TEO-5 vs Take 5: two compact poly synths, two very different personalities
The easiest mistake in this comparison is to assume that the Oberheim TEO-5 and Sequential Take 5 occupy the same musical space simply because they share the same broad format. Both are compact five-voice analog polysynths with 44-key Fatar keyboards, onboard sequencing and arpeggiation, dedicated reverb, additional digital effects, and standalone overdrive. The Take 5 arrived in 2021 as a compact Prophet-flavored instrument, while the TEO-5 followed in 2024 as a more modern Oberheim statement. On paper, that makes them look like direct alternatives. In practice, they feel like two different philosophies of what a small analog poly should do.
The real split starts at the oscillators
The Take 5 builds a surprising amount of identity into a single knob. Its oscillators move continuously from sine to sawtooth to variable-width pulse, which means the instrument often begins from a smoother, more blended raw tone. The TEO-5 goes the other way: each oscillator offers triangle, saw, and pulse, and those waveforms can be selected simultaneously. That encourages layered harmonic shapes right at the source rather than gradual morphing between them. The result is not merely a spec difference. It changes the way each synth invites you to program. The Take 5 tends to reward refinement inside one waveform path; the TEO-5 tends to reward stacking, contrast, and a more overtly sculpted surface.
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That architectural contrast also explains why the Take 5 often comes across as rounder and more inward-looking, while the TEO-5 more readily reads as open, bright, and forward. The Take 5 has access to a sine-based starting point that naturally lends itself to softer, more centered timbres. The TEO-5, by contrast, replaces sine with triangle and lets you build composite waveforms more aggressively. In listening terms, that tends to make the Oberheim feel quicker to project and the Sequential quicker to settle into a warmer pocket.
Filter design is where personality becomes destiny
If the oscillators establish the starting point, the filters decide the emotional direction. The Take 5 uses a four-pole resonant low-pass filter based on the Prophet-5 Rev 4 design, and it can be pushed into self-oscillation. The TEO-5 uses a discrete SEM-lineage two-pole state-variable filter that morphs from low-pass to high-pass through notch, with selectable band-pass mode. Those are not small variations on a theme. They are radically different ways of organizing harmonic energy.
The Take 5’s filter is narrower, firmer, and more center-focused in the way classic Prophet instruments often feel. It gives plucks, basses, and compact poly sounds a strong sense of shape and weight. The TEO-5’s SEM-style filter feels broader and more spatial, with a way of holding onto openness even when the sound is being actively carved. That is why the TEO-5 so often comes across as brighter and more extroverted, while the Take 5 feels more mellow, woody, and composed. One is not objectively better. But they do not distribute energy the same way, and that difference is immediately musical.
The TEO-5 pushes further into modern analog aggression
Both instruments go well beyond vintage reenactment. Each has a deep modulation system, two LFOs, and a compact interface that still leaves real room for sound design. But the TEO-5 makes a stronger argument for aggressive, contemporary analog motion because its X-Mod includes linear through-zero FM. The Take 5 also offers front-panel FM, but its broader identity remains more rooted in the classic Prophet logic of contour, focus, and musical containment. The Oberheim feels more eager to step into sharper harmonic friction; the Sequential feels more interested in shaping a strong central tone and then deepening it.
That matters in use. If you want a compact analog poly that naturally leans toward vivid leads, bright pads, punchy electronic hooks, and more overtly synthetic motion, the TEO-5 makes its case very quickly. Its signal path seems to want edge, air, and separation. The Take 5 can absolutely go modern, but it tends to sound strongest when it is not trying to impersonate Oberheim brightness. Its best voice is its own: denser in the mids, smoother at the top, and often more affecting when it plays with restraint rather than spectacle.
Why the Take 5 still has a stronger case for certain players
The Take 5’s advantage is not that it is more limited. It is that its limitations are musically useful. The continuously variable oscillator shape, Prophet-derived four-pole filter, dedicated overdrive, and compact control layout all pull it toward sounds that feel finished quickly: plucks, rounded basses, mellow poly chords, intimate leads, and keyboard-adjacent tones that sit inside a mix instead of slicing through it. That is a very different kind of power from the TEO-5’s. It is less about projection and more about emotional placement.
This is also why the Take 5 can feel especially convincing for players who want one instrument to cover classic subtractive territory without constant negotiation. The TEO-5 often sounds like it wants to declare itself. The Take 5 often sounds like it wants to support the piece. That makes it especially appealing for plucked textures, retro keys, softer pads, and parts that need warmth and body more than overt harmonic shine.
Effects matter less than the dry voice
It is tempting to overstate the role of the onboard effects, but they are not the decisive factor here. Both synths provide a dedicated reverb, a separate multi-effects section, and standalone overdrive, and the broad effect families overlap heavily: delays, BBD-style delay, modulation effects, high-pass filtering, distortion, and more. The TEO-5 adds Oberheim-branded phase shifter and ring modulator emulations, while the Take 5’s presentation stays more generically Sequential. Useful as those differences are, they do not redefine the matchup. The core distinction remains the dry voice architecture: Prophet-style focus on one side, SEM-style openness on the other.
Final judgment
The most important thing this comparison reveals is that compact analog polys are still defined by fundamentals, not by checklist parity. The Sequential Take 5 and Oberheim TEO-5 share enough features to tempt direct comparison, but the deeper truth is that they answer different musical instincts. The Take 5 is the one to choose when you want warmth organized into shape, when plucks and rounded keys matter, and when a synth should feel focused rather than expansive. The TEO-5 is the one to choose when you want brightness, air, motion, and a more visibly electronic personality at the front of the arrangement.
Neither instrument cancels the other out. The Take 5 is not a subdued TEO-5, and the TEO-5 is not simply a brighter Take 5. They are two compact analog synths that prove how much oscillator design and filter topology still shape musical identity. That is exactly why the comparison matters.
His connection with music began at age 6, in the 1980s, when his father introduced him to Jean-Michel Jarre's Rendez-Vous on vinyl. He works professionally in the legal field, while synthesizers became his space for abstraction and creative exploration. He enjoys composing synthwave and cinematic ambient music. Founder of The Synth Source.