"The rumors are true. (Well, most of 'em, anyway.) Dave has emerged from his underground lair (the Dave Cave?) with a fresh take on a classic, the all new Prophet '08. It is an eight-voice synthesizer with a 100% analog audio signal path. And it will be shipping very soon. More details will be available here on the Web site in a few days. Following hot on its heels will be the Prophet '08 Special Edition, each of which 
will be hand-signed by Dave and which will feature lighted wheels (RED!) and exotic leopardwood end panels. And for those of you who are wondering what happened to BoomChik, stay calm. Do not panic. Development is progressing nicely. Stay tuned!Dave Smith Instruments: Celebrating 30 Years of Great Synth Design (a little early...)"
Title link takes you to the official site.
Previous posts
oooooh mama !
ReplyDeleteIts riding on a huge reputation and hopefully it will turn out to be great. Me Jonesin? Nah, but I'm definitely interested in supporting DSI and checking out the new synth.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe Jeff and I will convert one to an artic white with a Prophet-5 style wood case ;-) Zebra wood!
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOD!!!
ReplyDeleteAm I really going to drop $2k on a synth when I already own a prophet 5? Not impossible........ damnit!
Looks like a MultiTrak. Certainly not in the same class a P-5.
ReplyDeleteYeah, cause its an 8 voice! ;p
ReplyDeleteHa, good thing spambot links don't work in blog comments. Haha! Take that spambot!
ReplyDeleteGot it.
ReplyDeleteArghhh, I hate those overlays so much :( It looks very classy otherwise. I'm so glad they ditched those knobs they were using on the Evolvers.
ReplyDeleteLooks nice. I like the wheel placement and the choice of knobs. I also like the red lcd display as opposed to the super bright blue ones on the evolvers.
ReplyDeleteI suppose we don't know, but I would really prefer it have 7 to 5 o'clock pot ranges rather than those alpha pots. When I first used the E and the PEK I thought I'd get used to it, but I never could.
ReplyDeleteMy main gripes with my old PEK were with the mandatory A>D>A signal path and how that stings when you run out of headroom. This design (so far, on paper) seems to address the very issue. My story is that I sold the PEK because of that and a number of operating system bugs / missing features - and bought a JP-8. Now that I have a real analog synth, I find that programming and playing are so much less frustrating when it's all analog. DSI makes great stuff - here's hoping it's completely thought through, because it probably won't be updated or fixed (like the PEK). I applaud the idea of going forward to the next thing (BoomChik next...) but it was very frustrating to find issues with the PEK and never have them resolved. I (as a huge synth nerd) will definitely have to check this out, albeit armed with the knowledge that not everything that comes out of DSI is perfect - buyer beware. That said, nobody better mess with me for the several hours I'll be on it at Guitar Center when it comes...
ReplyDeleteI hope we get a rack version, I dont have much more space left!
ReplyDeleteI am seriously thinking of grabbing one of these...no money ( note to self DO NOT SELL SYNTHI AKS...DO NOT SELL SYNTHI AKS! :-)
Congrats to Dave great stealth work, you have created a Apple like buzzzz
It looks like a Six-Trak with more knobs. Pretty cool, though I still do not like the cheesy stick-on overlays on the panel. :/
ReplyDeleteI prefer the pitch/mod wheels left-mounted (like a Pro5), but this certainly looks juicy.
ReplyDeleteReally nice... except those oval buttons.
ReplyDeleteit's certainly sad to see the extent to which cases have suffered aesthetically over the years summed up in one piece of gear. The P5 was a marvel of industrial design destined to be a coveted piece of synth history. the P8, however sonically enticing, still fails in many of the same ways the PEK did. Oval buttons and sticker overlays don't exactly scream "timeless". There's a reason you can buy vinyl replacements for the P600 and Source panels on eBay. If this has infinite alpha pots, that would also be a shame.
ReplyDeleteI know many purists will say it's all about the sound, and I certainly lean that way. But if i am going to pay $2000 for a synth, it needs to appeal to some sort of visceral desire for visual beauty, the stuff that makes us covet our macs and stand in awe of a motionless porsche. Point is, we all know R&D and design can exact a hefty toll on the makers of new synthesizers, especially for boutique manufacturers. That's why we gladly pay exorbitant amounts for what would be far less if produced on a mass scale. But I wish more manufacturers would take a cue from the likes of Macbeth, the reason Roland and Korg are still around is to churn out plastic pieces of shit with poor build quality, that shouldn't be the domain of DSI. Don't think I am picking on DSI exclusively though, all the same could be said of the Voyager which I own, and love...Because after all, it is about the sound.....mostly.
That said, I have high hopes for this and can't wait for a hands on.
Hooray for DSI !!!
ReplyDeleteIt turned out pretty nice, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the aesthetics are kind of on SixTrak level more than Prophet-5 level (I own one and love how it looks). I love the buttons on the P-5 with the LED (classy) and hate the little oval ones (reminds of my Direct TV remote control!!!).
ReplyDeleteBut remember that P-5's were $4500 in 1978 dollars... I don't what that is in 2007 money, but surely a lot. The Voyager is more aesthetically pleasing, but that's one of the reasons it's a (gasp) $3000 monosynth. Maybe the overlays are prototype?
mitchell
The overlays are standard sub-surface back-printed polycarbonate - a shatter-proof polymer that has a 50+ year durability. They resist wear much better than a silkscreened image and are UV resistant as well. I think they look classy. They are the same overlays you find on high-end machine tools and CNC mills.
ReplyDeleteThe kind of stupid assumptions people make about things they know nothing about are very sad.
Well, would we all rather pay $1000 more for it to look nice? *WE* might, but part of the objective here is to make it accessible.
ReplyDeleteIf there's really a demand, some enterprising soul will make and sell replacement metal panels with silk-screens for big bucks.
My aesthetic issue is more that I don't like the knob layout!
But it's all about the sound....
People are missing the point. Silkscreening is a cheap way of making a control panel. The overlays are an extremely durable material and the graphics are subsurface so they will never rub off - its more expensive and it adds value years down the road.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not the overlays are more durable is not the issue. They just look cheap, almost like an afterthought even though in reality it may be quite the contrary. First impressions are important.
ReplyDeleteDave Smith spends decades designing killer instruments and making utterly epic contributions to electronic musical composition and instrumentation and folks you are saying this brilliant career as a first impression is to overshadowed by how he put colors on the bloody lid?!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful instrument! My only question at this point is where will I get the cash? ^_^
ReplyDeleteAnybody want an Ensoniq VFX or a Yamaha TG-55? No? Didn't think so ;)
Ah yes, the anonymous turdblossoms are in bloom this season.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes the overlays look "cheap" is the fact that your $2000 synth appears like it has a giant sticker slapped on it. I don't think that anyone would be complaining if the overlay wrapped around the whole of the front panel. Isn't this how the Andromeda does it?
You remind me of one of those doctors trying to explain to a terrified patient that a colostomy bad is a more than adequate replacement for a real rectum. Sure it works, but you're stuck carrying a huge bag of shit with you wherever you go.
What's wrong Carbon, the OASYS not cutting the mustard anymore?
ReplyDelete"
ReplyDeleteThe kind of stupid assumptions people make about things they know nothing about are very sad."
fellow, I know a lot about design, and I also know what I like. I don't like stickers on my synth just like I don't like iron-on patches on my shirts. I prefer silk-screen. And I also know that my source and prophet 600 have the stickers peeling off. yet none of my silkscreened gear is showing any signs of wear.
anyways, stickers look cheap, screen is classy and timeless. IMHO.... Sorry my opinion makes you "very sad"
RUMOR ALERT: I just heard that you will not be able to use OSC B to low frequency modulate the pulse width of OSC A .. is that really true? If so, then this synth may be more in line with the Prophet-600 rather than the Prophet-5 or T-8. Bowen must be oscillating in his chair wildly right now.
ReplyDeleteHey Array,
ReplyDeleteThe "big O" is doing great!! :D
I had to let go of my PEK a little while back due to space constraints and may get an Prophet'08 to replace it instead of the PER I had originally intended. The Lambda may have to live in the closet for a bit until I can find a spot for it though ;)
The stuff on the P600 and source are totally different material, not to mention that they were all membrane switches. Things have changed over a couple of decades.
ReplyDeleteAh. Yes I've hit the space limitation barrier myself. I'll be holding out for the Prophet 08 rack :D
ReplyDelete...needed cash at the time too after a *certain* big purchase. ;)
ReplyDeleteCarpenter Ants ate a chunk of the front porch and I had to rebuild it. :(
Come around VSE and KSS mor often, man.
This is a good year for new synths! ^_^
Who cares if the sticker itself is durable once the edges start peeling up like they have on my Evolver? There's no way those stickers are more expensive than silkscreening.
ReplyDelete