Help a dude decide which Prophet to keep

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

Prophet 6

Pros:

  • True analog experience and sound.
  • Desk appeal (I love seeing the thing.)
  • Feels more like an instrument.

Cons:

  • Still a simple bog standard subtractive synth at the end of the day.

Prophet X

Pros:

  • Extreme Versatility.
  • Gives me piano / rhodes sounds without computer for keyboard practice. (Something I’ve committed myself to working on more.)
  • Still sounds juicy AF for straight synth duties.
  • Feels like uncharted territory in terms of sonic exploration. This excites me. Especially after being discontinued. It feels like a cool piece to own.

Cons:

  • I still find plugins much easier for client work.
  • Not as quick to manipulate on the fly way like P6.

Context:

I make many types of music and I do a good amount of client work for soundtracks. I’m deeply engrained in the DAW (bitwig) and as much as I’ve tried, I haven’t been able to rely as heavily on hardware for my sounds when software is just so much more versatile and adaptable in a real, evolving client project.

Regardless, I do much better work with less so I’m going to downsize my hardware this year to just a few key pieces that still provide me with a workflow and sounds that inspire.

So I’m left deciding on my main keyboard. Do I want:

1: Mega versatility and explorative options, full of happy accidents and a never ending pool of surprises / inspiration. A very unique, swiss-army chameleon in the truest sense.

2: Old familiar bog standard synth I know like the back of my hand and can massage in some small way into nearly every mix. A distinctly characterful piece of my musical voice.

Other stuff I will be keeping: (factor this in for use-case overlap in prophet decision)

  • OP-1 Field is my primary travel device and also amazing for random sounds/inspiration inside the studio as well. It’s kind of a catch all, utility item for me. It will make its way onto pads, basses, leads, drums, full song sketches, etc.

  • Revolving Elektron Slot, currently I have a Rytm mk2. I only handle one Elektron at a time, but I sometimes switch this up. Currently thinking of downsizing this slot back to a Syntakt for various reasons.

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Prophet X from Sequential
#2

I wouldn’t mind some conversation on this bit if you agree / disagree with this sentiment in general or have experienced it.

I sat with that sentence for a minute thinking its kind of stupid to attribute such weight to a piece of hardware but I still stand by it.

There are things about the P6 I know so well, like simply its LFO speed range, that I innately use on the fly to express myself rather often. Little nuances like this that feel like a part of me. I’ve had this longer than PX for what its worth.

To give that up feels kind of wrong, even though my logical brain tells me I might slowly uncover these with the PX if it were all I had.

That’s part of the reason behind choosing just one… I don’t want to divide my experience and exploration across too many boards and miss out on this kind of familiarity and flow that I prize.

#3

If this is how you feel, do you want keep things this way, or do you want to move to a different direction?

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#4

I’ve never tried one, but the PX always seemed like a “neither fish nor fowl” type of thing where it’s trying to give you the best of a rompler and a big old school poly. I feel like you have one instrument with a narrower brief that clearly inspires you, and something which is theoretically a do-it-all but is somehow not quite there. Plus VSTs are pretty good and varied these days and maybe the client will want Aztec death whistles or whatever other thing isn’t in there already.

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#5

Good question. I am happy with my output in general, while always trying to grow.

I’ve accepted the growth needs to come from more compositional / theory / keyboard experience rather than anything sonically.

#6

Beware of false Prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Sorry, I know that doesn’t help at all, but I couldn’t resist.

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#7

It sounds like right now, the flow is most natural and easy to access with the P6. If you really want to have only one board, are you prepared to lose that effortless flow and be stuck for a while with a more effortful one until you can learn the PX like the back of your hand too?

I imagine the answer to that question will come down to what you really intend to use the hardware synth for.

If it’s the client work, then I imagine the safest choice is to keep the synth that already gives you effortless flow right now, as it will mean you have more latitude to use and integrate the hardware even if you’re under a deadline and pressed for time.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for the hardware synth to be a creative playground and an escape from the DAW you’re tethered to by the client stuff, then the PX seems like it is the more inspiring and playful choice for you right now. I can imagine you deriving a lot of joy from the idle hours between client jobs.

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#8

Heh, that is part of my love for it. I started on a Roland FA06 through an ableton looping setup and it was the most productive I’ve ever been. Lay down a sound, move forward, lay new sound.

I sold that to buy a Rev2 and learn more about synthesis techniques. The PX is quite literally the culmination of my synth/sound design journey in one box. It’s quite incredible to tweak and I still get to that “patch flow” with it, just in a different way.

But you bring up a good point. When variety is its ace in the hole, you have to question why not just using software.

I should clarify that even though I do client work, its still largely for fun / secondary income so I always end up with enough free reign to not have to explicitly choose a “death whistle” from a sound pack. I’m free to make my own interpretation of that request.

The PX is huge but crucially, not infinite. It appealed to me to avoid option paralysis in that way initially, thinking I could always make use of its archive instead of having to work through kontakt libraries (which I hate.)

Sonically / mood wise, this holds true, its just the workflow of committing to audio that keeps me from using the PX samples for every sound in a track. Maybe its something I could still learn to work with though.

As I practice and become a better keyboardist, I’d likely be able to record even more free audio takes and work moving forward with them. This is kind of the promise of the “Keep PX path”

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#9

I think the only Con you state for the P6 could easily be deemed a Pro, in which case there’d be no cons= keep it.

I’ve been in a similar position, I’ve recently got a Prophet X and had similar thoughts about my Prophet 6… but mine has been because I have an Arturia Polybrute too, so it’s a P6 vs Polybrute dilemma for me. Right now, the PX and P6/Polybrute combo would cover all I really need.

Can you not commit to keeping both until there’s an obvious reason to sell either one?
They’re both fantastic instruments to have.

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#10

I’m giving it the rest of the year before I make any rash choices. Downsizing the P6 to a desktop model is not totally off the table in the long run either.

A big “issue” here is that the two are still so damn similar. It’s kind of hard to swap between the two when they are so close but so different. (You’ve seen me even swap knobs on my PX to try to instill a bigger difference mentally, ha)

Additionally I’ve toyed with the idea of allowing myself a single big poly synth, and a patchless mono synth.

All of the things I think the P6 excels at, I could get tenfold from a “proper” mono (that extra 5% of analog juice over software when it comes to things like fm, etc… I’d say monos have another 5% over the P6 even in this area. )

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#11

Just want to say I really appreciate that you left me with more to think about. We’re just talkin bout fancy bleep bloop machines, but you definitely understood the crux of my crossroads.

Thanks yo.

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#12

Maybe sell both and get a P10?

Id keep the P6 personally.
The next Elektron you get might bring it to other places, adding LFOs and such.
It’s such a lovely sounding synth…

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#13

I do this in bitwig already! Fun as hell with P6.

Another pro in that regard is that there is a CodeKnobs editor, which is far superior to the SoundTower PX editor.

With my P6, I can build entire patches with bitwig modulators taking it to a new world, and then add a bunch of effects, then the whole thing saves with my project without having to ever save an actual patch.

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#14

Yes

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#15

Yeah, that’s totally what I need to do. I might even unilaterally decide to do this because I could always re-buy the P6 back as a desktop unit if I really miss it in a few years.

But its almost like I can’t fully embrace the PX with the P6 still around (even in its case in the closet.)

Love the Rytm, but I spent a few months away from it while traveling for work. Came back and didn’t know what/where my samples were, and I kind of lost the touch for gainstaging in that short time.

Syntakt just clicked immediately due to its simplicity. I feel like I’d always know what to expect with the drum engines and even the ones that match the rytm, are just easier to gainstage. Can’t explain it.

Additionally I’ve learned to accept that I will never be an elektron power user. 95% of anything of value I made with an elektron happened in like 30 minutes, single pattern with only on / off muting style of arranging.

I’m not playing live acts or making complete ideas on these. I just want to plock some fucky filter pings and blips. Take this to the daw to chop/cut up, and layer on additional sounds.

Syntakt / M:C have been the most approachable in that use case in my experience.

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#16

I was a huge fan of your Rev2 vids, so when I saw you had the PX I started looking at it again. I have more synths than common sense though and at one point had the Rev2, P6, PX, Take 5, and P12! All great synths but the PX is special to me and now my only Sequential poly. The last time I was this enthralled by a synth was an SH-101 back in the early 90s! But obviously you should keep whichever feels more special and inspiring to you. Your patches in the PX thread are exceptional and I appreciate all your tips and tricks.

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#17

Just hold on to them, that is as long as you can afford them both. If you insist on selling one of the two right away, then get rid of the P6 because it is still being manufactured. PX is gone forever and will be difficult to reacquire.

No, they are not. On the P6, there is no way you could generate a piano.

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#18

Since the PX is discontinued and hard to find used ones, while the P6 is still available new and much more common used, seems like an easy pick to keep the PX for me.

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#19

keep the Prophet 6

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#20

The stuff you post in the PX thread always makes me want to run out and get a PX even though I have no space for it. I would say keep the PX even if it is slower it is a real way to mix the workflow up. P6 is great but I dunno if I would ever choose to it as an only synth

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