Leak: Sequential Take 5 polyphonic analog synthesizer
5 analog voices, Prophet filter, and digital effects wrapped up in a neat form factor. Photos and specs for this unexpected polyphonic Take 5 synthesizer emerged on a Belgium online store (now withdrawn).
Sequential Take 5
Something new from Sequential is always a cause for excitement and this one could have a wide appeal. It reports to combine the sound of the Prophet-5 Rev4 including the Vintage knob for dialing in the authenticity with reverb and other digital effects. The form factor reflects a bit of the Pro-3 in being neat and accessible while pushing the mod and pitchbend wheels into the main synth area. The price that was listed on the Aptmusic.eu site before it was pulled was €1074 making it the most affordable Sequential synth yet.
In the details, we find it’s a 5-voice polysynth like the Prophet-5 with two oscillators per voice and continuously variable waveshapes. There’s a sub-oscillator, hard sync, noise, and FM available on the front panel. The filter is based on the Prophet-5 Rev4 design with a 4-pole resonant architecture, self-oscillation, and bi-polar envelope response. There are two assignable envelopes and a single LFO with multiple waveshapes. On the effects side, there’s a dedicated reverb and a dedicated distortion plus a multi-effects slot with delay, chorus, phasing, and other modulation effects. It has an Arp and sequencer with 3 and a half octaves of full-sized keys with velocity and aftertouch.
It shapes up to be a tidy synthesizer, not exactly pumping full of innovation but a solid, Prophet-inspired, polyphonic analog Sequential synthesizer for around a grand. If it has that vibe, that impossible to define Sequential sound then this could be fantastic.
On the other hand, the name doesn’t fill me with joy. For me, it references some 1950s soft Jazz from Dave Brubeck which is fine and even cool in its own way but not synth-cool. And what’s with the “E” in Take being made to look like a piano keyboard? That reminds me of cheesy piano ties and no one wants to be reminded of those. And why is the word “Sequential” missing from the front panel? The look and styling of a Sequential synth is, I believe, part of the instrument, and Take 5 looks a bit, well, generic. Maybe the more streamlined look is the result of the move to Focusrite although you’ve got to think that this was well under development before Sequential became part of that family.
However, we are yet to see it in the flesh or hear what it can do and so these are simply shallow reactions to a couple of photos. Hopefully, it’ll be awesome.
We’ll post the full details once it’s been officially announced.
More information
- Sequential website.
- More from Sequential.
- Originally found on Aptmusic.eu.
3 responses to “Leak: Sequential Take 5 polyphonic analog synthesizer”
I agree with you, Robin. It looks like a lovely synth. I’m very interested to hear how it sounds. I think a lot of folks will wish it said Sequential on the front. I like Dave Brubeck but Take FivE is a goofy name.
Super goofy name, solid spec but nowhere near as exciting as the PRO3 was / is. Hope the price is right!
I’ll wait 3 months and get the Behringer clone…