Native Instruments Pro-52
Another hardware legend falls victim to software emulation
by David Korn
November 17, 2000
Summing it Up
Native Instruments' Pro-52 is a major achievement: This Mac/Windows VST 2.0 synthesizer faithfully reproduces the integral set of controls of the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, as well as its looks. But more importantly, it really does emulate the timbral characteristics of the original -- and we did check that against the real thing. If you're looking for the sound of a classic -- and want the low price (US $199) and other benefits of software -- look no further: The Pro-52 is the ticket.
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Except for the effects generator, the Pro-52 is a faithful emulation of the 1978 Prophet-5 from Sequential Circuits, Inc.
(click for close-up)
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With the Pro-52, Native Instruments undertook a perilous task: to emulate the classic Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. If you're new to the synth world, the Prophet-5 (introduced in 1978) was the first completely programmable polyphonic synthesizer, thanks to the fact that it used integrated circuits (first by SSM, then Curtis) controlled by a microprocessor. This, along with a great sound and an equally great set of features, made it a huge success. It was built until 1984, which means you've most likely heard it on a ton of classic records. The "5" in Prophet-5 referred to the five-voice polyphony. It was initially going to be 10-voice polyphonic, and thus called a Prophet-10, but there wasn't enough airflow in the enclosure to allow components to dissipate the heat that built-up to the point of spontaneous combustion. In 1981, Sequential finally introduced the dual-manual Prophet-10.
The Pro-52's polyphony is the one thing not modeled on the original: It offers up to 32 voices. Plus, you get modern features such as velocity sensitivity, parameter automation through MIDI, and 512 preset memories. The developers even reproduced the Prophet-5's old factory presets, a clever move, as most users of the synth never bothered to change them.
The Pro-52 offers two oscillators, a lowpass filter, two ADSR envelopes, an LFO, and the "Poly-Mod," a feature unique to the Prophet. With Poly-Mod, either oscillator B or the filter envelope can modulate either the frequency of oscillator A, the pulse width of oscillator A, or the filter frequency. Poly-Mod is the key to having fun with the Prophet-5, so it's great to have it faithfully reproduced in the Pro-52. I checked the program against a Sequential Pro-One, which is more or less a one-voice version of the Prophet-5, and the Pro-52 measures up.
The latest update to the program (I tested an earlier version) adds integrated effects (echo and chorus/flanger), an audio input that routes external signals to the filter, and the ability to function as a stand-alone program, as well as a VST 2.0 plug-in. The Pro-52 also can import sysex program data from the latest-generation Prophet-5s (known as as "Rev 3.3").
Next Page: Native Instruments Pro-52; System Requirements, Sonic Preview....
David Korn ("that French journalist") is a musician, sound designe, and journalist, who specializes on the creative tools offered by computing technology. He's also a vintage synthesizer specialist. His articles have been published in various magazines around the world, such as Keyboards (France), Audiomedia (UK), and Keyboard (Japan). He is based in Paris.
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