Prophet 10 loosing tune after a few minutes

[Micky]

Whatīs this
Can tune it as often i want, after a few minutes, about 5-10, itīs a little bit higher or deeper, 5-10 cents.
Sometimes all voices the same, sometimes differences in the voices. (Round robin, so i can see )
Deleted the tuning tables several times.
OS 201 is on it, i donīt want the new 2.04 because of the change from the velocity-holf-function (loudness).
If itīs a few cents out of tune after a few minutes i can switch power off and on and then itīs in tune, but also
only for a few minutes ?!?
Iīm afraid, thereīs a real defect that the synth "forgets" the tuningtable...
Anyone an idea ?

[g3o2]

Hi Chris,

Not a solution but just an idea: have you tried reinstalling the two pieces of firmware? Perhaps there is some corruption in the memory, just speculating here of course. Best to contact support I guess :-)

Enjoy the Easter Sunday,
Georges

[Micky]

Hi Chris,

Not a solution but just an idea: have you tried reinstalling the two pieces of firmware? Perhaps there is some corruption in the memory, just speculating here of course. Best to contact support I guess :-)

Enjoy the Easter Sunday,
Georges

Iīll try reinstalling next. Thank you...

[dangerous]

It stores a calibration for every degree in temperature (displayed when you hit 'Tune'), so you need to build up calibrations for every temperature.  I cleared my calibration table then tuned it every two minutes or so as it warmed up, and since then I haven't really had any tuning issues.

[BT]

Hi there - just stepping in. I highly recommend AGAINST calibrating the P10 every 2 minutes. That's not quite the way the calibration process works (interpolation is involved, which will be complicated by running too many calibrations). Instead, calibrate after it's been on for a few minutes, thereafter every 20 minutes or so until temperature plateaus. I hope this helps!

[Jaxigally]

I've been running into this as well... I haven't cleared any tuning tables and I only run the tuning when it is well out of tune. However, it does over time continue to drift sharp. For me, luckily, it takes more like 30 minutes before it becomes significant, but after a couple of hours it is way out of tune. Usually the oscillators are still in relative tune with each other, but not always. Like the OP, turning it off and back on again immediately seems to correct the issue without doing a retuning (and the temperature should not really be changing in any significant way for the 2 seconds I have it off).

I had chalked all this up to it being an analog synth (this is my first), but it sounds like this isn't the common experience?

I've also had an issue where after tuning completes all voices are completely messed up and are distorting (without increased level). Turning it off and back on again usually fixes this -- but sometimes it takes a few reboots. Retuning again may also fix this -- but I don't recall if I've confirmed that.

[Pl@ton]

I've had some problems with tuning, having to push tuning button several times per day, then around 2 months ago, the problem has disappeared and I haven't pushed the button once since then.
So my message is just to say, yes, P10/P5 can stay perfectly in tune.

[Jaxigally]

So a quick update on what I was seeing. The way I was testing whether it was out of tune was using the built in A440 button and comparing to a init patch (plus a non-detuned Osc B added in to test it as well). What I was reliably seeing (and still seeing) is that it would be that playing the A key would be out of tune after a while with the A440. I assumed the A440 was correct.

Funny thing... the oscillators themselves and the synth actually were what were in tune. The A440 was going sharp over time. This surprised me as I kind of assumed this would be rock solid, and should be used for tuning. Turning the unit off and on again, the A440 is correct and the synth is unchanged. Go figure...

[g3o2]

Now _that_ would have to be considered a bug, given that A440 is supposed to be an absolute reference tone. The fact that it comes back to normal after reboot gives rise to hope, for this hints at a software bug. Have you already reported this observation to support?

[Jaxigally]

Now _that_ would have to be considered a bug, given that A440 is supposed to be an absolute reference tone. The fact that it comes back to normal after reboot gives rise to hope, for this hints at a software bug. Have you already reported this observation to support?

I completely agree it would be a bug... However, I'm going to do some more testing to make sure I am seeing what I think I am seeing. It seems... implausible. And I've already confused myself on this issue before.

[g3o2]

Isn’t it astounding how a reboot can often solve implausible electricity and software problems on its own? Not very elegant unfortunately.

On a similar note, I’ve observed on repeated unexplainable occasions stuck notes which had came in via MIDI. Absent a panic button on the Prophet itself, only a reboot would remove the issue, while changing presets would not. Recently, I had an epiphany and decided to push the Unison button instead of rebooting and behold, the stuck notes faded away immediately.

[Jaxigally]

Isn’t it astounding how a reboot can often solve implausible electricity and software problems on its own? Not very elegant unfortunately.

On a similar note, I’ve observed on repeated unexplainable occasions stuck notes which had came in via MIDI. Absent a panic button on the Prophet itself, only a reboot would remove the issue, while changing presets would not. Recently, I had an epiphany and decided to push the Unison button instead of rebooting and behold, the stuck notes faded away immediately.

Nice trick! I wouldn't have guessed that would work, if it really was a stuck key down. I guess unison has a hidden MIDI panic built in -- which is great to know. I certainly run into this on occasion, but in my DAW where I have a DAW MIDI panic to press.

Regarding the A440 going out of tune, I haven't reproduced it. Indeed my Prophet 10 is getting more and more stable tuning-wise for longer and longer periods of time. However after about 4 hours I noticed it going out of tune with A440 (but in tune with itself). This time I verified with a separate digital synth on an init patch, and the A440 agreed with the other synth, so I think I may have been mistaken in my earlier epiphany. And a reboot did *not* fix it this time -- pressing the Tune button yet again did.

However, the Prophet is making steady progress toward being rock solid -- and certainly it no longer is giving me grief in my recording, so I'm a happy camper.

[558]

It never seems off when I just pick up with the last bookmarked program (that I save after making).  It's a groove thing.  It gets into a groove and never falls off tune.  It picks up where you leave off.  I dump programs into it from the streamdeck and they come up exactly as they should sound.  Do you Use MIDI-OX to record your new programs.

[Jaxigally]

I haven't saved anything off yet... I probably should do that, now that I am making some patches I actually want to keep. I downloaded a free patch manager thing that was referenced elsewhere on the forum. I should probably set that up today.

Tuning seems completely unrelated to the patches though... It would be rather unfortunate if patches were tuning dependent!

[558]

I haven't saved anything off yet... I probably should do that, now that I am making some patches I actually want to keep. I downloaded a free patch manager thing that was referenced elsewhere on the forum. I should probably set that up today.

Tuning seems completely unrelated to the patches though... It would be rather unfortunate if patches were tuning dependent!

I know what you mean, but if you use certain midi controllers, such as my Oxygen 8 II (now something like 15 years old equipment) and if you try to use a default 0-127 dial to change a square wave on or off on the prophet, then you can end up kind of messing up the settings.  I have done that, and I can't tell you exactly what I did.  It just messed it up. 

However I have had some tuning problems but that was in the distant past.  If you don't move it that's probably the best thing.  And use it a lot.  I had a few days of bizarre sounds in a new location, but then it settled in and I have had no problems with it since. 

The patches come up the way they should.  The tuning is off if the patches have programmed it off.  There are several knobs that are related to tuning in a patch, such as the poly mod and mod frequency options with their governing knobs, oscillator frequencies, Unison detunes, the fine tune, the tuning knob?  I don't know I always keep mine in the center and never try saving patches with it off center. 

It is easy to save the patches (programs) just download MIDI OX and look in the view tab click Sysex, this opens the sysex view, you go to the sysex tab and click the "sysex dump" and it waits....
now click Global key on prophet, then 6 (top row) global again, then 7 (Bottom row) then use up down keys to left of digits, to choose program, group, bank, user or all.  Now the record button sends your program to the computer's waiting MIDI OX program and it displays in the Sysex display window (lower) so you go to save display window in the menus, and choose a name like 558 (description maybe some details?) and it goes to your MIDI OX programs folder.  Occasionally I will save a Bank, Group or User.  Rarely save any ALL as the factory rarely if ever change.  I have thousands of these saved.  Ok well hundreds and hundreds at least.   

[Musician-UK]

I had a similar issue

Whatīs this
Can tune it as often i want, after a few minutes, about 5-10, itīs a little bit higher or deeper, 5-10 cents.
Sometimes all voices the same, sometimes differences in the voices. (Round robin, so i can see )
Deleted the tuning tables several times.
OS 201 is on it, i donīt want the new 2.04 because of the change from the velocity-holf-function (loudness).
If itīs a few cents out of tune after a few minutes i can switch power off and on and then itīs in tune, but also
only for a few minutes ?!?
Iīm afraid, thereīs a real defect that the synth "forgets" the tuningtable...
Anyone an idea ?

[Musician-UK]

I had a similar issue and sequential replaced the unit, it was a faulty main board

Whatīs this
Can tune it as often i want, after a few minutes, about 5-10, itīs a little bit higher or deeper, 5-10 cents.
Sometimes all voices the same, sometimes differences in the voices. (Round robin, so i can see )
Deleted the tuning tables several times.
OS 201 is on it, i donīt want the new 2.04 because of the change from the velocity-holf-function (loudness).
If itīs a few cents out of tune after a few minutes i can switch power off and on and then itīs in tune, but also
only for a few minutes ?!?
Iīm afraid, thereīs a real defect that the synth "forgets" the tuningtable...
Anyone an idea ?