Can I actually move my PROPHET 08 patches to a Tetra? Advantages? Drawbacks?

Hello Fellow Users!

I play a Prophet 08 in a touring band. We are trying to remove some weight from our traveling gear, so we are exploring leaving the PROPHET 08 we use and replace it with a TETRA + a midi controller. It's an investment, so I want to do this right.

I wish to know if it's a realistic move. I do not tweak parameters live, nor use any pedals. I just play the patches I have been developing on the Prophet 08.

QUESTIONS:
1. Can I move my patches to the Tetra?
2. Will it sound the same? I only use one hand (my other hand plays a Nord) with maximum 4 fingers at the same time.
3. What drawbacks can I expect?

Thanks for your help everyone!
GodSpeed!
Champi 

In response to your questions...

1. Yes. Programs and banks of programs exported as Sysex from the Prophet'08 can be loaded into the Tetra without any problems at all.

2. The Tetra should sound exactly the same as the Prophet'08. I had both for a while and the only difference I could find when using sounds designed on the P08 was that the Tetra had a slightly louder output.

3. The only drawback is polyphony - 4 voices rather than the 8 you had on the Prophet.

dslsynth

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I have heard something about the Tetra being more likely to click with short attack times. Ask around for current status! There may be plenty of information on this on the old DSI forum.
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Jason

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    • Bandmix
I have heard something about the Tetra being more likely to click with short attack times. Ask around for current status! There may be plenty of information on this on the old DSI forum.

I haven't noticed more clicking with my Tetra; it seems the same. (For me, the clicking is the most frustrating quality of the pair.) They sound the same. It's pretty amazing that we can get the sound of half a Prophet '08 into such a little package. It is also very easy to dump patches or banks from the '08 into the Tetra and back again.

As Fuseball said: "The only drawback is polyphony - 4 voices rather than the 8 you had on the Prophet."
Keep in mind that the difference in voices can affect patches that have long release times. Depending on what is played, with 8 voices, some sounds fade out naturally but can cut out more abruptly with only 4.

Sacred Synthesis

I had one of the earlier Tetras, and there was indeed a clicking sound at the attack phase that made it useless for soft bass patches.  But I believe an update fixed that problem.

Tetra and Prophet '08 envelopes are identical. The entire voice architecture and signal path is identical, save for the Tetra's additional sub-oscillators and feedback, and 4 voice polyphony versus 8. There should be no perceived difference in moving Prophet '08 programs to Tetra, except as already noted the Tetra will be slightly louder because we had to leave more headroom in the Prophet '08 due to the increased polyphony.
SEQUENTIAL | OBERHEIM

Sacred Synthesis

But there used to be a clicking problem with the older Tetras that has since been fixed, correct?  I never had the problem with my Prophet '08s, even when creating the same soft bass patches.

dslsynth

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Tetra and Prophet '08 envelopes are identical. The entire voice architecture and signal path is identical, save for the Tetra's additional sub-oscillators and feedback, and 4 voice polyphony versus 8. There should be no perceived difference in moving Prophet '08 programs to Tetra, except as already noted the Tetra will be slightly louder because we had to leave more headroom in the Prophet '08 due to the increased polyphony.

I totally get that the common voice parameters are identical. I just remember Pym talking about Tetra having shared VCA and that causing a some challenges on shorter attack times. There were quite a bit of discussion on this back in the day on the other DSI forum.
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cp -f $0 $HOME/.signature

Sacred Synthesis

I know for a fact the problem existed because my Tetra had it, and for that reason alone I sold it.  Even moving the attack back to 12 or 14 wouldn't eliminate the clicking sound, and beyond that point, your bass patch looses its precision.  But I believe OS updates have fixed it.  Which is to say, I'd love to get another Tetra.  It's one of the best-sounding instruments I've played.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2016, 12:41:31 PM by Sacred Synthesis »

... I'd love to get another Tetra.  It's one of the best-sounding instruments I've played.

Is the sound different from the Prophet 08 you mean?
Prophet '08 owner since 2015

Sacred Synthesis

Essentially, yes, except for the Tetra's sub oscillators, feedback, and the ability to process each voice individually or run them to separate mixer channels.  The mono patches you can create with these additions are just immense.  Plus, I tended to use it differently from a Prophet '08 - more as a solo instrument, due to its configuration.  I'd love to get another just for bass and melody.  The shortcoming, of course, is the interface and the amount of menu scrolling you have to do (without the editor) when designing sounds, but you can always just stick with a few programs.
« Last Edit: April 06, 2016, 07:40:42 AM by Sacred Synthesis »