The Official Sequential/Oberheim Forum
SEQUENTIAL/DSI => Prophet => Prophet Rev2 => Topic started by: Paolonox on September 15, 2017, 02:09:21 AM
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I am just curious about this, did the majority of you got the 16 or the 8?
I just ordered my 8 because, well at the moment I do not need 16 voices and I can always expand in the future!
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I went for 8. There are times currently when I think 'would be great to have 16', when I'm using layered patches (I rarely use or would use split mode so 'meh'), but for layered patches there's some great sounds and obviously 4 voice poly can limit that, but in reality it's not that big a deal. I can easily get by with 4 voice for recording those parts, and most of the time I seem to prefer to just use a non stacked sound in general for my own sounds, more pure... more why I like analog anyway.
In that respect I'm glad I went for the 8 voice and have no regrets, the 8 voice price is great, while the 16 voice price is, for me, a bit too high a cost unless large polyphony is very high on your agenda (for me I'm happy with 6 voice poly on my old analogs so..), so unless you're layering then 8 voice for me is more than good. And the price makes it a very good synth for the money, if I was getting up towards the 16 voice price I may not be quite as happy paying that much and it would lose some of its value over the prophet 08 because it cost so much more.
And at least we have the add-on card option should we ever feel the need but I honestly don't think I will nor warrant that extra £500 for another 8 voices when the main point, the main guts/beauty of this synth is already there within the 8 voice, again, so long as layering isn't big on your agenda (and it may be because it can pull off some awesome layered sounds). If I was desperate for that, as they don't really interact much between layers (other than morphing style modulation if programmed that way) I could quite happily just record 2 separate patches twice into my DAW for layering.
If you play live and want that, then 16 voices is probably a much better idea.
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I also bought the 8 voice version. I am using the Rev2 as two separate synths, running in multi-mode directly of my DAW. Each layer addressed individually. As long as I restrict myself to three or four note chords and manage the amp release, all is well. Studio use only at the moment.
I am not ready to play live yet (if ever). I am planning to be ready for live playing in two years approximately (when I am 60 .....). I do realize that when I have to think on my feet, I don't want any unnecessary complexity. Each synth doing it's own thing, restricted to maximum two voices/layers, otherwise I lose the overview and control :) The Rev2 fits this model beautifully.
If I ever hit the limit, there is the additional voice card, cash flow permitting.
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Actually I will play it only LIVE (together with a Korg Kronos 2) ... and I have seriously thought about the 16 voices option (and those 600 euros going out from my pocket).
I will mainy use the REV2 for leads, solo parts and some intros (our style is close to prog and symphonic rock/metal) so I do not think I will really need the 16 voices IF NOT for the Stack mode... which as I can understand will limit me to a 4 note polyphony (this hurts me but I can cope with that, I guess)
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I got the 16 voice version, mainly because I already own a Prophet 12 and know how easy it is for me to use the voices up - even with 4 Oscillators!!!
I thought that I'd use a lot of stacked voices on the REV2 so therefore 8 voices just wouldn't have given me enough polyphony.
I also managed to get a great deal on a 16 voice model from SX Pro Audio in the UK, so all those things combined to make the 16 voice the obvious choice for me.
Must say I'm loving it so far it's a cracking synth (though the Prophet 12 is still my favourite)! :)
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Topic update, I found a great price for the 16 so changed my order 😀😏 Will have to wait but that was a good deal.
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The beauty of the 8 voice REV2 is it can be expanded at a let date anyway.
I think that's a supercool move by Dave Smith and allows a cheaper route into their gear without being 'knobbled' forever.
Fantastic! :)
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I got the 16 voice partly because I got a good price on it. The other reason (although not too much of a big deal) is that going with an 8 voice then buying the extra 8 voice upgrade card if I remember right about $100 or so more than if going with the 16 voice. Again it's not a huge difference but maybe a factor for some.
With one knowing that ahead of time though going with an 8 voice and initially saving some $ at first might be a great way to go. Then if you feel like you need/want the extra 16 voices then you can splurge a little more and get the upgrade. Just my 2 cents.
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well for me it wasn't worth the risk spending so much on the 16 voice without knowing if I really loved the synth or not, or would even 'need' 16 voices, the extra 400-500 pounds over the 8 voice is quite a lot and moves the synth as a whole from almost a bargain into an area of cost where it competes with other synths (though not if you got it at those cheaper prices I saw but still higher than 8 voice). Knowing now how much I like it though, I'd probably have been happy either way but I don't miss the other 8 voices it's really not an issue, and the 4-5 hundred saving will be very handy for new computer stuff I'm upgrading this year too. I wanted a new synth but didn't want to go crazy and the 8 voice is still very much a great synth and has higher poly already than most new synths out there. :)
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I got the 8 voice version. I actually was offered a really great deal for the 16, but I just didn't have the extra $300 needed to make it happen. I bought the 8 voice knowing that I could always expand it in the future, if need be. Which, by the way, is very very cool of DSI. Well done guys :D
So far though, about two weeks in, I don't really see myself needing the upgrade. While I understand the benefits of bi-timbral patches, it's not somewhere I see myself going very often. I've been really happy with the amount of versatility, atmosphere, and texture I can get out of a single patch, or even just a single oscillator! Going back and forth between editing two different patches just doesn't fit with my current workflow very well.
Beyond that, after working with the 4 voice poly of the Minilogue for a year or so, 8 voices feel pretty wonderful to me! Of course, this is all just me and my preference. I'm sure there are plenty of others that feel differently.
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I'm going to go for the eight. 16 Voices would only be needed in my view if the synth was multitimbral.
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I'm going to go for the eight. 16 Voices would only be needed in my view if the synth was multitimbral.
Well it is Bi-timbral. :)
With the 16 voice model, the other advantage is you can effectively use it as an 8 note polyphonic 4 oscillator analogue synth (6 counting sub oscillators) when you stack the voices.
The brilliant thing though is it's expandable, so if you do find 8 voices aren't enough for you at some point you can add another 8 later.
It's a great sounding synth and I hope you enjoy it! :)
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Retailer suggested to go for the 16 instead of the 8 because of the sequencer sounds so much better with 8. True/False ? Perhaps owners have some experience with that. I am not sure if the REV2 will complement the P12 well, but thinking about an 8 voice desktop to try things it out and because of the lowest cost possible for a REV2 (even though I like the key-bed very much, but have no space for it). I do see my P12 sometimes running out of voices with certain patches.
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I'm going to go for the eight. 16 Voices would only be needed in my view if the synth was multitimbral.
Well it is Bi-timbral. :)
With the 16 voice model, the other advantage is you can effectively use it as an 8 note polyphonic 4 oscillator analogue synth (6 counting sub oscillators) when you stack the voices.
The brilliant thing though is it's expandable, so if you do find 8 voices aren't enough for you at some point you can add another 8 later.
It's a great sounding synth and I hope you enjoy it! :)
Yeah bi-timbral 16 voice doesn't cut it for me. I appreciate it for what it is but honestly it's 2017, there should be more than one split point.
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I got the 16-voice, mainly because the 8-voice wasn't available when I tried to get it, and, well, it was my birthday present, so to speak.
I think the 8 voice pricing is much more attractive, but I just bit the bullet. I was disappointed at first regarding the unison voice usage, but that's on all feature request threads now, so let's hope DSI makes it more flexible.
One point to consider, if you have the money: 16-voice Unison sounds so much better than just 8-voice Unison (on a 16 voice, you can try it out by dialing back unison voices via the Misc params menu), and that is used on near all bass and many lead sounds...
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On and on about multimbrality... It's a synth, not a workstation. Things can get mighty hectic as it is with just one layer and four LFOs alone. Sure 16 voices seems like a lot for a synth, but I certainly run into walls from time to time. As for more split points, again, it's not a workstation.
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Bitimbral is a fundamental aspect of the workflow of various DSI synthesizers. For me, the live, spontaneous, knob tweaking spirit is in jeopardy with 4 stacks of a knob-laden synth that isn't screen centric.
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On and on about multimbrality... It's a synth, not a workstation. Things can get mighty hectic as it is with just one layer and four LFOs alone. Sure 16 voices seems like a lot for a synth, but I certainly run into walls from time to time. As for more split points, again, it's not a workstation.
Tell that to the Alesis Andromeda. 16 voices, 16 patches with 16 different sequences at once. That was a synth not a workstation. Nor is the Schmidt and that I believe is multitimbral.
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Bitimbral is a fundamental aspect of the workflow of various DSI synthesizers. For me, the live, spontaneous, knob tweaking spirit is in jeopardy with 4 stacks of a knob-laden synth that isn't screen centric.
That depends on how you set it up.
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I have the 16 voice. It was the 16 that caught my eye on this one. I think it depends on what your style or use of this is. For me live keyboard style playing and layered pads with an overhead of poly was what I wanted. Most of the really FAT sounds I'm getting on this are in stacked mode. Personally I don't think I'd really be happy with the 8 voice.
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Alesis Andromeda and other discussion has been moved here:
http://forum.davesmithinstruments.com/index.php/topic,1890.msg20723/boardseen.html#new
Let's keep this thread on topic, which is regarding your choice between the 8 voice and 16 voice Rev2. Thanks!
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I am happy with the 8 voice because of the price, but yeah some of the beautiful sounds you can get when stacked are so good you do almost want to have 8 voice poly (total) on stacked sounds just to enjoy them more, that said, it's really not a massive issue unless you have to have those sounds all the time (and live mostly).
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Bitimbral is a fundamental aspect of the workflow of various DSI synthesizers. For me, the live, spontaneous, knob tweaking spirit is in jeopardy with 4 stacks of a knob-laden synth that isn't screen centric.
That depends on how you set it up.
A thought on how I figure 4-part could work:
The encoders would have to have lights indicating their location. 4 direct access buttons for 4 layers. Press a layer button, see locations of all knobs.
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I went with the 8 voice. If it's not enough, I can easily buy an upgrade in polyphony; if it's overkill, I doubt my dealer will buy pack any unused polyphony. Anyways, this bad oscar arrives early next week and I can hardly wait.
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Simply - the money :)
Keyboarders are always short on money (pls tell me you do, too!). I bought the 8voice to save some bucks over the time for the expansion. Next to the synth itself i needed a good case and an extension for the stand; this was ~250 Euros in addition.
Aaaand. No Keyboarder has enough gear (pls tell me you do, too!) and there a some investments waiting. My Rev2 should have been a Pro 2, that is still not off the list. With the Behringer D and Rolands VP-03 there are to cheap bargains in the queue... But the moneys must be earned first. :)
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I ordered the REV2 8 voice after selling the '08. Yesterday I installed the 8 voice expansion. At first it gave me issues; calibration would hang, voices were distorted and panning was wrong. I opened it back up and realized I didn't seat the upper left corner of the board where one of the 4 connectors are. A more firm pressing and all is 100%.
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Went with the 16 voice . . . bought it for live use primarily. I've had it for a couple of weeks now, and while it's sound didn't blow my doors off initially, it's rapidly growing on me (also own a P6, and that synth blew my doors off from the get go!). I must say, I was never a huge fan of the P08 sound or Curtis chip synths in general. I never owned a P08, but I am a former owner of a Mopho keyboard/Tetra combo . . . so I was at least familiar with the basic tonality prior to purchasing. Opted for the 16 voice for a couple of reasons. First of all, most of the sounds I really love require layering of the two engines. Secondly, for live use, I needed to be able to use it in split mode as two independent 8 voice synths. Like I said, it's really growing on me. Whether 8 voice or 16, it's a super classy synth! Well built, clearly laid out front panel, and a dream to program. This will be a workhorse for me.
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4dubs, I appreciate your measured review. ... It makes good sense to me. Please report back if/when the outlook changes.
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I got the 16 because the additional voices seems like a big plus for achieving Sacred Synthesis' stereo arrangement (which I also use), and yet thus far, I continue to still do it his way with an '08 module. If I didn't use splits and layers, one Rev2 would now do it for me. But because I do use splits and layers, and I may have to purchase a Rev2 module in order to get the huge improvement of the stereo depth.
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4dubs, I appreciate your measured review. ... It makes good sense to me. Please report back if/when the outlook changes.
You got it . . . albeit, I don't think my opinion will change that much. I have the same reservations about the tone of the Curtis oscillators and filter that others have expressed about the P08 on this forum and elsewhere . . . but considering the amount of raw synthesis horsepower the Rev 2 (and P08) has, if you can't get a decent sound out of it, you might be doing something wrong. In the case of the 16 voice Rev 2, layering the two engines can produce some really stunning results and you still wind up with 8 voice polyphony. Ultimately, this is why I went with the 16 voice . . . but again, I can't stress enough how good it feels as a complete instrument with regards to build quality, panel layout, keybed, etc. . . . and certainly, this would be the same experience on the 8 voice version.
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Replying to this threat basically to ask a question about the expansion board: Might sound a bit trivial, but can anyone tell me what the weight of the expansion board is? On the website, it says 3 lbs, which is 1,36 kilograms (!). I can't believe this is true.
On the old topic: Honestly, I bought the 8 voice version out of thriftiness or "let's first see how much I need the 16". Now, I am considering buying the expansion, because I mostly play live on the rev2, having a Bass patch on the left layer, for which I like to have a unison of more than 4, while being able to have chords bigger than 4 on the right lead-layer.
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Having bought and installed one myself, I can say that the expansion board weighs very little - it's just a circuit board with some connectors on it. Maybe 100g at the most.
The weight you mention is likely the shipping weight which is needed to calculate the cost of shipping - since the board is so light they probably use "dimensional weight" which is a postal weight that a box of the same volume "should" weight and is thus priced that way so they don't fill up a truck too quickly with extremely lightweight things that they didn't charge enough for.
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Thanks for your answer! Just noticed that on the website, the dimensions of the board are indicated to be 18X12X5 in. That must be the package (or a gigantic circuit board) :)
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I can't open my Rev2 right now to tell you, but I recall the board being something around 15cmx30cm, give or take, and it's one standard circuit board with the header connectors, that's it. It was VERY well bubble packed in the box, ESD protected etc. and I'd recommend you get an ESD wrist strap and ground yourself to the keyboard chassis ground point while doing the install to protect against possible damage.
In any case, it's a small circuit board, even with the protective bubble wrap (but without the box) I got it home in my backpack easily, and installed it with care in about 20 minutes. It adds virtually nothing to the weight of the keyboard and since there's a spot for it inside already, there's no change in external dimensions of the keyboard.
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I bought the 16. Main reasons: you can never have too many voices, it's my only synth and I want to be able to really play it without being bothered to much by voice stealing. The massive sound of a layered patch is always tempting, so that already cuts the polyphony in half.
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I bought the 8 voice and expansion board at the same time because that was cheaper than buying a 16 voice.
I would personally not go with just 8 voices unless a synth only sport one layer... A lot of the sound design flexibility in the REV2 comes from the dual layers, so if you can live with just four voice polyphony depend on what types of sounds you want to use.
If you play sounds with short release times like organs, basses flutes etc. And do not need more then four voice chords, then an 8 voice may be good... But if you want pads and other long release sounds, I'd strongly recommend 16 voices
I find, that in general, you should have double the polyphony count, of the number of keys you want to hold in a chord, to achieve no discernible voice stealing...
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I went for 8 voices because I found the 16 voices a bit too expensive for what it is. This simply means i prefer to pay for quality, not quantity. I’m not saying the rev is not good, I just think it is not worth a 2k€ investment and for the price difference I would rather buy other pieces of equipment to complement the sound spectrum in area left uncovered by the rev (ex: bass, drums, effects).
It is true that voices stealing happens super quick and when you see that a number of factory patches rely on identical A and B stacked voices to produce a stereo effect you sometime feel like everything is done to have you buy the 16 voices. This is forgetting that major composers created master pieces with 8 voices, often less on classic synths from the past.
This being said if I were a pro playing live I would probably go safe and pick the 16 voices because that is your working tool hence not a place for concession. Same thing if you have a good deal because why not?
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16 voice here too. Because at the time, the 16 voice was cheaper ($100 less if I remember right) than getting the 8 voice + expansion board, from a well known online store where I bought it. I think that it's still the case even today.
Also, I wanted to avoid voice stealing on long pads and strings, and on layered patches.