What do you think, how does the Analog Keys compare soundwise to the Prophet 6. Can i get a similar Sound with the AK?
Iām sure there will be certain settings here and there that can sound alikeā¦ but overall, no.
The prophet 6 & now ob-6 are just the type of instruments that no matter what you dial in, itās going to sound good. Iām not sure if the same can be said of the Analog Four/Keys ā¦ I frequently see people saying you have to find the analog four/keys āsweet spotsā 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 Iād go with the ob-6 over the prophet 6 - just personal taste, as you canāt possibly go wrong with either.
Try the Analog Keys for a few days and return it if you donāt like it. If you can live with 4 voices as opposed to 6 I think youāll be happy with it. I just got one and Iām blown away. The presets suck so be prepared to spend a few days learning itās 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 itās more like the broadness is so wide that the sweet spots can feel small in relation to it. But always depends what sound youāre looking for at the time. I havenāt found anything it canāt do yet. It wonāt 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 rangeā¦ Iām 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 Iāve heard.
every spot on the prophet 6 / ob-6 is a sweet spot though ā¦ thatās the main difference. i mean, with these particular dsi synths it is an inversion of the whole āyou just gotta find the sweet spotsā scenario of other synthsā¦ with the propthet 6 / ob-6 it takes effort to find something that doesnāt sound good.
and this is why you pay 3k for one.
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Iāve never played one in person but I just watched a few prophet 6 videos where they ran through the presets and the sound didnāt 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 Iām not sure Iād agreeā¦ For me a ton of those Prophet 6 presets donāt sound good. Just inoffensive/safeā¦Which analog keys can also do in its sleep if thatās what youāre in to. Iām sure Prophet 6 is capable of a ton of great sounds, but so is Analog Keys. And itās a lot cheaperā¦ So if the voice count isnāt an issue Iād say get an Analog Keys and send it back if it doesnāt gel. Though the knobby interface of the Prophet 6 is an obvious +.
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 wellā¦ 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 sequencerā¦ cant beat it!!!
I agree that the presets on the Prophet are safeā¦ both are amazing instruments and it takes time to learn themā¦ 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
You asked:
āHow do they compare sound wise?ā
āCan I get a similar sound with the AK?ā
I have both of them and in fact Iām 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 Iām working on doing just that. Iāll try to put up a patch that mimics one on the prophet.
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I have both. I use the analog keys as four mono synths more than anything else. The prophet 6 is the polyphonic keyboard
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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.
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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 Iād 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 youāre in UK ask juno for ābest priceā). 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 Ā£2000 that I wanted to fully spend, Iād probably get an AK and a Dominion Oneā¦ 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 donāt find the menu slow at all. Sure Iād like more immediate knobs but it isnāt 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 donāt 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 canāt advise for sure either way but if you want to possibly save a grand Iād recommend at least trying an Analog Keys for a week and see how you feel after thatā¦
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 ā¦
The A4/AK does sound different, because it has different OSCs and different filters. Thatās 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 ā¦ IMO the A4/AK has many sweet spots too ā¦ they are different ā¦ 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.
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What do you mean by āsimilarā?
What previous experience do you have with synthesizers (hardware or software)?
Both are great. Not meant to bd compared.
They are two vompketely different beasts.
Educate yourself, and start saving.
Holy molyā¦ 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 syncād 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?
I played with one the other day in the storeā¦
Mother of god.
Itās monstrous dry; with some subtle FXā¦divine.