Announced on social.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLpTC6WgRFO/
After years of faithful service, the Sequential Prophet 12 Desktop Module is retiring and will be laying down synthetic grooves on a tropical island where the sun never sets and the music never ends. Contact your local music dealer before they’re gone.
And its’s true successor to be announced later this year! 
UI decisions on this always confused me. A few more knobs… please? Especially considering the keyboard version.
Ya know, using the Pro 2, I kinda get the P12 desktop interface
I’ll often use the encoders near the screen for oscillator pages, and envelopes. And the ability to have all four waveforms on one screen at once makes deep editing quicker than using the potentiometers in the oscillator section.
I wouldn’t mind a P12 desktop, it’s been on my radar for years. But what I’d really love is a plug-in version of it. Those oscillators, plus character, but through U-he’s filters instead. Controlled from my Pro 2, now that would be ideal. As it is now, I prefer to only use plug-ins or Pro 2’s paraphony for poly synth sounds. A poly hardware synth, desktop or module, would simple be an over-the-op indulgence for my music’s needs.
Would frigging LOVE this!
Wish the pro2 had a desktop version like the p12…
I’m keeping mine until the end of time, though.
What timing, I’m picking one of these up next Friday. Was looking for a deep dive synth and am really drawn to it’s sound in demos. Kind of a dusty, dreamy vibe to it, which I prefer over the clean modern sound of the Peak. It wasn’t really on my radar until one popped up local for a very low price.
Seems like Sequential is back to more straight forward synthesizers like the Pro 3 and Prophet 6. From the kind of vitriol I’ve seen directed at the P12 on various forums, I assume that the vintage analogue keyboard crowd is their main demographic so it makes sense from a business point of view.
Yep. I love this synth. Totally agree on the filters. They are the biggest disappointment. But everytime I turn it on, and start with a basic patch, and see where the twiddling takes me, I can just get lost for hours in a sonic hole. Something about it (and maybe the layout and uninspiring filters contribute to this) really steer me away from typical subtractive synth territory and encourage experimentation with am/fm/lfos/envelopes/feedback/effects etc. A great box.
Dave Smith and Sequential have never, to this date, released a real “replacement” for any of their retired synths. The Evolver is still waiting for a replacement (no, the P12 is NOT it), the Prophet 6 by no means replaced the Prophet 5… the closest thing to a true replacement they have is the Rev2 replacing the '08, but even there you have people who will tell you flat out they prefer the '08 (or the Rev2, depending on which features and aspects they consider most important). Replacement isn’t their gig - doing new stuff, trying new things that build on, but in many ways go a completely different direction from, their past - that’s what they love doing.
I kinda see these synths as: “if you like it, get it, you won’t find better sooner (or even later)”. Each one is a one-of-a-kind offering.
I think the P12 is likely to remain an absolute classic for sound designers and people who are tired of the same-old sound and already have vintage and subtractive and dedicated-FM digital synths and find some joy and beauty in the unique (and admittedly quirky) architecture of the P12. Is it a desert island synth? I think so. Maybe not your one-and-only, depending on your joys, but holy heck is it a swiss army knife of possibilities that a huge majority of other synths can only hint at.
They should make a synth similar to the Prophet 12 with higher resolution digital oscillators and SSI2140 filters instead of Curtis imo.
I could criticize the P12 for a variety of things (mostly minor) but the resolution (which I believe in those particular SHARCs is 32-bit floating point, which vastly exceeds the human ear’s capacity for resolution) is not one of them. The DSP implementation is generally excellent. If you meant the sampling frequency, that’s also not important in a DSP, as long as the Nyquist rate contains the frequencies you want (e.g. 48kHz is plenty). Antialiasing is usually controlled purely within the algorithms by oversampling internally where it matters - this does not require the whole chip to run at the higher samplerates and due to intermodulation there can be very good reasons to avoid doing so, in fact.
On this point (and in a few questionable architectural limitations which show up in some unusual edge cases) I think they could have refined a few algorithms a bit more. But would more “resolution” (or a higher sampling frequency, or whatever else) benefit? I don’t expect it would be more than barely noticeable in some specific cases, otherwise not at all. I don’t think this is remotely a weak point in the P12.
I’d love SSI filters in a P12 rev2, too, as long as they came alongside the Curtis. But this filter demo (thanks @Norb for reminding me of that SC user’s page!) shows that there is a TON of character in the Curtis chips, and the P12 brings out the best they have to offer.
I was referring to higher sampling frequency, and to have it apply to modulation also like they did for the Pro 3. The devs all noted a noticeable audible improvement due to this increase in frequency.
the pro 12 has tons of modulation, and it can alias like shit… in fact i like it. part of the character 
i also abuse the character section to produce the same-ish effects.
those UDO super 6 osc are so smooth and super boring in comparison
The movement in this Prophet, when you’ve worked in the modulation right, is out of this world. It’s like drifting through an ocean, slowly, and just watching the subterranean scenery constantly change. Whatever Dave comes up with next, I hope to god he’s done with this revisit to vintage stuff - which is also cool, but enough is enough now - and just go even deeper into experimental sound design. Once he’s gone, there won’t be anyone replacing this gentle genius, so please, Dave - give us at least one more instrument that none other could dream up, before you’re done with us. Please.
I will never let go of my p12 module either. Its fantastic. It stopped a lot of looking after other synth.
I feel the same way about my Pro 2. Fortunate that my music rarely ever needs any more than a 4 note paraphonic chord. But if it did, I’d also own the P12 desktop. The “superwaves” are a help, though.
But if I saw a P12 desktop module pop up for around $1200 I’d probably scoop it up. I scored my Pro 2 for $1050 shipped.
The sound of the P12/Mopho/Tetra/Evolver/P08 filter only bothers me at higher resonances and the only time I use filters in that way is for self resonating pings when making electro music. And when I make those types of sounds the OSCs are off, so it wouldn’t be an issue.
Same, but I’ve found the Pro 2 to be small “enough”, and I actually do like the 44 note keyed.
The Waldorf Iridium would be a great alternative - but besides that i think the P12 is unchallenged.
I’m also curious to see what this Korg Modwave can do, in comparison to the P12, since it is also full of modulation.
Perhaps the sequencer will help it compete in its own unique ways.
That kaoss physics looks like Omnisphere Orb, great feature - i use that all the time on Omnisphere. It does a automatic modulation selection, but it working out really great. (And it can randomize targets.)