Sequential Prophet 6 vs New Prophet 5 and 10 Rev4

Comparing the New Prophet 5 and 10 Rev4 vs the Prophet 6

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With the release of the New Sequential Prophet 5/10 Rev4, you might wonder how the synth compares to the Prophet 6 synth released a few years back.  Below is a table of features and specs that highlight some of the key differences.   

The Prophet 6 is a more advanced and versatile synth with its feature set, however the Prophet 5/10 Rev4 is the most authentic recreation of the legendary Prophets from the 1980s.   The new Rev4 has attention to detail to match classic circuits and behaviors, as well as dial in vintage character via voice modeling with the new Vintage Knob circuit.

	Prophet 6	Prophet 5/10 Rev4
Analog Voices	6 Voices	5 Voices, 10 Voices
Voice Allocation Scheme	Round Robin	Per-key allocation, + Round Robin option
Voice Modeling/Variance	Osc Slop knob provides variable amount of detuning of all oscillators per voice.  This is a more random and artificial type of per voice character.   It's based on a sort of complex LFO setup which makes it so every oscillator is constantly drifting back-and-forth in frequency.  This method increases chance for random dissonance, and reduces repeatability.   Update:  Sequential has ported over the "Vintage Knob" function to Prophet 6 now.  It's an amazing update, which gives the P6 per-voice variance, and greatly improves vintage character!	New Vintage Knob implementation provides a sort of voice modeling, offsetting values to oscillator tunings, as well as filter, envelope, amp and perhaps other components on a per voice basis.  This method is more authentic for virtually aging the components, and you can dial it in with the knob.  A great addition for classic P5/P10 character.
VCO Oscillators	2x VCOs - Discreet Design	2x VCOs - Curtis CEM3340 IC
VCO Sub Oscillator	1x Triangle Sub Osc Below Osc1	No
VCO Shaping	Continuously Variable Wave Shape from Triangle>Sawtooth>Pulse/Square	Simultaneous Switchable Osc Shapes: Osc1: Saw, Pulse,  Osc2: Saw, Tri, Pulse
VCO Poly Mod	Yes	Yes
VCF Low Pass Filter(s)	One 4-Pole Filter  Discreet Design, (Based on SSM 2040)	Two 4-Pole Filters, Switchable: New Dave Rossom 2140 (Based on SSM 2040) Curtis CEM3320
High Pass Filter	Two pole resonant high pass per voice	No
LFO	Five Selectable Wave Shapes:  Triangle, Saw, Reverse Saw, Square, Random (Sample and Hold)  - LFO can be clock synced.	Three Simultaneously Selectable Shapes:  Saw, Triangle, Square  (shape mixed) - No LFO clock sync
Envelopes	ADSR Amp and Filter Envelopes with Velocity	ADSR Amp and Filter Envelopes with Velocity
MIDI Clock/Sync	Yes	No
Arpeggiator	Yes	No
Sequencer	Yes	No
Built in Effects	Stereo analog distortion, plus true bypass digital effects:  dual 24-bit 48khz digital effects including reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, phase shifter, and ring modulation	No
Main Audio Output	Left/mono and Right audio outputs (Stereo)	Mono output
Control Voltage I/O	No	CV In/Out (1-volt per octave)   Gate In/Out
Patch Memory	500 User and 500 Factory Programs	200 User and 200 Factory Programs
Keyboard	4-Octave Fatar Keyboard	5-Octave Fatar Keyboard
Performance Controls	Key Velocity and Aftertouch, Pitch and Mod Wheels, Octave Up/Down Transpose Switches, Hold Switch/Key Latch, Polyphonic Glide, Unison, Panel Control Mode	Key Velocity and Aftertouch, Polyphonic Glide, Unison, Panel Control Mode
Dimensions	32.3in width x 12.7in depth x 4.6in height	37.5in width x 16.4in depth x 4.9in height
Weight	20 pounds (9.5kg)	31 pounds (14kg)
Price	$2799 for 6-voice	$3499 for 5-voice,  $4299 for 10-voice

 

From an authenticity standpoint, the Rev4's per-key voice allocation matches the behavior of the classic Prophet 5/10 synths, and the Vintage Knob uses voice component modeling offsets to dial in vintage character.   This represents a big improvement over previous implementations of Slop or Osc Drift for capturing vintage character.    Further, the New Prophet 5/10 Rev4 have closer matched Oscillator and Filter Circuits, including switchable filters to get the classic P5 Rev1/Rev2 sound vs the P5 Rev3 sound.    If you're looking for a modern, reliable keyboard that has that legendary 1980s Prophet sound, the Rev4 is definitely the best bet.   

The Prophet 6 also features a core sound similar to the classic Prophets from the 1980s, however it is less authentic in terms of the actual circuitry used, the voice behavior, and the vintage variance capabilities.   The Prophet 6, however, does include many features and modern functions that the Prophet 5/10 Rev4 do not - including an extra sub oscillator per voice, continuously variable oscillator shaping, a resonant high pass filter per voice, more LFO options, built in MIDI clock with arpreggiator and polyphonic sequencer, both analog and digital effects, stereo output, 1000 program slots, and some additional performance controls.   The Prophet 6 is one octave shorter.

Here's a couple videos showing off some of the features specific to the Prophet 6.