Last Updated on May 2, 2018 by Gareth Patch
After a teaser video emerged from Dave Smith Instruments on Monday 30th April, the new product was officially confirmed and it looks like a mind-bending melding of analogue and digital, samples and synthesis.
At the heart of the Sequential Prophet X is a sample library weighing in at a whopping 150GB of samples developed by 8Dio, which includes acoustic and electronic instruments, ambient and cinematic sound effects. These can be manipulated through looping, sample stretching or the synth’s sound sculpting features such as the 4 envelope generators, 4 LFOs and modulation matrix.
The bi-timbral synth, which can generate 16 mono or 8 stereo voices, has the usual on-board effects engines that can be used in stacked or split voice mode, as well as polyphonic step sequencer capable of 64 steps with 6 notes per step, per layer. The keyboard is a five-octave, semi-weighted affair with velocity, after touch and 3 OLED displays.
As well as the sounds the synth is shipped with, there is another 50GB of storage for importing additional sample packs, again by 8Dio, and support for user created sample content is due for December 2018.
Dave Smith summed up the new instrument: “Composers will love the Prophet X for soundtracks and synth geeks will love it for its sound mangling potential. But it’s really for everyone because it covers such a wide range of sounds. The new analog filter design we’re using is not only fantastic for synth sounds, but also does something special for the samples.”
The synth is due for imminent release with a projected price of US$3,999.
Check out the teaser trainer below and then head to the Dave Smith Instruments website for more information or to 8Dio’s website for more videos and sound demos.
