Those were more excellent thoughts on the discussion. Thanks, Fuseball. I'm all ears right now regarding the topic.
I'm up and down over the Prophet 6, although the existence of a module version is a new mark in its favor. For me, the P6 would primarily be a left hand instrument for chords or a right hand part-time monophonic instrument. Although it would replace a four-voice Poly Evolver Keyboard I now have for sale, it would be an enhancement to my set up - as is the second PEK that it would replace; it wouldn't be a fundamental. But in light of all the comments I've read and the videos I've watched, the P6 does seem to offer a rare bona fide analog sound that really can't be found outside the vintage market, and this is primarily the reason I would choose one - for that coveted richness and warmth. I would also use its sawtooth lead patch a great deal, in the presumption that it's among the very best available. (My first choice for this sound would have been the Korg Arp Odyssey, but that's another mini keys story.)
I couldn't agree more, though, with the concerns and limitations that Fuseball and Inetzel have mentioned. The fact is, while I can obviously (painfully) fathom replacing one PEK with a P6, I couldn't imagine replacing a Prophet 08 with one. The latter has become for me nearly the perfect synthesizer. If Dave would create a P08 with four oscillators, ten voices, a high pass filter, longer envelope times, and a few onboard effects, then I would positively have the perfect synthesizer. Which means, the P08 is already quite close.
When I decided to put my four-voice Poly Evolver Keyboard up for sale (I still have another PEK and a PER), I decided to test my convictions. So, I put away the Prophet '08s and set up only the Evolvers. For about a month now, I've been playing an all-Evolver set up and making all-Evolver recordings. This is all just to make sure I'm ready to let go of a Poly Evolver Keyboard. Hence, my YouTube videos are presently all-Evolver. In doing so, I've come both to like and dislike the Poly Evolver more than before. The worst of it has been that I don't have the Prophet 08s to compensate for the Evolver's weaknesses. The other night, I needed something so simple as a string patch for a high sustained note - something a Prophet 08 could have provided quite well. Don't even try this with an Evolver. It requires four oscillators, and in the upper range the digital aliasing is just terrible. It will work only if the mix covers the discordant noise. As I was working I actually thought, "This instrument completely fails at this," - something I've never thought while using the Prophet 08. As a result, I abandoned the musical idea altogether and recorded, instead, a night of digital pad improvisations. Rather than pursue a musical idea, I had to follow a musical instrument. For better or worse, this is not how I like to work.
So, the P08 for me is a rock-solid staple instrument. It's flexible enough, although not extremely so. Contrary to this, the Poly Evolver Keyboard is a special interest type instrument. It does some unique things exceptionally well. It's digital pads are so beautiful. But it's also surprisingly limited, and it fails at some very basic synthesizer duties. One has to be prudent and realistic when using one.
My point here is that the Prophet 6 probably should be considered to be a PEK of another color. For many of us, it could not serve as a base instrument; it lacks the size and flexibility in basic features, such as modulation and voice count. Its limitations have to be realistically considered, but so should its many musical strengths, first and foremost of which is its gorgeous analog tone. Hence, it's an enhancement to an already stable set up. For me, in no way could it replace a Prophet 08. It could compliment one, though; and as an analog-sound enthusiast, I would in no way consider this to be a redundancy, but rather, a bit of variety in the analog sound domain.