Prophet 08 Stereo Filter Sweep

Posted on March 5, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

Here’s another sound from the DSI Prophet 08 recorded during random patch browsing. I’d describe it as a stereo filter sweep.

P08 Stereo Filter Sweep

Prophet 08 LFO Random Pitch

Posted on March 4, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

This sound from the DSI Prophet 08 reminds me of computer room sound effects from ’60s scifi flicks.

P08 LFO on Random Pitch

Prophet 08 Hard Panned Stereo Pad

Posted on March 2, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

Here’s another sound from the DSI Prophet 08 recorded during random patch browsing. I’d describe it as a hard panned stereo pad.

P08 Hard Panned Stereo Pad

DSI Prophet 08 Presets

Posted on March 1, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

One of the things I’ve been doing with the Prophet 08 that I’m borrowing is playing through the presets. This is something I generally don’t like to do, but it’s a good way to get a feel of what an instrument is capable of. Many of the factory patches in professional synthesizers are exhibition sounds, programed to demonstrate the features of the instrument. Tonight I decided to record the process of playing through some of these presets for the purpose of sharing them here. Here’s one to start with.

Prophet 08 Patch Testing #1

Arpeggiated DSI Prophet ’08

Posted on February 25, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

I am borrowing a Dave Smith Instruments (DSI) Prophet ’08 eight voice polyphonic synthesizer from a local musician and synth builder who read about my interest here on ACB, then offered to lend it to me. I didn’t hesitate to take him up on the offer since I don’t live anywhere near a DSI dealer. It sounds amazing, as I suspected it would, but it also prompted me to write the article Music Technology Soul Searching.

The instrument is completely overwhelming at first contact. The two-hundred-fifty-six internal patches instantly illustrate the chasm I am standing over. If I owned one of these instruments I would have to force myself to delete the factory patches and start fresh. Here’s one of the fairly tame, yet stunning patches I came across. I used Ableton to do the arpeggiation while I used both hands to make adjustments to the filter and envelopes. No processing was added.

Arpeggiated Prophet 08