Prophet '08 Operation Manual
Prophet '08 Operation Manual Version 1.3 May 2010 Dave Smith Instruments 1210 Cabrillo Hwy N Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-1449 USA © 2010 Dave Smith Instruments www.DaveSmithInstruments.
Tested To Comply With FCC Standards FOR OFFICE USE This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.
Contents Quick Start................................................................................................. 1 Prophet '08 FAQ and Troubleshooting Notes ........................................... 3 Getting Connected .................................................................................... 4 Basic Operation......................................................................................... 5 Global Parameters ..........................................................................
Quick Start Thanks for purchasing the Prophet '08! Listen to the sounds, twiddle some knobs, have some fun! Please Register! Please go to www.davesmithinstruments.com and register your synth. If you purchased directly from us, there is no need to register – we already have your contact information. So, plug in the power supply, connect (in stereo!!) to your mixer/sound system, switch on the power, and start playing! Try applying keyboard pressure (aftertouch) and the mod wheel.
read through the manual to discover all the little features that you might not notice at first. I should mention that this manual does not include explanations of basic analog synthesizer functions. It assumes you already know what an oscillator is, how a low-pass filter affects the sound, what an ADSR envelope looks like, and so on. Fortunately, these days it is quite easy to find such resources on the Internet.
Prophet '08 FAQ and Troubleshooting Notes Voices 1 through 4 are not making any sound. Check to make sure you're using the Main Output and not Output B. The arpeggiator/sequencer has stopped working. Check the Clock setting under the Global menu. If it is set to MIDI In or MIDI In/Out and the Prophet '08 is not receiving MIDI clock, neither the sequencer nor the arpeggiator will play.
Getting Connected The Prophet '08 has several inputs and outputs on its back panel. Power Input – Connect the power supply included with your Prophet '08. The power supply comes with different AC adaptor prongs that allow it to work anywhere in the world. If for whatever reason you need to use a different supply, it must match the specifications on the rear panel near the input jack. Note: The supply label says “Evolver” on it for reference.
Basic Operation When you first turn the power on, the keyboard will be in Program Mode with the PROGRAM switch lit and the following screen active: Programxxx Bankx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The top line shows the Program (1…128) and Bank (1…2) number of the currently selected Program, and the bottom line shows the 16-character name of the Program. The PARAM 1 knob changes the Program, and the PARAM 2 knob changes the Bank.
Note: If your Prophet '08 is poly chained to a second Prophet '08, the program will also be saved in the chained unit. Audition Destination Feature – While there is a write pending (see previous screen), you can press the COMPARE switch to hear the target Program destination before saving. Just be sure to turn COMPARE off again before you actually hit the +/YES switch to save.
Global Parameters To edit the Global parameters, press the GLOBAL switch and Global page 1 is displayed. The PARAM 1 knob changes the parameter on the upper LCD line, and the PARAM 2 knob changes the lower parameter. The +/YES and -/NO switches select the other pages. Note: If you hold the -/NO switch while you hit the +/YES switch, it will jump to the last page. Similarly, if you hold the +/YES switch when you hit the -/NO switch, it will jump to the first page.
Page 3: Clock: xxxxxxxx LocalControl: xxx Clock: see table – Selects the MIDI clock status. Display Internal MIDI Clock Setting MIDI clock is neither sent nor received MIDI Out MIDI clock is sent MIDI In MidiIn/Out MIDI clock is received MIDI clock is received and transmitted (use with Poly Chain) Local Control: Off, On – Enables or disables the internal connection between the keyboard and panel controls and the synth electronics. This is useful with external sequencer operation.
MIDI Pressure: Off, On – When On, the synth will respond to MIDI pressure (aftertouch) received, and will transmit Keyboard Pressure to MIDI Out. Page 6: MIDI Control: MIDI SysEx: xxx xxx MIDI Control: Off, On – When On, the synth will respond to MIDI controllers, and will transmit controllers from the keyboard to the MIDI Out. Controllers include Pitch Wheel, Mod Wheel, Pedal, Breath, Volume, and Expression.
Pressure Curve: 1…4 – Sets one of the four pressure curves for the keyboard; this gives you the ability to adjust the keyboard to your playing style. Page 9: Audio Out: xxxxxx MIDIParamLCD: xxx Audio Out: Stereo (default), Mono – Switching from Stereo to Mono globally defeats all of the parameters that affect panning (pan spread, modulation, etc.) and makes both the left and right outputs mono outputs.
and turn the pot all the way up, it will only go to 90. To get to the maximum value of 127, you first have to turn down until the value is at the other extreme and the pot is at the limit of its travel (in this case, 0 and fully counterclockwise, respectively). In Passthru mode, turning the pot has no effect until after the edited value equals the preset value (that is, until the edited value “passes through” the stored value).
When MultiMode is On, the Prophet ’08 responds to MIDI data on two consecutive MIDI channels, the base channel (selected in the Gobal menu) and the next highest channel. The base channel controls voices 1 through 4 and the other channel controls voices 5 through 8. Notes, program changes, and other MIDI data received on the specified channels provide independent control of the two parts. Note that a program change needs to be sent to each of the two channels when setting up MultiMode.
Program Parameters All Program parameters can be edited using the front panel controls. To edit a program, simply turn the desired parameter knob or hit the switch. The selected parameter and value appear in the LCD display. The top line of the LCD displays the programmed value for reference; the bottom line displays the edited value. After a parameter is selected by turning its knob, you can also use the PARAM 2 knob to change the value of the selected parameter.
Shape/PW: see table – Selects the analog waveshape as follows: Display Off Waveshape No output Sawtooth Sawtooth Triangle Triangle Saw-Tri Sawtooth – Triangle mix Pulse xx Pulse Wave, with pulse width ranging from minimum (0) to maximum (99). The pulse width will turn off at the two extremes – this allows some interesting modulation possibilities. A square wave will be at Pulse 50. Glide: 0…127 – Sets the Oscillator Glide (portamento) rate. Glide can be set independently for each oscillator.
Env Amount: -127…+127 – Sets the amount of filter envelope routed to the cutoff frequency. This can be positive or negative, allowing inverted envelope control of the filter. Velocity: 0…127 – Amount of key velocity controlling the level of the filter envelope. Key Amount: 0…127 – Sets the amount of keyboard (MIDI note) to the filter cutoff. A setting of 64 will step the filter one semitone for each note, 32 would be half-semitones, and so on. Audio Mod: 0...
audio in each voice is gradually moved away from the center by different amounts. Every other voice goes in a different direction. This provides a wide stereo field as you play. Any modulation to Pan will individually move each voice from its static position as set by the Pan Spread setting. Note: Use the Audio Out parameter in the Global menu to globally switch the audio outputs from stereo to mono (and vice versa). Delay: 0...
Frequency: 0…150, sync – Sets the LFO frequency. Range 0–150 for un- synced LFO; speed ranges from slow (30 seconds) to very fast – at 90 (8 HZ, C2) and above the speed steps in semitones, up to 150 (261 Hz, middle C). Note: Some of the analog functions may not respond well to the fastest LFO speeds, due to speed limitations of the control voltages; but they will certainly generate some interesting sounds.
Destination: see table – See Modulation Destinations on page 36 for a list of possible destinations. Modulators The Modulators section lets you configure the modulation routing and amount for the Prophet '08’s four general-purpose modulation slots as well as for MIDI controllers (Mod Wheel, Key Pressure, Breath Control, Velocity, and Foot Controller).
Voice Volume: 0…127 – Sets the voice volume; usually used for matching volumes between Programs. Note: There is enough gain in the synth voice that with some settings, some mild clipping distortion may be heard. If this happens, try lowering the VOICE VOLUME, and/or the VCA ENVELOPE AMOUNT (or VCA VELOCITY AMOUNT). Name – The lower LCD line will display the name of the Program. The PARAM 1 knob selects characters for editing. (The active character blinks.
Unison Mode: see table – Determines how the voices are allocated and detuned when Unison is turned on. Display 1 Voice All Voices AllDetune1-3 Unison mode Classic, two oscillator, monophonic mode. Sleek. All available voices are stacked in unison. Portly. All available voices are stacked in unison with three different levels of detuning. From fat to morbidly obese. Unison Assign: see table – Determines how the Prophet '08 responds to the keyboard while in Unison mode.
Arp Mode: see table – Sets the order in which the arpeggiator plays notes. Mode Behavior Up Plays from lowest to highest note. Down Plays from highest to lowest note. Up Down Plays from lowest to highest and back to lowest. Assign Plays notes in the order keys were pressed. Random Randomly plays notes. Plays keyed notes and the same notes one octave higher, from lowest to highest. 2 Octaves Up 2 Octaves Down Plays keyed notes and the same notes one octave higher, from highest to lowest.
22
Keyboard Modes The Prophet ’08 has three main keyboard modes, Normal, Stack, and Split. While playing in the different modes, if you look at the eight voice assignment LEDs on the right side of the front panel, you can easily see how the different voice assignment modes work. Normal Mode – When the STACK A/B and SPLIT A/B switches are both off, the synth is in Normal mode, and will play all eight voices with the same sound.
Note: If you hold the EDIT LAYER B switch while in Stack or Split, the EDIT LAYER B switch will blink; this indicates you are now in Link Mode, which means that any parameter you change will update that parameter in both Layer A and Layer B. This can be handy while playing Stacked or Split programs in a live situation.
Sequencer For many musicians, the term sequencer has become synonymous with MIDI sequencer; that is, a computer-based application or dedicated hardware device for recording and playing back notes and performance gestures via MIDI. But sequencers were around long before MIDI. The Prophet ’08’s sequencer is much more like the original analog sequencers typically associated with modular synthesizer systems. The sequencer comprises four 16-step sequences that play in parallel.
Reset and Rest Sequences have a maximum of 16 steps, but they can have fewer—from 1 to 15—using Reset. (Sequences of 16 steps reset automatically.) Reset appears immediately after the highest value setting for a step. Setting a step to Reset causes the sequence to jump back to the first step and continue playing. Reset is set separately for each of the four sequences, so it must be set at the same step in all four sequences to shorten all the sequences equally.
the current step happens to be in sequences two through four, resulting in a more random-sounding pattern (which can be really cool). In the following example, sequence one is 16 steps long and rests occur at steps 2, 6, 9, and 12. However, sequence two is only eight steps long, so rests occur at steps 2 and 6 the first time it plays through and then at steps 1 and 4—corresponding to steps 9 and 12 in sequence one—the first time it repeats.
To program a sequence: 1. Press the GATED SEQUENCER switch and press a key to play the sequence. You may also want to adjust the CLOCK DIVIDE and BPM settings. 2. Press EDIT SEQUENCER to enter sequence edit mode. 3. Select the sequence you want to program by pressing the appropriate switch (1, 2, 3, or 4 in Modulators). 4. Select the destination for that sequence using the MOD DEST. For example, to generate a sequence of notes, select OscAllFreq.
sequence two, it controls sequence one, and Slew in sequence four controls sequence three. In the Prophet ’08’s sequencer, Slew sets the slew rate between the previous step’s value and the current step’s value when the step is gated on. Confused yet? This should help: let’s say sequence one is routed to oscillator frequency and sequence two to Slew. Increasing the Slew value for step four will cause the oscillator frequency to glide from the step three value when step four is gated on.
triangle wave selected and routed to the filter will provide a clean filter sweep over a 16-step sequence, perfectly in sync! This is much easier (and smoother) than manually programming a sequence to sweep the filter.
Arpeggiator Arpeggiator—Turns Prophet ’08’s arpeggiator on and off. The tempo and note value are determined by the BPM and Clock Divide settings. Arpeggiator Mode is set in Miscellaneous Parameters. The different modes are: Mode Behavior Up Plays from lowest to highest note. Down Plays from highest to lowest note. Up Down Plays from lowest to highest and back to lowest. Assign Plays notes in the order keys were pressed. Random Randomly plays notes.
The Arpeggiator (and Sequencer) can also sync to MIDI clock from an external sequencer or other device. See “Clock” in Global Parameters on page 7 for more information. Note: If the arpeggiator does not seem to be working, check the GLOBAL settings to make sure Clock is set to Internal. If Clock is set to use an external clock source, the Prophet '08 must be receiving MIDI clock messages in order for the arpeggiator to run. The tempo and note value are determined by the BPM and CLOCK DIVIDE Controls.
Using Poly Chain Poly Chain links two Prophet '08s or a Prophet '08 and one or two Tetras to increase polyphony by intelligently processing the keys hit and passing MIDI data through to the Poly Chain MIDI out jack. You should have the same programs loaded into all the poly chained instruments. The easiest way to do that is to use the Dump command in the Global menu to dump the programs via MIDI from one synth to the other.
If Poly Chain is set to Off, the Poly Chain MIDI out jack simply duplicates the MIDI out jack.
Rack Mounting the Module The Prophet '08 module includes rack ears for mounting the module in a standard, 19" equipment rack. The module itself is 4U (4 rack spaces) high. The inputs and outputs are recessed, but it may be necessary to use angled plugs for audio and MIDI to prevent the plugs and cables from interfering with a fifth space above the module. To rack mount the module: 1. Remove the six 1" 8-32 screws from the two wood end panels.
Modulation Destinations Display Off Destination No destination selected Osc 1 Freq Oscillator 1 Frequency Osc 2 Freq Oscillator 2 Frequency OscAllFreq Oscillator 1 and 2 Frequency Osc Mix NoiseLevel Noise Level Osc1 PulsW Oscillator 1 Pulse Width Osc2 PulsW Oscillator 2 Pulse Width Osc All PW All Oscillators Pulse Width Low Pass Low-pass Filter Frequency Resonance Fil FM UCA Level Resonance Audio Mod Amount VCA Amount Output Pan Pan LFO 1 Freq LFO 1 Frequency LFO 2 Freq LFO 2 Freque
Env3Releas Envelope 3 Release Rate EnvAll Rel All Envelope Release Rates Mod 1 Amt Modulator 1 Amount Mod 2 Amt Modulator 2 Amount Mod 3 Amt Modulator 3 Amount Mod 4 Amt Modulator 4 Amount Seq Slew Slew Amount (Sequences 2 and 4 only) 37
Modulation Sources Display Off Source No source selected Sequence1 Sequence 1 Sequence2 Sequence 2 Sequence3 Sequence 3 Sequence4 Sequence 4 LFO 1 LFO 1 LFO 2 LFO 2 LFO 3 LFO 3 LFO 4 LFO 4 FilterEnv VCA Env Filter Envelope Amp (VCA) Envelope Envelope3 Envelope 3 PitchBend Pitch Bend Mod Wheel Mod Wheel Pressure Pressure (Aftertouch) MidBreath MIDI – Breath Controller Midi Foot MIDI – Foot Controller Midi Exp MIDI – Expression Velocity Keyboard Note Velocity KeyNumber Key
MIDI Implementation The Prophet '08 receives MIDI data according to the mode controls under GLOBAL. In addition, there is interaction between some of the Program parameters that determine the overall response of Prophet '08 to MIDI data. Note: The Poly Chain output has a number of additional MIDI messages that are sent when Poly Chain is enabled. These are not included in the MIDI summary below, since they are specific to use in Poly Chain mode only.
MIDI Control: Off, On – When On, the synth will respond to MIDI controllers, and will transmit controllers from the keyboard to the MIDI Out. Controllers include Pitch Wheel, Mod Wheel, Pedal, Breath, Volume, and Expression. MIDI SysEx: Off, On – When On, the synth will respond to received MIDI SysEx messages, and will transmit them, when prompted, to the MIDI Out.
1011 nnnn 64 0vvvvvvv 1011 nnnn 1011 nnnn 123 121 0vvvvvvv 0vvvvvvv Damper pedal – holds envelopes in Sustain if 0100 0000 or higher All Notes Off – clear all MIDI notes Reset All Controllers – clears all MIDI controllers to 0, MIDI volume to maximum See sections below for additional Continuous Controller (CC) and Nonregistered Parameter Number (NRPN) messages received.
Parameter CC# Parameter CC# Osc 1 Frequency 20 Osc 1 Freq Fine 21 VCA Level Pan Spread 113 114 Osc 1 Shape 22 Amp Env Amt 115 Glide 1 23 Amp Velocity Amt 116 Osc 2 Frequency 24 Amp Delay 117 Osc 2 Freq Fine 25 Amp Attack 118 Osc 2 Shape 26 Amp Decay 119 Glide 2 27 Amp Sustain 75 Osc Mix 28 Amp Release 76 Noise Level 29 Env 3 Destination 85 86 Filter Frequency 102 Env 3 Amt Resonance 103 Env 3 Velocity Amt 87 104 Env 3 Delay 88 Filter Audio Mod 105 Env 3 A
0vvv vvvv Parameter Number LSB 0000 0110 NRPN parameter value MSB CC 0vvv vvvv Parameter value MSB 0010 0110 NRPN parameter value LSB CC 0vvv vvvv Parameter value LSB The parameter number can be found in the two tables below, one for Global parameters, and the other for Program parameters.
Parm NRPN Range Description 0 x 0 – 127 Program Number 1 – 128 1 x 0–1 Bank Number 1 – 2 2 384 0 – 24 Master Transpose; 0 = -12 semitones (1 octave), 12 = 0 (no transpose), and 24 = +12 semitones. 3 385 0 – 100 Master Fine Tune; 0 = -50 cents, 50 = 0 (centered), 100 = + 50 cents 4 386 0 – 16 MIDI Channel; if = 0, data received on all MIDI channels. Otherwise = channel number 1 – 16.
Program Parameter Data The following table lists the Prophet ’08’s voice parameters. These are used for the NRPNs and in the program and edit buffer dumps. Since most parameters are present in both the A and B layers, they are listed side-by-side.
46 24 25 26 224 225 226 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 Filter Envelope Decay Filter Envelope Sustain Filter Envelope Release 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 VCA Initial Level Output Spread Voice Volume VCA Envelope Amount VCA Envelope Velocity Amount VCA Envelope Delay VCA Envelope Attack VCA Envelope Decay VCA Envelope Sustain VCA Envelope Release 37 237 0 - 166 38 238 0-4 39 40 23
45 245 0 - 43 46 47 48 49 50 246 247 248 249 250 0-1 0 - 166 0-4 0 - 127 0 - 43 51 52 53 54 55 251 252 253 254 255 0-1 0 - 166 0-4 0 - 127 0 - 43 56 256 0-1 57 257 0 - 43 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 0 - 254 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 0 - 127 65 66 67 265 266 267 0 - 20 0 - 254 0 - 43 68 69 70 268 269 270 0 - 20 0 - 254 0 - 43 71 72 73 271 272 273 0 - 20 0 - 254 0 - 43 74 75 76 274 275 276 0 - 20 0 - 254 0 - 43 77 277 0 - 43 78 278 0 - 43
48 79 279 0 - 43 80 280 0 - 43 81 82 281 282 0 - 254 0 - 43 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 0 - 254 0 - 43 0 - 254 0 - 43 0 - 254 0 - 43 0 - 254 0 - 43 91 92 291 292 30 - 250 0 - 12 93 94 293 294 0 - 12 0-4 95 295 0-5 Sequence 3 Destination; See ModDestination list below Sequence 4 Destination; See ModDestination list below Mod Wheel Amount; -127 to +127 Mod Wheel Destination; See ModDestination list below Pressure Amount; -127 to +127 Pressure Destination; See
96 296 0-4 Unison Mode: 0 1 voice 1 All voices 2 All voices detune1 3 All voices detune2 4 All voices detune3 Arpeggiator Mode: 0 Up 1 Down 2 Up/Down, 3 Assign Envelope 3 Repear Mode; off/on Unison; off/on Arpeggiator; off/on Gated Sequencer; off/on 97 297 0-3 98 99 100 101 298 299 300 301 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 102-117 302-317 x 118 119 X X 0 - 127 0-2 Split Point; 60 = C3 Keyboard Mode: 0 Normal 8 Voice 1 Stack 2 Split 120-135 320-335 0 - 127 136-151 336-351 0 - 126 152-167 352-367 0 - 1
Noise Level Osc 1 Pulse Width Osc 2 Pulse Width Osc 1 and 2 Pulse Width Filter Frequency Resonance Filter Audio Mod Amt VCA Level Pan Spread LFO 1 Freq LFO 2 Freq LFO 3 Freq LFO 4 Freq All LFO Freq LFO 1 Amt LFO 2 Amt LFO 3 Amt LFO 4 Amt All LFO Amt Filter Env Amt Amp Env Amt Env 3 Amt All Env Amounts Env 1 Attack Env 2 Attack Env 3 Attack All Env Attacks Env 1 Decay Env 2 Decay Env 3 Decay All Env Decays Env 1 Release Env 2 Release Env 3 Release All Env Releases Mod 1 Amt Mod 2 Amt Mod 3 Amt Mod 4 Amt 5 6
Sequence Track 4 LFO 1 LFO 2 LFO 3 LFO 4 Filter Envelope Amp Envelope Envelope 3 Pitch Bend Mod Wheel Pressure MIDI Breath MIDI Foot MIDI Expression Velocity Note Number Noise 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Sysex Messages Universal System Exclusive Message (Device Inquiry) Status 1111 0000 0111 1110 0vvv vvvv 0000 0110 0000 0001 1111 0111 Description System Exclusive (SysEx) Non-realtime message If MIDI channel is set to 1-16, 0vvvvvvv must match (unless MIDI Channel = ALL); always responds
0vvv vvvv 0vvv vvvv 1111 0111 Voice Software version LS Voice MS End of Exclusive (EOX) Request Program Dump Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0011 Prophet '08 ID 0000 0101 Request Program Transmit 0000 00vv Bank Number, 0 – 1 0vvv vvvv Program Number, 0 – 127 1111 0111 End of Exclusive (EOX) The Prophet '08 will respond by sending out the Program Data in the format described below in Program Data Dump.
Program Data Dump Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0011 Prophet '08 ID 0000 0010 Program Data 0000 00vv Bank Number, 0 – 1 0vvv vvvv Program Number, 0 – 127 0vvv vvvv 439 bytes in “packed MS bit” format (see page 54.
Packed Data Format Data is packed in 8 byte “packets”, with the MS bit stripped from 7 parameter bytes, and packed into an eighth byte, which is sent at the start of the 8 byte packet.
Hidden Functions Hold the PROGRAM switch and hit the +/YES switch to set the Program to a basic patch, with most parameters set to zero. It does not save the sound in the current program; it only changes all the parameters. If you hold the EDIT LAYER B switch while in Stack or Split, the EDIT LAYER B switch will blink; this indicates you are now in Link Mode, which means that any parameter you change will update that parameter in both Layer A and Layer B.
1210 Cabrillo Hwy N Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-1449 USA www.DaveSmithInstruments.
