – I wonder if this is going to be in the same price range as the moog one 8 voice or the quantum?
Thought we were discussing a future 76 note synth? Surely a 32voice option is just a software improvement using the same engine as the 61 note X? (That the option is being offered to existing owners of X’s would tend to that conclusion, so no additional physical buttons would be needed, since the architecture internally is unchanged.) The point I was making, is that once a company offers a 76 note weighted version (or indeed any version) they are appealing on the basis of the keybed, and not the synth engine – because in one sense, if you are juggling 61 or 76, you have already accepted the engine as something you want! (Although, I am uncertain how 32voices would work with “16 stereo filters”, and I think I would want to know how that would work practically, especially given the pricepoint – that’s just due diligence, surely?!) Given you want the X engine in your rig, then my personal choice would actually be an 88 and not a 76, if offered. For me, 76 is neither one or the other – it’s too small to be a piano action, and too heavy to be a right hand solo synth. Aftertouch (poly) is rare anyway – think I have only seen it on 61 note synths, like the Ensoniq TS10 for example – but on a heavy keybed? Unlikely. Unless DSI comment on that we are all just guessing at this point though. That all being said, there must be a 76 note audience else they’d not bother with it, so perhaps the 76 note keybed is still a lighter synth keybed? That would make sense, to me at least – and perhaps it’s come about by customer request or feedback?
Roland A-80 has polyphonic aftertouch and 88 keys
Looks cool! Nice update!
Because its only bi-timbral, the added keys aren’t going to equal multi-zone controller capabilities, so its clearly not going for a control-center personality like the Pro2. A lot of keyboard *players* really moan for 76-key models. It makes added sense here when the sample bank has a lot of piano and orchestral sounds on the list. I officially want to be bonded with it bionically.
I like this move, I’ve been hauling my Yamaha Motif Xs-8 around to gig after gig for the last 10 years and it has been great, I love the weight for expressive piano and electric piano playing although I do like synth action like the keybed on my Prophet-6. Point being is that having a slightly smaller weighted keybed for portability, bread and butter sounds , mixed with the ability to tweak/stretch/you name it would be very fun in the studio and especially live. If I’m at a solo cafe gig I could go from jazz piano to eerie sounding piano then blend into orchestra and then do wavetable stuff into percussive hits into a jazz standup bass with a psychedelic sax solo on top, then off to my next gig where I play it as my lead keyboard in my psychedelic electric funk rock jam bands. Sounds like a lot of fun can be had with this board alone! Can’t wait to get my hands on one.