Sequential Curcuits Pro-One
A monophonic analog synth that could be viewed as a smaller mono version of a Prophet-5. An excellent sounding synth with questionable construction quality as it uses what many consider is the worst playing keyboard ever made on an analog synth, as well as a rather plastic-y front panel. That said, you'd be hard pressed to find a better analog for the money. Features an external input for processing signals through it's filter, all your necessary CV connections, an outstanding Mod Section, simple arpeggiator and sequencer, 2 sync-able oscillators and all your expected programming parameters. Very light weight.
Average Advertised Price:$250 to $550.
Jetboy's Humble Opinion Of Worth:$300 to $500, depending on condition and current demand.
Jetboy's Review -Quite an awesome little mono. I love the well laid out Mod Section and adjustable pulse width on each oscillator. Not a Minimoog, but damn fine anyway - and in some cases might even be more desirable than a Mini.
Kris Blacow gives us his following impressions: "The Sequentiol Circuits Pro-One? Monstrously creative, amazing oscillator control and a wicked filter all add up to a very nice mono indeed. My own Pro-ones keyboard has now all but totally failed(its previous owner had a nasty habit of throwing his bass at the keys) but over midi(cv/gate converter) the pro one delivers the goods. Generally speaking on a "player's" level(by the way I REALLY cannot play keyboards) its seems a pretty bad synth to start off with- dead naff pitch bend and modulation wheels and dull keys, this of course is not the point of Pro-one - its a timbre creation tool, the flexibility of the oscillators is verging on modular quality,Oscillator sync, nice control over PWM, oscillator as LFO, etc. Filter- Hmm, nice. Warm, very slightly overdriven sounds good when you route a big compressed drum loop through the input, with a filtered LFO. too much to mention really. Overall a great experimenters synth."
Sean Alan gets dizzy with his following excitement: " Jungle bass all the way. probably the fattest cross mod saw wave i ever heard. my only problem is that damn springy keyboard. Wine country doesnt sell replacements for the new j-wires anymore. turn the sync switch off and detune osc 2 and arpeggiate till you pass out..."
Midge Ure is uptown all the way: Nothing but good things to say about this synth. You know that the incredible warmth goes way beyond the type of bass you can get from an expensive parametric. This is it, folks, not only pfat, but really classy.
Image of Pro-One from Synthfool.com.