I bought my first Prophet '08 synthesizer in 2008. Since then, I've owned four keyboard units and two module units (not to mention a Mopho Desktop and a Tetr4). I presently have two of each. Having worked for so long and so much with the instrument, I naturally developed a short list of improvements I wanted to see in the future, and I often posted about it here and elsewhere. This list included:
- First and foremost, four DCO's, rather than only two
- Hardwired stereo oscillators, adjustable by degrees between stereo and mono
- A high pass filter with a dedicated parameter; resonant or non-resonant
- Substantially longer envelope times (attack, decay, and release)
- Onboard delay assignable to each program
- A greater refinement in parameter steps (perhaps a fine tuning knob for the LFO Amount)
- The ability to synchronize an LFO across all the voices
- An option for the more traditional type of polyphonic glide/portamento
- Keypad entry for programs, rather than scrolling
- The ability to determine the number of voices in each layer
- A greater total number of voices
- An improved keybed
- A more refined aftertouch
The last thing I was expecting was a revision of the Prophet '08. I had been hoping for an all-new synthesizer, but one related to the Prophet '08. Dave had repeatedly said he no longer did revisions of older instruments as he had with the Prophet 5, so I presumed that was the end of that. Then the Rev2 appeared, out of the blue.
Obviously, the Rev2 incorporated some of these improvements, but not others. I'm fine with that, because what the Rev2 does is maintain into the future the classic Prophet '08 sound, but in a substantially improved and expanded form. In my opinion, this is ideal, and it's much better than going out, as I had intended, and buying two brand new Prophet '08 Keyboards, in the expectation that they would last longer than my somewhat aging units. But the instrument I had imagined was not a revised Prophet '08; it was a different instrument altogether. This means that my old list is still relevant.
I don't know if DSI will ever produce another DCO instrument. They said they wouldn't, but then the Rev2 showed up. Regardless, I would love to see more freedom taken in developing another all-analog synthesizer, yet one that clearly stands in the Prophet '08 tradition - something bigger than the Rev2 and obviously having many more additions than I've mentioned above. There are enough features that folks have discussed here, such as polyphonic aftertouch and a keybed that could respond to it, as well as tri-timbrality. These could help to distinguish the instrument from the other synthesizers in the DSI line.