My "American" Prophet 6 has landed!

[Manbird]

This feels a bit like "true confessions," but I've just received my second Prophet 6. I bought my first the day after the Brexit vote, as the £ flopped like a fish. That P6 lives in Berlin. I, however, am back in California for the foreseeable, thanks to C-19. I'm living on my girlfriend's family farm, and between us, we already have a small synth collection, including her Prophet 5 and my Prologue. I love the Prologue. It sounds great and serves my needs well as basic controller synth. The P5 - do I need to say anything about it? My fav synth since I discovered synths. Nevertheless, the Prophet 6 has become my favorite in its own way and being apart from it for months at a time has always bugged me. So, I sold a bit of Beatles memorabilia a few weeks back and ordered a B-stock P6. It's in excellent condition, not a blemish or any signs of wear. Only complaint is the wood side panels aren't as pretty as the ones on my Berlin P6. Anyway, you can see in the pic that we  weren't exactly ready, furniture-wise, for the new addition. I'm thrilled to have a P6 here, regardless what it's sitting on for now!

[Sacred Synthesis]

That is one enviable collection of synths, Ant.  Mmmm.  I could feel quite at home there, especially with the wurly.

[Manbird]

That is one enviable collection of synths, Ant.  Mmmm.  I could feel quite at home there, especially with the wurly.

Thanks, Sacred! Oddly, aside from the (boo! hiss!) Behringer VC340, it's a Korg vs Sequential scene here. My gf's Buchla is in the other room, and the Roland XP-10 we paid $35 for is leaning up against a wall. I rarely use the MS-10 or the PolySix these days, but we're probably going to have to get one of those A-frame three-tier stands. It's understandable that when everything is in reach, more things get more use. 

I don't like to say, but the Wurly is in frustrating shape. I mean, it's obviously not as young as it once was, but a recent trip to a "repair bloke" did as much harm as good. For the three things he fixed, two other things stopped working. Obviously, we're not taking any road trips right now anyway, but I'm amazed at how much luck I've NOT had finding a proper Wurly repairist. If anyone in the SF/Bay Area knows somebody, please say!

I have to say, having the P5 and the P6 in the same room is as much a delight as I'd expected.

[Paul Dither]

That's a great collection, Ant. Nice to see the Prophet-5 and Prophet-6 teaming up.

Btw, if you're unhappy with the wood side panels of your Prophet-6, you might consider ordering replacements from Sequential once the store is open again.

I took a look at the Vintage Vibe electric piano technician directory. The closest technician to you seems to be located in LA. But maybe you can also call Vintage Vibe to see whether they know of anyone who's closer to your current location.

https://www.vintagevibe.com/pages/electric-piano-technician-directory

[Sacred Synthesis]

I don't like to say, but the Wurly is in frustrating shape. I mean, it's obviously not as young as it once was, but a recent trip to a "repair bloke" did as much harm as good. For the three things he fixed, two other things stopped working.

Rules of the vintage road: if you're going to own vintage instruments, you'd better have the skills needed to repair them.  Many moons ago, I had a CAT SRM synthesizer.  It sounded fantastic, but it spent most of its life at the repair shop leaning on its side.  Now I only buy new, but even that provides enough equipment trouble.

[Manbird]

I don't like to say, but the Wurly is in frustrating shape. I mean, it's obviously not as young as it once was, but a recent trip to a "repair bloke" did as much harm as good. For the three things he fixed, two other things stopped working.

Rules of the vintage road: if you're going to own vintage instruments, you'd better have the skills needed to repair them.  Many moons ago, I had a CAT SRM synthesizer.  It sounded fantastic, but it spent most of its life at the repair shop leaning on its side.  Now I only buy new, but even that provides enough equipment trouble.

Of course, when I first got the Wurly 30 years ago it was much less "vintage!" I bought it from a local recording studio for not much money. It was already a little broken in, but years (decades) of gigging, moving and sitting around have taken a toll. My girlfriend is far more tech-handed than me and has been looking into tuning the Wurly. That seems like a pretty do-able job. Regarding only buying new, that does seem to be the road I'm taking - in Berlin I have the little Yamaha CP, and I swear I love it as much as I love the Wurly now. Our Prophet 5 is very overdue for repair, and as long as Greg M is in biz, I don't worry too much (assuming we can someday safely leave the house and make the drive!). I've taken the PolySix to him as well. But for all the daily temptations on Reverb of this old synth or that (like, I came across a Yamaha CS-5 in a studio once, used it on a couple things and suddenly HAD to have one. Hasn't happened, mind!), I'm reaching more and more for new gear. There's so much good stuff, right? Depending on how my Berlin life shifts in the coming months/year, I'll probably sell my Micromoog there and use the cash towards a Grandmother here on the Farm. I just don't think the Micromoog would handle being shipped to Cal. My Pro One in Berlin, though, would indeed HAVE to come back here. I was my first synth and  - again with the Greg M - I know it could be looked after if anything went wonky. Etc. I've been thinking of starting a separate thread to discuss holding onto/letting go of gear, just cos it's something that so many of us relate to. I'm sat staring at a Space Echo that I love, but rarely use now. It makes a great looking "rack unit" as it supports my pre-amp, but I do wonder more and more about paring things down.

I've only encountered one Cat, but I remember being very into its sound!

[Manbird]

That's a great collection, Ant. Nice to see the Prophet-5 and Prophet-6 teaming up.

Btw, if you're unhappy with the wood side panels of your Prophet-6, you might consider ordering replacements from Sequential once the store is open again.

I took a look at the Vintage Vibe electric piano technician directory. The closest technician to you seems to be located in LA. But maybe you can also call Vintage Vibe to see whether they know of anyone who's closer to your current location.

https://www.vintagevibe.com/pages/electric-piano-technician-directory

Thanks for the tips - I'll def contact Vintage Vibe and see if they can suggest someone in Northern California. There used to be a handful of Wurly types, but they've all vanished, seems.

I bet I'll learn to love the P6 side panels, but it's cool to know there's an option with Sequential. The synth sure does sit nicely with the P5, though some proper synth racks would go a long way at this point!

Here's a pic of my Berlin set-up. It's hard to see what's what, but I can say that everything is laid out in as sensible a way as possible - everything is within reach and wired up to do what it's meant to. Here on the Farm, I still have to plug and unplug things, or walk around this to get to that. If something, like the PolySix on top of the Wurly, is too far away for easy use, it doesn't get much used.

[OceanMachine]

Do the side panels match the front-end wood? If so, then I'd personally keep them as is. The problem with my P6 is that the side panel ends are drastically mismatched compared to the much lighter front wood. Pretty annoying on such a high-end instrument.

[Manbird]

Do the side panels match the front-end wood? If so, then I'd personally keep them as is. The problem with my P6 is that the side panel ends are drastically mismatched compared to the much lighter front wood. Pretty annoying on such a high-end instrument.

They do indeed match. It's not that much a concern, really. I'm just so attached to my original P6 that any differences are very apparent. I'm grateful to have two P6s. I mean, yow, right?

It's fascinating how my love of this synth plays out. I finally have it in the same room as the Prophet 5, and it's sitting next to the Prologue, which was meant to be my main, modern polysynth in California. I find that even with those other two at hand, I'm already using the Prophet 6 almost exclusively. It's a much cleaner-sounding synth than the P5, and while the 5's "beautiful blur" is a heavenly thing to experience, I've really grown accustomed to the tightness of the 6. In the bigger picture, each synth I own makes me appreciate the others I've got. They've all got personalities and purpose. But the Prophet 6 gets hired for the job more often than not.