Korg Prophecy
Encyclopedia
The Korg Prophecy is considered one of the earliest (mid-nineties) "virtual analog" (a.k.a. VA) synthesizer
s, although its synthesis capabilities went beyond many of its VA contemporaries.
Along with the Korg Trinity
, this little synth is a direct ancestor of the ill-fated OASYS
project. It was a small 3-octave monosynth
, a pioneer of the late 1990s "return-to-analog" trend. Offering assignable knobs, a "log controller" (a mix-up of a modulation wheel and ribbon controller assembled like a "sausage") and many other control sources, it invited players to tweak and shape the sound both easily and quickly. Deep editing, however, wasn't as straightforward, because the sound engine contained no less than 13 DSP-modeled oscillator types, each one offering too many parameters to adjust. Probably, the most valuated and used DSP models were the analog model (based on the classic osc+filter+amp scheme, although with many powerful enhancements), the VPM model (some sort of FM synthesis which cleverly avoided Yamaha
's FM patent) and the "physical modeling" algorithms. The latter deserves special mention. In the mid to late 1990s, it was believed that digital "physical modeling", which recreated the sound of acoustic instruments (brass, strings, woodwinds, etc.) using DSP algorithms instead of samples, would eventually replace sample-based synthesis of those instruments, because of its unprecedented realism and expressiveness. As time passed, physical modeling seemed to lose its appeal to both manufacturers (because of the cost of investigation and implementation) and final users, who complained about the realism of the models and limited polyphony. Also, more complex playing techniques were required to play the models in a convincing way. Nevertheless, the Prophecy's low cost and broad implementation of sound generation techniques earned it a significant place in synthesizer history.
Technically, the Prophecy offered one-note monophony, a decent set of effects (including distortion, wave shaping, delay/reverb and chorus/flanger), and 128 memory locations for user sound programs. No disk drive or sequencer was included, but its integrated arpeggiator was a source of "instant gratification", as some magazines put it. Standard MIDI features and a pair of audio outputs were also offered.
Korg
made a major breakthrough at the time, offering a low cost expansion card for Trinity users, which incorporated the whole sound engine of the Prophecy into the already powerful workstation. Gone was the arpeggiator and some minor features, but the editing was much improved through the Trinity's big touchscreen, and the workstation's effects processing was a huge improvement over the Prophecy's basic set.
A direct descendant of the Prophecy was the much vaunted Korg Z1 (1998). It was the equivalent of a 12-note polyphonic Prophecy, with enhanced models, more physical control, 61-note keyboard, bigger screen, 6-part multitimbrality, more presets and two powerful programmable twin arpeggiators. However, its higher cost and lack of "sonic identity" to some people (because of the multiple DSP models offered, most players didn't get what the synth was all about) led to a market failure, being discontinued soon. Most musicians deferred for simpler but more immediate "virtual analog" synths, such as the Roland JP-8000
or the Clavia Nord Lead
. However, the Z1 today is, as many past synths, a rare gem and is highly sought by musicians and synthesists. Eventually Korg found a way of integrating the Z1 inside the Trinity in the same way as with the Prophecy (marketing the units as V3 versions) but clipped the polyphony to 6 voices and removed the arpeggiator, as on the previous Prophecy card. Trinity units expanded with this card are highly sought in the used market, often at premium prices.
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, although its synthesis capabilities went beyond many of its VA contemporaries.
Along with the Korg Trinity
Korg Trinity
Korg Trinity is a commercially successful synthesizer music workstation released by Korg in 1996. It was also the first workstation to offer modular expansion for not only sounds, but also studio-grade feature such as SCSI, ADAT, various sound engine processors, audio recording capability, and more...
, this little synth is a direct ancestor of the ill-fated OASYS
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
project. It was a small 3-octave monosynth
Monosynth
A monophonic synthesizer or monosynth is a synthesizer that produces only one note at a time, making it smaller and cheaper than a polysynth, a synthesizer which can play multiple notes at once; most later synthesizers are polysynths....
, a pioneer of the late 1990s "return-to-analog" trend. Offering assignable knobs, a "log controller" (a mix-up of a modulation wheel and ribbon controller assembled like a "sausage") and many other control sources, it invited players to tweak and shape the sound both easily and quickly. Deep editing, however, wasn't as straightforward, because the sound engine contained no less than 13 DSP-modeled oscillator types, each one offering too many parameters to adjust. Probably, the most valuated and used DSP models were the analog model (based on the classic osc+filter+amp scheme, although with many powerful enhancements), the VPM model (some sort of FM synthesis which cleverly avoided Yamaha
Yamaha (manufacturer)
is a multinational corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, electronics, motorcycles and power sports equipment.-History:...
's FM patent) and the "physical modeling" algorithms. The latter deserves special mention. In the mid to late 1990s, it was believed that digital "physical modeling", which recreated the sound of acoustic instruments (brass, strings, woodwinds, etc.) using DSP algorithms instead of samples, would eventually replace sample-based synthesis of those instruments, because of its unprecedented realism and expressiveness. As time passed, physical modeling seemed to lose its appeal to both manufacturers (because of the cost of investigation and implementation) and final users, who complained about the realism of the models and limited polyphony. Also, more complex playing techniques were required to play the models in a convincing way. Nevertheless, the Prophecy's low cost and broad implementation of sound generation techniques earned it a significant place in synthesizer history.
Technically, the Prophecy offered one-note monophony, a decent set of effects (including distortion, wave shaping, delay/reverb and chorus/flanger), and 128 memory locations for user sound programs. No disk drive or sequencer was included, but its integrated arpeggiator was a source of "instant gratification", as some magazines put it. Standard MIDI features and a pair of audio outputs were also offered.
Korg
Korg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
made a major breakthrough at the time, offering a low cost expansion card for Trinity users, which incorporated the whole sound engine of the Prophecy into the already powerful workstation. Gone was the arpeggiator and some minor features, but the editing was much improved through the Trinity's big touchscreen, and the workstation's effects processing was a huge improvement over the Prophecy's basic set.
A direct descendant of the Prophecy was the much vaunted Korg Z1 (1998). It was the equivalent of a 12-note polyphonic Prophecy, with enhanced models, more physical control, 61-note keyboard, bigger screen, 6-part multitimbrality, more presets and two powerful programmable twin arpeggiators. However, its higher cost and lack of "sonic identity" to some people (because of the multiple DSP models offered, most players didn't get what the synth was all about) led to a market failure, being discontinued soon. Most musicians deferred for simpler but more immediate "virtual analog" synths, such as the Roland JP-8000
Roland JP-8000
The Roland JP-8000 is an analog modeling synthesizer released by the Roland Corporation in 1997.- Overview :The Roland JP-8000 was released in early 1997 to compete with the other analog modeling synthesizers of the period such as the Access Virus, Clavia Nord Lead the Korg MS2000 and the Yamaha AN1x...
or the Clavia Nord Lead
Clavia Nord Lead
Clavia Nord Lead is a virtual analog subtractive synthesizer, which was developed in Sweden, being released to the public by Clavia in 1995.The Nord Lead was the first synthesizer on the market to emulate analog synthesis. The now widely accepted term "virtual analog", was first coined by Clavia...
. However, the Z1 today is, as many past synths, a rare gem and is highly sought by musicians and synthesists. Eventually Korg found a way of integrating the Z1 inside the Trinity in the same way as with the Prophecy (marketing the units as V3 versions) but clipped the polyphony to 6 voices and removed the arpeggiator, as on the previous Prophecy card. Trinity units expanded with this card are highly sought in the used market, often at premium prices.
Options
- DS-1 Damper Pedal
- EC-5 Multi Footpedal External Controller
- EXP-2 Foot Controller
- PHC-11 Analogue & Vintage ROM Card
- PHC-12 Modern Models ROM Card
- PS-1 Pedal Switch
- PS-2 Pedal Switch
- SRC-512 512k RAM Card
- XVP-10 Expression/Volume Pedal
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External links & References
- Progenie Korg Prophecy patch editor for Windows
- Korg Prophecy Korg Product Archive
- Brochure for the Korg Prophecy at Korg Brochure Archive
- Korg PHC-11 & PHC-12 ROM Cards Sound on SoundSound on SoundSound on Sound is an independently-owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, UK. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, and interviews with industry professionals...
review - Polynominal Korg Prophecy audio clips and manual