AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 Synth is an authentic, first-of-its-kind emulation of the Sequential Prophet-5 for iPhones and iPads. Here is my review
The Sequential Prophet-5, designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, was the first polyphonic analog Synthesizer with patch memory. A long time ago. It continues to influence music today and is considered a timeless Synthesizer.
Today, you can get a Prophet-5 as a clone or even as a software emulation for macOS and Windows. From Arturia, Softube, u-he, or Cherry Audio in a double version. With the PRO-A5 Synth, AudioKit Pro brings the Prophet-5 to the iOS world for the first time.
Disclaimer: Since I don’t own a Sequential Prophet-5 or have the financial means to verify its authenticity, I cannot confirm or deny the app’s 100% authenticity in this review.
Comparing it to other Prophet-5 emulation makes just as little sense, since we don’t know the conditions under which they were modeled. Furthermore, each vintage Prophet-5 has a slightly different character/behavior, making it even more difficult to judge.
Sorry, no hardware vs app or emulation vs emulation comparison bingo.
AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 Summary
Positive
- 100% synthesis no samples
- many pages, but a playful, hands-on, and fun interface
- sound quality
- added features
- 400+ presets
- AUv3 support
Neutral
- I can’t verify the authenticity (don’t have a Prophet-5)
Negative
- No macOS AUv3 support
- no macros
AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 Synth
The PRO-A5 synth continues the vintage synth theme from AudioKit Pro developer Matthew Fecher. Earlier this year, we got the Super J8, the first Jupiter-8 emulation for iOS. Now we have the first iOS synth that replicates the legendary Sequential Prophet-5.
To achieve authentic sound and workflow, the synth’s basic structure must match the original. That’s what the PRO-A5 Synth app does. It offers a 1:1 replica of the feature set, plus small extras not available on the hardware.
The user interface is typical of AudioKit Pro and features several windows that can be easily navigated with the buttons in the upper-left corner. Press the buttons multiple times to easily customize the interface to your liking.
A Prophet-5 Style Engine
The PRO-A5 Synth consists of two oscillators, each with three waveforms and a frequency knob. As with the original, an oscillator can consist of a mixture of three waveforms (saw, tri, and pulse), meaning it can have all three simultaneously.
Oscillator A has pulse-width control and a switchable oscillator sync option for creating lovely, sharp sync sounds. Go to the poly mod section and turn on either the filter envelope or oscillator B to modulate oscillator A’s frequency to achieve these sounds.
Oscillator B has an additional fine-tune control to perfectly detune it from oscillator A. Pulse width and keyboard tracking are also onboard. There is also an option to switch it to LFO (low-frequency) mode.
Classic, juicy PWM sounds are, of course, possible. Use the single Prophet-5-like LFO or the built-in modern LFOs to create them. Alternatively, the poly mod lets you also modulate the oscillator’s pulse width.
From here, the signals go into a straightforward mixer. Alongside oscillators A and B, you can also mix in a sub-oscillator and a noise generator.
The filter is modeled after the original hardware and includes controls for cutoff, resonance, keyboard tracking, and envelope amount. It also has a dedicated filter ADSR envelope.
The Extra Of The App
Pressing the More button in the filter section opens an advanced panel in the UI, unlocking more features. Among other things, you will find a resonant high-pass filter, a shaping function not available in the original hardware.
The high-pass filter is not authentic to P5, but it greatly expands the sound spectrum and makes many other sounds possible. Another neat option is the ability to switch between the vintage steppy REV 3 filter and a more modern, smoothed filter.
Whether a bit edgier or smoother, having both options is great, as it covers both eras. Plus, you can also tweak the filter envelope slope behavior and invert it.
If you want to experiment with self-oscillating sounds, there is a self-res button that automatically tunes the resonance.
Let’s talk about modulation: two ADSR envelopes (amp, filter), one LFO with the classic Prophet-5 routing, and two modern, multi-mode, multi-wave LFOs, each with two assignable parameters, form the foundation.
The delay function on LFOs is an excellent creative feature that lets you delay the modulation’s impact. You have a pad, and the modulation only appears many seconds later in the sound.
More crazy modulation results are possible. In the advanced section, you can flip LFOs to audio-rate, or you can modulate an LFO with another LFO and explore more experimental sounds.
Not to be forgotten is the iconic Poly Mod section, where you can use oscillator 2 as a modulator. This is especially useful for achieving FM or sync sounds.
Alongside these, you can assign the mod wheel, velocity, and, for the first time, aftertouch to various parameters. It took a long time for aftertouch to be added to AudioKit Pro apps, but now we have it.
Sound Refinements
The original Sequential Prophet-5 had no effects; the AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 Synth does. It has a saturator, a bit-crusher for extra crunch, a chorus for juicer sounds, tremolo, auto-pan, a multi-tap delay, and a two-mode reverb.
You can choose between a more subtle retro reverb or a denser, richer cascade reverb. The latter is suitable for ambient sound designers. Hidden within the effects section is the Unison section, which can go up to 5x (standard and Pro option).
It’s fully adjustable with two controls: detune and stereo. Turn the unison on if you need richer and more epic sounds.
Don’t worry: turning off the effects doesn’t diminish the AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 synth’s sound character. To my ears, it even sounds more authentic and beautiful without the extra effects.
More Creative Add-Ons
Like the previous Jupiter-8-style app, AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 also houses an arpeggiator and sequencer, allowing you to craft sequenced melodic parts from scratch. Arpeggios can be programmed on the fly with five running modes and a 4-octave range.
You can modify them on the fly using the rate, interval, and gate parameters, opening the door to plucky, longer-sustained arpeggios.
The sequencer also belongs more to the traditional family. Extensive feature experimentation is avoided. Adjustable up to 16 steps, rate, and gate control, and steps can be switched off.
Playful features like ratcheting, probability, or different playback directions are missing. Neat, you can select which sound source will be driven by the sequencer.
This allows you to sequence specific sections while the others remain playable normally, resulting in interesting sound design.
Additionally, you have two freely assignable touchpads to manipulate FXs in real time. It’s a bit of a shame that you don’t have access to all the parameters of the engine
How Does It Sound?
Straight out of the app store box, AudioKit Pro ships the PRO-A5 synth with over 400 community-designed sounds. These cover all the classic sounds you’d expect from a Prophet-5-like synth.
There are also many sounds that aren’t possible with the vintage hardware, especially the heavily effected ones or with complex modulations. These will keep you playing for a very long time. If these aren’t enough, you can design new sounds from scratch.
I can neither confirm nor deny exactly how they sound like a Prophet-5, nor whether they can hold their own against a vintage unit or a modern hardware reissue. I simply lack the necessary hardware.
Sonically, the Pro-A5 can convince with a beautiful, warm, thick yet elegant sound which gives me Prophet vibes. Crank up oscillator 2 or the filter envelope routed to frequency A, and you get the beautiful FM tones we love from Dave Smith’s first programmable polysynth.
The extra features are useful add-ons. I’m not a fan of overly complex sounds with effects, so I like to turn them off first, play with the sounds dry, and only turn them on again when needed. Thus, I’m missing a global FX off option to do that.
They sound good and fit the synth. Alternatively, you can use your favorite effect plugins in a DAW, using the synth as an AUv3 plugin.
AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 Synth Review Conclusion
After the first Jupiter-8, we now also have a Sequential Prophet-5 emulation on iOS. It took many years to make this happen. I wonder why no one thought of this before. So, a big thank you, Matthew Fecher.
The Pro-A5 is a great-sounding Synthesizer that offers the simple, inspiring workflow of the legendary Sequential Prophet-5. It sounds warm and thick, with the elegance and sharpness of the sync and FM elements familiar from the original.
The lack of a macOS AUv3 version is a drawback for me. Also, there are no macro parameters available to easily tweak patches during performances. The X/Y pads are there, but they’re not the same.
All in all, you get a very high-quality Synthesizer for iOS AUv3 that is fun to use. It’s a must-have for anyone who’s ever wanted a Prophet-5-like synth for on-the-go. This is the one to get. And at the current intro price, it’s a no-brainer.
AudioKit Pro PRO-A5 Synth is available now for an introductory price of $4,99/5,99€ instead of $29,99/32,99€ for a limited time. It runs as a standalone and AUv3 plugin on iOS.
More information here: AudioKit Pro / Apple App Store
This company makes such cool stuff at such reasonable prices.
Theyre very good people, too. They do a lot with music education initiatives, big fan!
I think I have all Audiokit iOS apps and they are fantastic. For sure I need to use it more as a sound module.
Audio Kit are definitely opening up for some serious musical use of the iPad, their Nord and Jupiter are really great synths sounding fantastic. Just grabbed this one, even though I’ve never been a big P5 aficionado, and it definitely is a pretty decent software emulation for anyone looking to get a bit of prophet in their music.
Meh…. all the Audio Kit synths sound the same, the name of them and the alleged emulation are just marketing.