I must say, since it arrived Friday, I haven’t been able to walk away from my new Sequential Prophet-6. To me, it’s the most impressive synth Dave Smith has produced in the 21st century, solid pro-build, and a lush, warm, buttery sound…and most importantly (in the interest of this forum anyway) it pairs beautifully with the Sub37, both sonically and visually. One day soon I’ll bring it home from the studio and see how it plays with the Voyager + full MF-chain.
This experience also further solidifies my suspicions that the new OB-6 will be an equally impressive poly analog.
I bring this up here for a reason…Many folks are so overly-concerned about Moog producing a polyphonic synthesizer that they don’t even consider one of these other guys, when they definitely should.
IMO, the Korg Minilogue sounds and looks a bit cheap, and even for the price I’d only give it a C+. The Prophet-6 however, is a gorgeous pro-level synth that to me, rates up in the high A’s…right under the A+ Voyager.
Glad you are enjoying it. Dave makes great products, are they better than Moog ? No, diffetent. Is Moog better than they are, no different. Each has it’s place. Love my Prophet 12 and 08, love my Moogs and other synths. Each brings a different charecter to the mix. Would it be nice to see a new Memory Moog, sure, but there are other new. poly synths out there that are worth exploring.
I heard a Prophet 6 vs OB-6 yesterday, and thought they both sounded great! Much better than the old Prophet 08, which was a major disappointment to me although the MoPho had plenty of punch its big brother mysteriously lacked.
What-daya-do when youll want to play a 7th or 8th note or more ? You goina give 3 ks extra for ? And what-daya-do when youll play enthusiastically into the upper or lower non existing fifth octave ? Will your hand drop down from the keybed or will you imitate a typewriter like Jerry Lewis once did ?
Well then, I guess this is one of the few cases where I actually have an advantage NOT being a proper “keyboardist” Luckily, 6-note chords are enough for my limited skill level. Plus, my first real (yet, non-analog) synth was a Nord Lead, so I got used to 4 octaves and relying on the octave buttons.
Also, I got mine for 2K…(a little patience and persistence with the used market can really pay off). And I’ve seen barely-used desktop modules as low as $1650, so getting a 12-voice analog beast for around $3650, still doesn’t seem that bad to me, if someone wanted to do that.
My issue with DSI stuff is not the sound. It’s the build quality. I played a prophet 6 and a Pro2 last week. The knobs on both felt cheap. Everything about it felt a bit cheap. It’s obvious that they cut corners on their devices to meet a certain price point, but how much money is that really saving?
I hope you bought it from sweetwater, so at least you’d get an extra year on the warranty.
I am interested in those who own a Prophet 6 and their opinion of build quality given that the OB-6 is built on the same chassis. The reviews of the Prophet 6 are very good, including build quality.
Really? Every single knob wobbles on every DSI that I’ve ever put my hands on. Like they are all surface mount. And also, they shouldn’t have had to come out with a “potentiometer edition” of a synth. Why would they by default be using encoders instead. They feel like a Nord. And how many Nords have to be sent to Sweden for service because the surface mount encoders are failing? Lots.
I don’t intend to hate on DSI. They offer things that Moog doesn’t. I have considered buying the module of the prophet 6, and using my voyager XL to control it. At least then, I wouldn’t be worried about breaking it everytime I touch it.
While at the NAMM show I decided to audition the DSI line from oldest to newest. Progressing from P08 to P12 to P2 to P6/OB6, to my ears they got progressively better sounding but not a bad player in the bunch.
As a fond owner of vintage analogs, the P6/OB6 are fine sounding synths.
Still hoping to see a worthy successor to the Jupiter-8 . I have never heard a DSI make a sound that made me think 'I Have to have it" The OB-6 sounds great but that is to the credit of the SEM, not Dave Smith and his metallic, sterile, digital sounding analog.
Hmmm, take it easy there… I understand you to a point, I had a Tetra for about two days before I got rid of it, it felt and sounded cheap. I’ve also played with an 08 and was slightly disappointed as well, however, I’m quite pleased with the 6 so far.
Also just curious…How hard are you on gear? I’ve been gigging for over 8 years and have had two different Nords (Lead and Electro4) play hundreds of shows without a single hiccup.
I’m easy on gear. I don’t even use pedals with my feet.
I only know personally two people with Nords. One is a keyboard player in a touring band (probably on the less-delicate end of the spectrum) and the keyboardist at our church. The player at our church plays the Nord for approximately 90 minutes per week. It’s been sitting on top of the grand piano since it was purchased. It has been sent in twice in 4 years to have the encoders/circuit board repaired. The touring guy found it was cheaper to scrap his Nord lead and just buy another, than dealing with shipping and repair costs and downtime.
The encoder pots on my Mono-Evolver keyboard have some play but they work fine. My Poly-Evolver keyboard is built VERY solid and I haven’t had any problems. Same with my Nord Electro 3 - built well and never had a problem.
Strangely I’ve had more problems with Moog equipment than any other brand I’ve owned.
I had to take apart my Moogerfooger Ring Mod and spray the knobs with contact cleaner to get it to work again - not a big deal, however it required service. And my Little Phatty “soft pad” buttons stick from time to time and require a second, harder push before working, which really sucks when you are soloing and push the cutoff button and start sweeping the filter but realize you are still adjusting resonance.
So, according to my experience, having owned over 30 hardware synthesizers, I could easily say Moog products are not very reliable.
I should specify that while DSI knobs feel cheap and weak to me, I’ve never known one to break, but I also don’t know many long-time DSI users. So while they feel one way, it doesn’t mean that they are.
All of my Moog gear is rock solid. Minus the fact that I’ve been dealing with the infamous sub37 filter cutoff for a week now, while waiting for Moog to get my RMA sorted.
I own a Prophet 6 and absolutely love it. I’m very impressed with the overall build quality, and it’s key bed rivals that on my Voyager. I do not have an issue with wobbly knobs. I also own a DSI Pro 2, and the knobs feel equally as good. The Pro 2 is not quite as solidly built as the P6 perhaps, but still a quality instrument. While I suppose there may be some degree of wobble in the knobs, frankly it’s not as bad as the degree of wobble on my Sub 37 or LP tribute (the knobs on my Voyager, however, exhibit absolutely no wobble . . . probably the best feeling control surface on any synth I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned a ton!). DSI instruments are admittedly notorious for having software bugs that often never get adequately resolved through updates, but the physical build quality is generally above average at the very least (the early encoder-laden Prophet 08’s not withstanding!). I’ve also owned several Nord instruments. These have been my bread and butter gigging instruments, and they have been rock solid.
Then it must just be my personal preferences. I’m glad that everyone is having such good experiences with them. I would still love to incorporate a prophet 6 module if I can find room.
Luckily, 6-note chords are enough for my limited skill level. Plus, my first real (yet, non-analog) synth was a Nord Lead, so I got used to 4 octaves and relying on the octave buttons.