Korg Prophecy

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Prophecy by Korg
Synthesis type:		Physical Modelling
Polyphony:		1
Multitimbral:		1
VCA:		4
LFO:		4
Keyboard:		37-key Aftertouch + Velocity
Left hand control:		Pitch, Modulation, Log Wheel, Ribbon
Velocity sensitive:		{{{velocity}}}
Aftertouch:		{{{aftertouch}}}
External control:		MIDI
Memory:		2x64 locations, 512k RAM card
Onboard effects:		1x5
Produced:		1995
Original price:		£1000 new, ~£200 used

The Korg Prophecy is considered one of the earliest (mid-nineties) "virtual analog" (a.k.a. VA) synthesizers, although its synthesis capabilities went beyond many of its VA contemporaries.

Along with the Korg Trinity, this little synth is a direct descendant of the ill-fated (and sci-fi at the time) Oasys project. It was a small 3-octave monosynth, a pioneer of the late 90's "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-modelled 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-late 90's, it was believed that physical modeling, which recreated the sound of acoustic instruments (brass, strings, woodwinds, etc.) using DSP algorithms instead of samples, would eventually replace sample-based version of those instruments, because of its unprecedented realism and expressivity. As time passed, physical modelling 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.

More technically, the Prophecy offered one-note polyphony, a decent set of effects (including distortion, waveshaping, delay/reverb and chorus/flanger), and 128 locations for user sounds. No disk drive or sequencer was found on it, but its integrated arpeggiator was a source of "instant gratification", as some magazines pointed 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 keybed, bigger screen, 6-part multitimbral, 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 decanted 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 much in sought by musicians and synthetists. 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.