Pro 2 or Mopho closer to Pro One?

[proteus-ix]

As the title says, I'm curious which synth people feel are closer in sound to the Pro One: the Pro 2, which would seem obvious by the name, or the Mopho, which has "Pro One II" printed on the circuit board?  What architectural aspects do you feel contribute to this, and do you feel that either one of the modern synths is inherently superior, or just different?  And does this mean that the Mopho x4 is like having FOUR Pro Ones??  Or is it missing something that makes that not a valid comparison?

I haven't played a Pro 2 or Pro One, but I *have* played a Mopho x4, and the sound of it was just amazing.  I didn't know at the time that the Mopho line had at one point been considered a continuation of the Pro One legacy.

[DavidDever]

I own both a Mopho SE as well as a Pro-2 presently, and have owned a Pro-One, a Prophet-600 and an Evolver Desktop in the past–but do take what I have to say with a grain of salt / your-mileage-may-vary, etc.

If you want a Pro-One, get a Pro-One (VCO, Curtis filter), and put up with the maintenance / quirks / etc. that are part of the experience. You need to ask yourself as to which elements of the experience are must-haves, versus take-it-or-leave-it (e.g., fixing the contacts on the J-wire keyboard variants); in some cases, you may just give up on the concept (as I did) and look for something else.

If, on the other hand, you're looking for something that's quintessentially a Dave Smith design, but can do most of what the Pro-One does, you've got at least four different monosynth voice options in the Evolver (hybrid DCO / digital, Curtis filter), Mopho (DCO, Curtis filter), Pro-2 (digital, SSM + SEM filters), and the Pioneer Toraiz AS-1 (VCO, SSM filter). Each does certain things well, and nearly all are more capable than the Pro-One as an instrument.

[The Lurcher]

Do you use VST's as well as hardware? If so and you want Pro One take a look at Uhe Repro One. I had a Pro One for many years and this is pretty damn close.  Far less expensive and no mitenance problems.

[proteus-ix]

I own both a Mopho SE as well as a Pro-2 presently, and have owned a Pro-One, a Prophet-600 and an Evolver Desktop in the past–but do take what I have to say with a grain of salt / your-mileage-may-vary, etc.

If you want a Pro-One, get a Pro-One (VCO, Curtis filter), and put up with the maintenance / quirks / etc. that are part of the experience. You need to ask yourself as to which elements of the experience are must-haves, versus take-it-or-leave-it (e.g., fixing the contacts on the J-wire keyboard variants); in some cases, you may just give up on the concept (as I did) and look for something else.

If, on the other hand, you're looking for something that's quintessentially a Dave Smith design, but can do most of what the Pro-One does, you've got at least four different monosynth voice options in the Evolver (hybrid DCO / digital, Curtis filter), Mopho (DCO, Curtis filter), Pro-2 (digital, SSM + SEM filters), and the Pioneer Toraiz AS-1 (VCO, SSM filter). Each does certain things well, and nearly all are more capable than the Pro-One as an instrument.

Just realized I fell off the map for a few weeks and never thanked you for this response.  So thanks!    Frankly, with my monos, I'm all about that bass.     I have a PolyEvolver (love it), and it definitely gets close, but the oscillators are just different enough.  I've played a Mopho x4, and those suboscs just slay me, and I'm considering picking up a Tetra as my closest bet (because I don't need/want the keys, obv 4 is better than 1, and I'm fine using software/iPad editor for design).  I'm not sold on the Toraiz so far, it sounds good but I feel it's just laid out more for a dj, but I haven't played one yet, so we'll see.  Also haven't played a Pro 2.  As for an actual Pro One... it's just hard to lay out $1500 for a 30 year old synth.

[proteus-ix]

Do you use VST's as well as hardware? If so and you want Pro One take a look at Uhe Repro One. I had a Pro One for many years and this is pretty damn close.  Far less expensive and no mitenance problems.

I try to avoid computers as much as possible when I'm not at work.  I'll use software editors sometimes if I have to, and I have a few soft synths, but I strive towards a hw workflow.  That said, I do use my iPad as an instrument, so if there was an iOS emulation that was satisfactory, I'd consider it.  I'll definitely take a look at Repro tho, thanks. 

[jdt9517]

I had both a P-5 and Pro One back in the day.  The Pro One was really a "poor man's" P-5.  It really didn't do anything that a P-5 couldn't do.  Nor was there anything that differentiated it.  It was just a cut down, single voice P-5 with no memory.

So, in the modern DSI lineup, the Mopho would probably be closest to the Pro One.   The Pro 2 is vastly superior to the Pro One.

[Paul Dither]

I'd chime in with The Lurcher and suggest the Repro-1 too: https://www.u-he.com/cms/repro-1

Or, as a hardware alternative: the Toraiz AS-1.

[proteus-ix]

Or, as a hardware alternative: the Toraiz AS-1.

I played INHALT's demo of the AS-1 over my home theater (Youtube on my TV... I only watch synth videos, ha) for a lady friend of mine, then played a Pro One video.  She knows a little bit about synths, and more about music generally.  She flatly rejected the AS-1 / Pro One comparison, and I couldn't disagree with her. 

Do they sound closer to a Pro One in person, and maybe the vids just aren't good examples?

[Paul Dither]

I played INHALT's demo of the AS-1 over my home theater (Youtube on my TV... I only watch synth videos, ha) for a lady friend of mine, then played a Pro One video.  She knows a little bit about synths, and more about music generally.  She flatly rejected the AS-1 / Pro One comparison, and I couldn't disagree with her. 

Do they sound closer to a Pro One in person, and maybe the vids just aren't good examples?

Due to the SSM-style filter of the AS-1/Prophet-6 they can't sound alike. It's just that the AS-1 is probably the closest you can get to the Pro-One conceptually in that it is a single voice version of the Prophet-6. If it's about the sheer sound alone and more than similarities, then you'd need to get the original or the Repro-1, which basically sounds indistinguishable from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhQST401uYM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRaMnaL9GPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIvx_eqINcs

[proteus-ix]

I played INHALT's demo of the AS-1 over my home theater (Youtube on my TV... I only watch synth videos, ha) for a lady friend of mine, then played a Pro One video.  She knows a little bit about synths, and more about music generally.  She flatly rejected the AS-1 / Pro One comparison, and I couldn't disagree with her. 

Do they sound closer to a Pro One in person, and maybe the vids just aren't good examples?

Due to the SSM-style filter of the AS-1/Prophet-6 they can't sound alike. It's just that the AS-1 is probably the closest you can get to the Pro-One conceptually in that it is a single voice version of the Prophet-6. If it's about the sheer sound alone and more than similarities, then you'd need to get the original or the Repro-1, which basically sounds indistinguishable from it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhQST401uYM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRaMnaL9GPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIvx_eqINcs

Yeah, I've watched at least 10 Repro-1 videos, and not one of them comes anywhere close to the sounds or feelings this one evokes:

https://youtu.be/GgSCZTckcqk


All the videos I heard sounded reminiscent of the Pro One, maybe inspired by, but really don't have the same impact.  I guess I'll start saving my money...