"Is there a difference between the Prophet-5 TM and the Pro-12 ASB"? You can bet there is. The former has been out of production for years; the latter was just made available in 2006. The former has five voices; the latter has twelve.

Extended information

That's it? Well, there are a few more differences. The Pro-12 ASB comes with sophisticated velocity functions – including attack and release velocity, with refined channel-pressure features. With a versatile unison mode, and a newly developed FX section. At the same time, it eliminates the few weaknesses of the original – for example, the keyboard amount can finally be set in the filter section. And the filter envelope now operates negatively as well.

The sound? Well, the sound… Sorry, but we couldn't do anything about that — it's still the same. Sharp leads, clanging filter FM, swirling sync sounds on a sonic-speed harmonic roller coaster, pumping bass beats make you spin, fluffy pads — the Pro-12 ASB has it all inside. Just like the original. THAT couldn't possibly be made better!

Some things are timeless. For that reason, the front panels of the Prophet-5 TM and the Pro-12 ASB are identical: one function, one knob! That's the way it's got to be. Forget about your computer. Just MIDI up and bask in the magnificent sound!

Just as with the original, the structure of the Pro-12 ASB is plain and simple: There are no gigabytes of samples, just one single filter. But that filter produces the unbeatable sound of the analog legend made in Silicon Valley in the late seventies. On the menu: Two oscillators with saw and square waves plus variable pulse width, including hard sync whenever you like. One mixer. One LFO. The organic filter with the officially approved 'cult' factor of the original. Two lively envelopes. The Poly Mod section where you can abuse oscillator B or the filter envelope for wreaking havoc with oscillator A, oscillator B, or the filter. Enough? Definitely enough to whoop it up, rest assured.

For those who want to delve deeper into sound editing, there is remote software for looking under the instrument's hood. Chorus, flanger, and stereo delay are there to enhance the sounds. The channel pressure acts upon parameters such as the pulse width, filter, pitch (individual setting for oscillators A and B), and LFO rate; the unison mode groups two to ten voices with variable detuning; and the LFO with retrigger functionality and adjustable phase almost behaves like a third envelope generator. All settings can be stored and can be accessed at any time without the use of a computer. Naturally, all knob movements are output via MIDI.

Technical specifications

Synthesizeresizer Type: Virtual analog synthesizer
Technology: Virtual analog Circuit Modelling
Number of Voices: 12
Sampling Rate: 44.1 kHz (internal oversampling)
Resolution: 32 bit Audio Paths
Analog Outputs: 2 x 1/4 inch (6,3mm) unbalanced
Analog Inputs: 2 x 1/4 inch (6,3mm) unbalanced
MIDI: In, Out, Thru
USB: Full Speed USB rev 1.1
Power Input: 12V AC/DC, <20 W
Dimensions: 480mm wide (448mm without wood panels)
209mm deep (203mm without wood panels)
40/76mm high (front/back)
Weight: 3.4 kg