DAVID SMITH PROPHET 08 SYNTHESIZER RACK IN CAPE TOWN

Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 08 Analogue Synthesizer It's possible that some readers have heard the names 'Sequential Circuits' and 'Prophet' but don't know what the fuss is all about. But for those of us old enough to have been playing keyboards since the s, or who have contracted the vintage synth bug more recently, the names of both the company and its most famous line of products are magical. In part, this is technological: the original Prophet (released in , and now known universally as the 'Prophet 5') was the first polyphonic synthesizer that could store the value of every parameter in its voicing and control structure. This made it a marvel; the first polysynth on which you could punch in a patch number, and recall the actual sound that you had stored. If you weren't performing in the '70s, you can barely imagine the impact that this had. But, more significantly, the response to the Prophet name is an emotional one. The synth sounded fantastic, with a rich, warm and — at the time — instantly recognisable character that was a million miles from the larger and more temperamental polysynths (the Oberheim 4-Voice and Yamaha CS80) that had preceded it. http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb08/articles/dsiprophet08.htm