The Sequential Prophet-5 Rev4, introduced in 2020, is a five-voice analog polysynth that brings one of synthesis history’s most important instruments back into current production under the stewardship of its original creator. More than a nostalgic reissue, it was designed to condense the character of the Prophet-5’s earlier revisions into a modern, reliable instrument with contemporary connectivity and expressive control.
Sound and character
The Prophet-5 Rev4 sounds authoritative in the way only a relatively simple but carefully voiced analog polysynth can. Its core identity is not excessive complexity but musical inevitability: broad, harmonically dense pads, woody and vocal midrange brass, firm unison leads, plucked comp sounds that sit easily in a mix, and sync or Poly Mod patches that can turn suddenly abrasive without losing shape.
A large part of that character comes from the relationship between its oscillators, filter options, and deliberately variable behavior. The dual-filter architecture does not make it two different synthesizers, but it does meaningfully shift the instrument’s center of gravity. The Rev1/2-style filter has a softer, more organic pull, while the Rev3-style Curtis path feels tighter, a bit more controlled, and often easier to place in modern productions. The Vintage knob matters just as much: instead of treating stability as an unquestioned upgrade, Sequential made drift, response variance, and imperfect behavior part of the instrument’s sound design vocabulary.
That is why the Rev4 rarely feels sterile, even though it is a modern instrument. It can sound polished when required, but its real appeal is the way it keeps a living edge in sustained chords and exposed lines. The absence of onboard effects also shapes the listening experience. You hear the oscillator and filter architecture directly, which makes the synth feel confident rather than embellished. When players describe the Prophet-5 as sounding “finished” even while dry, that reaction is less about myth than about the strength of its raw midrange, envelope behavior, and voicing.
Features and architecture
- Manufacturer: Sequential
- Year introduced: 2020
- Production years: 2020–present
- Synthesis type: Analog subtractive synthesis
- Category: Five-voice polyphonic analog keyboard synthesizer
- Polyphony: 5 voices
- Original price: US MAP of $3,499 at launch
- Current market price: Around US$2,999.99 at major US retail during current promotions; around €3,299 at a major European retailer; used prices often remain relatively high for the category
- Oscillators: Two authentic CEM 3340 VCOs per voice; Oscillator A offers sawtooth and pulse, Oscillator B offers sawtooth, triangle, and pulse; variable pulse width; hard sync; white noise; Oscillator B low-frequency mode
- Filter: Switchable four-pole resonant low-pass filter per voice; Rev1/2 path uses the SSI 2140 as the modern counterpart to the original SSM 2040 design; Rev3 path uses a CEM 3320 filter; self-oscillation available via resonance
- LFOs: One global LFO with sawtooth, triangle, and square waveforms, with simultaneous waveshape engagement possible; initial amount plus mod-wheel control
- Envelopes: Two ADSR envelopes per voice, one for filter and one for amplifier
- Modulation system: Poly Mod with filter envelope and Oscillator B as sources; destinations include Oscillator A frequency, Oscillator A pulse width, and filter cutoff; Wheel Mod; velocity response for filter and amp envelopes; channel aftertouch routable to filter cutoff and LFO amount; Vintage knob for revision-style variance behavior
- Sequencer / arpeggiator: No onboard sequencer and no onboard arpeggiator
- Effects: No onboard effects
- Memory: 200 user programs and 200 factory programs
- Keyboard: Full-sized, semi-weighted 5-octave Fatar keybed with velocity and channel aftertouch
- Inputs / outputs: Mono audio out, stereo headphone out, CV in/out, gate in/out, filter cutoff pedal input, volume pedal input, sustain footswitch input
- MIDI / USB: MIDI In, Out, Thru, plus USB for bidirectional MIDI communication
- Display: Front-panel display for program and global navigation
- Dimensions / weight: 37.37 in x 16.35 in x 5.95 in; 32 lb (94.92 x 41.52 x 15.11 cm; 14.51 kg)
- Power: Internal power supply via IEC AC inlet; 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz; 25 W maximum power consumption
Strengths
- Historically informed rather than superficially retro: the Rev4 is not merely styled like a classic instrument; it meaningfully incorporates the tonal logic of the earlier Prophet-5 revisions through switchable filter behavior and the Vintage control.
- Strong raw tone without dependency on effects: many modern synths impress through layering, stereo spread, or onboard processing; the Prophet-5 Rev4 makes its case with oscillator weight, envelope shape, and filter voicing.
- Fast, musical workflow: the panel remains direct and legible, which encourages programming by ear instead of menu management.
- Better performance control than the vintage originals: velocity and aftertouch make the synth more expressive in contemporary playing contexts without turning it into a fundamentally different instrument.
- Bridges old and new setups well: MIDI, USB, and CV/Gate make it equally at home in a DAW-centered studio and in a hybrid hardware rig.
- Excellent sweet spot: the instrument reaches convincing basses, leads, pads, brass, comp stabs, and unstable experimental textures with unusually little friction.
Limitations
- Only five voices: that limitation is historically authentic, but in real arrangements it still matters, especially for sustained chords and two-handed performance.
- No onboard effects: this keeps the sound honest, but many players will immediately want external chorus, delay, or reverb.
- No onboard arpeggiator or sequencer: users coming from more feature-dense modern polysynths may find this austere.
- Mono audio output: sonically logical for the design, but less convenient in an era where stereo imaging is often expected at the instrument level.
- Premium pricing for a deliberately narrow concept: it is expensive if judged by voice count or feature density alone.
- Intentionally limited architecture: the simplicity is part of the appeal, but it also means less modulation depth and fewer structural options than many contemporary polysynths.
Historical context
The Prophet-5 first appeared in 1978 and became one of the most consequential synthesizers ever made because it combined analog polyphony with programmable patch memory in a way that permanently changed musician expectations. By the time Sequential reintroduced it in September 2020, the market was already deep into a renewed fascination with classic analog designs. What made the Rev4 notable was that it was not an imitation from outside the lineage, nor a vague tribute. It was an official return by Dave Smith and Sequential to the company’s foundational instrument.
That timing mattered. In the broader market, the 2010s and early 2020s saw a flood of vintage-inspired hardware. The Prophet-5 Rev4 stood apart because it did not try to win by adding the largest feature list. Instead, it answered a more specific question: what would an authoritative Prophet-5 look like if it were rebuilt now, with access to the strengths of all prior revisions and without the maintenance burdens that often define ownership of the originals?
The answer was a reissue that stayed extremely close to the old conceptual center while still accepting a few modern necessities: velocity, aftertouch, MIDI, USB, current manufacturing tolerances, and dependable support. In that sense, the Rev4 was both conservative and strategic. It did not attempt to modernize the Prophet-5 out of recognition. It modernized only enough to keep the original idea fully usable in current studios.
Legacy and significance
The Rev4 matters because it reframes what a reissue can be. Many revival instruments chase the aura of an old machine while quietly relying on convenience, added features, or lower pricing to justify themselves. The Prophet-5 Rev4 takes the harder route. It argues that the original design still deserves to be encountered almost on its own terms.
That is culturally significant because the Prophet-5 is not merely another classic polysynth. It is one of the instruments that helped define the relationship between memory, repeatability, and performance in synthesizer design. Bringing it back in an official, high-spec form restored not just a sound, but a piece of design history that remains central to how musicians think about programmable keyboards.
The Rev4 is also significant within Sequential’s own story. It reconnects the company’s present identity with its deepest historical symbol, and it does so without treating the past as untouchable museum material. The switchable filters, Vintage knob, and added expressive controls make the instrument feel less like a static replica and more like a carefully argued interpretation of the Prophet-5 idea.
Artists, users, and curiosities
The most obvious users associated with the Prophet-5 are spread across the original instrument’s long history, but the Rev4 has also been framed publicly as a serious professional tool rather than a collector’s trophy. Sequential’s own product page features a succinct endorsement from Trent Reznor, which is telling: the instrument is being positioned not only as heritage gear, but as something credible in modern production environments.
One of the more memorable curiosities of the Rev4 is that its launch was tied to Dave Smith’s 70th year, which gave the reissue a symbolic weight beyond ordinary product timing. Another is the inclusion of the original factory sound set, a decision that turns the instrument into a practical bridge between eras rather than just a cosmetic homage.
There is also a smaller but revealing musical detail attached to the architecture itself. Sequential explicitly points to the Prophet’s hard-sync voice as the sound famously heard in “Let’s Go” by The Cars. That kind of reference matters because it reminds players that the Prophet-5 legacy is not abstract. It lives in identifiable records, in recognizable timbres, and in a specific strain of late-1970s and early-1980s pop and rock production that continues to shape how people hear an “iconic synth sound.”
Market value
- Current market position: firmly premium; this is an official flagship-class reissue, not a value alternative
- New price signal: launched at a US MAP of $3,499; current US promotional retail can sit around $2,999.99, while major European retail is around €3,299
- Used market signal: depreciation appears relatively limited compared with many modern synths; used asking prices often stay high and can sit uncomfortably close to new-sale pricing depending on region and condition
- Availability: still in active retail circulation and supported by Sequential
- Buyer notes: best approached as a long-term instrument for players who want this specific sound and workflow, not as a broad value-per-feature purchase
- Support ecosystem: official manuals, factory sounds, OS downloads, registration, and support-ticket infrastructure remain available from Sequential
- Ease of finding one: not rare in the way vintage originals are, but still expensive enough to keep it in a committed-buyer category
- Long-term position: stable and prestigious rather than speculative; its reputation is already formed, and the main market question is less whether it matters than whether a buyer wants this exact level of focus and authenticity
Conclusion
The Sequential Prophet-5 Rev4 is important not because it adds the most, but because it preserves the right things. It takes one of synthesis history’s defining instruments and rebuilds it with unusual discipline, keeping its sonic identity, its workflow, and its limitations visible rather than disguising them. That makes it more than a reissue. It is a modern argument for why the Prophet-5 concept still holds its place near the top of the analog hierarchy.