Native Instruments Pro-53 sound comparison?

Does the NI Pro-53 sound anything like the SC Prophet-5? Any of you guys use the Pro-53? Any thoughs on it? Opinions? Does it sound like any other synths?

Thanks.

No one helped this person.

Not me.

I've got the Pro-53, but no Prophet 5.

I have played a Prophet 5 and it sounded good. Too bad it has so many knobs and is real analog. But I have not compared it to soft synths. Not a soft synth kind of guy at the moment.

My Pro-53 doesn't have any real knobs. Only pretend ones.

My Pro-53 doesn't have any real knobs. Only pretend ones.

Yeah but it's got SWITCHES!!

:love:

Yes, it sounds a lot like it. I dont have a Prophet handy:rolleyes: but I own the pro53 and it does pretty much what you would expect.

mildbill

Cygnus64

Thanks, What OS do you use with it? What CPU, RAM? Does it run pretty smooth? What kinds of patches do you like to use the most?

The reason why Im asking about this softsynth is because I need something that sounds pretty good and is able to do good leads and pads. I have the Gforce Minimonsta and it is almost to much for my 1 GHz PIII, 500mb ram. I read in the specs and saw the Pro-53 is listed at around 350 MHz.

I have Windows XP, Athlon 1.8 ghz, 1 gig ram. Runs very smoothly. When I bought it I only had 500 mb Ram and had no problems. I use Sonar as a host.

I have it up right now. The supersync lead is nice, so is a patch called groovy noise. I tend to use monophonic leads and a few basses. They cut through mixes no problemo, its a nice lil synth and there is very little latency. I dont use multiple instances, I use it sparingly when I am in a retro mood. I have 4 romplers and about 9 softsynths plus samples and a real pianny and a lot of acoustic instruments, its not a problem finding something to make a noise.

I think there's a quote from John Bowen somewhere on the internet that he regarded the NI version as only being about 80% there. When he pointed that out to NI they famously responded it was "good enough" for their target user base. So he went on to get some coders together and do his own Creamware version.

Even for its flaws, Pro 53 still manages a better sync sound than just about any VA you'd care to name Plus it uses very little CPU. I wonder if Native Instruments will update it for Komplete 5 though? It's about the only synth they haven't updated now that they've released FM8. There's some obvious things it'd benefit from like a polyphonic unison mode, individual pan control on voices, and a programmable arp. Also, nudging it closer to the original would be nice, or at least giving some more control over the stability of the voices (rather than a simple "analog" button.)

They've updated it in the sense that there's an Universal Binary of it. It's got some very nice sounds, but it's just a capable VST; I think few will see it as "vintage" because other emulations are more organic, less "hey let's make pretty knobs and leave it at that".

I almost bought it as addition to V-station, from which i coaxed a prophetlike pad that is truly wicked...but then I found a Jx8P for less than Pro53's price and went for that... I like the sound, it merges in nicely in a track, not too fat so you don't need to "undress it" with eq.

Try Savihost!

Lightweight, easy on cpu and ram, and is easily configured.

It was a fairly early softsynth, so it doesn't use a lot of resources. You shouldn't have any problem running it on your computer, I think.

It still sounds good today when compared with the newer stuff.

I like Pro53 I make good use of it live and in the studio, and while I'd much prefer to "replace" it with a new Prophet '08, considering I'm a filthy pirate and it cost me nothing but my warez-blackened soul, I can't complain. It does the job just fine.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and opinions. This helps me with my decision making process. I'm really thinking about buying it. I will let you know.

Thanks again.

Yep, the sync sound is very good. The best feature is stability and low CPU usage. You can start a lot of songs off with a dozen Pro-53's without taxing the computer, then switch them out later with other VSTi's if you want.

That was a very important factor as far as live use goes The ultra-low CPU useage means I can rag the bollocks off it with about 4 instances going at once (and another load of FM7's running, AND Korg Legacy M1) and it barely breaks a sweat. I'd gladly trade a little bit of accuracy for stability. I don't particularly enjoy having to use a "soft" live rig and I'd enjoy it even less if it kept crashing. So far though, so good.

Personally I wouldn't want to use the Pro-53 (or most any other softsynth) without a controller with a bunch of programmable knobs and/or sliders.

I use an Evolution UC-33e (24 knobs, 9 sliders, and a button pad, etc). Even with this box, which comes with a Pro-53 preset ready to use, all the parameters are not mapped to the controller. I could use about another 15 knobs/buttons, etc. to fully match the hands-on convenience of the real thing.

Using a mouse to control a synthesizer is like using a teaspoon to empty the bathtub. Sure, it'll "get the job done"....

nat whilk ii

Ive got the Pro 53, but honestly...I dont find its sound that engaging. I also really dont like softsynths that so closely try to emulate a hardware instrument. You end up with something that has neither the tactile interface of the original (you can get around that to some extent with a nice control surface) nor the flexibility of a modern digital instrument (because,lets face it, the p5 has a very simple voice structure by todays standards).