Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ’08 – Complete Details & Specs

Posted on Aug 22, 2007

Dave Smith Instruments has completely taken the wraps off their new 100% analog, 8-voice Prophet ’08. We told you about the Prophet ’08 a couple of days ago when Dave Smith officially announced the new synth after a couple of weeks of serious rumor mongering. The company has now unveiled full specs, photos and most importantly, examples of the synth’s sonic capablilities.

The stereo Prophet ’08 has a classic 2-oscillator, 2/4 pole resonant Curtis lowpass filter and VCA architecture, and 52 knobs to tweak. It then goes well beyond the original Prophet by including 4 LFOs, 3 envelopes, and a gated sequencer per voice. Each program has two layers, so the sounds can be easily stacked or split. A four-mode latchable arpeggiator is also included. A 5 octave keyboard with velocity and aftertouch, and pitch and mod wheels all housed in a sturdy metal enclosure with exotic hardwood end panels complete the package.

Features:
• Two analog oscillators per voice
• Classic Curtis analog low-pass filters
• Extensive modulation routing capabilities
• Four-on-four splits and layers with separate stereo outputs for each layer
• Arpeggiator, gated 16 x 4 step sequencer, and LFOs all syncable

“My customers told me they wanted a pure analog synth to complement our Evolver and Poly Evolver synths”, says Dave Smith. “This is the monster synth they have been waiting for; retaining the classic sound while adding a host of new features unavailable on the originals.”

Specifications:
• 5-octave keyboard with semi-weighted action, velocity, and aftertouch
• Spring-loaded pitch wheel and assignable mod wheel
• 256 fully editable Programs (2 banks of 128) with 2 Layers (2 separate sounds) in each Program
• 16 x 4 gated step sequencer
• Arpeggiator
• 2 digitally controlled analog oscillators (DCOs) per voice with selectable sawtooth, triangle, saw/triangle mix, and pulse waves (with pulse-width modulation), and hard sync
• White noise generator
• 1 Analog Curtis low-pass filter per voice, selectable 2- and 4-pole operation (self-resonating in 4-pole mode)
• 3 Envelope Generators: filter, VCA, and assignable (four-stage ADSR + delay); Envelope 3 can loop
• 4 LFOs
• Glide (portamento): separate rates per oscillator
• Analog VCAs

Ins and Outs:
• MIDI In, Out, Thru, and Poly Chain
• Main stereo audio output: 1/4″ unbalanced
• Output B stereo audio output: 1/4″ unbalanced
• Sustain pedal input: accepts normally on or normally off momentary footswitch
• Pedal/CV input: responds to expression pedals or control voltages ranging from 0 to 5 VDC (protected against higher or negative voltages)
• Headphone output: 1/4″ stereo phone jack

Dave Smith Instruments’ Prophet ’08 costs $2,199 and will be available shortly. More information on Dave Smith Instruments Prophet ’08.