Part 1 of 5: Prophet 6 vs Prophet 8 Oscillators Comparison

[@jupitermarx]

I'm very thankful your kind enough to do this for all of us! I've owned the Pro 08 for two years and have just ordered a Pro 6! So this will be very useful.

[@ProckGnosis]

Thanks for the video. I was curious if someone had done a direct comparison, and well, here you go.

[@goldphinga]

great video- the headache of setting up modulation on the P08 is why I sold mine and bought the 6. Also, the 6 just sounds SO much more musical than the 8. IMHO :) Thanks for the great vid.

[@SPAZZOID100]

Yep. The user interface is 50% of what makes a synth good or bad for me.

[@Spidouz]

+James Reeno I'd say 40% for the interface, 40% for the sound, 10% for features and 10% for the "cool" factor (name, marketing, nostalgia, history, online community, additional sound banks/presets, etc...).

[@keroonetv]

disagree on the musical part. the 08 sounds better to me.

[@gravyguns]

All musical instruments can sound as musical as any other instrument. It's up to you the user to make it sound as musical as you want it to sound. Obviously your sound design skills are limited for you to even say something so absurd and out of touch with reality.

[@busch028]

Cool stuff. Thanks for taking the time to put this together and post it. Will be watching the rest of the series.

[@talicook235]

Wow great job man, really glad I took the time to pay attention to what you were doing. Super helpful!

[@anthonycatacoli]

There's only a slight difference between the P06 VCO and the P08 DCO but you can tell the VCO's are warmer in most cases. Its nice and not necessary better than the other rather they do have certain taste factors. I Di rather hear a huge difference when he swept the PW on the P08. Its lovely now the classic VCO is smoother and not in a step factor like the DCO's. This was such a great review. My p06 is currently in the mail and now I most definitely don't regret getting the 06. Thanks!

[@BillyBatsonMarvel]

Now we need an OB-6 vs Prophet 6 five part video series. ;-)

[@StarskyCarr]

+Billy Batson Haha... I know. If only I had the cash!! ;) Could be time to finally sell the P8

[@FK-ve2cf]

I prefer the 08

[@BobIGomez]

Maybe it was bad timing for me on the Prophet 08. I never had the time to explore it properly & I felt the best sounds were in stack mode=4 voices. I seem to be sneaking by just fine with the 6 voices & 49 keys of the Prophet-6.

[@joeb3805]

oh my god. thank you so much for this vid. now im sure i want the 12 first!

[@StarskyCarr]

Lol, an interesting conclusion.

[@tylernicolo7654]

That's what I thought. How did this video make you sure you want the 12? 🤣 We need more info!

[@MessiahGaming1080p]

The P6 have more of that Swaying analog sound, like real beating oscillators and the 08 sound a bit more straight if that makes sense. Which is definitely from the digital side of it, digital always put things in order and order is more boring and less pleasing to the ear. Thanks for the nice comparison.

[@georgegeorgio1751]

MessiahGaming1080p not sure if it has drift feature but that would help

[@Store1Ar]

so... Prophet 8 or Prophet 6 for a warmer sound? I felt the P8 better, and you guys ?

[@MadelnMachines]

Prophet Rev 2 is out! 16 Voice Prophet 08 redesign! Are you getting one?

[@darrengoodenough8064]

Just bought a prophet 08 awesome what a pair of beauties

[@DeepHouseParisDeluxe]

You rock man. Dave Smtih should hire you ^_^ Going to the shop now to spend that hardly eardned oney :-D Thanks a bunch mate, very very insoghtful. Lots of Love from France

[@StarskyCarr]

Haha thanks a lot. I love France ... I'm a big fan of Calvados avec gateau Breton!! Heaven :) .. Oh yeah and Étienne d'Crécy.😀

[@synesthetica]

The most obvious difference is that P8 always has a punchy attack as if oscillator phase would reset. P6 is more smeared, softer, more pleasant, but if I'd want a punchy sound, I'd take P8. P6 sounds more upfront while P6 while bright and edgy sounds kind of "narrower" and more there.

[@chrisstrobel3439]

Dude thanks for this! I'm struggling between these two myself and can't find any stores around here that have em both. So where you at these days, did you keep both?

[@StarskyCarr]

Still got them both, was considering selling the P08 but can't bring myself to do it - it's got too much going for it when I want to programme a bit deeper. I like using it a lot more than the Virus, something more enjoyable about it but I don't know why....

[@beakf1]

Can you send pitch to one of the 2 envelopes on the prophet 6? its only got 2 envelopes, one for filter and one for amp and the poly mod section doesnt have an option to send pitch to an envelope.

[@jupitermarx]

Do you have the synths going thru any additional machines besides straight to your Amp/Mixer out to your speakers?

[@StarskyCarr]

Hi, they're going direct through a UA Apollo. I add some FX when comparing the pads as the P6 has the onboard FX, but other than that there's nothing.

[@LFOVCF]

That stepping though!

[@blkkbones580]

“Harmonia” is pretty much prophet 08. On my channel (my EP), if you’re interested

[@StarskyCarr]

It sounds massive

[@blkkbones580]

Starsky Carr that’s a good thing haha

[@MadelnMachines]

Is it possible on either of these to press a button so the sound reflect the knobs actual position? One thing i dislike is initialising a patch and having all the knobs in completely the wrong position. It feels a bit like synthesising blind. The Sub 37 calls it "panel mode"

[@StarskyCarr]

For the P6 toggling off the Preset button enables live panel mode, in which the sound switches to the current settings of its knobs and switches. The P8 doesn't have this.

[@MadelnMachines]

Thanks, can you still save the result as a preset after entering live panel mode and tweaking? Do you know if the Rev2 will have it? Why did you decide to keep both of your prophets by the way? Is the sound worth the extra money?

[@StarskyCarr]

Pete Horam yes you can save it as a preset after tweaking. It's really simple. No idea if the Rev 2 will have it. I recently sold the P8 as I needed the space after picking up a Model D. I kept the P8 as I was using it it more than the P6 simply because I can dial in tone more quickly. Didn't want to sell it and may buy a desktop version (Rev 2 if they make one) but couldn't justify having both in the end.

[@MadelnMachines]

Thanks that's really great to know. Unfortunately DSI have confirmed that the Rev2 won't have this feature. I thought you seemed to be saying that the P6 is much more intuitive and has a faster interface in your videos where as the P8 was more complex but slow?

[@StarskyCarr]

Oops!... typed it the wrong way round... should have read "I kept the P6 as I was using it it more than the P8 simply because I can dial in tone more quickly.. duh !! ... bet that was confusing ;)

[@SRSmith-pk4yo]

Thnx !

[@BlinkyBillz]

So, ofcourse have a "sub osc" on the prophet 08 but then your missing half the polyphony..

[@StarskyCarr]

+Rienk Speelman You're right, I should have mentioned that! :). It's OK for monophonic bass sounds, but not for large pads. Complex sounds using dual voices in layered or split mode reduce the polyphony to 4 per voice. I suppose I forgot as it's never been an issue for me, I don't use more than 4 notes on complex sounds, but others may find it limiting.

[@joshk2181]

for twice the price, I don't think it's worth it. I also find the design less pleasing on the 6. sound probably has to go to the 6 of course though if pressed

[@normdurkin6425]

prophet 08 has 4 LFO's.. prophet 06 has one LFO.. winner prophet 08..

[@mechatomb2921]

yeah kinda crazy the amount of modulation the newer ones have. Easy to get spoiled.

[@ishadawaher-bakhos1048]

have you played the prophet 12?

[@StarskyCarr]

+Jesús Dawaher Bakhos No, but I'd love to try one out - particularly to compare it against the others, as there's lots of discussion online about the digital oscillators. I wonder if I could tell the difference between them and the analog oscillators of the P08.

[@spyriadon]

+Starsky Carr I work in a music store and we have all three side by side.. i've spent a good few hours overall trying all three out and you can tell the difference between the digital ocs's... i would never spend my own money on a 12. its not that its bad its just not a tool i would own

[@joshk2181]

which would you go for?

[@realtrance]

The P6 is slightly out of tune.....

[@SPAZZOID100]

Prophet-5 kills both.

[@kaostrip]

this is why you have preset on both 😊 DCO = preset VCO = no preset for exemple,arturia minibrut is 100% analog VCO =no preset and the novation bassstation2 is..hum,sorry seam to be analog DCO = preset 👏

[@StarskyCarr]

It's more complex than that.. P5 is VCO as you mentioned, but has presets also. It's not preset vs no preset for DCO vs VCO. Many think that the Juno 6 is VCO as there are no presets with the 106 being DCO. Not the case, all the Juno 6, 60 and 106 are DCO. Looking at newer synths... for example, the Minimoog Voyager is VCO with presets. I've recalibrated the VCOs on mine manually with a screwdriver... Definitely not DCO 😊 , but you can control everything via the app on mac/pc. I've also taken a screwdriver to tune the minibrute which has the calibration screws easily accessible from the back panel. You can't do this with DCO. So here's 2 new synths both VCO; one with presets, one without. Having digitally controlled envelopes and LFOs does not make the oscillators DCO. The voices are still VCO. There's also a difference between an all analog signal path (as in the P8), which has DCO, and a VCO with digital control (P6). Old digital envelopes got a bad rep because of the speed of the digital processors back in the 80s. This isn't an issue now (80's PC vs a new one!), so you can have VCO with digital envelopes that sound as snappy as old analog envelopes. Using analog envelopes/LFOs doesn't make sense these days due to the huge cost of analog components compared with digital versions. VCOs just means that the oscillators themselves are voltage controlled - which affects tuning stability. DCO = perfect tuning, VCO = drift. The P6 has really stable tuning for a VCO, but the slop parameter enables it to drift to 1/4 tone. In other words, the P6 is definitely VCO I'm sure there's a book in there somewhere... As it causes a lot of confusion.

[@johanfjeldtvedt2944]

+AXL trip So by your own logic the Prophet 5 is also DCO? It has patch memory / presets too. Same thing with the Jupiter 8, OB-X, OB-Xa, OB-8, Polysix, etc...

[@rayramon5955]

+AXL trip you need to do your research VCO=no presets wtf... I've owned at least 6 polyphonic VCO synths with memory(presets) so your pretty much wrong sorry...

[@SPAZZOID100]

You have NO IDEA what you are talking about.

[@station2499]

+AXL trip you're needing some schooling.

[@kaostrip]

both are analog DCO ! so stop crying prophet 6 is vco ! IT IS NOT LIKE THE ORIGINAL PROPHET 5 ALL ARE DCO SYNTH !

[@StarskyCarr]

Take a look here you'll see the P6 is VCO, P8 DCO. www.davesmithinstruments.com/product/prophet-6/ www.davesmithinstruments.com/product/prophet-08-keyboard-2/

[@kaostrip]

Starsky Carr​ All prophet except 12 (nco+vca+vcf) are vco+vca+vcf (analog discret circuit) But digitaly controled (numeric) That's it So not 100% vco like minibrut or moog model D That what im saying 😉

[@kaostrip]

You know what ads mean too? Yeah!!! with the new redbull you can fly ! That's right it's marked on website ! 😂 I repeat Prophet 5/6/8 are digitaly control SYNTH with vco vca vcf That's why you have preset ! True VCO is moog or MS20 ect....

[@kaostrip]

Starsky Carr​ Or if you prefer prophet 6 is equally to alesis andromeda A6 16 true analog voice full multitimbral(2005) 6 true analog voice(2015) 😊

[@StarskyCarr]

+AXL trip You're getting a little confused with your terminology. I now see what you're trying to say... But VCO means Voltage Controlled Oscillator and does not relate to the rest of the circuitry. You originally stated the P5 was VCO. I don't believe DSI are deliberately misleading us, I think it's VCO. I don't believe red bull will let me fly :) there's a huge difference in a slogan and false advertising. Take that up with the relevant authorities not me ;)