Prophet 6 VS Analog Keys

dandan · 2016-02-28T21:00:28.000Z

What do you think, how does the Analog Keys compare soundwise to the Prophet 6. Can i get a similar Sound with the AK?

BloopityDoopity · 2016-02-28T21:13:21.000Z

""dandan"":

What do you think, how does the Analog Keys compare soundwise to the Prophet 6. Can i get a similar Sound with the AK?

I’m sure there will be certain settings here and there that can sound alike… but overall, no.

The prophet 6 & now ob-6 are just the type of instruments that no matter what you dial in, it’s going to sound good. I’m not sure if the same can be said of the Analog Four/Keys … I frequently see people saying you have to find the analog four/keys ‘sweet spots’ to those who are unhappy with its sound overall.

this is of course reflected in the price differences between the instruments.

ymmv.

btw, if I had the money I’d go with the ob-6 over the prophet 6 - just personal taste, as you can’t possibly go wrong with either.

CallOffTheVote · 2016-02-28T22:05:21.000Z

Try the Analog Keys for a few days and return it if you don’t like it. If you can live with 4 voices as opposed to 6 I think you’ll be happy with it. I just got one and I’m blown away. The presets suck so be prepared to spend a few days learning it’s architecture and filter behavior etc before it starts to shine with most moves you make. But I disagree about the narrow sweet spot thing. I thought the same at first but it’s more like the broadness is so wide that the sweet spots can feel small in relation to it. But always depends what sound you’re looking for at the time. I haven’t found anything it can’t do yet. It won’t 100% get you in vintage vibes but like 99% and totally close enough. Saying that, I would love an ob-6 but out of my price range… I’m only recently getting deep in to synths but seems like anything you do on some of the oberheims sounds amazing. Not so keen on the Prophets I’ve heard.

BloopityDoopity · 2016-02-28T22:11:08.000Z

every spot on the prophet 6 / ob-6 is a sweet spot though … that’s the main difference. i mean, with these particular dsi synths it is an inversion of the whole ‘you just gotta find the sweet spots’ scenario of other synths… with the propthet 6 / ob-6 it takes effort to find something that doesn’t sound good.

and this is why you pay 3k for one.

CallOffTheVote · 2016-02-28T22:22:35.000Z

""BloopityDoopity"":

every spot on the prophet 6 / ob-6 is a sweet spot though … that’s the main difference. i mean, with these particular dsi synths it is an inversion of the whole ‘you just gotta find the sweet spots’ scenario of other synths… with the propthet 6 / ob-6 it takes effort to find something that doesn’t sound good.

and this is why you pay 3k for one.

I’ve never played one in person but I just watched a few prophet 6 videos where they ran through the presets and the sound didn’t grab me at all. Not like videos of the Dominion one or some of the Analog keys videos (and all Ob-x and ob-6 videos). So I’m not sure I’d agree… For me a ton of those Prophet 6 presets don’t sound good. Just inoffensive/safe…Which analog keys can also do in its sleep if that’s what you’re in to. I’m sure Prophet 6 is capable of a ton of great sounds, but so is Analog Keys. And it’s a lot cheaper… So if the voice count isn’t an issue I’d say get an Analog Keys and send it back if it doesn’t gel. Though the knobby interface of the Prophet 6 is an obvious +.

Ianh54 · 2016-02-28T22:40:25.000Z

Personally - though bear in mind im pretty new to synthesis - i think the presets on both arent great showcases for their abilities. The P6 is more immediately accessable because of the lack of menus, but i think with a little time the AK is pretty easy to navigate.They compliment each other very well… id say the P6 is definately more :performance: oriented ( im far from aplayer so i sequence mine from the OT ) whereas i spend more time programming and getting more off the path sounds with the AK.
Then theres the sequencer… cant beat it!!!
I agree that the presets on the Prophet are safe… both are amazing instruments and it takes time to learn them… i also agree about the wide :sweet spot: on the Prophet.
To be in a position to get either is a happy place to be
good luck with whatever you choose

Peace x

TokyoDisco · 2016-02-28T22:46:09.000Z

You asked:
‘How do they compare sound wise?’
‘Can I get a similar sound with the AK?’

I have both of them and in fact I’m trying to duplicate some of my Prophets sounds on my AK.

Just the basic oscillators can sound the same. And I could get the envelopes to match up. But the filter is not easy to copy on the AK and the resonance is very shrill so that has to be set low. The short answer is that they sound pretty different overall.

Yes, you can get some similar sounds. And I’m working on doing just that. I’ll try to put up a patch that mimics one on the prophet.

v00d00ppl · 2016-02-29T01:14:00.000Z

I have both. I use the analog keys as four mono synths more than anything else. The prophet 6 is the polyphonic keyboard

verbmusics · 2016-02-29T03:07:06.000Z

I own both as well and the saw / sq wave sound nearly identical with both filters wide open - once you touch that filter though the differences jump out. The p6 is hard to make a bad sound. Huge sweet spot. But clearly the AK wins with modulation and sequencing. Like poster above, P6 = poly and AK = 4 mono synths.

CallOffTheVote · 2016-02-29T07:09:12.000Z

Yeah if I owned both AK and pro 6 I would probably use them in the same way. Pro 6 Poly, AK 4 x mono. But if the OP is only able to get one and just wants to know if AK can sound like the Pro 6 I’d say yes. I just watched this video and the AK filters can sound very very similar even in sweeps. And can definitely get all of these sounds statically for sure. The AK is half the price of the Pro 6 (if you’re in UK ask juno for ‘best price’). If 4 voices is enough as a Poly (not to mention being a super flexible mono with a very full featured sequencer, huge memory, separate outputs per voice, tons of modulation, fm etc etc) then if I were the OP and I had £2000 that I wanted to fully spend, I’d probably get an AK and a Dominion One… The only blatant benefit of the Pro 6 to me would be the interface. Lots of knobs = a little more fun to use/quicker dialing in sounds. But AK has performance mode which is pretty next level if you take the time to set it up. And TBH I don’t find the menu slow at all. Sure I’d like more immediate knobs but it isn’t a problem. The AK filters are definitely something you need to learn though. A lot of things effect how they behave. Oscillator volume, overdrive etc. I don’t see that as a bad thing though. You can set up AK so the filter acts almost exactly the same as this PRO 6 video. And a lot of other sounds too. I can get it almost bang on mimicking my ms20 filters for example. It does lush vintage, gnarly vintage, soft vintage, heavy modern, murky modern etc etc. I have no hands on experience with the pro 6 so I can’t advise for sure either way but if you want to possibly save a grand I’d recommend at least trying an Analog Keys for a week and see how you feel after that…

SoundRider · 2016-02-29T10:04:16.000Z

AFAIK Elektron made no secret about that the analogue sound engine of the A4/AK is new design rather an emulation of the Moogs, Oberheims, or Dave Smiths …

The A4/AK does sound different, because it has different OSCs and different filters. That’s why I have the AK in first place as an addition to a Prophet or other classical gear.

Since a filter is much of the soul of a synth-sound, the two Elektron filters will never sound like a Moog-Ladder, SEM or Curtis.And the others will never sound like the A4/AK - at least in certain sonic territory.

BTW … IMO the A4/AK has many sweet spots too … they are different … and it depends, what you are searching. I use my AK as a four single voices synth with lot of character, which is cutting through any mix easily. For smooth, melodic, or bright polyphonic pads, I use other gear.

PeterHanes · 2016-02-29T13:42:31.000Z

""dandan"":

What do you think, how does the Analog Keys compare soundwise to the Prophet 6. Can i get a similar Sound with the AK?

What do you mean by “similar”?

What previous experience do you have with synthesizers (hardware or software)?

Codetapes · 2016-02-29T20:04:07.000Z

Both are great. Not meant to bd compared.
They are two vompketely different beasts.
Educate yourself, and start saving.

Nikarga · 2016-10-26T11:35:30.691Z

Holy moly… i Just received the OB-6 a few days ago and all I can say is it is just absolutely incredible. Sampling realtime on the OT and using the AR for drums/percussion.

Having sold my AK a few months ago, all I can say is that this is a completely different beast.

Zero menu diving, very fat sound. Basic sequencer and arp, great effects which can be sync’d to tempo/preset.

The notch filter is to die for - if you can have only one, get the OB-6, you wont regret it.

A4/AK has a much better sequencer, but if you use the OT or a numerology who cares?

xidnpnlss · 2016-10-26T12:18:52.308Z

Nikarga:

Holy moly… i Just received the OB-6 a few days ago and all I can say is it is just absolutely incredible.

I played with one the other day in the store…

Mother of god.

It’s monstrous dry; with some subtle FX…divine.