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Vintage synths & drum machines
Vintage Synthesizers

Sequential Circuits · Analog polysynth · Pre-MIDI classics

Sequential Prophet-10

The Prophet-10 was actually the first idea. Smith and Bowen's original 10-voice prototype ran so hot it couldn't stay in tune, so they cut the electronics in half and called it the Prophet-5. Sequential came back to the idea around 1981 with a twin-keyboard monster, two five-octave manuals over 10 voices of Curtis-chip Prophet. You could split the voices between the keyboards or stack all 20 oscillators on one note. It had 64 patch memories and a built-in polyphonic sequencer with a tape drive for backup. The first 300 or so, which Sequential called Rev 0, used an Exatron Stringy Floppy drive that failed often, and later ones moved to a more reliable Braemar micro-cassette. Dave Smith put production at fewer than 1,000. Tony Banks played one live with Genesis and on their 1983 album, Brad Fiedel recorded The Terminator score on one, and John Carpenter and Vangelis used them too. Buy the two-keyboard production model. Sound On Sound told readers to skip the rare single-keyboard version unless they ran a museum.

Spec at a glance

Brand
Sequential Circuits
Type
Analog polysynth
Made
1981–1984
Voices
10-voice polyphonic
Keys
Two 61-key manuals
MIDI
No (pre-MIDI)

What to check before you buy

The Prophet-10 had a reputation for unreliability, and most early Rev 0s went back to the factory for a fix after they lost their patches. The tape drives are the weak spot today, and fitting a MIDI kit disables the Exatron drive and its sequencer.

  1. 01Two keyboards: Check the photos for two five-octave keyboards. That's the production model, while a single keyboard means a rare early unit or the 2020 Rev 4.
  2. 02Tape drive: Ask which tape drive it has and whether it still saves and loads. A front-mounted Exatron marks an early Rev 0, and a side-mounted Braemar is the later, more reliable drive.
  3. 03Voices: Ask for a video playing all 10 voices one at a time from each keyboard. Every voice should sound and tune the same.
  4. 04Warm tuning: Ask the seller to play a chord after it's been on for an hour. It should still be in tune.
  5. 05MIDI kit: Look for MIDI jacks in the photos and ask which OS it runs. A MIDI unit should be on OS 6.1, and its Exatron drive and sequencer won't work.
  6. 06Shipping: Ask how the seller will pack it. A synth this big and heavy should go by freight or in a proper crate.

Find one on eBay

We haven’t been through this model’s listings yet. Search eBay for it and run every listing through the checklist above. Ask for a video of every voice and a note of anything that’s been serviced or replaced.

Search “Sequential Prophet 10” on eBay ↗eBay search

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