Pardon my long-winded post, I actually have a fairly focused question, but want to put it in clear context. Essentially I want to know if owning a Prophet 6 would simply be redundant to somebody who has a Prophet X - but read on...
I am a guitar player with a newly discovered love for the sound of synths. That is right, this guitar-thrashing-metalheaded-viking is smitten with the instrument he used to always make fun of…
…And now I WANT ONE! What has the world come to?
I have been doing a ton of research and listening online. I have sifted through monosynths, polysynths, electric pianos, pure analogs, digitals, ROMplers, workstations, and many virtual instrument plugins – there is so much variety out there! For my taste though, the Prophet 6 is the best sounding thing I have heard – it just makes me feel electrified and adrenalized when I hear it. While I have listened to a ton of demo material with the Prophet 6, I have not yet played it personally.
Now, I have also had a very primal positive reaction to some of the sample-based presets I have heard on the Prophet X, but as with the Prophet 6, while I have listened to as much content as I can find, I have not played it personally.
The trouble is, I feel my heart is a-flutter for both of them. Given the costs, however, I want to make sure my head gets to vote on the purchases…
The question is: Do I need them both? I understand the vast additional ground the Prophet X might open up with utilization of samples and the innovative analog modulation of them along with the digital oscillators, but how much overlap would the synth voice alone have with the Prophet 6? Would it be redundant to own both instruments? I understand that the Prophet 6 has analog oscillators, while the Prophet X has digital – though they both have analog filters – could it be that the difference in oscillators is part of the magic I feel in the Prophet 6 sound that I worry might not feel the same with the Prophet X? Anybody want to delve into a technical explanation for potential differences in digital vs analog in respect to the oscillators, and whether this difference makes the instruments significantly seperate? Does anybody own both the PX and P6, or desire to own both of these – or are you thinking, “Stupid Newb! Why would anybody need the Prophet 6 if they had a Prophet X?” Part of the problem is I feel like I have not heard much of the synth side of the Prophet X, because naturally the demos focus on the way samples can be modulated because this is the innovative calling card of the X.
Other contextual information: I am proficient on guitar, but while always improving, my keyboard playing is rudimentary. I can function well in a MIDI environment with a combination of utilizing my MIDI keyboard, my MIDI guitar, and my MIDI editor (in Cubase Pro). I am more of a composer as opposed to a performer. Most of what I write is on the heavier side, and guitar driven, but I am surprised by the direction things go sometimes. For my guitar and studio set-up I own both analog and digital gear - feeling there are great examples in both realms – and usually find that investing in quality gear, despite the higher cost, is worth it in the end. I do a lot of work with virtual instruments – and love orchestral strings, brass, and many ethnic instruments. I actually stumbled into my love for the sound of synths because I accidentally had loaded “Retrologue” (a virtual synth available in Cubase) on a Cello track – and the way it simultaneously harmonized with AND stood apart from the heavy guitar blew me away – and I thought, if this plugin synth sounds good to me, what must the real thing sound like? And that was the pebble that eventually brought me to the Prophet 6 and Prophet X.
Thanks in advance for any help, personal experience, or advice to share that might apply to the Prophet 6 and Prophet X – or even more generally if you want to give tips to somebody just entering the synth world.