Sequential today introduced OS version 2.0, a free firmware update for the Prophet-5 and Prophet-10 synthesizers.
The update adds Stack and Split capability, a new feature not covered in the main User’s Guide. With this OS, the Prophet-10 (or a Prophet-5 with a voice expansion card) becomes bi-timbral and allows you to play two different sounds/programs at once.
OS 2.0 also includes new voice management commands that you can access through an additional “3rd row” of Global commands.
“We’re excited to bring stack and split capability to 10-voice Prophets,” said Sequential founder Dave Smith. “It gives even more musical versatility to an already awesome-sounding instrument. Musicians are going to love the sound design possibilities of bi-timbral stacks. And players will be able to make good use of splits in live performance.”
Pricing and Availability
The OS update is available now as a free download. The Prophet-5 voice expansion card has a US MAP of $899 and is available directly from Sequential. It is compatible with both keyboard and desktop models of the Prophet-5.
This looks to be about the simplest implementation of this functionality possible given the UI. Dedicate a user bank for the B layer/split and you should be good to do what you need. This makes me seriously consider saving my pennies now.
Should be able to create sophisticated bass and lead with P5 now:)
This is good news, and great to see investment in firmware. However, if this is now really important functionality, as all the youtubers seem to say, then it surely ought to have clearly labelled or dedicated buttons, not feel like a 3rd party firmware hack. Once you have a couple of hidden features like this on each synth, I find I need a cheatsheet to remember it all, which is not much fun in the 21st century. Hopefully they will release new hardware with clearer labels or a couple of extra buttons.
This was my immediate thought when the first images of the Rev4 came out. “Where’s the screen?”
I get that sticking a 7″ capacitive touchscreen is a non-starter for this sort of instrument (and I wouldn’t be advocating for that anyway), but a simple 2×16 LED display with a pair of Inc/Dec buttons would hardly defile the classy P5 aesthetic. Yes, that would mean a bit of menu diving/scrolling. But that’s for the less commonly used parameters, not for 99% of sound design.
I have a P6 and while I love it, trying to remember how to access the less common “under the panel” parameters means cracking open the manual Every. Single. Time.
Some new bells and whistles were added to a vintage reissue. For those of us that own it its nice to have them adding new features. If you want a screen get a different synth.. God knows there’s plenty of them out there.
Yes, arguably a screen would change the aesthetic. This has also been argued about endlessly with the Super 6.
But there is at least one hidden menu there now, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a bit more on the front panel, e.g. the “preset” button could now be labelled “preset / menu”, and so on. People complain similarly about the Quantum kernel mode. I could put a sticker on or buy an overlay, but that’s Neutron territory.
I do know that for the synths I have with hidden features, it’s a love-hate relationship, especially if I come back at it after a little while. I want to play with the old friend, not dig out some cheat notes that aren’t even in the manual.