Sequential Prophet-10 User manual

POLYPHONIC ANALOG SYNTHESIZER

User’s Guide

Version 1.4

Feb, 2021

Sequential LLC

1527 Stockton Street, 3rd Floor

San Francisco, CA 94133

USA

www.sequential.com

Tested to Comply

With FCC Standards

FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to

the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful inter-

ference and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including

interference that may cause undesired operation.

This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian

Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.

Cet appareil numerique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du

Reglement sur le materiel brouilleur du Canada.

For pluggable equipment, the socket-outlet must be installed near the equipment

and must be easily accessible.

For Technical Support, email: [email protected]

CALIFORNIA PROP 65 WARNING

This product may expose you to chemicals including BPA, which is known to the State of

California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Though indepen-

dent laboratory testing has certied that our products are several orders of magnitude

below safe limits, it is our responsibility to alert you to this fact and direct you to:

https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov for more information.

Table of Contents

Welcome Back, Old Friend .................................. x

Chapter 1: Getting Started ...................................1

Rear Panel Connections .......................................2

Using USB ................................................4

Setting Up the Prophet-10 ......................................5

Calibrating the Oscillators and Filters ............................5

Sound Banks ..............................................6

Selecting Programs .........................................6

Editing Programs ...........................................7

How to Check a Parameter Setting in a Preset ....................7

Comparing an Edited Program to its Original State .................8

Creating a Program from Scratch ...............................8

Live Panel Mode ............................................9

Saving a Program ...........................................9

Canceling Save. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Comparing Before You Save ...................................10

Exploring the Prophet-10 ......................................11

Chapter 2: Prophet-10 Controls .............................12

Global Settings ..............................................12

Globals - Top Row .........................................13

Globals - Bottom Row .......................................14

Oscillators ..................................................17

Oscillator Controls .........................................18

Mixer ....................................................21

Filter ....................................................22

Filter Controls ..............................................24

Filter Envelope ............................................25

Filter Envelope Controls .....................................26

Amplier Envelope ...........................................28

Amplier Envelope Controls .................................29

Low Frequency Oscillator ......................................31

LFO Controls .............................................32

Wheel-Mod Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Using LFO and Wheel-Mod ..................................33

Poly Mod ..................................................34

Poly Mod Parameters .......................................35

Using the Vintage Knob .......................................36

Pitch and Mod Wheels ........................................37

Pitch Wheel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Mod Wheel ...............................................38

Adding Aftertouch ............................................38

Glide Rate .................................................39

Unison ....................................................40

Using Chord Memory .......................................41

Master Tune ................................................42

The Release Switch ..........................................43

The Tune Button .............................................44

Key Priority Modes ...........................................45

About Voice Assignment .....................................45

Chapter 3: Creating Sounds .........................................46

Synth Bass .................................................46

Short Version .............................................46

Long Version ..............................................47

Creating Synth Brass .........................................50

Turning Synth Brass into a String Pad ..........................51

Creating a Hard-Sync Lead ....................................51

A Final Word ................................................52

Chapter 4: Using CVs and Gates ............................ 53

Using Prophet-10’s CV Out ....................................53

Adjusting the Prophet-10’s CV Output Scaling: .....................53

Adjusting the Prophet-10’s CV Input Scaling: ......................54

Using Prophet-10’s Gate In and Gate Out .........................55

Appendix A: Troubleshooting and Support ...................57

Troubleshooting .............................................57

Resetting the Global Parameters ................................59

Contacting Technical Support ...................................59

Warranty Repair .............................................60

Appendix B: Calibrating the Prophet-10 ......................61

Calibrating the VCOs and Filters ................................61

Calibrating the Pitch and Mod Wheels ............................61

Resetting the Global Parameters ................................62

Appendix C: Exporting and Importing Programs/Banks .......62

Importing Programs and Banks .................................63

Appendix D: Alternative Tunings ............................64

1. 12-Tone Equal Temperament (non-erasable) .....................64

2. Harmonic Series ...........................................64

3. Carlos Harmonic Twelve Tone ................................64

4. Meantone Temperament ....................................64

5. 1/4 Tone Equal Temperament ................................64

6. 19 Tone Equal Temperament .................................65

7. 31 Tone Equal Temperament .................................65

8. Pythagorean C ............................................65

9. Just Intonation in A with 7-Limit Tritone at D# ....................65

10. 3-5 Lattice in A ...........................................65

11. 3-7 Lattice in A ...........................................65

12. Other Music 7-Limit Black Keys in C ..........................65

13. Dan Schmidt Pelog/Slendro .................................66

14. Yamaha Just Major C ......................................66

15. Yamaha Just Minor C ......................................66

16. Harry Partch 11-Limit 43 Note Just Intonation ...................66

viii

Sequential

ix

Prophet-10 User’s Guide

THE SEQUENTIAL CREW

Art Arellano, Gerry Bassermann, Gus Callahan, Fabien Cesari, Bob Coover, Carson Day,

Chris Hector, Tony Karavidas, Mark Kono, Justin Labrecque, Andy Lambert, Michelle Marshall,

Andrew McGowan, Joanne McGowan, Julio Ortiz, Denise Smith, Brian Tester, Tracy Wadley,

and Mark Wilcox

PROPHET-5/10 SOUND DESIGN

John Bowen, Peter Dyer, Tim Koon, Kurt Kurasaki, Drew Neumann, Julian Pollack/J3PO,

Francis Preve, Robert Rich, Paul Schilling, Nicholas Semrad, Mitchell Sigman, Matia Simovich,

Huston Singletary, James Terris, and Mitch Thomas

Special thanks to Robert Rich for the alternative tunings content.

x

Welcome Back, Old Friend

Sequential

Welcome Back, Old Friend

It’s not often you get to revisit your past with the accumulated knowledge and experience

of the intervening years. Even rarer is the opportunity to retrieve some of the magic of

those days and give it new life.

I was 28 when I created the original Prophet-5. Silicon Valley was just taking shape

and I had the notion that these new-ish things called microprocessors might be useful in

designing an electronic instrument — a fully programmable polyphonic synthesizer —

the rst of its kind.

It turned out I was right. The Prophet-5 changed many things: the basic concept of the

polyphonic synth, how musicians used them, and even the sound of music back then.

One thing that’s not generally remembered is that when I originally designed the

Prophet-5, I engineered it so that it could be a ten-voice synth by adding a second voice

card. So there were actually two versions of the original Prophet — the Prophet-5 and the

Prophet-10. Very few original Prophet-10s survive today.

Fast forward to 2020. I’ve just turned 70, and after contemplating the how and why,

decided the time was right to welcome an old friend back to the musical stage. So let me

present, once again, the Prophet-5 — and the Prophet-10. Or as we call them around here,

the Prophet-5 and Prophet-10 Rev4.

Without going into a lot of technical details, I’ll tell you that we designed the new Prophet-5

with the original, genuine Curtis VCOs and lters used in the Prophet-5 Rev3, and the new,

Dave Rossum- designed SSI 2140 lter, which is the modern counterpart of the original SSM

2040 Dave designed in the Prophet-5 Rev1 and Rev2.

This is why you’ll nd a “Rev” switch to choose your preferred lter and a “Vintage”

knob that will loosen up the oscillators and envelopes just like they were in the good

old days. It lets you dial in progressively more vintage character as you go from a stable

4 (as in Prophet-5 Rev4) all the way to 1 (as in Prophet-5 Rev1, the rarest and most

temperamental of all Prophet-5s).

We’ve even included the original factory sounds. (Listen to programs 511-558.)

It’s been a labor of love. So grab those knobs and make some analog magic.

Cheers,

xi

Prophet-10 User’s Guide

Welcome Back, Old Friend

1

Prophet-10 User’s Guide

Chapter 1: Getting Started

The Prophet-10 is a ten-voice, polyphonic analog synthesizer with analog

voltage-controlled oscillators, lters, and ampliers. It faithfully repro-

duces the vintage sound and features of all three revisions of the original

Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. It does this through the use of genuine

Curtis VCOs and lters as well as Dave Rossum’s newly designed SSI

2140 lter — the modern counterpart of his original SSM 2040, which

was used in vintage Prophet-5-Rev1 and Rev2 synths. The Prophet Rev3

featured CEM 3320 Curtis lters. By featuring both types of lters, the

new Prophet-5 provides the best of all worlds — and all Prophet-5s.

The Prophet-10 is rst and foremost a performance instrument. All of

its sound-shaping controls are immediately accessible on its front panel,

packing a tremendous amount of power and versatility into a compact,

easy-to-use format.

This chapter of your user’s guide provides an overview of essential tasks

such as how to make basic audio connections and how to edit and save

sounds. Later chapters explain each of the parameters of the Prophet-10

as well as how to program sounds and how to use the global menu to

manage its overall behavior.

All of the Prophet-10’s essential controls are within easy reach on its

front panel, so go ahead and dive in and start turning knobs and pressing

buttons to explore its sound and capabilities. Then, when you’re ready,

dig into this user’s guide to explore the deeper parts of the synth.

Prophet-10 front panel

2

Rear Panel Connections

Sequential

Rear Panel Connections

The rear panel of the Prophet-10 has connectors for power, USB, MIDI,

audio, and pedals.

1. Power On/Off—This rocker switch controls power on and off to the

Prophet-10.

2. AC Power Connector—Accepts a standard, grounded IEC power

cord. Operates over a range of 100 to 240 volts and 50 to 60 Hz.

3. USB—For bidirectional MIDI communication with a computer. The

Prophet-10 is a Class Compliant USB device and does not require addi-

tional drivers when used with Mac OS or Windows. See “Using USB” on

page 4 for more information.

4. MIDI In, Out, Thru—Standard 5-pin MIDI DIN connectors for

communicating with MIDI-equipped devices.

5. Release—Accepts a momentary, normally open or normally closed

footswitch to control sustain.

6. Pedal —These two connectors accept a standard expression pedal

that has a variable resistor on a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) ¼ inch phone plug.

Connecting a pedal to the amp connector controls volume. Connecting a

pedal to the filter connector controls lter cutoff.

1 2

3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

3

Prophet-10 User’s Guide

Rear Panel Connections

7. Control Voltage Out—Standard ¼ inch connector. This jack outputs a

0- +5V signal for interfacing with modular synthesizers and other devices

that support this type of connectivity. It is congured for 1-volt-per-

octave operation for gear that recognizes that standard. The CV output

tracks the last note played on the Prophet-10 keyboard.

8. Gate Out—Standard ¼ inch connector. This jack outputs a 15-volt

on/off signal typically used to gate the envelopes of an external synth

that supports this type of connectivity. The Gate Out signal is triggered

whenever a key is pressed on the Prophet-10.

9. Control Voltage In—Standard ¼ inch connector. This jack accepts

a 0 to + 5V signal for interfacing with modular synthesizers and other

devices that support this type of connectivity. They are congured for

1-volt-per-octave operation for gear that recognizes that standard. A CV

In signal affects only a single voice of the Prophet-10.

10. Gate In—Standard ¼ inch connector. This jack accepts a 1.5 to

15-volt on/off signal to gate the envelopes of a single voice on the

Prophet-5. Whenever a ¼ inch connector is inserted into the rear-panel

gate in jack on the Prophet-10, its keyboard polyphony is reduced to

9 voices. The envelopes of the fth voice are triggered by the gate in

signal.

11. Phones — ¼ inch stereo headphone jack. Headphone volume is

controlled by the volume knob on the front panel.

12. Audio Out—Unbalanced, ¼ inch audio output.

1 2

3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

4

Rear Panel Connections

Sequential

Using USB

The Prophet-10’s USB 2.0 port enables bidirectional MIDI communica-

tion with a computer. A MIDI interface and MIDI cables are not neces-

sary, just a USB cable. The Prophet-10 is a Class Compliant USB device.

That means it does not require any additional drivers to be installed to

communicate with a Mac or Windows computer. The Prophet-10 trans-

mits and receives MIDI data via USB, but does not transmit audio.

MIDI In and USB should not be used at the same time, as overlapping

messages from different sources may cause the Prophet-5 to respond unpredictably.

MIDI Out and USB can be used at the same time and transmit the same data.

Under Mac OS, “Prophet-5/10” will appear as a MIDI port when

connected via USB and can be congured using the Mac’s Audio MIDI

Setup utility (typically found in Applications/Utilities).

Under Windows, the rst time the Prophet-10 is connected via USB, the

“Found new hardware” alert appears and it is automatically installed as

“Prophet-10.”

In Windows, if you unplug the USB cable and plug it back in while a

program has the Prophet-10 port open, you may have to resync. That

usually means going to the Prophet-10 Keyboard Properties — in the

Windows Device Manager under “Sound, video, and game control-

lers” — and clicking OK. If Prophet-10 is no longer listed in the Device

Manager, turn off the Prophet-10 then turn it back on again while it is

connected via USB. It should be detected on power up.

5

Prophet-10 User’s Guide

Setting Up the Prophet-10

Here’s how to get your Prophet-10 up and running:

1. Plug the power cable into the AC power connector on the back panel of

the Prophet-10.

2. If you have an expression pedal, connect it to amp (for volume) or

filter (for lter cutoff) on the back of the Prophet-10. If you have a

sustain pedal, connect it to the release jack.

3. Turn on the Prophet-10.

4. Connect the audio out connector on the back of the Prophet-10 to your

amp/mixer/powered speakers using an unbalanced, ¼ inch audio cable.

This is the main (mono) output for the synth.

5. Turn up the volume on your amp/mixer/powered speakers.

6. Turn up the volume on the Prophet-10.

7. Use the group, bank, and program switches to explore factory sounds.

Calibrating the Oscillators and Filters

The rst time you use the Prophet-10, please run its built-in calibration

procedure. Repeat the calibration procedure as needed over the next few

days of use. The Prophet-10 learns the range of temperatures at your

location and will keep itself in tune over this range.

Later, if you use the Prophet-10 in a different environment that is

measurably warmer or cooler (on stage, in an air-conditioned studio, and

so on) run the calibration procedure again.

To calibrate the oscillators and lters:

1. Press the tune button. The program select button LEDs begin ash-

ing in sequence and the numeric display indicates the tuning sequence

while the Prophet-10 performs its auto-calibration procedure. Don’t

turn off the power while it’s doing this.

2. When nished, the front panel controls return to normal and you can

play the Prophet-10.

6

Setting Up the Prophet-10

Sequential

Sound Banks

The Prophet-10 contains a total of 400 programs. 200 are permanent

“Factory” programs and 200 are “User” programs that can be over-

written. You can edit the programs of either set, but you can only save

sounds to the User set.

When the factory switch is enabled, the permanent Factory sound set is

active. When the factory switch is disabled, the User sound set is active.

As shipped from the factory, both sound sets are identical.

Group, Bank, and Program Number selectors

Selecting Programs

Use the group, bank, and program selector buttons to select and recall

programs.

To choose a program:

1. Press the group select button to specify the “hundreds” bank of the

program. Each time you press the button, the number increments and

cycles through Groups 1-5.

2. Press the bank select button to specify the “tens” bank of the program.

Each time you press the button, the number increments and cycles

through Banks 1-5.

3. Press the a program selector button (1-8) to specify the “ones” digit of

the program.

To choose program 123, for example:

1. Press the group select button as many times as needed to cycle around to 1.

2. Press the bank select button as many times as need to cycle around to 2.

3. Press program selector button 3.

7

Prophet-10 User’s Guide

Setting Up the Prophet-10

It’s not always necessary to enter all 3 digits of a program number to

recall it.

For example:

• If the current program is 111 and you want to recall program 118,

simply press “8.”

• If the current program is 111 and you want to recall program 121,

simply press the bank select button as many times as necessary to

cycle around to “2.”

• If the current program is 111 and you want to recall program 211,

simply press the group select button as many times as necessary to

cycle around to “2.”

Pressing the globals button three times in a row saves the current program as

the default program that appears when you turn on the Prophet-10.

Editing Programs

Because all of the sound-shaping controls of the Prophet-10 appear on its

front panel, editing an existing program is simple: just turn a knob and listen

to its effect. Keep turning knobs and pressing buttons and if you like what

you’ve created, save the program. (See “Saving a Program” on page 9.)

How to Check a Parameter Setting in a Preset

When you’re editing a preset, the Prophet-10 has a convenient way of

indicating the programmed (saved) value for any knob parameter: Whenever

you turn a knob and reach the saved value of a given parameter, an LED dot

in the main Prophet-10 display will illuminate.

This dot illuminates

The dot illuminates when a knob position matches a preset’s saved parameter value

8

Setting Up the Prophet-10

Sequential

Comparing an Edited Program to its Original State

When editing a program, it’s often useful to compare its edited state to

its original state to evaluate your edits. Alternatively, before saving a

program to a new location you may want to check the program in the

target location before you overwrite it.

To compare an edited program to a saved version:

1. Edit a program.

2. Press the record button. It starts ashing.

3. Press the global button. Both LEDs on the button light up, indicating

compare mode.

4. Play the keyboard to hear the saved version of the sound.

5. To disable the compare function and return to the edited sound, turn off

the global button. Programs can’t be written while in compare mode.

6. If you want to save the edited sound, the record button is still ash-

ing and ready to save, so enter a location with the program selector

buttons. The sound is saved.

7. Alternatively, if you want to cancel saving and continue editing, press

the record button. It stops ashing and saving is canceled.

Creating a Program from Scratch

An existing program can be very useful as a jumping off point for new

sounds. But it’s also useful (and educational) to create a new sound from

scratch. The Prophet-10 makes this easy by providing a “Basic Preset”

that you can quickly recall at any time. This preset is very simple, with a

single oscillator as its basis.

To recall the Basic Preset:

1. Hold down the record button.

2. Press the preset button.

9

Prophet-10 User’s Guide

Setting Up the Prophet-10

Live Panel Mode

The Prophet-10 also features a “live panel” mode in which its sound

switches to the current settings of its knobs and switches. In other words,

the current preset is ignored and what you see on the front panel is what you

hear. This is a great mode for learning, experimentation, and instant gratication.

To enter live panel mode:

• Press the preset button to toggle it off. Changing Groups, Banks or

Programs with Preset off won’t affect the sound.

To return to preset mode:

• Press the preset button again to toggle it on.

PRESET

Toggling off the preset button enables “live panel” mode

Saving a Program

If you’ve created a sound that you like, you’ll probably want to save it.

Saving a program overwrites a previously saved program. Sound design-

ers often save many incremental versions of a program as they continue

to rene it. These intermediate versions often make good jumping off

points for new sounds.

To save an edited program to the same preset location:

1. Press the record button. Its LED begins blinking.

2. Press a program selector button (1-8) to specify the “ones” digit of the

program.

3. The record button LED stops blinking and the program is saved into

the User sound set.

Be careful when record is enabled. You can change groups and banks without

executing write, but once you press a program selector button (1-8) for the “ones”

digit, the record command is executed and the program at that location is overwritten.

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