The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer made by the American company Sequential. It was created by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977. It was the first synthesizer that could play multiple notes at once and had memory that users could set up to save sounds.

Before the Prophet-5, synthesizers needed users to adjust controls to change sounds, but this made it hard to recreate the same sound exactly. Sequential used small computer chips to let users save and recall sounds quickly 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 movie soundtracks. In 1981, Sequential released a version called the Prophet-10, which had 10 voices and two keyboards. In 2020, Sequential made new versions of the Prophet-5. It has also been copied in software and hardware. Sequential later released other Prophet synthesizers, 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 worked full-time with microprocessors, a new type of technology. He thought of combining microprocessors with synthesizer chips to build a synthesizer that could store sounds in memory, instead of requiring users to recreate sounds manually. He did not act on the idea at first, believing that companies like Moog or ARP would create such an instrument first. When no similar instrument appeared, Smith left his job in early 1977 to focus fully on the project.

Initially, Smith and Bowen designed the Prophet-10, a synthesizer capable of playing up to ten notes at the same time. However, the device became unstable and overheated quickly, causing tuning issues. To fix the problem, Smith and Bowen removed half of the electronics, reducing the number of playable notes to five and creating the Prophet-5. Smith presented the Prophet-5 at the NAMM Convention in January 1978 and sent the first models to customers later that year.

Production

Between 1978 and 1984, three versions of the device were created. The first version, called Revision 1, was made by hand and produced quickly to earn money early. Only 182 units were made. Revision 2 was stronger and included a way to save settings using cassette tapes. It also used walnut wood instead of koa wood for the casing. Revision 3 changed the type of chip used, replacing the Solid State Music (SSM) chipset with Curtis (CEM) chips. This change required a major redesign. Sound on Sound said Revision 3 was still good to use but had less character than earlier models. Nearly 6,000 Revision 3 units were made.

In 1981, Sequential Circuits released the Prophet-10. This model 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 settings and store sequencer data. Later, Sequential Circuits switched to a Braemar tape drive, which was more reliable and could store about four times as many sequencer events.

In 2020, Sequential Circuits 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

The Prophet-5 has a feature called patch memory, which lets users save sounds. This is different from the Yamaha CS-80, which did not have this ability. The Prophet-5 uses a special serial interface that works with the Prophet Remote, a type of keyboard controller that hangs from the shoulder. However, this interface cannot connect the Prophet-5 to other devices. Sequential, the company that made the Prophet-5, later added a MIDI interface to some models. Other companies also created MIDI interfaces that could be used with the Prophet-5.

Impact

Before the Prophet-5, synthesizers required users to adjust cables and knobs to change sounds, and there was no guarantee of exactly recreating a sound. The Prophet-5, with its ability to save sounds to patch memory, helped change synthesizers from creating unpredictable sounds to producing "a standard package of familiar sounds." The Prophet-5 became the most popular and widely used synthesizer in the industry. According to MusicRadar, the Prophet-5 "changed the world – simple as that."

Greg Hawkes, the keyboardist for The Cars, 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 on his 1981 single "In the Air Tonight." The band Japan used it often, including on their 1982 hit single "Ghosts." Michael Jackson used it frequently 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 extensively for his soundtracks. The Greek composer Vangelis used the Prophet-5 and Prophet-10, such as 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 created several synthesizers with the Prophet name, including the Pro-One, the Prophet VS, the Prophet '08, and the Prophet-6. They also made samplers, such as the Prophet 2000 and the Prophet 3000. In 2020, Sequential introduced a new version of the Prophet-5, called the Rev 4. This version includes features such as USB and MIDI connectivity, velocity and aftertouch sensitivity, polyphonic glide, and two sets of filters. Sequential also introduced a new Prophet-10 Rev 4, which is a ten-voice version of the Prophet-5 Rev 4.

Bowen offered advice to Native Instruments during the development of the Pro 5 software synthesizer emulation, which was 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, which was released in 2022.