| dbpedia-owl:abstract
|
- The Korg Prophecy is considered one of the earliest (mid-nineties) "virtual analog" (a.k.a. VA) synthesizers, although its synthesis capabilities went beyond many of its VA contemporaries. Along with the Korg Trinity, this little synth is a direct ancestor of the ill-fated OASYS project. It was a small 3-octave monosynth, a pioneer of the late 1990s "return-to-analog" trend. Offering assignable knobs, a "log controller" (a mix-up of a modulation wheel and ribbon controller assembled like a "sausage") and many other control sources, it invited players to tweak and shape the sound both easily and quickly. Deep editing, however, wasn't as straightforward, because the sound engine contained no less than 13 DSP-modeled oscillator types, each one offering too many parameters to adjust. Probably, the most valuated and used DSP models were the analog model (based on the classic osc+filter+amp scheme, although with many powerful enhancements), the VPM model (some sort of FM synthesis which cleverly avoided Yamaha's FM patent) and the "physical modeling" algorithms. The latter deserves special mention. In the mid to late 1990s, it was believed that digital "physical modeling", which recreated the sound of acoustic instruments (brass, strings, woodwinds, etc. ) using DSP algorithms instead of samples, would eventually replace sample-based synthesis of those instruments, because of its unprecedented realism and expressiveness. As time passed, physical modeling seemed to lose its appeal to both manufacturers (because of the cost of investigation and implementation) and final users, who complained about the realism of the models and limited polyphony. Also, more complex playing techniques were required to play the models in a convincing way. Nevertheless, the Prophecy's low cost and broad implementation of sound generation techniques earned it a significant place in synthesizer history. Technically, the Prophecy offered one-note monophony, a decent set of effects (including distortion, wave shaping, delay/reverb and chorus/flanger), and 128 memory locations for user sound programs. No disk drive or sequencer was included, but its integrated arpeggiator was a source of "instant gratification", as some magazines put it. Standard MIDI features and a pair of audio outputs were also offered. Korg made a major breakthrough at the time, offering a low cost expansion card for Trinity users, which incorporated the whole sound engine of the Prophecy into the already powerful workstation. Gone was the arpeggiator and some minor features, but the editing was much improved through the Trinity's big touchscreen, and the workstation's effects processing was a huge improvement over the Prophecy's basic set. A direct descendant of the Prophecy was the much vaunted Korg Z1 (1998). It was the equivalent of a 12-note polyphonic Prophecy, with enhanced models, more physical control, 61-note keyboard, bigger screen, 6-part multitimbrality, more presets and two powerful programmable twin arpeggiators. However, its higher cost and lack of "sonic identity" to some people (because of the multiple DSP models offered, most players didn't get what the synth was all about) led to a market failure, being discontinued soon. Most musicians deferred for simpler but more immediate "virtual analog" synths, such as the Roland JP-8000 or the Clavia Nord Lead. However, the Z1 today is, as many past synths, a rare gem and is highly sought by musicians and synthesists. Eventually Korg found a way of integrating the Z1 inside the Trinity in the same way as with the Prophecy (marketing the units as V3 versions) but clipped the polyphony to 6 voices and removed the arpeggiator, as on the previous Prophecy card. Trinity units expanded with this card are highly sought in the used market, often at premium prices.
- Prophecy（プロフェシー）とはコルグのシンセサイザーの型番・商品名である。 1995年発売。物理モデル音源を搭載したシンセサイザー。37鍵仕様。最大同時発音数1音。このためコルグはProphecyを「ソロ・シンセサイザー」と名づけている。ヤマハ以外のメーカーから出た物理モデル音源を採用したシンセサイザーの草分けであり、発売当時の価格が128,000円である。同じく物理モデル音源を採用したモノフォニックシンセサイザーであるヤマハのVL7に比べて半額となっていることも衝撃的であった。 オシレータにバーチャルアナログシンセサイザー、管楽器の発音構造をシミュレートした音源、FM音源と同様にモジュレーションで変調させる音源、ノイズから音程を抽出するタイプの音源など5種のシンセサイズ方式を採用している。これらのシンセサイズ方式をどれも物理モデルを応用した音源であり、コルグは「MOSS」音源と名づけている。MOSS音源はオシレータから出力された音をウェーブシェイプやミキサー、フィルターそしてアンプなどで加工可能としている。エフェクターはDistortion、Wah、Dual Parametric EQなど7種類を採用。リアルタイム音色変化可能とするため、リボンコントローラーも装備している。 この後、単体の[MOSS MOSS]音源のシンセサイザーはポリフォニック化したコルグ・Z1に引継がれている。しかし、内部の構成が両機ではかなり違う事やDAの音質の違い、そもそもZ1では根幹である物理モデル音源部の変更がなされているため近い設定にしても全く違う出音しか出せず、音色はProphecyのポリフォニック版＝Z1ではない。現在拡張カードとして残っているMOSS音源もZ1の血統の物である。 MOSS音源はこの後TRINITYやTRITONにも採用されている。 プログラムのバグが原因と思われる内部での音割れがたまに起こるものの、音源、楽器としてProphecyの方が人気は高く中古市場でも人気は続いている。出音の傾向は明らかに違いProphecyの方が太い芯のある音がする。いまだに著名キーボーディストやDJなどの間では主力音源として愛用している人も多い。 Z1にしろProphecyにしろもう10年以上前のシンセサイザーとなるので、KORG Legacy Collectionのソフトシンセとしての復活を待ち望む愛用者も少なくない。Template:要出典 また、ProphecyはSequential Circuits社の歴史的名アナログシンセ「Prophet-5」の開発陣によって作られた最後のシンセイザーなのである。Template:要出典 Prophecyのシンセサイザーとしての音や内部構造がZ1に完全に移植出来なかったのは、この開発陣や根本の物理音源のプログラムをした方達が亡くなってしまったためだという説があるTemplate:要出典。
|
