Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 Rev. 3.3

Latest sowftware and revision.
This synth is Wine Country Production fully serviced with warranty.
Like new with all features Prophet5 can deliver.

Full MIDI capabilities installed.
For vintage synth this one can be considered very good.
All limitations are compensated by sound and tweakability.

Why would one spend 3500 USD for 5 voice old synth.
Yes, for its incredible sound.
Great sound of 70s/80s.
Polyphony that is probably the best of all synths from that age like Jupiter 8, Memorymoog, Oberheims, Crumar and other.
There are many good old synths, but if I would be pressed to kep one it will be Prophet 5.
Sound of rev 3.3 is completelly OK and not need to take older revisions with all headaches.

I have survival kit and some chips supplied as spare.
Hopefully it will survive me.

Wine Country is the best support in the industry.

Simply said it is must have.
I can live without Jupiter 8 or Memorymoog, but nothing can replicate feel of Prophet 5.

Well, there's is no point in explaining how easy to use this synth is, as it defined synthesis. It was also the polyphonic version of the mother of all synths the Minimoog.
My biggest problem with the synthesizers that I've owned over the years (which are many), is getting the envelope to do what I want and suit my playing. The P5 has by far the best envelopes you can find on any synth. Sharp and fast attack, smooth decay and sustain and wonderfull release. Being used to the envelopes on my Prophet-600 for 25-years now, the envelopes on the P5 are just remarkable. Many people regard the Poly Mod as a black art, but once you know how it works it will astonish you by how much it can do with so very little options.

The 120 memory locations is sheer heaven, as almost every sound you make on the P5 is great, so you quickly run out of locations to put them.
It's 5-voice, obviously, but this ads to its character. I find myself learning to play it like a five voice and it has its charm. Instead of doubling the bass notes in octaves, I now have to remind myself to use one vinger on the left hand.
No effects here. No need for it either. I always love to play analogs dry. As soon as you do that, it starts to sound like todays synths. The analog warmth produced by the circuitry would be muffled by effects.
MIDI:
The midi on the Rev 3.3 is good. I wish though the Omni mode would be off by default.
In general, by todays standards, this synth is exteremely limited. Yet, its limitations makes it so special and unique. The new Prophet08 does a lot more, but do you want more if all you're after is that typical Prophet sound?
The keyboard is great, but if not played for a while they do tend to stick, so the more reason to play it.

Expressiveness depends on what you play. If it's complicated arpegios and LFO's, going through multiple filters to get a sound that never stops evolving, then quickly erase the P5 from your wish list. It can do evolving sounds, by using the Poly Mod, but it will still leave you disappointed. I love playing the instrument as an instrument, not as an effects unit. The sounds that I'm after can only come out of the Prophet-5. Nothing else does brass, pads, leads and clavinets like this synth. Oh, Simmons tom sounds, it does those really well too.
The P5 just sounds so tight, rich and warm, there is no other analog synth that matches it, not even a Memorymoog or Oberheim.

With those names mentioned (Moog & Oberheim) reliability is not even an issue with the Prophet. The Rev3.3 was the last P5 made and so it's newer than any other Rev and all the parts are still available.
The only thing worth mentioning, which has nothing to do with reliability, is the oscillators going out of tune the first half hour, but with one press of a button it stabelises in seconds.
One more important note: There is a very well known saying that is so true: Use It Or Lose It. Analog synths need to be used often. If you stop using them for a while, everything inside stiffens up, just like the human body.

Wine Country.
Remember that name and you're safe.

I paid an astronomical amount of money for this Prophet.
It was completely restored by Wine Country and is in immaculate condition. It came with a road case and a certificate of restoration.
I have been waiting to buy a P5 like this for a long time. When I saw this one I had to have it. For an instrument of this class not any amount of money would be too much. I will keep the P5 for the rest of my life. Finally I found that sound that I've been craving for. I've had the P600, which is great too, but there is something sweet and smooth about the P5 that is unparalleled. Then those looks. Name me any synth that looks as pretty and classic vintage as this? Those chrome cap knobs, that beautifull wood, those preset buttons and red leds. It's sheer perfection. Nothing else can give me the same satisfaction when playing this synth.

I find that the Prophet 5 is the easiest synth to drive, it's simply lovely to play and to edit patches. It's very easy as long as your synths pots are clean and working properly. The Rev 3's are certainly the easiest to use w/ the tape interface - more patches

For my use, 5 voices comes in a little short. I'm not a typical lead synth player, I rather take advantage of the strings/brass pads for overdubs, and textures. But with multitrack recording, that is easily resovled, plus doing overdubs allows you to play certain voices for a track that could be in the Left Channel, and the next track for voices that could be panned in the Right channel, thus creating true stereo recording, which the prophet cannot do w/ the mono audio out.

The Poly-Mod/Wheel-Mod sections are a must if you play synths for string/brass/background pads. If you're doing Journey, Foreigner, or any arena style synth ballads, you'll need a prophet 5.

No MIDI - but why have it in the first place?

If you know the Prophet 5 history, and you like music from 1977-1985, in any genre, chances are you love the Prophet and you don't even know it. As mentioned before, I use the Pro5 mainly for it's famous brass, and strings pads. They are simply untouchable - unless you're looking for an OBX string sound, then you'll want one of those too.

No velocity or aftertouch, but this was before that era. This instrument is for artists and musicians who want to learn, and appreciate the Prophet's capabilities. Of course, the sounds that come from the factory presets are good too.

Hmm, this is where it gets tricky. I have a Rev 3.3 and I also have a Rev 1. My Rev 3.3 overall is reliable, no less, no more. It turns on, and everything runs fine. It has it's days where you think it's gonna hickup, but it seems to be okay. Key word: MAINTAIN YOUR PROPHET - have it serviced, cleaned, and checked out every 2-3 years.

I have a Rev 1 - which is quite different, sounds a hair different, and actually has 10 voice polyphony - but it will only work maybe 1-2 days out of the year, and when it works, it's for a very brief period. The wood is also different than the later models. Basically, the Rev 1 sits in a case becuase it simply won't work.

I'd recommend Rev 2's and Rev 3's - just make sure you test it before buying, and if it's been on the road, remember, it's not worth alot of $

What customer support??? hehe. I'm sure it's been mentioned before here, but Wine Country in Cali. works on these things, but they won't work on my Rev.1 - which is kinda odd, becuase they "can" be repaired, you just have to find someone who actually WANTS to fix it. They will do good service, but they are slow, and I don't trust my keyboards shipping to the west coast and back.

There are synth techs out there, and electrical engineers who can work on these things, without hurting them. Just take your time, and find the right person, and you'll have a good working Prophet.

Bluntly, these things are OLD, but they are GREAT. If you have a need for one, you'll want to buy one. If you don't have a true need for one, and are satisfied with "close" sounds...get an emulator, or a modern synth, and you'll be fine. I love classic keyboards, and I will settle for nothing less....costs a lot of money for these things to be maintained, but they are prized possesions. Some people like classic cars, I like classic keyboards. They are only worth as much as you want them.

I purchased a Rev. 3.3 Prophet-5 from a music store on consignment by a private owner three years ago. I paid $1200 for the synth, which includes the installed factory MIDI retrofit kit. (Apparently Wine Country now sells mint P-5, Rev 3.3 with MIDI for around $1700, so I'd say it was a good investment!) Despite the manual reading like an engineering technical manual, I find the Prophet-5 to be incredibly easy to figure out. Two criteria that the composer Vangelis (who has about 40-odd synths in his arsenal) uses for determining a synth's usefulness, from the eyes of a musician, are: immediacy and response. As it turns out, the Prophet-5 is a personal favorite of his--very present in his signature "Vangelis sound". Modifying the existing patches is very simple, and can be done "live" to create a very multidimensional, deep sound that, in today's synths, has been "dumbed down" to an X-Y pad that barely matches the Prophet-5's versatility in "on-the-fly" sound modeling.

The five note polyphony is rather limiting, but with multitrack sessions on digital nonlinear editing systems, I have conformed my recording technique to take full advantage of the sound "texturing" abilities of my Prophet-5. Selecting the right patches, and tweaking them, can result in multitimbral harmonics that make up for the lack of enormous "true polyphony". I rarely add fx to the Prophet patches when mixing because the on-board LFO, OSC, FILTER, NOISE and ADSR/envelope give me almost all the control I need up front.

I believe everything ought to be used in moderation. That being said, the Prophet-5 can be as subtle or as epic a presence as you want it to be. Any genre of music can benefit from patches ranging from basic electric organs to out of this world "alienlike" patches. Word has it, it was originally designed, in part, to fulfill a demand in small churches for low-budget keyboards that could replicate church organ sounds! The lack of aftertouch and velocity are to be expected for a synth that premiered in the late 70s. However, without the versatility of aftertouch and velocity, the Prophet-5 still shines with an uncanny ability to give the user control over dynamics and harmonics to produce a sound with superb depth. Once you learn to master the nuances of how to strike chords and melodies depending on the idiosyncracies of each patch and its corresponding harmonics, the Prophet-5 becomes the ultimate analog tool for reproducing sounds that emulate the essence of other "conventional" instruments, and emulate instruments that don't even exist only limited by the extent of the user's imagination.

The Rev 3.3 Prophet-5 is said to be the most stable of the Prophet-5 series. I agree with this statement, and to date, with the exception of a MIDI retrofit that occasionally overheats (which could be compensated easily by installing a muffin fan... but I don't dare start hacking at this pristine keyboard)... my P-5 is THE synth I turn to for live control and response for the improvisational nature of my recording sessions.

I've never had a problem yet to report. I'm sure that when I do, there will be adequate resources, considering two facts: 1) Sequential Circuits at one time was the most prominent manufacturer of synthesizers in the world; and 2) The remnants of the Sequential Circuits design team were purchased by Korg, which resulted in the Korg Wavestation, which was literally the son of the Prophet-5 and 10, and other workstations like the Trinity and Triton which have inherited many of the features that enabled the Prophet-5's versatility and brilliance... so there MUST be at least someone out there who knows a thing or two about this keyboard!

My Prophet-5 was purchased in mint condition. Even the manual was kept in untouched condition by its previous owner. I paid a lot, but I have yet to physically see another Prophet-5 that was kept in similar condition. My next two choices for synths to complement the 5 are: Oberheim Matrix-12 (even HARDER to find, and another favorite of Vangelis', who seems to know a thing or two about good synths), and the Korg Trition, the ultimate sampling workstation complement to the Prophet-5. I have a digital studio consisting of ProTools and Cubase workstations that are the best tools to capture the essence of the Prophet-5 unfettered. I love almost everything except the lack of a flawless MIDI retrofit... but then, I never use MIDI sequencers anyway, so who's complaining? If it had velocity and aftertouch, the P-5 would be more powerful than God. If you'd like to see a picture of it, visit my site at http://www.avatardigital.com/, in the "gallery" page.

I've been playing analog synths since the early 80's, so the Prophet 5 is a cinch to play. Everything is right there before you, just tweak away and you're in sonic heaven!. As mentioned, the feel of the knobs and buttons are very good. A very solid, high quality vintage instrument.

My P-5 is version 3.3 no midi. I got it for $700 in a local music store. A steal yes, but it was in rough shape cosmetically. After some replacement knobs and nameplates from Wine Country and a little elbow grease, it now appears near-mint. I have 120 sounds that I can manipulate across the board via knobs, knobs and more knobs...

The sounds are simply beautiful. Both rough and sweet, depending on the timbre. The sound is what makes this synth the classic that it is.

I have played lots of analogs over the years, Roland, Oberhim, Arp, etc...
but the Prophet-5 is the synth that has yet to disappoint me in terms of reliablity. I know this varies from synth to synth, but it never seems to go out of tune. The Oberheims, on the other hand, were maddening in this regard.

I've dealt with Wine Country Sales and Service a few times and have had no problems. I'm glad they're out there!

I will never let it go. I know I would regret it mercifully if I did.
There's a lot of synths out there, but this is one of the few real gems.