Tom Tom Club sound: which Prophet?

[BobPeru]

I'm looking to emulate the clean & juicy synth sounds / stabs heard on Tom Tom Club's iconic Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love.  I read they were played & produced by Steven Stanley on a Prophet 5 at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.

There are half a dozen new Prophet modules available now.  I'm thinking I should either go with the 06 (for the sound) or the Rev2 (for the bi-timbrality), but my main goal is to get THAT sound.  Is there a clear choice here?  Any advice appreciated.

Reference:



Bonus points if you can tell me what patch / settings!  Cheers.

[Paul Dither]

For these kinds of sounds the Prophet-6 would be your choice—and I'd say it's a pretty clear choice. Everything else depends on your priorities, i.e. whether 6 voices are enough, or whether you absolutely need bi-timbrality, etc.

[jdt9517]

You can really do it on either synth.  I was buried in the studios creating those 80's sounds with a Rev 3.0 P-5 back in the day.  Several years ago, I got back into synths and got a P-08.  I was and still am very pleased with the sounds I can get, including emulating those 80's sounds.  The P-6 is also a worthy successor to the P-5.  However, my preference is the P-08 because of the added features.   I think that Dave Smith also corrected what I considered sonic deficiencies on the P-5.  The P-6 carries these forward (generally a less bright sound).   Some covet the darker sound.  I feel it was a deficiency.

The sounds you want to create are pretty straight forward.  The trick with the P-08/Rev2 is not resorting to the additional modulation capabilities it has.  Stick with the basics.   The only real difference is that you have to back off the cutoff filter a little more on the P-08 than the P-06 to replicate the sound. 

If you examine the P6 vs. the Rev2 closely, you will hear some sonic differences.  However, once they are placed in a band situation or a recording mix, the differences become inconsequential.