The art
of sound design
“Every time I get a new synthesizer (or effect processor, plugin, etc.), I spend a long time studying the machine - reading the manual, learning how to operate it. After that, the first sounds I usually program are my bread-and-butter sounds. These are some of the signature patches that I have developed over the years. In the process of programming patches I use a lot - and that I have programmed many times on other synths - I start discovering the special features or unusual behaviors the new machine has. For instance, the cross-modulation feature with oscillator 2 applied to the filter on the Prophet-5 V produces very rich harmonics and movement that no other machine is capable of. When the new machine's unique behaviors have been revealed, creativity is already planning what sounds I could try that would be impossible to make on any other machine.”
Diego Tejeida
Lofi Henri VIII
Diego Tejeida
The preset named LoFi Henry VIII is one of my favorite patches on the Prophet-5 V for various reasons: I am a big fan of tape and tape machines, especially if they are old and the heads are magnetized, as they add a lot of flavor with their wow and flutter. The patch LoFi Henry VIII has a slow, pitch-drifting LFO that adds that broken tape sound--not to mention that the core of this patch comes from a constant pulse width modulation on VCO 1. No other machine produces a PWM tone like the Prophet does!
Diego Tejeida - on Prophet-5 V
Over the past 10 years, as my synth collection has gotten bigger, I’ve been moving away from the software synth world. There is simply no comparison between clicking a mouse and staring at a computer screen and the immediacy of tweaking knobs and experiencing the sound first-hand. The Prophet-5 V, however, has a beautiful GUI that makes the experience as organic as it gets in the software world - and its sound is absolutely spot-on! Only the Prophet has that crunchy PWM sound, and the Prophet-5 V brings you that exact sound as soon as you start modulating - not to mention the added option of being able to control the voice dispersion. To me, these added imperfections make a sound real.
GleamingKeys
Ed TenEyck
This one reminds me of the feeling I would get hearing some synth tracks growing up, so there's some nostalgia there. It has a higher OSC with a fast attack and a lower one that fades in. The mod wheel controls vibrato for the lower OSC only so that can be quite fun!
Ed TenEyck - on Prophet-5 V
To me the Prophet-5 V allows for fast creation of sounds for a track. Sometimes I'll use presets which is fine, but taking a bit of time making a sound from scratch isn't time consuming enough to hinder the writing process. One thing that Arturia added to the software version which I like is the function generator and the ability to use it as an envelope or LFO.
Sometimes I'll have an idea in mind and attempt to bring it to life. Other times I'll just go for it and see what the sound inspires. Often I'll be making what I think is going to be a lead, for example, but decide it would be better as a pad with a few envelope tweaks! I've always had a thing for the sound of the Prophet, hearing it on so many wonderful tracks throughout the years. Arturia's Prophet-5 V expands shaping possibilities while keeping it easy to use. I love it!
Morning Water
Solidtrax
This soft, mellow and atmospheric sounding preset can be played in lots of different ways. I am fond of the coherence between the raw sounds and the effects. It really shows that the Prophet-5 is not only about raw and hard sync sounds, but can be soft and smooth as well. With this little demo I wanted to showcase this side of this synthesizer. It builds up in arrangement and by adjusting the mod wheel and all macros.
Solidtrax - on Prophet-5 V
Although I have a Prophet-6 in the studio and I played multiple times on several revisions of the Prophet-5 I really like what Arturia did in terms of raw sound, the several additions, the effects, but also the wonderful GUI that they gave this last revision of their Prophet-5 V. This synthesizer is a joy to work with and together with the excellent poly mod and calibration sections make it a very capable, but foremost, very versatile synthesizer.
The Prophet-5 V synthesizer is a synthesizer that will, once you connect with it, lead your way. The sounds will 'automagically' appear and it really invites you to experiment. The same counts for the factory preset in my opinion, these presets really want to be mangled and be played with.
Liquid Story
Jean Michel_Blanchet
Liquid Story highlights these 2 incomparable sonic characteristics of the Prophet 5 as well as the use of the Poly mod to modulate the filter cutoff frequency with the VCO2 in low frequency mode.
Jean-Michel Blanchet - on Prophet-5 V
The Prophet 5 has always been one of my favourite synthesizers for its very warm sounds and its unique liquid resonant filter.
I always prefer to start from an 'init' sound to create a new preset. At the beginning of a sound design period, I try to imagine what kind of sounds I should have in my bank, for example, if it should have a specific style or if it should be a Factory bank. After that, I start to create my sounds, taking into account the specificities of the synth and what we need to show to be as close as possible to the color of the original synth. Or on the contrary, to move away from it by using additional settings or modulations in the advanced panel. Then, I start to classify them by type, I progressively build my bank, and I finish with the details (comments, creation of macros, volume settings, and so on).