The art
of sound design
Ritardanding
Sonar Traffic
This plucky sound slow down starts fast and then slows down but by using the mod wheel you can speed it back up, thanks to the function generators. The wave envelope does a simple slow move over time, changing the timbre and tonal character while the pluck slows down. I used the pitch shift delay to give it some space. Obviously quite influenced by Rival Consoles / Telephone Tel Aviv here :)
Sonar Traffic - on Prophet-VS V
Wave sequencing is different from wavetable synthesis, it has its own character. The waveforms are very well chosen and moving between them is almost always sort of magical. It’s really inviting to modulate through the 4 sources in various ways, by LFO or the Wave envelope and because you have extra function generators you can add rhythm or other parameter movements.
After I first opened the instrument of course it took me back to the late '80s / early '90s wave and industrial sounds but soon I just went for playing with the various waves. Experimenting with different shapes for the wave envelope gave me a lot of satisfaction. Sometimes doing this very intricate and sometimes very basic worked better.
Weeping Of Moon
Andrea De Paoli
This pad sounds so incredibly mutable and evolving, it produces a lot of different inspiring nuances from huge and spaced sound territories, to thin tuned spatial sweeping, sounds moving slowly back and forth. This sound gather some of the unbelievable and infinite sound capabilities of the Prophet-VS V. The sound is like a traveling in a spaceship cabin through space and time towards unexplored territories.
Andrea De Paoli - on Prophet-VS V
The main strength of the instrument lies in the powerful combination between four mixable waveforms and the vector joystick for controlling your sound modeling. The chance to further automate the path of the vector lets you to make your sound move in every possible thinkable way! I love the straightforwarded interface and the intuitive powerful advanced panel to sculpt and modulate the sound as a fundamental sound design plus.
Normally when I sculpt a sound I begin from an amp envelope (like a pad or a bass amp envelope) or starting from a combination of waveforms sculpted with filters, then I use every weapon that lies in the synth to make the sound exciting, alive, emotional, dark, sometimes with a targeted idea, often reaching unexpected territories thanks to the power of the synth and inspiration. I love to transcend technical knowledge with musical creativity!
Lunar Drive
Solidtrax
This arpeggiated bass sound really reminds me of listening to synthwave tracks during long drives at night by full moon. I tried to create a bass sound that can be a bit haunting at times and gets fatter and wider as the sequence progresses by altering the mod wheel and all macros.
Solidtrax - on Prophet-VS V
Although I never owned a Prophet VS and only played with a Wavestation A/D a couple of times, I now see that I missed out by not playing such a powerful instrument. Arturia did a fantastic job by increasing the mod matrix, adding function generators, effects and really nailing the sound. The envelopes are perhaps its best feature since they can be looped which can result in very interesting timbres.
Denatured Pad
Lily Jordy
This pad is very elusive which is why I love it, it seems to come and go when you play it and the mod wheel sends it into cosmic space.
Lily Jordy - on Prophet-VS V
The Prophet-VS V is a vector synthesis instrument - that in itself is spectacular and unique! There is a lot of richness and depth in what you can do when combining the 4 waveforms and moving between them, in whatever shape and timeframe you desire.
I would start with 1 or 2 waveforms that I chose, especially admid the 450 Factory waves, and then would move the Joystick to find a sweet spot in timbre and color. From there I would decide whether it's best suited to be a pad, string, keys sound etc.
“I wanted to let the Prophet-VS V sound warm and analog but also bright and almost icy since the factory wavetables provide an excellent start. Sometimes I start with something specific in mind, but this time I tried to let the instrument guide me.”
Solidtrax