Prophet 08 knobs used to program a Tetra.

[nathan.backous]

I have a Prophet '08 and my bandmate has a Tetra. Is it possible to connect the MIDI out (or thru) of the Prophet 08 into the MIDI in of the TETRA and use the Prophet as a remote control surface for the Tetra for programming purposes? He was thinking about getting a BCR2000 and getting the MoTet programmer overlay/SysEx template file, but if he can do programming with my Prophet '08, he'd rather just do that.

If the above is possible, would MIDI note information from a keyboard controller be passed through the Prophet '08's MIDI input and out it's MIDI Out (or thru). If not, thats not a big deal, I'm assuming running a simple sequence would be enough for his programming purposes.

I'm aware that the Tetra has some parameters/features that the Prophet '08 lacks, so he'd have to use the local controls for those (sub oscs 1/2 and feedback).

Thanks in advance.

[Sacred Synthesis]

Yes, in the sense that the Prophet '08 then takes the Tetra's voice and becomes a twelve-voice Prophet '08.  The extra features from the Tetra then won't apply to the P'08.

From the Prophet '08 Manual, pg.33:

Using Poly Chain

Poly Chain links two Prophet '08s or a Prophet '08 and one or two Tetras to increase polyphony by intelligently processing the keys hit and passing MIDI data through to the Poly Chain MIDI out jack.

You should have the same programs loaded into all the poly chained instruments. The easiest way to do that is to use the Dump command in the Global menu to dump the programs via MIDI from one synth to the other.

Note: Tetra ships with the Prophet factory programs already loaded into banks one and two. The Prophet does not have Tetra’s sub-octave generators or feedback, so for poly chaining it’s best to either use Prophet programs or Tetra programs that don’t use those features.

[For a Prophet '08 and a Tetra, connect the former's Poly Chain Out to the latter's MIDI In.  In Global, pg. 2, set the Prophet to "Out 4" and the Tetra to "In End".]

You can now virtually ignore the slave unit, since the controls on the master will control the poly chained unit(s) as if they were a single synth. This includes saving a Program; if you save an edited program on the master, it will also save the program on the slave.

Note: If using an external MIDI clock, set the master MIDI clock to MIDI In/Out, and the Slave MIDI clock to MIDI In.

If Poly Chain is set to Off, the Poly Chain MIDI out jack simply duplicates the MIDI out jack.

[proteus-ix]

Yes, in the sense that the Prophet '08 then takes the Tetra's voice and becomes a twelve-voice Prophet '08.  The extra features from the Tetra then won't apply to the P'08.

Note: Tetra ships with the Prophet factory programs already loaded into banks one and two. The Prophet does not have Tetra’s sub-octave generators or feedback, so for poly chaining it’s best to either use Prophet programs or Tetra programs that don’t use those features.

Hmmmmm... so there's no way to get the benefit of the Tetra suboscs when chained with a P8?  I was considering getting those with that exact thing in mind, to give the 8 a little extra beef on the low end.

[chysn]

Yes, in the sense that the Prophet '08 then takes the Tetra's voice and becomes a twelve-voice Prophet '08.  The extra features from the Tetra then won't apply to the P'08.

Note: Tetra ships with the Prophet factory programs already loaded into banks one and two. The Prophet does not have Tetra’s sub-octave generators or feedback, so for poly chaining it’s best to either use Prophet programs or Tetra programs that don’t use those features.

Hmmmmm... so there's no way to get the benefit of the Tetra suboscs when chained with a P8?  I was considering getting those with that exact thing in mind, to give the 8 a little extra beef on the low end.

If they're polychained, and the Tetra is set to a sound that uses the suboscillator, then you'll hear the suboscillator on the notes that the Tetra plays. This might sound nice, or it might sound totally disjointed, but that's how it'll work.

[proteus-ix]

Yes, in the sense that the Prophet '08 then takes the Tetra's voice and becomes a twelve-voice Prophet '08.  The extra features from the Tetra then won't apply to the P'08.

Note: Tetra ships with the Prophet factory programs already loaded into banks one and two. The Prophet does not have Tetra’s sub-octave generators or feedback, so for poly chaining it’s best to either use Prophet programs or Tetra programs that don’t use those features.

Hmmmmm... so there's no way to get the benefit of the Tetra suboscs when chained with a P8?  I was considering getting those with that exact thing in mind, to give the 8 a little extra beef on the low end.

If they're polychained, and the Tetra is set to a sound that uses the suboscillator, then you'll hear the suboscillator on the notes that the Tetra plays. This might sound nice, or it might sound totally disjointed, but that's how it'll work.

Ok great, at least it's good to know they're still available.

[wimichae]

The neat thing is if the Tetra is plugged in to the prophet thru the poly chain, the Tetra can be programmed via the Prophet 08, a sound can be saved, and the Prophet 08 can be reverted to another sound independent of the Tetra! I use the Tetra in conjunction with the Prophet 08 to obtain rhythmic arpeggiated patches, bass sounds, or four-note chords. I have a MIDI sequencer too, so I can create my songs on that. I have never been happier with my decision to get a Prophet 08 and a Tetra.

For some reason, when programming bass sounds, either Sub-oscillator can be used in conjunction with Resonance, and the bass sounds are not sucked away the same way as on my Prophet 08! Amazing design DSI! Now I'm curious if the same is true on the 08 REV 2!