The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer made by the American company Sequential. It was created in 1977 by Dave Smith and John Bowen. It was the first polyphonic synthesizer with memory that could be programmed to save settings.

Before the Prophet-5, synthesizers required users to manually adjust controls to change sounds. This made it difficult to recreate the same sound exactly. Sequential used microprocessors to let users recall sounds instantly instead of adjusting controls each time. The Prophet-5 helped shift synthesizers from making unpredictable sounds to producing consistent, familiar sounds.

The Prophet-5 became a top-selling product and was widely used in popular music and film scores. In 1981, Sequential released a version called the Prophet-10, which had 10 voices and two keyboards. In 2020, Sequential introduced new versions of the Prophet-5. The synthesizer has also been copied in software and hardware. Sequential later made other Prophet models, such as the Prophet '08.

Development

The Prophet-5 was developed in 1977 by American engineers Dave Smith and John Bowen at Sequential Circuits. At that time, Smith had a full-time job working with microprocessors, a new type of technology. Smith had the idea of combining microprocessors with synthesizer chips to build a programmable synthesizer. This would let users save sounds in memory instead of having to recreate them manually. Smith did not work on the idea at first. He thought companies like Moog or ARP would create the instrument instead. When no instrument appeared, Smith left his job in early 1977 to focus on the project full-time.

At first, Smith and Bowen built the Prophet-10, a synthesizer that could play up to ten notes at the same time. However, the instrument became too hot and had trouble staying in tune. To fix these problems, Smith and Bowen removed half of the electronics, reducing the number of notes to five. This created the Prophet-5. Smith showed the Prophet-5 at the NAMM Convention in January 1978. The first models were sent to customers later that year.

Production

Three versions were made between 1978 and 1984. The first, Revision 1, was built by hand and made quickly to earn money early; only 182 were created. Revision 2 was stronger, added storage for cassette patches, and used walnut wood instead of koa wood. Revision 3 changed the Solid State Music (SSM) chipset to Curtis (CEM) chips, which required a major redesign. According to Sound on Sound, Revision 3 "still sounded good but felt less warm and had fewer features compared to earlier models." Nearly 6,000 Revision 3 models were made.

In 1981, Sequential Circuits released the Prophet-10, which had 10 voices, 20 oscillators, and a double keyboard. Like the Prophet-5 Revision 3, it used CEM chips. The first Prophet-10 models used an Exatron Stringy Floppy drive to save patches and store sequencer data. Later, Sequential switched to a Braemar tape drive, which worked better and could store about four times as many sequencer events.

In 2020, Sequential released the Prophet-5 Rev4, which had more memory and features. They also released a new version of the Prophet-10, which had the same outside design as the Prophet-5.

Features

In the 1970s, the Prophet-5 had an advantage over its closest competitor, the Yamaha CS-80, because it included patch memory. This feature allowed users to save sounds instead of having to recreate them by hand. The Prophet-5 used a special type of serial interface that worked with the Prophet Remote, a strap-style keytar controller. However, this interface could not connect the Prophet-5 to other devices. Later, Sequential added a MIDI interface to some Prophet-5 models, and third-party MIDI interfaces were also made available for use with the Prophet-5.

Impact

Before the Prophet-5, synthesizers needed users to manually adjust cables and knobs to change sounds, and there was no way to be sure the same sound could be recreated. The Prophet-5 introduced a feature that allowed users to save sounds to memory, making it easier to produce consistent and recognizable sounds. This innovation helped shift synthesizers from creating unpredictable sounds to offering a set of familiar sounds. The Prophet-5 became a top-selling product and a widely accepted standard in the industry. According to MusicRadar, the Prophet-5 "changed the world – simple as that."

The Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes used the Prophet-5 to create the songs "Let's Go" (1979) and "Shake It Up" (1981). Kraftwerk used it during their 1981 "Computer World" Tour, and Phil Collins used it for his 1981 single "In the Air Tonight." Japan frequently used the Prophet-5, including on their 1982 hit "Ghosts." Michael Jackson used it often on the album Thriller (1982), and Madonna used it on Like a Virgin (1984). Peter Gabriel called the Prophet-5 his "old warhorse," using it for many sounds on his 1986 album So. Brad Fiedel used a Prophet-10 to record the soundtrack for The Terminator (1984), and filmmaker John Carpenter used both the Prophet-5 and Prophet-10 for his soundtracks. Greek composer Vangelis used the Prophet-5 and Prophet-10, including in the soundtrack for Blade Runner (1982). Radiohead used the Prophet-5 on their 2000 album Kid A, including the song "Everything In Its Right Place." Other users include Tears for Fears, Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby, Devo, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Vince Clarke, Pet Shop Boys, Giorgio Moroder, Tony Banks, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Dr. Dre, Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Rick Wakeman, Pendulum, BT, and John Harrison.

Successors and emulations

Smith's companies introduced several synthesizers named Prophet, including the Pro-One, the Prophet VS, the Prophet '08, and the Prophet-6. They also released samplers, such as the Prophet 2000 and the Prophet 3000. In 2020, Sequential announced a new version of the Prophet-5 called the Rev 4. This version added features such as USB and MIDI connectivity, velocity and aftertouch sensitivity, polyphonic glide, and two sets of filters. Sequential also announced a new Prophet-10 Rev 4, which is a ten-voice version of the Prophet-5 Rev 4.

Bowen gave advice to Native Instruments during the creation of the Pro 5 software synthesizer emulation, released in 1999. This was followed by the Pro 52 in 2000 and the Pro 53 in 2003. Bowen also provided advice to Creamware for their 2003 software emulations, the Prophet and Prophet Plus. Arturia, U-he, and Softube released emulations in 2006, 2018, and 2023, respectively. Other hardware clones include the Behringer Pro-16 (a prototype shown at NAMM 2025) and PikoPiko Factory's open-source Profree-4, released in 2022.