The Prophet Rev 2 is a powerful piece of hardware that picks up where Dave Smith’s iconic synth left off. It comes packed with enough features to overwhelm the average music producer potentially, but many, like the duo Hello Yes, see that as the synth’s best asset.
With its classic filter designs, powerful FX engines, and even a polyphonic step sequence, all allowing you to shape and mold the sound to your needs and wants in the studio; this synth can easily be a one-stop shop for whatever you need it to do.
Of course, that’s only if you know how to use the Prophet Rev 2.
So to celebrate the release of their ‘Lost Signal’ EP, we invited Hello Yes to show us how they use this awesome synth in all of their producers.
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Stream ‘Lost Signal’ Below
Throughout the 4-track EP, Hello Yes delivers a range of productions that run the gamut of influences and styles. And while all of the tracks on the EP share a similar texture and tonality that has long attracted the likes of the industry heavyweight ZHU, they also stand apart from each other as beautiful tunes in their own right.
‘Never Trusted Me’ is the leading track off the EP, and features groove-oriented percussions and stabs that are pockmarked by dusty instrumentation that feels as lo-fi as it does punchy and impactful.
From there, the pads and gliding synths of tracks such as ‘My Love’ and ‘The Lesson bridge the gap and vibe by offering easy-listening and dance-friendly tracks perfect for almost any occasion.
Finally, ‘Never Feel The Same’ brings us home with a track about contrast. The low-lying percussions create a dark and ominous foundation that juxtaposes against the rest of the composition’s drifty and almost dream-like quality. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it conjures images of smoke-filled rooms or yacht cruises by sunset, but rest assured it gives you the feels.
WHY IS REV 2 YOUR FAVORITE SYNTH FOR DESIGNING AWESOME SOUNDS?
The Rev 2 is quite complicated, and getting lost in all the parameters is easy.
However, we found this to be one of its great qualities. We scroll through presets and start turning knobs until we like what we hear. Since neither of us is a natural keyboard player or synth programmer, we just let the Rev 2 surprise us.
It’s full of them!
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WHAT ARE THE BEST PARAMETERS TO ADJUST IN REV 2 THAT HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON ITS SOUND?
Probably the filter section.
The 4-pole setting adds a ton of crazy resonances that make for some wildly unpredictable tones. Sweeping low with the filter on the 4-pole setting is incredibly rad for making low subtones.
Also, the Slop knob is fun for detuning chords and making things sound trippier.
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WHAT ARE THE BEST PLUGINS YOU USE TO PROCESS SOUNDS FROM REV 2?
We love the FabFilter Pro Q3.
Everybody in the production world knows it’s one of the best EQ plugins on the market. If we need to add some space or saturation, the SoundToys bundle is always our go-to.
UAD is also on mostly everything, whether it be a compressor or preamp emulation.
WHICH ARE YOUR FAVORITE PRESETS OR SOUNDBANKS FOR REV 2 AND WHY?
The Sitcom Piano preset is pretty dope.
It’s a slightly gritty and spacy-sounding keyboard tone, kinda like a Fender Rhodes that stayed up too late drinking Tequila the night before. While it’s something we favor, we haven’t used it as a focal sound in a Hello Yes song yet.
Every time we scroll past the preset, though, it usually ends up in the track in some shape or form.
WHICH INSTRUMENTS OR PURPOSES IN A SONG DO YOU THINK REV 2 DOES BEST?
The Rev 2 has it all from the bass, leads, keys, pads, noises, and FX.
Everything in the Rev 2 sounds awesome. It’s hard to say what it does best, but we agree that the confusion and randomness it can create are certainly among its best features.
It’s one of the main tools that helped distinguish the sounds and style of our latest EP, Lost Signal.
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Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
