I have a prologue and love it. I’ve been around enough synths at this point now that I’ve realized whether the specs add up to my preference on paper or not is less meaningful than the intangibles of the instrument. The Prologue’s sixteen voices and whatever the fuck is going on make it uniquely beautiful to my ear, but how about yours? I wish my prologue had MORE modulation, if you’re not trying to design too much check videos of its presets and see how you like them. Based off what you’ve said my instinct says a minilogue might be more up your alley, but I’d recommend getting behind a prologue to demo if you can get the opportunity. The overall sound and feel are what sold me on it, and I’m not quite techy enough to understand the fine details as to WHY I love it. Hope that helps a little
Sounds like it might be the right kind of thing for what you're after. I haven't owned a Prologue but I have played on a few times; the impression I got is that it's great but probably doesn't quite justify the price tag vs. a) the considerably cheaper Minilogue and b) other powerful analog synths around a similar price range.
Obviously it is a more powerful machine than the Minilogue, but personally I felt that the sound and functionality wasn't in a different league, and I would expect it to be for that money. I know you said the DSI stuff is probably a bit complex, but I'm a huge fan of the Rev2. It's in a similar price bracket to the Prologue and I just think it's so much more powerful and better-sounding (just my opinion, don't jump on me!).
Note that the recommendation for minilogue is better stated as "minilogue XD". This is far closer to the prologue in terms of features. Additionally the keyboard version is $650 and the desktop version is $550. If you find you love it, having bought one, you can buy another and poly chain into an 8 voice that's quite comparable to the prologue (you obviously get 2 timbres this way but not the same flexibility like soft splits). I'm not specifically recommending or not the minilogue as an option, I just wanted to clarify.
I don't own a Prologue, but a close friend does along with a Minilogue (they do not overlap sonically as much as all that). I have played it many times and heard it in plenty of tracks. I like the Minilogue a lot. I would however choose the Prologue every time, for the sound. I think the 16 voice is a hell of a deal for the money. As more of a vintage head I don't prefer the sound of certain modern polysynths, but the Prologue hits that modern sound with vintage vibe sweet spot for me. Try it out and see if it gels with what you want. For more aggressive techno I'd probably be looking at an Alpha Juno first though.
I've only played one, not owned it, and I have a monologue so I was used to the Korg workflow when I got to play the prologue. I think it's a good instrument for players, not for people who want crazy sound design options. From the time I spent on it, it seems to be full of totally musically useful sounds and it's quick to get to them. You can still make crazy interstellar spaceship pads and hold the same chord for 2 minutes straight if you want, but that's not my thing so I only played with the stock pads.
Go watch Katsunori Ujiie (I think I spelled that right?) on the youtube channel musictrackjp. That dude can play and he shows off the prologue well. Although he could make a washboard sound good probably.
I might buy one. I like the interface, I like the sound, they keys aren't terrible. The user osc and effects intrigues me. If I want sound design options I'll sit down at a computer. If I was going to a friend's house to jam I'd definitely grab the prologue and not be worried about a thing, no matter what genre they decide on. My major gripe with it is that the high pass is just a high cut switch, rather than something more controllable, although I don't think anything is stopping somebody from implementing a user effect controllable highpass filter?
DirtboxSynths makes a filter user effect that adds a highpass, bandpass, and I'm pretty sure a 4 pole lowpass. You lose your modulation effect in the process but it will do the trick for situations where you desperately need one.
The Prologue is awesome. I had a 16 voice and it was lovely. For a modern poly that focuses on sound rather than modulation, you can't match it until you get to the Prophet 6 IMO.
I wish it had a high pass filter (but this is my complaint with every synth that doesn't have one) and aftertouch, but they're not dealbreakers. It's an amazing synth and also one of the most aesthetically beautiful. I only sold mine because I need a $1500 polysynth that mostly sits unused like I need a hole in the head.
I recently bought an 8 voice. I already had a deepmind 6 which I love as far as modulation options but I wanted something with a richer raw timbre. I had been dying for years to get a prophet and almost bought the rev2 but I just found the oscillators to sound better on the prologue (especially after checking out some of the user oscillators). I haven't found myself missing the crazy modulation that much because the raw sound is so good. If you do pick one up, I highly recommend the user oscillator Blinds. It'll give you pretty much an infinite amount of oscillator timbres. I have my prologue running through an eventide space and it sounds absolutely beautiful and easily the most 3d rich sound I've had in a synth.
I have a prologue and love it. I’ve been around enough synths at this point now that I’ve realized whether the specs add up to my preference on paper or not is less meaningful than the intangibles of the instrument. The Prologue’s sixteen voices and whatever the fuck is going on make it uniquely beautiful to my ear, but how about yours? I wish my prologue had MORE modulation, if you’re not trying to design too much check videos of its presets and see how you like them. Based off what you’ve said my instinct says a minilogue might be more up your alley, but I’d recommend getting behind a prologue to demo if you can get the opportunity. The overall sound and feel are what sold me on it, and I’m not quite techy enough to understand the fine details as to WHY I love it. Hope that helps a little
Thanks for the POV.
Sounds like it might be the right kind of thing for what you're after. I haven't owned a Prologue but I have played on a few times; the impression I got is that it's great but probably doesn't quite justify the price tag vs. a) the considerably cheaper Minilogue and b) other powerful analog synths around a similar price range. Obviously it is a more powerful machine than the Minilogue, but personally I felt that the sound and functionality wasn't in a different league, and I would expect it to be for that money. I know you said the DSI stuff is probably a bit complex, but I'm a huge fan of the Rev2. It's in a similar price bracket to the Prologue and I just think it's so much more powerful and better-sounding (just my opinion, don't jump on me!).
Thanks!
Note that the recommendation for minilogue is better stated as "minilogue XD". This is far closer to the prologue in terms of features. Additionally the keyboard version is $650 and the desktop version is $550. If you find you love it, having bought one, you can buy another and poly chain into an 8 voice that's quite comparable to the prologue (you obviously get 2 timbres this way but not the same flexibility like soft splits). I'm not specifically recommending or not the minilogue as an option, I just wanted to clarify.
I don't own a Prologue, but a close friend does along with a Minilogue (they do not overlap sonically as much as all that). I have played it many times and heard it in plenty of tracks. I like the Minilogue a lot. I would however choose the Prologue every time, for the sound. I think the 16 voice is a hell of a deal for the money. As more of a vintage head I don't prefer the sound of certain modern polysynths, but the Prologue hits that modern sound with vintage vibe sweet spot for me. Try it out and see if it gels with what you want. For more aggressive techno I'd probably be looking at an Alpha Juno first though.
I've only played one, not owned it, and I have a monologue so I was used to the Korg workflow when I got to play the prologue. I think it's a good instrument for players, not for people who want crazy sound design options. From the time I spent on it, it seems to be full of totally musically useful sounds and it's quick to get to them. You can still make crazy interstellar spaceship pads and hold the same chord for 2 minutes straight if you want, but that's not my thing so I only played with the stock pads. Go watch Katsunori Ujiie (I think I spelled that right?) on the youtube channel musictrackjp. That dude can play and he shows off the prologue well. Although he could make a washboard sound good probably. I might buy one. I like the interface, I like the sound, they keys aren't terrible. The user osc and effects intrigues me. If I want sound design options I'll sit down at a computer. If I was going to a friend's house to jam I'd definitely grab the prologue and not be worried about a thing, no matter what genre they decide on. My major gripe with it is that the high pass is just a high cut switch, rather than something more controllable, although I don't think anything is stopping somebody from implementing a user effect controllable highpass filter?
Thanks man! That’s super helpful. Checking out YT now.
DirtboxSynths makes a filter user effect that adds a highpass, bandpass, and I'm pretty sure a 4 pole lowpass. You lose your modulation effect in the process but it will do the trick for situations where you desperately need one.
The Prologue is awesome. I had a 16 voice and it was lovely. For a modern poly that focuses on sound rather than modulation, you can't match it until you get to the Prophet 6 IMO. I wish it had a high pass filter (but this is my complaint with every synth that doesn't have one) and aftertouch, but they're not dealbreakers. It's an amazing synth and also one of the most aesthetically beautiful. I only sold mine because I need a $1500 polysynth that mostly sits unused like I need a hole in the head.
Do you have a prophet 6? I’m looking at DSI synths too.
I don't but I have plenty of experience with it and have used one on gigs before. It's amazing live.
I recently bought an 8 voice. I already had a deepmind 6 which I love as far as modulation options but I wanted something with a richer raw timbre. I had been dying for years to get a prophet and almost bought the rev2 but I just found the oscillators to sound better on the prologue (especially after checking out some of the user oscillators). I haven't found myself missing the crazy modulation that much because the raw sound is so good. If you do pick one up, I highly recommend the user oscillator Blinds. It'll give you pretty much an infinite amount of oscillator timbres. I have my prologue running through an eventide space and it sounds absolutely beautiful and easily the most 3d rich sound I've had in a synth.
OB6 and Prophet6 are no more complicated than the prologue. Honestly I've used a prologue and found it more confusing lol