Vintage vs Modern Synths - Prophet 5 vs Prophet 6: The definitive comparison 

The best comparison videos in the synth space on RU-vid. Thank you for your incredible content!

Nice one ! And the unboxing was great 👍 thx

Very thoughtful and detailed comparisons without playing to spec's and 'scope's or invoking magic and mojo ... learned lots ... for me the pendulum swung heavily towards all the P6 has "additionally" ... but this is informed rather than speculative ... and I can maybe get why some might swing the other way. Great stuff!

Thanks for this video: very detailed and exactly what I was looking for. I am working on a commission project that is using a lot of Prophet-inspired sounds (it's awesome when the project manager strictly points to sounds that make yo go: aaaaaah Prophet!) and I told myself: "why not waste part of the budget with a real Prophet?". I know that now one has to take into account that they added the "vintage" knob thing on the Prophet-6 via OS update.. I think I cannot live without the feature of the P-6 because I grew up with records and references in soundtracks that used "software" versions of the Prophets, which basically had what the P-6 implements on hardware. So I couldn't actually do what I wanna do on a P-5 (lack of HP, no arpeggiator, no morphing oscillators, no sub). Can't thank you enough for this!

Hello @StarskyCarr, it is possible to get the same 3D space and width using FX pedals versus a stereo OB6 or P6 please ? P5 seems ticker but it's mono so I can't decide which way to go thanks :)

Great review and compare - thanks

It’s awesome, man!!

I’m relieved at watching this. I too am lusting after a P5 or P10 but already have a P6. Money is tight. I had the crazy thought of selling my P6 and my beloved Poly Evolver PEK which I rarely use to fund the P10, but after testing my PEK ready for sale I started to fall in love with it again, and the voices in my head were saying DON’T SELL!’. And now after watching this, I think I’m happy to stick with the Pro 6. (Although if I had the money, I would no doubt have all three).

That was a really great review Starsky - the detail was exactly what I wanted - from your tests I'd say there is a depth to the P5 - which you noted a couple of times - which I think was down to the filter rather than the core oscillators - not sure but that's what I wondered. I also felt the P6 filter was brighter from the off and I think that would affect tone too if you didn't modulate the P5 one further. Either way I think the two sound different enough to justify keeping both.....or even buying both!

Easy choice - the P5 has more wood!

For months I ignored the Prophet 5 rev4 because I thought 'the P6 can do what it does' then I went down to Perfect Circuit and tried the Prophet 5... wow. Playing that thing is an experience. The P6 is great, the P5re4 is something else. But not for everyone. Great vid!

Just a brilliant review! You explained the inexplicable! Both beautiful instruments! My recent (2 months ago) purchase of the P6 made me nervous when the P5 appeared......I am still thrilled with the 6, and, admittedly lusting a little for her older cousin P5.

8:22 gave me goosebumps. Prophet 5 just got added to my list of things to get holy moly.

Thanks for this video, I ended up going with the prophet 5, and you did an awesome overview of the some of the precision this instrument can make, thank you. BTW Prophet 5 does have a hold switch, you just need to change the global setting of the release button on the panel. I use this quite a lot when tuning sounds.

I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for a comparison like this between the P5 and P6... or, actually I guess it’s just been since the P6 came out 😂 I owned a P6 for some time and enjoyed it, but always longed for a 5 and it’s nice to see this and confirm it wasn’t all in my head. Feel like I would miss certain features of the 6, but the 5 is just a set instrument and I love that. Hope to get one soon!

“Everything I’m not made me everything I am.” - Prophet 5

Great comparison! I’d take the P6 any day over the 5. The stereo feature on itself adds tons of width to my live set and makes chords easier to fit on the mix.

I’m pretty proud that I have the Prophet~6, the Pro~5 is still legendary

Absolutely bonkers to think they sound the same, I've had a Prophet-6 for years, and the second I heard the New Reissues, I literally almost cried at the sound.. My Prophet-10 is just unreal, it's the best sounding instrument that I have ever owned... Go ahead and close your eyes, do a "taste test".. if you can't hear the right one, you probably should still with VSTs

Both of them great. 6 have lot more options. But as i said both of them sound like a dream. Great review.

The Prophet 6 is more capable for sure and sounds great but man the Prophet 5 has that nostalgia factor, is more lush sounding and looks way better. I vote for the P5.

I know it might sound like a simple feature, but I prefer the voice allocation of the Prophet 6. It gives you more of an organic feel for playing evolving Arp textures IMO. But the Piano response pedal feature of the Prophet 5 is equally as good. Tough choice in the end. I want them both :D ...Excellent comparison, your in depth attention to detail is stunning to behold ...thank you!

I just paid my Sweetwater account to zero (first time in 11 years) and this happens. Thanks Dave.

I will be acquiring a Prophet 5 one day in the future, but I will not let my Prophet 6 go....... I adore it. for those that think the Prophet 6 filter steps - (not you Starsky ;) ) The Self resonant "stepping" on the filter is "Quantization". It only does this when it is self resonating - in the top 10% of the resonance and its totally deliberate to lock on to quantized notes. The filter itself does not step at all. - drop the resonance to below 85% and you will not get that "quantization effect" at all.

Such well thought comparison, thanks. Overall I find the P5 having more body, presence, and slightly bigger bottom and and rich tone. The P6 is great, but tone wise I think the P5 still got it.

Omg clash of the Titans! Mr Carr outdoes himself again!

Trigon 6 vs Prophet 5 vs Rev 2 :) your comparisons are the best

Let's face it... the Prophet 6 is much more capable of a wider variety of sounds than the P5... however... at least for me the P5 is the stuff of dreams and the whole look, feeling and vibe of the P5 is what its all about... there is a bit of extra mojo with the P5... After watching this I think P6 owners will be pleased that 90-95% of the main sound is there. Personally, I'm glad to be living the dream of owning a working P5. :)

The video i needed.

Hey Mr Starsky, I was curious about your comment on the capability of the P6 vs P5 polymod. I have been testing extensively and noticed that on the P6, osc 2 does indeed alter the pitch of osc1 as much as the P5 IF you go to negative values (I know it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense...). You tried it in the video without success but I promise it is doing it on my P6. Maybe something changed after the last update or maybe you need to go through the calibration routine? Perhaps that also explains why you were having issues with the patch at 50:00 The Filter Env can’t indeed go as high in the P6 as the P5 (gets to 70% exactly) but it somewhat makes up to it by being able to do negative and go in the opposite direction

Need to watch these as quick as poss.

Great comparison! REALLY useful (for me at least) Ther P5 sounds richer & smoother with more body. But I think I'll stick with my P6, for now... :)

Follow up thoughts needed!

I own a P6 and I’m in love with it but I played a P5 the other day and wow. Just wow. So good. Definitely a difference to my ears. That being said if I can only own one it’s still gonna be the 6. Just way more utility for less money, and it still sounds amazing! Pretty ballsy to put a mono out and no effects on a synth that costs that much, but I respect it. Definitely more of a studio tool, whereas my keyboards tend to be 50/50 live and studio work.

I am in general impressed with how well the Prophet 6 stands on its own against what is one of the all-time top 5 polys.

P5 is the shit i'm proude to be a owner. The next synth is definitiv not the p6(but he's very cool too), my next sequential is the ob 6

P5 sounds punchier due to voice allocation. Wile P5 starts with a defined attack, the P6 starts with a ZZZ. If P6 didn't have round-robin voice allocation it would sound quite close to P5 probably. I have to say, that I'm surprised at how good P5 sounds. Dry, no fx and it sounds wow. Not much EQ needed. Just add a good delay/reverb and it's probably heaven, what to speak about a good analog stereo chorus! It's expensive, but I'd say that even if it's severely limited, the sound is worth it. Lately I've been thinking that it's worth spending a couple thousand bucks for two great sounding, complimentary analogs, and use software for complex digital stuff. I might buy P5 one day. Thanks for the great comparison.

It would be really good to see a comparison now the Prophet 6 has vintage mode.

Would be interesting to see how similar the circuits are between them. Does the P5 have discrete voice circuits? I also wonder if they are near identical bar the vintage / rev knob & selector. ? Quite a premium to pay if that’s the case ?

Would be curious to know thoughts about these synths from a long-term owner perspective, two years on. Did you keep them, what do you use each of them for, etc? Thanks for the excellent channel.

That self osc FM sound on the P5 at 00:50:06 😍

Hi there, thanks for this very elaborate video. The P5 is the better instrument. Not only does it sound better but it has a keyboard of proper size and the haptics are just superior. When DS got the name "sequential" back from Yamaha I thought that it would only be a matter of time before we see the reintroduction of the P5. IMHO, the P10 Rev4 and the Moog One are currently the biggest rivals for the crown of best polyphonic synth.

Yea I like that 5 note chord "crisp" chord transition and can see why you preferred the Prophet 5 over the 10 which wouldn't give you that sound. Good point. Oh Release/Hold and sustain pedal gives you that effect. Okay, yea get the 10 voice if you're going to blow the money.

Nice of Sequential to place a nice piece of wood for you to put the text on........ great video thanks.

I can’t really see what wave shape you’re using, but at 32:34, try setting VCO 2 to a square wave and then see if you can get it all the way up to where it’s in tune with VCO 1. That worked on my OB-6.

such a solid shootout

Wow it`s so different!

26:58 … this convinced me to buy a P5/10, so I can make the same sound as the ‘grenade’ button on the electronic keyring I owned as a kid … 😎👌🏼

I think … if they make the prophet6 like the 5 ( big knobs, wood, … ) it’s gone be a difficult choice. Between those two, it’s all about what you prefer as a musician

I have always wanted a P5 and wanted this test to show the newer P6 was as good or better as it’s much cheaper and more affordable. The new P5 is sadly much more rich and I didn’t want it to be:) Christ, how the hell am I going to afford one! Good test Starsky, if I where you and one was to go in the future, your money is safe in a P5 so hang onto it with both hands.

I remember it was pondered that with this version, there would be an option to upgrade it by adding a second voice card and thus you get 10 voices inside something labelled Prophet-5. But I’m not sure if that is available and how it could be achieved, especially since you are in the UK.

Both sound Amazing

Prophet 5 sounds perfect and makes you feel admired! Prophet 6 sounds like he has drawbacks in comparison and causes love ❤️

Unbiased opinion here, I did notice whenever I personally liked the P5 more it was due to louder volume hahaha. But then again I don’t know much about synths, Im just here for fun.

Sound wise, I give a very slight edge to the P5. But, I think the decision comes down to mod cons vs nostalgia, and price. The nostalgia encompassing the look and feel of the instrument. The video was great as usual, but I’m still no wiser!

9:56 Plus with the round robin on the same note repeated on the P6, if you put Hold on, you end up with all 6 voices playing the same note!

9:55 You can set the P5 to round robin voice alloc as well.

Very interesting ! thank you ! :)

I can see why people are keeping both even though they are close. I had the same reaction to the moog voyager mini D though they don't sound as close to one another as the p5/6 do.

To me the only difference is the polymod which is a proper bummer i think it’s worth upgrading purely for the extra range.

For the money I would get a p6 and the 6 desk top and link together for 12 voice…. I have my 6 today and it’s unreal

I got a prophet 5 and a prophet 08 they sound like a dream together ones I get the voice expansion on my 5 it should sound even better

Great video and detailed comparison. Just got a P6 and love it. As much as i’d love a P5, I think 5 voices is a bit limiting (and the 10 beyond budget). Didn’t like the 4 octaves keyboard on the P6 so took the module and paired with a 76keys keyboard. To me the P6 has enough Prophet 5 spirit with a few added bonuses. @Starsky Carr: which one did you keep in the end?

The chords you play during the release/hold section were borderline the "Samus Appears" jingle from Metroid. Unintentional, but appreciated all the same!

Fantastic comparison, thanks. No doubt a wonderful synth and am glad they reproduced it for the modern era- unfortunately I just can’t get over the high price yet not taking the opportunity to add even some of the most basic features expected on a even a low end modern synth( and present on the P6).....can’t say I wouldn’t like to own on myself one day but it does feel like a blatant grab for $$$$$..

In your voice allocation section I think what we're hearing is the way the P6 voices are not all set to exactly the same values from the front panel controls. The best way to hear it is to initialize a patch, hold one key, then move OSC1 shape to all the way to the left to triangle so there are very few harmonics. Then move OSC1 shape slowly until you start to hear harmonics. If you stop as soon as you hear higher harmonics, then play the same key repeatedly, you will hear that not all voices are set to the same waveshape - and it repeats every six notes, so you can hear it's the oscillator waveshape having the effect. To make is really obvious, hit record on the sequencer and record one note. Then hit play. You can hear a rhythm as the note repeats. You may have to turn up the amp attack a little as the "clickiness" of the envelopes is also inconsistent between the voices. If amp attack is at zero you can hear a different amount of click if you hit the same note repeatedly.

“It really makes a difference having a nice, big, chunky knob.” Couldn’t agree more!!!

You speak about the prophet 10 keyboard interface and controls playing into your feelings between the 2. I wonder if you’d feel the same if it was the prophet 6 desktop vs prophet 5/10 desktop?

Starsky reviews the synth end game, Where viewers cheered and wallets cried out in pain

Out of curiousity... isnt there any macro / "secret" button to change voice allocation method from cycle to hold on P6, maybe worth even asking Sequential support?

@49:13 reminds me of a patch used in the film "Scanners"

Proud owner of a Prophet 6 🐺

@Starsky Carr Fantastic video! I have to admit I'm a sucker for vintage reissue gear (hence my Gibson Custom Shop 1965 Firebird VII Reissue seen in my avatar LOL). I think I may get the Prophet-10 but it is very hard to give up some of those Prophet-6 features. I was gonna replace my Prophet '08 with a Prophet '08 Rev2 but now I'm thinking the Prophet-6 or Prophet-10 would be a better upgrade due to having rich VOLTAGE-controlled oscillators. I've heard so many professional live musicians swear by the Prophet-6 saying it would be their "Desert Island Synth" if they could only live with one. Any thoughts?

I'm not sure if it helps, but I have found when you fm the oscillator in the negative while fm it from the lfo as well you can get the fm ratio up to a full octave on the prophet 6. I'm sure it still doesn't have the range of the prophet 5, which I guess is by design, but still useful I think.

I can tell you right now that the P5 has a much bigger and more powerful sound than the P6. Im listening through ATH-M50x headphones. It's an unreal synth. Its a shame about no FX section on the P5 but I can live with that due to its sound. Amazing

This got me a bit nervous - the tweaking on the P5 lasted much longer, comparing filter revs, it was more like a testing of P5.

Nice one - thanks for the SSM comparisons, but they’re so different from the REV-1 changes for the OG P5 mod. I might just go for it anyway - it includes bass compensation which, like you pointed out, is a big thing with the P5. BTW - I have a Pro One also like you and have never been able to get the two to sound the same ... potential for another vid perhaps? 🤔😉

to me the biggest difference is the envelope on the P5...it bites harder. You can hear it at 3.30...hell all over this video. Its like the attack is shorter on the p5. Im not sure if he had the p6 attack at zero. But the p6 continuously just sounds smoother/more lame at the start of the keypresses....id sure love to know why. Especially if this P5 now has digital envelopes as well?

I‘ve got the prophet-6 for a while now - but when I hear the Prophet-5 I feel like home.

Looks like you may the dark filter that got released by mistake on the P5?

Have you tried the new Vintage knob update for the Prophet 6? You should do a new comparison between 5 and 6 😊

Great video Starsky. The 5 sounds incredible, no doubt, but the decision to make it mono is very disappointing. P6 unison detune with stereo spread is just insanely phat. I guess they left it out of the P5 for "purity's" sake but if it's an optional feature what's the harm in including it? $4k for a mono output synth in 2020?

It is so often that you have exactly what I am looking for. Thanks again!! What I am wondering, the click knobs sound very cheap plastic clicky. Is that the fact? Or just sounding like it on the vid?

@Starsky Carr One more question, what is that beautiful oscilloscope app you are using?

Always curious to hear differences when playing chords rather than single notes. But everyone likes a big chunky knob.

Any chance of an addendum video now that "vintage mode" is released for P6, or do you have any comments if you've tried it out?

Im a musician and producer and seriously, they sound practically the same come on. People here saying the p6 sounds cheap in comparison either have alien ears or are bullshitting on an intergalactic level

I would have liked to see a vintage p5 vs the rev4. Seems like everyone with a vintage synth talks about how there is something that makes their vintage sound amazing. A rev3 P5 vs a rev5 P5 would be a more fair compare. I can get a P6 desktop under 2k. Totally understand vibe and aesthetic, but the only way I can justify the rev4 price is if I were after a vintage P5 and wanted to save the money.

So this was shot before the the prophet 6 got the vintage Mode Update right? Does it react in the same way as the prophet 5 by now?

Could some of the differences in sound come down to the single vs left & right outputs? The P5 seems more direct and focused to me, almost like a mono synth.

In respect to vintage vs. slop knob the otherwise excellent comparison is already outdated, since the P6 (and OB6) have also the full vintage functionality. Wish Sequential would update the Prophet X with a vintage knob as well.

Long time subber to the channel , man can you give me some advice on this please , I have the mini v about 2 weeks, good little VST. I checked my bank account today and got an income tax rebate a few grand! happy days. Question is . I originally wanted the Kord minilogue xd, now I can afford it, Obviously I won't have midi editing since its audio. Should I buy one or stick with the Mini v? Any help appreciated.

I'm a put my money the Sequential from the Smith stable. Hope to make a little profit :-).

Hi, thanks for the video ! Any plan for an update of this review with the new "vintage knob"/slop/detune of the firmware update 1.6.4 for the P6/OB6 ? Have a good day :)

Prophet-5 still sounds like it has nicer tonalities to it. The sounds sound the same and similar. But where they're separated, is in the quality. P6 sounds 10-15% worse than the P5.

Regarding 12:06 I think even without that button you could have bought the 10 and simply make a split patch to have only 5 voices assigned to that patch you want to use...

Hahahahaha Ultravox Vienna, right? They were kind of cool back in the days. Really sort of old world British. They have a funny video called Lament where they're all meeting these girls and globally seem pretty happy so I never quite got why it was called Lament.

Excellent! Ugh I still really want one lol. If you got the Prophet 5 - 10 voice. Is there a way to cap it at 5 polyphony?

All people comparing the P5 with the P6 or Rev2 motivate their preference for P5 with sentences like "there is something special in the P5, I don't know what it is"... Couldn't it simply be suggestion? The awesomeness of the myth? In other words, psychological factor? To me, the sound of the more recent synths feels about the same, but the more recent synths have more modulation capabilities, and those are far more measurable and far more important than the "impression of turning valves"... just my opinion.

Does anyone know what software he's using to display the frequency info? and the waveforms when he was showing the oscillators?