Sequential Prophet-5, Prophet-10 Return To Production

Sequential today announced that it was reintroducing its most iconic instrument: the Prophet-5.

“It’s not often that you get to revisit your past, retrieve some of its magic, and give it new life,” said company head Dave Smith. “The Prophet-5 was one of the most exciting instruments to appear in an equally exciting time for music and technology. It’s gratifying to rediscover that its sound and aesthetics are just as appealing now as they were then.”

Sequential says that the reissue is faithful to the original. The new Prophet-5 features five voices, with two multi-waveform analog oscillators, resonant analog low-pass filters and amplifiers, and a filter and amplifier envelope per voice. Modulation is provided by a multi-waveshape LFO and Poly Mod, a ground-breaking modulation scheme for its time that allowed the filter envelope and oscillator B to be routed to a variety of destinations including filter cutoff frequency, oscillator A frequency, and oscillator A pulse width.

The new Prophet-5 features original, genuine Curtis VCOs and filters, as used in the Prophet-5 Rev3, as well as the Dave Rossum-designed SSI 2140 filter, the modern counterpart of the original SSM 2040 Rossum designed in the Prophet-5 Rev1 and Rev2.

“We made the new Prophet-5 the best of all Prophets,” says Smith, “by embodying all three revisions of the original. We did this by adding a Rev switch to the front panel, so you can choose your preferred filter.”

“We also researched what made the original P-5 sound the way it did — organic and alive — and found that a lot of that desirable character was due to fluctuations and differences in the response times and frequencies of the individual oscillators, filters, and envelopes from voice to voice,” adds Smith. “So we also added a ‘Vintage’ knob that loosens all of them up like they were in the old days. You can dial in progressively more vintage character as you go from a very stable “4,” as in Prophet-5 Rev4, all the way to “1,” as in Prophet-5 Rev1, which was the most temperamental of all Prophet-5s. We’ve even included the original factory sound set for the full vintage experience.”

Other modern enhancements include velocity sensitivity and aftertouch to increase expressiveness, as well as MIDI and USB connectivity. Control voltage and gate ins/outs are also present for connecting modular synths and other gear.

The new Prophet-5 is housed in a premium steel and hand-oiled sustainable black walnut heartwood body, with a full, five-octave, semi-weighted Fatar keybed.

Sequential is also reintroducing the Prophet-10, a ten-voice version of the synthesizer with the same sound engine and design.

“I originally designed the first Prophet in both five-voice and ten-voice versions,” notes Smith. “But the five-voice model was the one that achieved mass production. We thought it would be fun and fitting to reintroduce the ten-voice as well, to make the circle complete.”

Sequential Circuits’ later product, the dual-manual, bi-timbral Prophet-10, was a different instrument in both concept and execution.

Audio Demos:

Pricing and Availability:

Both models will be available in October. The Prophet-5 has a US MAP of $3,499. The Prophet-10 has a US MAP of $4,299.

90 thoughts on “Sequential Prophet-5, Prophet-10 Return To Production”

  1. I guess they’re heading off behringer at the pass seeing as the pro-one clone could easily become a pro-5.
    I think this is a bit of a pointless re-issue except for long in the tooth hobbyists chasing specific tone, this is too expensive for such a limited architecture imo. Prophet 6 is miles ahead in so many ways.

    1. Behringer is irrelevant in the high-end synth space, and Behringer already announced a pro-800.

      Sequential can do this because they know it will sell well, based on the fact that all the full-size reissues of classic gear have done so well recently. Think about the Moog modular reissues, the Korg ARP 2600 reissue, etc.

      1. I guess the question will be, for how long they will be irrelevant in the high-end synth space.

        It wouldn’t suprise me at all if one of these synthesizer development teams at Behringer is secretly cooking something up that will blow the feature-set of their own DM12 completely out of the water.

        2. Agreed. A stealth team could announce a synth that blows away the competition. Behringer is one or two synths away from achieving top high-end position. Sound and functionality ultimately wins.

          1. “Behringer is one or two synths away from achieving top high-end position.”

            Does anybody seriously believe that Behringer is really interested in doing anything more than selling a lot of cheap copies of other people’s gear?

            Behringer went straight from trying a few original designs that didn’t do that well – the Deepmind 12 and the Neutron – to making copy after copy after copy of other company’s designs.

            Literally EVERY OTHER SYNTH that they’ve announced has been a cheap knockoff of someone else’s designs.

            Their most recent announcements have been ARP 2500 module knockoffs and plans to turn bring their BOSS pedal knockoffs to Eurorack.

            Behringer has firmly established itself, over decades, as the company with the reputation for making cheap, ‘good-enough’ knockoffs.

            “A stealth team could announce a synth that blows away the competition. ”

            It’s possible! But no intelligent person would bet on that.

            Behringer has not created any synth that demonstrates that they have the talent to create important original synth designs, and every synth that they’ve released has obvious compromises designed to keep costs down.

            1. Both the DM12 and Neutron have done well. Thomann ranks the former as its #6 best seller in its sales group, the the latter is #1 in its group, and moreover both are tremendous value for money by any reasonable metric.

        3. Friends tell me that there has been massive turnover on the Behringer synth teams. Until recently, Music Tribe had absolutely awful ratings on Glassdoor (now, mysteriously, there are a lot of very happy employees posting about their wonderful experiences with the company).

      2. I think you are wrong, Behringer bought Tears For Fears Prophet 5 SCI for studying it, so it is just a question of time as Marc mentioned till the Prophet-5 market will take a dive even this re-release.

        1. Re-issues have ZERO bearing on the values of the originals. Look at the Minimoog re-issue for example. Did the value of the older units go down? Nope. And now the re-issue is going for $5,500!

    2. WILL sell like hotcakes, just like the Model D re-issue. And this will be the same price as that, which in itself is MIRACULOUS.

    3. This is not for everyone for sure, but if your a pro and make a living with your music this is great reissue. Not only keeping the best from the original but adding so much more. I look forward to adding this to my studio.
      x-dfo there is no shame in using Behringer if that’s what you can afford, but when your music allows you to afford high-end quality gear like this, you’ll see how wrong your comment is.

      2. That makes little sense, unless it’s the only synth you own. I use a synth with a Fatar keybed as my main controller, everything else is a module or MIDI controlled.

  11. I guessed this was their next synth after that chip announcement 6 or so months back. I can’t say I’m excited, though. I would much rather have seen a PEK 2, or better yet, something completely new.

    It’ll probably be the first time I pass on a Sequential/DSI synth.

  12. I watched the YouTube clip in which Dave Smith talks about the new “Prophet Rev 4.”

    The “Vintage” knob on the new Rev 4 is brilliant. Love it. Kudos to Dave and his crew for adding this feature.

  13. I should be more excited than i am. the lust over a P5/10 finished some time last century. Perhaps I would like to try to recreate my young dream synthesiser posse but i don’t want to be an old fart living in the past. is there much mileage in me still wanting synthesisers to be the future?

  16. Like a lot of people, this doesn’t work for me financially, but for people that can afford it, it’s gotta feel good to have this synth that you know will work well every single time you switch it on, and can interface with all other modern gear. Obviously not groundbreaking, but I like Sequential’s approach of balancing classics (this, plus the OB-6 / prophet 6) and modern designs (prophet X / pro 2/3).

  17. Funny how all comments on YT are, “Wow”, “Amazing!” and whatnot, whereas on Synthtopia it’s all “meh” and skepticism and “what a waste of time”… Is everyone on Synthtopia owning a vintage P5 that they realize won’t be worth peanuts now or what? 😀

    1. Many people would rather spend $3-4k on a more modern, versatile synth than a vintage reissue. But whatever floats your boat.

  18. Dave is so cool. I’m happy they’ve done this. Vintage sound and interface, 5 octave keyboard. Much better than vintage price. I love it!

  20. I’m a little surprised at the meh comments above. I’ve owned 3 Prophet 5’s over the years, all of which I ended up selling in a non-working state after spending thousands trying to fix them. But when they were working it’s an absolute dream synth – the sound, the interface, the architecture, everything. It was probably the most lusted after synth (outside of maybe the Synthi) for the past 30 years or so and now you’ll be able to buy one for a fraction of the price of a vintage one with the bonus feature that it will be reliable. And you’re actually buying from The Man and not some cheap clone. Sure, it’s pricy but it’s not ridiculous. Not sure if I’ll get one since I already have more synths than I use but it’s quite tempting to think about selling 2 or 3 off and picking up one of these.

    1. Have you played a Prophet 6? If so, how do they compare? Other than the 5 octave keyboard vs a 4 octave keyboard, why / how would this new Prophet 5 be preferable over a Prophet 6

      1. I played prophet 6 and prophet 5 (vintage 3.3 version), I had Prophet 08 and now I have Prophet 600 (which is similar to Prophet 5, but with a bit more aggressive sound). And I listened to demos of the new Prophet 5.

        The vintage prophets (5, 600 etc.) sound amazing to me, and based on the demos the reissue is there in terms of the sound. So I plan to get one next year.

        I had Prophet 08 and while it was a good synth, with very flexible architecture, the sound was just ok (for me), so I sold it. From my brief experience with prophet 6, I would say it’s a great synth, with a lot of features and much better sound than the 08. But IMHO the sound is still more controlled and less “vintage” than Prophet 5. For me the sound is more important than the features, so I will go for 5 instead of 6.

        But if you want the extra features offered by 6, and you don’t have a strong preference for the sound of 5, go for the 6 (and it’s cheaper).

      2. If P5 rev 4 really integrates all revision features then it’ll have microtonal support, but the support will be limited to 12 note octave repeating scales. However, it’ll have a mode where each note can be retuned in real time, each with its own knob on the front panel. This sort of support is unique and has never been replicated in other commercial synths.

        The P6 though, and all modern DSI instruments, has full keyboard (128 note) high resolution MTS microtonal support and supports any tuning you want including complex ethnic tunings and supports multiple user presets.

        It’s conceivable that the microtonal support of the two will be desirable to one or another certain persons depending on which approach they prefer. It’s also possible the P5r4 is gonna support both approaches.

        I had a P5 a very long time ago and it was a great instrument. I sold it for the same price I bought it for, but got to use it for several years. I love the P6 but my favorites of their current offerings are the OB6 and the PX. Between the P6 and P5r4 I’d go with the P6, but there’s definitely a market for people longing for a reissue/update of the original P5 and I’m sure these, and the P10s, will sell well.

        Of my collection of vintage Sequentials the only one I kept was the VS and I still use it. It’s fantastic. It overheats though, but amazingly is still working without (many) problems, which is not the case for many other old instruments. Aftertouch failed after like the first year though, that’s the only issue.

  25. My reactions, in order:
    1. Holy mackerel
    2. Yay!
    3. Dave Smith is a legend, it is so great to still have him putting out incredible synths.

  26. Honnestly i’m very disappointed by DSI who overprice this ” mythic” synth. it seems that thay based the price on second hand market price and it’s really pathetic. they just open more the market to behringer. pfff

  28. Anyone who has recently bought an original must be kicking Themselves now, as they could have got a rev 4 prophet 10.

  30. Very disappointing. 1 less voice, no arpeggiator but costs a lot more. Dave refined the slop knob called it a Rev knob, put the 5 octave keybed on that should have been on the P6 and declared the Emperor’s new clothes in time for his own birthday. Sentimental guff Dave. You aren’t fooling anyone. Except the fanboys.

  31. Dave,
    you bastard! I love you man, but seriously….damn you!
    I just finally got the Rev2 (new one), and it blows me away, and i dont need to be
    lusting after more of your gear, as it’s given me mental issues.
    But please tell me, why do i need a Prophet 5 – Rev4, when i’ve now got a Prophet Rev2?

    p.s. Now, the ‘vintage’ knob. Surely that’s just another name for ‘osc slop’ right?

    p.p.s. HAPPY 70th B-Day mate!!!!

  32. > The Prophet-5 has a US MAP of $3,499.
    > The Prophet-10 has a US MAP of $4,299.

    gosh, i don´t know why people still buying these dinosaur synths. for the same amount of money you can get a fantom or a montage — two excellent workstation synths that sound way better imho.

    1. I guess this synth and alike are geared toward synth enthusiasts, whereas Fantom are Montage are for players and synth enthusiasts.

  33. I readed something about the price, it was like $3.500…means for europe most of the freakn time also 3.500 euro’s…that’s a lot of bucks for vintage! I like DSI. I’ve an REV2 but paying that amount of money where you sit in the range of powerful synth like a Waldorf Quantum or a Prophet X…that’s over the top.

    1. You are mistaken. US$ sales figures do not include VAT (sales tax). By the time it hits shelves in EU it’ll be more like €3,999

    2. No it’s not a lot. In 1978 the Prophet-5 was $4000US which in today’s dollars is about $16,000US so $3500 for the new one is pretty cheap.

      1. It is lots of moneym if you compare what else you get for 4000 $.

        I also guess the production is cheaper to do nowadays compared to 1978?

        1. whatever you can get for the same money will not be this so if you want this, dis is it.
          Production is much more expensive today for a product from the 70’s. it maybe true with new designs.

  34. i am already anticipating the YouTube videos comparing the original to the re-issue. since Moog re-issued the D it only added to the myth of the magic and warmth of the original, the re-issue seemed to drive up the price of the originals because they had even more imperfections and character. it’s amazing to see what original Moog Ds go for now, people wanting that aged de-tuned VCO sound.

    1. That’s because the original is half a century old. Literally the only reason, no mystery here. Give the new units half a century and they’ll sound like originals do today.

  36. I think many people confuse clones, reissues and revisions. This is not meant to be an identical recreation of an existing instrument, but a new revision of it. It has additional features, and it will of course not sound 100% identical, just as the first three revisions of the Prophet-5 where each a bit different.

    1. Most folks don’t even read the article before posting. You know that. Hell, I didn’t even read it and I have an opinion. Lol!

  37. I watched two Prophet 5 Rev. 4 sound demo clips that are currently on YouTube. I must not have a discriminating ear. I am looking forward to hearing the Prophet 5 Rev. 4 stacked up side by side against the Prophet 6 and REV2. From what I have heard from the Prophet 6 and REV2, to use poor grammar, I ain’t hearin’ differences between those synths and the new Prophet 5 Rev. 4.

  39. this new prophet 10 doesnt appear to be bitimbral. it seems like its just a 10 voice model… so not really a “prophet 10”. missed opportunity in my opinion

  41. Its a non-issue, because at that price, you can easily envision the major buyer base. Its for collectors, studios and/or bragging rights. The Prophet-5 was the first poly I got to play; its a powerhouse, no question. (The P-6 is the modern champ, IMO.) Still, if you “only” have a $3-4k total budget, you can build a very capable rig, including a good software P5 or VS. Its a beauty to behold, but I get my space cadet glow from softsynths now. I hurt my back from hauling beautiful hand-rubbed end-cheek synths around! 😀

  42. So long as they don’t make the mistake Korg did with the ARP 2600, and only do a very limited production run of a few thousand units. That’s utterly pointless, and generated a lot of frustration for the rest of us who couldn’t order their 2600 on release day 1.

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