Sequential Prophet XL 76-key Synthesizer

Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

Prophet XL: A New Legend

If you've ever thought about exactly what you'd want in your dream synth, rest assured: synthesizer design guru Dave Smith is one step ahead of you. It's called the Sequential Prophet XL, and it's a bi-timbral, 8-voice stereo (16-voice mono) beast that combines everything you love about analog synthesis with the endless power of digital processing. At the core of the Prophet XL is a powerful sound engine driving dual sample-based instruments and a pair of high-resolution digital oscillators with waveshape modulation, all routed through scrumptious-sounding stereo analog filters. Under your fingers, a superb-playing, aftertouch-enabled, 76-note weighted Fatar keybed is waiting for your command to unleash the Prophet XL's massive synth firepower.

As for the samples themselves, Prophet XL does it right. This 150GB sample library (created by 8Dio) comes packed with acoustic and electronic instruments, along with boatloads of cinematic and ambient effects. And that's just the beginning. Beyond the four envelope generators, four LFOs, and deep modulation matrix, you have loop manipulation, sample stretching, and other powerful tools to sculpt your samples. Top it off with a premium Fatar 76-note weighted keyboard with aftertouch, onboard storage, dual effects engines, a polyphonic step sequencer, and more; and you have the Sequential Prophet XL: a beastly synthesizer eminently worthy of carrying the legendary Prophet lineage forward.

Sophisticated sample engine

The Prophet XL sample engine consists of two autonomous, digitally sampled stereo instruments per voice (four in Stack or Split modes). It also boasts 150GB of deep sample content created by 8Dio that includes a versatile selection of gorgeous acoustic and electronic instruments as well as cutting-edge cinematic and ambient effects. The samples can be shaped via loop manipulation, sample stretching, and the Prophet’s modulation functions. Every sample instrument is equipped with a highpass/lowpass filter Tone control. The Prophet XL has an additional 50GB of storage onboard for importing external sample libraries (add-on sample packs are available from 8Dio).

Turbocharged Prophet synth engine

Comprising two high-resolution digital oscillators fortified with classic waveshapes and a supersaw, the Prophet XL synth engine delivers the awesome power of a classic Prophet with expanded timbral versatility. Grab the Shape Mod control to quickly dial in a waveshape width for any of the classic sawtooth, sine, or pulse waves; then give your patch motion with an LFO or other modulation source. The Prophet XL gives you a complete arsenal of classic synthesis functionality, including four syncable LFOs with slew and phase offset, four loopable 5-stage envelope generators, and a 16-slot modulation matrix with dozens of sources and destinations.

Stereo filters for dimension and impact

At the heart of any classic synth is its filter; and the Prophet XL doesn't disappoint with its new, stereo 24dB/octave resonant lowpass filters, which are based on a vintage circuit. For a true stereo signal path, the Prophet XL features separate filters for the left and right channels, enhancing both samples and oscillators with fullness, presence, and punch. At this juncture, it's worth noting that you can switch the Prophet from 8-voice stereo mode to 16-voice mono mode for additional polyphony — eminently useful for splits and stacks.

Highly musical polyphonic step sequencer

The Prophet XL's polyphonic step sequencer provides up to 64 steps and up to six notes per step. If you're working in stacked- or split-voice mode, it lets you create a different sequence for each layer, making it a powerful tool for performance and composing. Sequences can even have ties and rests and can be synced to an external MIDI clock. The arpeggiator features note repeats and re-latching and can sync to external MIDI clock as well.

Two effects per layer

The Prophet XL includes a powerful dual effects engine with multiple reverbs, two delays (standard and BBD), chorus, phase shifter, flanger, vintage rotating speaker, highpass filter, and distortion. In split- or stacked-voice mode, you can apply two different effects to each layer. To craft continuously shifting timbres, you can easily modulate effects parameters through the Prophet XL's mod matrix.

Designed by a synth legend

At Sweetwater, the name Dave Smith commands respect. Holder of UC Berkeley CS and EE degrees, musician, design engineer, and the driving force behind Sequential Circuits, Dave's first synthesizer was the legendary Prophet 5 in 1978 — the first microprocessor-controlled polyphonic synthesizer capable of storing the value of every parameter within its voicing and control systems. This was a watershed technological breakthrough, and the implications were staggering. Think about this: before the Prophet 5, it simply wasn't possible to enter a patch number into a synth and recall a sound you had stored.

The Prophet 5 and its successors were hugely successful, finding their way into every top studio and major act's keyboard rig and onto countless recordings by artists as diverse as Madonna and Weather Report! Impressive, yes — but Dave also had a hand in inventing a little thing called MIDI. Taking full advantage of the latest cutting-edge digital/analog technologies, Prophet XL is the most recent chapter in one of the great American synth success stories.