I could use some help 'nauts. I am a really big fan of super-versatile instruments, and like to keep a tight, minimal studio. I wanted the “one synth to rule them all” (within my budget, of course), and after endless painstaking reasearch, settled on the DSI Prophet 12. Amazing synth, no doubt. However, I’ve been finding that no matter how I spin it, I just can’t seem to get the P12 to sit right in the mix with my other gear. I am a fan of the sound of this thing in isolation, but together with the rest of my mostly analog stuff, I find that it’s kind of sticking out like a sore thumb.
This leads me to the dilemma. I want something that works for me, but I’m super worried that I’m going to miss the mark in sound, in favor of functionality. I love, and am now spoiled by, everything the P12 offers functionally. My requirements are: poly, good ui, super-wide sound palette, hopefully under $2k. Multi-timbral a plus. It needs to excel at everything from keys to soundscapes to glitch to fat and plucky leads. I’m digital/analog agnostic, but I don’t want to end up with another synth that has the same basic body tone of the P12.
I feel really dumb passing on such a beautiful machine, and believe me, I’ve tried my best. I design all my own patches and know the P12 really well. I’m really attracted to the sound of the OB-6, but have serious reservations that if I got it, I’d end up being frustrated by lack of versatility. Your suggestions? Preferably by those who have spent some quality time with their suggested axe. Thanks!
I really haven’t had a problem making any gear work in a mix until I met the P12. Like I said, I dig the sound on its own, it’s just sonically fitting awkwardly with my other voices (currently OT, AR, M32, Volca Keys). It’s hard to explain - almost like the P12 is all bass and fizzy highs, and the digital and sometimes hollow quality is clashing with the other machines. Normally I like contrast, so I’m bummed that it’s not working out how I’d hoped.
IMO “sitting in the mix” is almost always a challenge of sound design and the adequate use of the mixing environment.
Example: My Moogs can easily overload the mix and steal the life of other voices, if not tamed the one or other way.
My first suggestion coming to mind would be, tame the P12. It’s a rule of thumb that many sounds, which are impressive as solo voices, can kill a mix, and that voices, which sit nicely in the mix, can sound poor, if played solo. My receipe is to create a new synth sound, which shall sit in the mix during mixing and listening to the other voices as well.
I would invest some time in sound design of the P12. This is a very versatile synth and I would be surprised, if this suggestion would not do. Some EQ after the synth should also help to tame it.
As a very versatile synth with multi-timbrality on the market today, I would suggest to check out one of the Virus TI 2 series. You can also wait until NAMM 2019 and check out, what the “Kyra” synth by Waldorf will have to offer.
Yes, I’ve been considering the mix decisions a lot, and have been using the “taming” approach. Really, I should change the title of the post, because it’s really not so much that the overall mix doesn’t sound right, but more that there is something about the intrinsic character of the P12 that isn’t sitting right with me, when paired with my other instruments. The character isn’t something I can mix out, it’s present no matter the patch.
I’ve been thinking about the Virus, but was worried I would find it too digital… I don’t know, I’ve never had a chance to play one. YouTube videos can be deceiving - case in point, very few YT videos show the P12 in its best light. Sounds much better (and different) in person.
I have not realised aliasing, but maybe that’s only me. The Virus offers a lot of modulation sources and an adequate modulation matrix. With it’s three oscillators, two filters, four ADSR and three LFOs and the option to use many different waveforms (64 IIRC) as sources for the LFOs, we can definitely get some very analogue fluctuation and imperfection to any sound.
From my experience the Virus can sound clean and HiFi, even digital dirty, if we use the corresponding options to destroy the sound, but there is also very analogue warmth. It’s only about setting the modulation sources accordingly or add the right FX in the FX chain. There is even a “mode” setting, trying to emulate the imperfection of “old-school-analogue” circuits.
We have also the wavetable mode, the formant mode and a granular mode for the two main oscillators. This instrument is a sound universe of it’s own …
I had this problem with my Prophet 6… until I read in an article by a prolific sound designer that to get the best sound out of it you should run it at low velocities…
It works a treat. Sequence your midi at lower velocities… it made my Prophet 6 drop down and slot into the mix. Otherwise it cuts through, too sharp.
Not a expert but i think the best way you can have some help is showing some demos. Sometimes you don’t have good feelings with something but someone’s else could take it as a masterpiece.
Like a dj sometimes you thing you mix like a shit and you see someone’s dancing like a crazy
Fair enough man, Could you explain what you do to achieve this then?
My problem is I cant get the warmth fitting in the mix with the P6 without it muddying everything else up. No matter how I EQ. Im then filtering out the ‘warmth’ and ending up with a sound that then fits in the mix but theres literally no warmth left…
Was this the same with you or something completely different?
IMO it’s not only about low frequencies. Most analogue circuits are showing typcial imperfections during operation and this leads to various fluctuations, which I would say, add up to what many of us might call “warmth”. The most significant fluctuation can be realized, if the VCOs are showing fluctuations of the pitch, or if they detune more and more over time. But this is not the entire story. There is movement of the intensity, some change of the phases of the VCOs, some movement of the filter cut-off position, envelopes and LFOs not working exactly as a mathematical operator. I think, this can’t be EQ-ed out of the mix.
There are some methods to overcome the problem, if too much frequencies in a certain realm make the sound muddy (or in other words, kill any kind of contrast). One would be side-chain compression. If my heavy analogue synth bass fights against a kick, I set a side-chain compressor on the bass channel and open space for the kick as needed.
I have actually never used the sequencer in the P6 yet lol… Sequential unit and all that… Am I missing out? I generally just use it for pads. Never used a preset yet, not really about that side of things. It’s cheating in my mind. Anyway, thanks for your reply, it’s sort of cleared something up I guess…
