It's Official - Prophet 12 overtakes Korg Poly 800 for self made patches!

Yesterday whilst working on a remix I started experimenting by trying out a few sounds on my Prophet 12.


So shortcut latch & hold to basic program and away I went.


10 minutes later there I am saving a new sound, copying it to layer B on which I change the delay settings add a little glide tweak the cutoff and voila...a super cool bass and lead split! :)


I then realised I've done this a lot.


I don't mean created a lot of bass & Leads, I mean I've saved a lot of my own sounds.


In fact I've probably programmed more of my own sounds from scratch on the Prophet 12 now than I have on any other synth I've owned.


Back in the day my first 'proper' synth was a Korg Poly 800. I had it for more than a decade and wrote tons of sounds for it (at one point I owned THREE of them) and I'll always love it, but I'm pretty sure i'm even more prolific for sound creation on the P12 now than I was on the Poly 800 then.

Certainly for sounds from scratch. On the Poly 800 all sounds were edits of existing presets to some degree as there was no default patch from which to start.


Dave Smith have to be given enormous credit for this, not just for making a lovely sounding synth, but for how they seem to have so perfectly struck the balance between having a user friendly synth yet having enough depth for longevity.


I've had my P12 just over two years now and I still find myself discovering cool little things about it. :)


The shortcut to a Basic Program is brilliant IMO. Without this I wouldn't have been anywhere near as creative from a sound design point of view as I have been and I really wish more synths had it.


I think all Dave Smith synths offer shortcuts like this - it's on my Rev2 too (which is great), but despite this I still find myself writing more sounds on my P12 rather than the REV2 - I think the bigger LED screen just makes it less fiddly somehow and I always find navigating the UI of the REV2 frustrating compared to the P12.


So yes, the mighty have fallen and my Poly 800 now has the runner up spot.


It'll be interesting to see whether I get to the point of catching it with the Rev2 too, but though it sounds great I don't see that being likely - it's just too much fun doing it on the P12.  8)





Gomjab

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I attended a workshop on synthesizer programming strategies given by Daniel Fisher at Sweetwater’s Gearfest this year.  He emphasized using an init patch to start your programming instead of modifying an existing patch.

I’ve been noodling on synthesizers since 1982 and I still picked up some nice tips from the workshop.  Now if I could only find the time to play with the open box Prophet 12 module I bought this summer. 

Do you have the full keyboard version of the P12?

I’m using mine with my Rev2 which I love.

Do you have the full keyboard version of the P12?

I’m using mine with my Rev2 which I love.


Yes I have the keyboard version of both the P12 and REV2. :)


I actually much prefer the keybed on the REV2 to that on the P12, but much prefer the UI on the P12 to the REV2's.


I'd imagine that most of the controls on the REV2 will map automatically to the P12 module were applicable, so I'm sure it'll prove a good choice as a control surface for the P12 desktop. 8)


I'm actually considering getting a P12 desktop myself to go with my keyboard thus giving me a P24!!!  :D

[/size][size=78%]I'm just not sure I can justify the cost and am worried that the UI I love so much has been compromised too much. I do wish they'd [/size][size=78%]just[/size][size=78%] kept it like the [/size][size=78%]desktop[/size][size=78%] versions of the P08 and Rev2 and kept all the knobs and buttons.[/size][size=78%]

Shaw

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I'm actually considering getting a P12 desktop myself to go with my keyboard thus giving me a P24!!!  :D
Is the P12 able to be polychained?  Not in terms of polyphony, but in terms of “turn a knob on the P12 Keyboard and the corresponding change happens on the P12 Desktop”?


Interesting concept for layers....
"Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages." --- Frank Zappa
| Linnstrument | Suhr Custom Modern | Mayones Jaba Custom | Godin Multiac Nylon | Roland TD-50 | Synergy Guitar Amps | Eventide Effects Galore |

I'm actually considering getting a P12 desktop myself to go with my keyboard thus giving me a P24!!!  :D
Is the P12 able to be polychained?  Not in terms of polyphony, but in terms of “turn a knob on the P12 Keyboard and the corresponding change happens on the P12 Desktop”?


Interesting concept for layers....


It can't be poly chained, but I'm pretty sure it'll be parameter for parameter from the keyboard to the desktop/module version.


If so I should be able to edit sounds on the P12 desktop using the UI from the keyboard.

Shaw

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It can't be poly chained, but I'm pretty sure it'll be parameter for parameter from the keyboard to the desktop/module version.
That's what I meant.  If you ever try this, please report back to us.... :)
"Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages." --- Frank Zappa
| Linnstrument | Suhr Custom Modern | Mayones Jaba Custom | Godin Multiac Nylon | Roland TD-50 | Synergy Guitar Amps | Eventide Effects Galore |

Gomjab

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I have not tried mapping the Rev2 knobs to control the P12 module.  I just use the keybed and mod/pitch wheels on Rev2.  As stated I really haven’t had time to dive into the P12 yet.  In the time I did spend the UI is pretty well designed with the minimal controls given.  I would have preferred the “knobbiness” of the keyboard model but I don’t have the free space and I got the open box deal with warranty for $1339 so it was hard to pass up.  And unit looked and functioned perfectly. :)

Thinking about it perhaps I should try to map the Rev2 knobs to the P12.  After playing with new version of Omnisphere I was really impressed with how they mapped Rev2 controls to logical Omnisphere parameters.  It felt like a hardware synth and will definitely increase my use of creating new sounds in Omnisphere. 

It would also make tweaking the P12 easier as the module is not in a convenient spot to move controls while playing.
« Last Edit: August 13, 2018, 02:22:29 PM by Gomjab »

Shaw

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I have not tried mapping the Rev2 knobs to control the P12 module.  I just use the keybed and mod/pitch wheels on Rev2. 
Outside of Pitch and Mod Wheels, that is not likely to work very well... We were talking about the P12 Keyboard and P12 Module.
"Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages." --- Frank Zappa
| Linnstrument | Suhr Custom Modern | Mayones Jaba Custom | Godin Multiac Nylon | Roland TD-50 | Synergy Guitar Amps | Eventide Effects Galore |

Gomjab

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I have not tried mapping the Rev2 knobs to control the P12 module.  I just use the keybed and mod/pitch wheels on Rev2. 
Outside of Pitch and Mod Wheels, that is not likely to work very well... We were talking about the P12 Keyboard and P12 Module.

I realize it is not 1 for 1. My last reply crossed paths with yours while composing.  Omnisphere has opened my eyes to the possibility of mapping controls to great effect.


Shaw

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Omnisphere has opened my eyes to the possibility of mapping controls to great effect.
Absolutely... Spectrasonics has done an AMAZING job with that. 
"Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages." --- Frank Zappa
| Linnstrument | Suhr Custom Modern | Mayones Jaba Custom | Godin Multiac Nylon | Roland TD-50 | Synergy Guitar Amps | Eventide Effects Galore |

Gomjab

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Omnisphere has opened my eyes to the possibility of mapping controls to great effect.
Absolutely... Spectrasonics has done an AMAZING job with that.

I was about to put my Roland System-8 on Reverb but then played with the Omnisphere BETA and decided to wait.  I’m glad I did as Roland is now releasing a JX-3P plug-out for it. 

Getting off topic now so I’ll make that my last word on Omnisphere and System-8s  ;)

This thread has inspired me to fire up the Prophet 12 tonight and really put it though its paces.  I only had time to check out the presets and make sure everything was working when I received it.

Thanks for the nudge!


Omnisphere has opened my eyes to the possibility of mapping controls to great effect.
Absolutely... Spectrasonics has done an AMAZING job with that.

I was about to put my Roland System-8 on Reverb but then played with the Omnisphere BETA and decided to wait.  I’m glad I did as Roland is now releasing a JX-3P plug-out for it. 

Getting off topic now so I’ll make that my last word on Omnisphere and System-8s  ;)

This thread has inspired me to fire up the Prophet 12 tonight and really put it though its paces.  I only had time to check out the presets and make sure everything was working when I received it.

Thanks for the nudge!


Best thing about the new Omnisphere aside from the hardware integration...EIGHT LFOs! :)


Just imagine a Prophet with 8 LFOs - that'd be great!


Keeps fingers crossed for more LFOs when the Prophet 16 (or similar) replaces the P12.  ;D




I find that programming the "standard synth sounds" are pretty easy with the P12.  But it seems anything is programmable on this instrument given a little time invested.  In fact, I'm having difficulty contriving ideas for sounds that I cannot accomplish on it.   A wonderful programming pallet for sure :)
Sequential/DSI Equipment: Poly Evolver Keyboard, Evolver desktop,   Pro-2, Pro-3, OB6, P-12,
 

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