Prophet 5 demonstration by Francis Monkman

[@macronencer]

For those who missed the joke, that last out-of-tune chord was deliberate :) Francis has quite a sense of humour! I have this documentary somewhere, I think... I digitised it from a VHS tape a few years ago. By the way, if you've never done so, please check out Sky's first album. The B side, "Where Opposites Meet" is a full composition by Mr Monkman, and really inspired me as a teenager learning piano. It's excellent!

[@robertsinko3044]

RIP & Thankyou Francis Monkman

[@blastfromthepast8344]

R.I.P. Francis Monkman.

[@lundsweden]

Still waiting for Behringer to release a "Sequential" synth in 2022 with polyphony and a microprocessor for memory!

[@KoljaBeckmann_music]

I love this synth. The sound is one of the very best.

[@LarryShone]

that first sentence, 'first time I played a Prophet synthesizer I knew I wanted one'. Can so relate!

[@3dcandylive]

Prophet 5 was first available synth to store ALL of a patch in memory for recall. Dave Smith is a god, and Prophet 5 deserves it's place in history

[@AcousticLibrary]

Brilliant musician

[@mikaellundqvist]

One of my all time favorite artists Tangerine Dream pioneered and popularized the synthesizers and among those this Prophet synth in particular which they used extensively because of its great sound in the 80's. I certainly had many wet dreams about it back then, 30 years ago. =)

[@lukeriely4468]

Wait!!! I had no idea he was a member of Sky. This makes sense to me now. I only heared of his album from the Long Good Friday film which is one of my all time film scores. I only found he was in Sky today. It's blew me away because my uncle has seen them live and has vinyl records of theirs. Thank you for uploading.

[@armandoribeiro918]

Criminaly underated musician!!!!

[@binnyman]

Francis Monkman was also in the killer lineup of '801', with Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, Simon Phillips, et al. Their 'Live' album/CD is absolutely incredible. Seeing this makes me wish I hadn't have had to part with my Rev. 3.2 "Cecilia" (that name was written inside the synth--Girlfriend ? Mom ? And the instrument's build date in 1981).*Sigh* Peace ;-)

[@orangefunk]

Wonderful to see this again. I remember watching the original broadcast of this in the 1980s. There was another show around the same time... an educational/schools show that had a special on synths.. seemed to remember they had Ultravox in the studio and there was a PPG, something on the Acorn BBC computer with sampling, maybe even the old Greengate system... its a long long time ago... ;-)

[@keyboardkomuso]

@Horrorshow655321 Awesome! Rare to hear someone else mention that. One of my favorite soundtracks. I think it was used in "The Warriors" as well. At least it sounds like a P-5.

[@sanzmantra]

Frantic Monkman is a legend. Lol “you can wander off stage and have a rub-down”

[@Luigi1984]

sounds so amazing

[@infantiltinferno]

Accent, beard, prophet.... Brilliant.

[@mitchthompson]

I have the NI Pro 53 which I use with Logic Pro 8. I think it sounds great. The Arturia Jupiter 8V is a must-have too with its awesome sequencer modulation function.

[@mootbooxle]

Wow...that sound from Fresh Aire 5!

[@TheCanadianDreamEvergreen]

I like how at the end when he says perfect it still goes out of tune 😂. Makes me want one more!

[@UltraDefender84]

I've not tried the Prophet 12 yet but I'm sure it's a fantastic synthesizer, I think I've tried the 08. I personally own a Roland JP 8000 which is awesome but it can't really compare to the Prophet 5, then again, very few can.

[@jasonsttarkus]

Francis is quite an amazing muso - recently he's recorded some amazing pipe organ albums on original instruments.

[@barrydavies646]

I know your right and also he plays Ace guitar I've met him lots of times he's one of my husband's best friends and I am a singer.regards Pammy.

[@barrydavies646]

This is my brothers old mobile that's why his name comes up on the reply.!

[@jasonsttarkus]

@@barrydavies646 So very, very sad to hear of his passing Pammy. I was going to email him just the other day.

[@infantiltinferno]

P.S. I love he says "The thing will have tuned itself... and it should be... perfect!" and then last chord sounds totally off-tune. The tune function on the Prophet is a blessing and a curse let me tell you, my Rev.3 tends to stab me in the back when I least expect it. Still love it (like a woman!?) though.

[@nordemoniac]

@AirHendrix91 I remember I had to do that to an old organ I had. Came back half a year later, in the winter. Had to tune it several times (didn't know that I was supposed to wait until it was warm:P)

[@Meteotrance]

I love the big cooler in metal behind the osc ^^ analogue stuff can be very warm when it's using in summer ^^.

[@45rpm.]

If you watch a video of this synth with good sound you will notice that the Prophet 5 has a thick, warm, juicy tone - especially the earlier ones.

[@toscci]

love this video !

[@orangefunk]

btw.. I think there were a few string synths by Ken Freeman, Elka, Lowrey and Logan prior or around the same time as the Polymoog..

[@dougfather]

Couldn't agree more.

[@fuckingharpsichord]

now thats perfect !

[@BaconBricks]

@Taud It goes for around $3,000 used. I saw one recently sell for $2,700. They're not stupid collectors items like the Jupiter 8 or the Synthex. They can still be bought by actual musicians.

[@Weissman111]

@lostemp1 - he was born in Hampstead, England

[@orangefunk]

I dunno, the Polymoog always sounded and felt more like a sophisticated string synth than something like a P5. From what I recall (I have no recollection where I got this info) the digital key tracking comes from E-mu and they would sell this technology to other companies...

[@mitchthompson]

Indeed, you're right. They're not strictly accurate emulations, but just good software synths in their own right.

[@leconcorde]

the part where he mentions going off stage for a "rub down" was fascinating. i've never used a real prohpet V but i do have a Roland JP-8 and when you press the tune key it accomplishes the job fairly quickly, certainly not enough time for the sort of explosive sexual release mr morkman is referring to. for this reason, my band is considering switching out our jupiter 8's for proph V's when we go on the tour next winter.

[@MPOURNOUZIS]

his job on brian bennets voyage lp was great anybody know other of his works seriously i want to dig this guy...please

[@UncleFeedle]

I'm pretty sure the P5 was used in numerous old horror films in the late 70's/early 80's. You can hear it (or something very like it) in Scanners, Dawn of the Dead, etc. John Carpenter also used it a lot.

[@DOCJAMBEATS]

I bet this gentleman made awesome beats in his day.

[@mulgamutt]

Listen to Francis' work with Sky. There's a few videos here (throw in Sky + Hotta into the search field). Amazing stuff.

[@filmmaker17]

John Carpenter used one on the scores for Halloween III, Christine. Terrific sound!

[@BaddaBigBoom]

Wow..now I know what synth Gong used on Radio Gnome (?)

[@orangefunk]

Yep, according to some the Yamaha GX1 was the first in 74. Then I suppose you got the TONTO which was supposedly polyphonic to a degree. Fwiw.. I like divide down synths... they always sounded more spacey and obviously synthetic than say something like a P5.

[@popcycles]

Let it Whip!

[@Dino0469]

One of my all time fav synths! If you like 80's tunes then you've heard it on just about everything recorded of that era! If you can find one in GR8 condition then by all means buy it (rev3.3) but you will pay! Even tho there are some nice emulations available these days I can tell you from experience-nothing can beat the real thing! Trust me- I own it and it's an absolute must have if you play 80's pop..one can spend hours just sitting and tweaking just to see what odd sounds can be had :)

[@stereom]

Nice! It's a real treat to hear Monkman's droll British bass voice talking about the peculiarities of the synth. Despite my English proficiency, it sadly escapes me what does Monkman refer to with "having a rub-down". Can anyone fill in?

[@feline1973]

With a towel. Because you'd be sweaty! 😉

[@Drivethebeat]

And the Prophet 600 can play 6 notes at a time! Golly!

[@analoghell]

However...neither the Pro53 nor the Jupiter 8V sound remotely like the originals. They have the same controls and signal architecture, but the result is not even close.

[@merttopel]

the CS80

[@arcanevista]

Just saw 2 for sale on ebay for about 1k each.

[@BaconBricks]

@Taud Worked fine except for one LED. Sold by a chap in Oakland who regularly posts on Vintage Synth Explorer. Don't buy them from collectors, don't buy them from overseas.

[@uncleambient]

Nice sounds, and a nice beard as well!!

[@aimoriizumi]

最高の楽器ですよね！ 私も愛用しています。

[@forrestwoods8599]

Tune them? Me, either! I loved Sky with Monkman. After those first two albums, really...not much. For my ears, he made that much of a difference.

[@digico66]

TAKE A LOOK "Retrotech". very cool.....

[@BaconBricks]

@Hot80s hi

[@UltraDefender84]

I actually laughed out loud at this comment, have no idea why haha! Also, the Prophet 5 is the holy grail of analogue synthesizers!

[@TheFatherlongLegs]

Have a rub down?

[@djmusicjac]

i bet sales for synthesizers have gone up, i should be on commission, ha, ha

[@thephaseshifter]

you hear? .. man thats that analog sound

[@tubewayarmy2005]

is the prophet 5 better than the jupiter 8

[@Hot80s]

5 is still Cool.

[@metabog]

OMG Can play up to five notes at once!!! :D

[@WARDISWARD]

dave smith ( the inventor of the prophet) is rereleasong the prophet ...

[@SRDhain]

this is class, simply because like most english stuff from that period, everyone had to speak with a cut glass accent ;-D

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

very rare..And if you can find someone on ebay, it's (a) the only one and (b) broken :(

[@BatspindaVL]

@lostinthetimes 1500 - 2000 :(

[@PeachBeach]

(You can say that again) I wish I could afford a decent synth.

[@flowerpower111]

(You can say that again)

[@jonlensd]

oooooooh mama. im gonna save my pennies for that

[@SamBAss42]

8 people went off-stage for a 'rub-down'

[@Razor21836]

the bob ross of keyboarders.

[@rcmeyerson]

If anyone wants to trade one of these for my rhodes 73...

[@mwdrums]

Check out Ralph Towner - he took the Prophet V about as far as it could be taken. "Blue Sun" (ECM records)

[@BravoAlphaLimaJR]

Just press the tune button, wander off-stage and have a rub down!!!!!!!

[@yakomuto]

a Synthesizer has to be tuned? 0_o

[@SPAZZOID100]

yakomuto ??????????

[@BaconBricks]

@Taud nobody lives in canada, lololol i live in california where there's people and no snow. a jupiter 6 sold for $1800 locally this month. a minimoog D for $2300 in october. we don't get boners for "collectors value" like europeans and apparently canadians. we play our machines in america because we're the best country around B)

[@RyouRan]

I don't have a Prophet 5 myself, but I do have a Roland D-50 with a few dozen patches that imitate a Prophet 5's sound. If those patches are accurate that means the Prophet is capable of producing much more than just fart sounds. ;) Very nice strings, brass and pads. Also I own a Casio CA-100. It's not advanced, but it's a fun little $100 thing.

[@metabog]

Yeah man, it was and still is a great analog synth! I was being sarcastic, but I don't hate it or anything.

[@orangefunk]

I think he's being a bit disingenuous wrt the tuning in the video. It sounds/looks like he selects a different patch with the odd harmonic bell sound. Probably did it for the purpose of the film... seems odd though...

[@erdavis7]

1:30 Is it me or does it sound really dissonant and out-of-tune when he says "perfect"?

[@blastfromthepast8344]

He's having a laugh. He's playing wrong notes deliberately.

[@BaconBricks]

@Taud lol u mad

[@WINSTANLEYOBXa]

CREEPSHOW!!!!