The Sequential Pro 3, introduced in January 2020, is a hybrid mono/paraphonic synthesizer that combines two analog VCOs, one digital wavetable oscillator, three analog filter topologies, a deep modulation matrix, and a sequencer that behaves more like a compositional engine than a convenience feature. What makes it meaningful is not just the feature set itself, but the way those features were assembled: the Pro 3 was designed to reconnect Sequential’s compact Pro lineage to the present without falling back on simple nostalgia.
Sound and character
In practice, the Pro 3 sounds less like a vintage monosynth with modern extras and more like a deliberately wide-spectrum instrument. The analog oscillators give it the density and grip expected from a Sequential mono, but the third oscillator changes the center of gravity. Because it can move from classic waveforms to wavetable morphing and even operate as a complex LFO, the instrument can shift from grounded, muscular bass and lead work into harder-edged, more synthetic motion without feeling like two separate synths awkwardly bolted together.
A large part of that identity comes from the filter section. The low-pass option gives it authority and weight, the ladder filter brings a more rounded and sometimes more aggressive contour, and the state-variable design opens the door to more sculpted, nasal, or sharply carved textures. Add the analog distortion, tuned feedback, audio-rate modulation, and per-step sequencing, and the Pro 3 becomes especially strong at basses, leads, sequenced lines, industrial textures, acidic motion, electro patterns, and cinematic sound design. It can do smoother material too, but it is at its most persuasive when there is some edge, movement, or architectural intent in the sound.
Features and architecture
- Manufacturer: Sequential
- Year introduced: 2020
- Production years: 2020–present
- Synthesis type: Hybrid analog/digital subtractive synthesis with wavetable oscillator
- Category: Mono/paraphonic keyboard synthesizer
- Polyphony: Monophonic, with 3-note paraphonic mode
- Original price: Pro 3 standard launched at $1,599 US MAP; Pro 3 SE launched at $2,099 US MAP
- Current market price: standard model commonly appears new around $1,999.99 in the US; used pricing often lands around $1,200–$1,600, with broader price-guide estimates below that depending on condition and market sample
- Oscillators: 2 analog VCOs plus 1 DSP-based digital oscillator; analog oscillators offer triangle, saw, and pulse with variable shape modulation, while oscillator 3 adds 32 wavetables with 16 waves each, classic digital waveforms, super saw, and custom wavetable support
- Filter: 3 analog filter types — 4-pole 24 dB/oct low-pass, 4-pole 24 dB/oct transistor ladder, and 2-pole 12 dB/oct state-variable filter with low-pass, notch, high-pass, and optional band-pass behavior
- LFOs: 3 syncable LFOs with phase offset and slew
- Envelopes: 4 ADSR envelopes with delay; all can loop/repeat
- Modulation system: 32-slot modulation matrix with more than 46 sources and more than 171 destinations; audio-rate modulation is supported
- Sequencer / arpeggiator: 16-track sequencer with 4 linkable 16-step phrases, ratcheting, variable length, multiple playback modes, and parameter sequencing; arpeggiator includes up, down, up+down, random, and assign modes
- Effects: dual digital effects, including delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, ring modulation, rotary speaker, distortion, high-pass filtering, and plate-style reverb; plus tuned feedback and programmable analog distortion
- Memory: 512 user programs and 512 factory programs
- Keyboard: full-sized 3-octave semi-weighted Fatar keyboard with velocity and aftertouch
- Inputs / outputs: 4 CV inputs, 4 CV outputs, gate out, sustain input, expression pedal input, external audio input, stereo outputs, headphone output
- MIDI / USB: 1 MIDI In, 1 MIDI Thru, 2 MIDI Outs, plus USB for bidirectional MIDI
- Display: OLED display
- Dimensions / weight: Pro 3 standard is 26.65” x 13.33” x 4.92” and 16 lbs; Pro 3 SE is larger and heavier at 27” x 14.6” x 5.07” and 27 lbs
- Power: internal universal power supply, 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz, 30 W max
Strengths
- The filter section meaningfully changes the instrument’s behavior. This is not a case of minor tonal flavoring. The three filter designs push the Pro 3 into genuinely different musical roles, from weighty Sequential-style low-pass work to ladder-driven grind and more sculpted state-variable motion.
- The sequencer is central, not ornamental. With 16 tracks, ratcheting, parameter automation, variable lengths, and phrase chaining, it is one of the reasons the instrument feels compositional rather than merely programmable.
- Its hybrid design is musically coherent. The wavetable oscillator expands the palette without flattening the analog foundation, so the instrument can move between classic mono duties and more modern, unstable, or cinematic textures without losing identity.
- The panel is deep but still performance-oriented. More than 60 knobs and 70 buttons keep a large amount of the architecture physically present, which matters on a synth this ambitious.
- It bridges keyboard, modular, and sound-design workflows unusually well. CV I/O, gate out, external audio processing, a strong modulation matrix, and tuned feedback make it useful both as an instrument and as a control-and-processing hub.
Limitations
- It is still fundamentally a mono synth. The 3-note paraphonic mode is useful, but it does not replace a true polysynth for independent chord voicing and multi-voice articulation.
- Paraphonic mode shares a signal path. Chords can be expressive and musically useful, but they do not behave like separate voices moving through their own filters and amplifiers.
- The 3-octave keyboard is compact by design. That helps portability, but some players will find the range restrictive in performance.
- Its depth can exceed what some musicians actually need. If the goal is a simple, immediate one-purpose monosynth, the Pro 3 can feel like far more machine than necessary.
- The value equation is less forgiving than it was at launch. Current new pricing sits well above the original standard-model MAP, so it now competes in a more demanding premium segment.
- The SE version improves ergonomics and finish, not the synthesis engine. That makes it attractive, but harder to justify purely on sonic grounds.
Historical context
The Pro 3 arrived at NAMM 2020 as a new flagship hybrid mono/paraphonic instrument for Sequential. Dave Smith described it as an evolution of the compact, powerful idea behind the classic Pro-One, but also as a successor to the much more modern Pro 2. That combination matters. The Pro-One had long been one of Sequential’s great compact monosynth statements, while the Pro 2 had already shown that the company was willing to stretch mono architecture far beyond vintage orthodoxy. The Pro 3 merges those two lineages: the name and footprint nod backward, but the synthesis logic pushes forward.
That timing also mattered because the Pro 3 did not take the easiest possible route. Sequential could have produced a safer nostalgia instrument. Instead, it released a synth with a wavetable oscillator, three filter types, deep CV connectivity, and an unusually elaborate sequencer. In other words, it treated the mono synth not as a historical relic or a stripped-down side product, but as a serious contemporary platform.
Legacy and significance
The Pro 3 matters because it rejects a false choice that shaped a lot of synth discourse: old character or new flexibility. Sequential built it as an instrument that can honor the emotional appeal of the company’s mono heritage while also accepting that modern players want modulation depth, parameter sequencing, external integration, and timbral range that goes well beyond one classic sweet spot.
Its significance, then, is not that it revived a famous name. It is that it showed how a legacy brand could keep moving without pretending that progress and identity are enemies. The Pro 3 broadens what people expect from a premium monosynth. It can be a bass machine, a lead synth, a sequence generator, a modular controller, an effects processor for external audio, or a sound-design laboratory. That breadth is precisely why it deserves attention in Sequential’s history.
Artists, users, and curiosities
Sequential’s own artist material links the Pro 3 to a range of modern players rather than one single scene, which suits the instrument. Hazel Mills has used a Pro 3 on tour with Christine and the Queens, while artist pages from Sequential also associate the instrument with players such as Thomas Lemmer and Nicholas Semrad. That spread is telling: the Pro 3 is not tied to one nostalgic genre image, but to musicians who want a mono instrument that can move between studio detail and stage utility.
One especially memorable curiosity comes from Sequential’s own product material: Peter Dyer’s official demo track “Tusker Bunch” was created entirely with the Pro 3, including the drums. That detail is more revealing than it may first appear. It underlines how Sequential wanted the synth to be understood — not as a narrow specialist for bass and lead alone, but as an instrument capable of generating complete, internally coherent pieces of music.
Market value
- Current market position: a premium mono/paraphonic keyboard synth that sits above simpler analog monos and below large flagship polysynth prices
- New price signal: current new US listings commonly sit around $1,999.99 for the standard version; at least some European listings appear lower, around €1,799
- Used market signal: used values remain active rather than stagnant; price-guide estimates can sit lower, but real listings in strong condition often land around $1,200–$1,600
- Availability: not rare, but not always steadily in stock at every retailer; used examples appear regularly
- Buyer notes: the standard model is lighter and less expensive, while the SE mainly adds a tilt-up panel and walnut trim rather than more synthesis depth
- Support ecosystem: healthy, with official documentation, OS downloads, factory sound banks, and an active product forum still available
- Long-term position: respected rather than collectible at this stage; its reputation is being built through use, not scarcity
Conclusion
The Sequential Pro 3 is best understood as a modern argument for what a monosynth can still be. It carries traces of the Pro-One, lessons from the Pro 2, and enough modulation, filtering, sequencing, and hybrid range to stand as something distinctly its own. It matters because it treats the mono synth as a serious contemporary instrument rather than a nostalgic format, and that is precisely why it remains one of Sequential’s most important designs of the 2020s.