Sequential Circuits "Choice of the month" ad, International Musician and Recording World, 1982

Sequential Circuits "Choice of the month" centrefold colour advertisement featuring the Prophet-10, Prophet-5 and Pro-One from page 42 and 43 in the May 1982 issue of International Musician and Recording World.

Wow. Just wow.

I was doing a bit of research in back issues of some magazines for a lawyer last night and while casually flipping through one of those mags, this suddenly appeared before my eyes.

I've never seen it before. Ever. Time for a quick blog post!

In my defense, it's not in the advertising index of this magazine - a technique I use to quickly reference and log some synth ads. Another SCI full page colour ad that appears on page 36 *is* in that index. But not this one. There also doesn't seem to be a reference elsewhere in the magazine as to why SCI became the "Choice of the month" for the magazine. There was a "Special Focus: Keyboards" article this month. So, I'm guessing it was supposed to be related to that.

It actually looks more like a poster image that's been re-used for this "Choice of the Month"  image. There is no ad-title or text. And the image itself doesn't stretch to the far right and far left of the pages - there is white space at both ends. I've left the white in the scan to make the point.

But its a poster or image I've never run across. I haven't seen it in other magazines and I haven't seen it hanging on the wall in the background of any of the Dave Smith demo videos.

The main image of a hand playing a Prophet-5 keyboard is very reminiscent of SCI's Poly-Sequencer advertisement that appeared a few times in Keyboard Magazine from 1981 to 1983 (a long shelf life for any ad!). The hand in this ad and the one in the centrefold illustration are even playing the same chord. It was definitely an inspiration for Nicholson, the artist who's name appears vertically near the top right of the image (just underneath the also-vertical Prophet-5).

The rest of this wonderful illustration consists of a Prophet-10, Prophet-5 and Pro-One used to frame the main image.

While comparing the Poly-Sequencer ad and the centrefold, I noticed something. Did you notice it too?

The fingers are playing the exact same notes, but in the illustration, there is a lot more space between the thumb and index finger. It took me a few seconds for my brain to figure it out. In order to even out the fingers in the illustration, Nicholson took a bit of liberty (and warped reality) by adding AN EXTRA KEY into the octave.

That takes balls. And makes this illustration even more unique to me.

But it may be why the image hasn't been seen elsewhere.

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-10 "The Most Complete Keyboard Instrument Available Today" reference brochure - 1980

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-10 "The Most Complete Keyboard Instrument Available Today" four page reference brochure (spec sheet) from approx. 1980.

Wait! I know it looks familiar.

You might easily mistake it for the Prophet-5 spec sheet I posted last week. But trust me, it ain't.

Flip open this spec sheet and the first thing you'll find is that classic Prophet-10 photo seen in books and all over the Web. And even though this brochure is over 20 years old and that photo is in black and white, you can smell those wood side panels.

At first glance, it might look like Sequential did a bit of recycling of photos between the Prophet-5 and Prophet-10 brochures, especially that second photo on the left-inside page of the Poly-Mod/LFO/Mono-Mod sections. But closer inspection will show that they are indeed two different photos, with knobs in different positions.

Where possible, some content has been recycled - the Poly-Mod, the LFO, Mixer and Filter sections in particular. But there is just so much more content to pack into the Prophet-10. That back page is especially packed with some goodies including the Polyphonic Sequencer Option section. For some reason, I was never aware of the built-in micro cassette for sequencer and program storage. I knew it had a sequencer, but internal micro cassette storage on a 1980's synth kinda blows my mind.

Like that Prophet-5 spec sheet, I have given this reference sheet a print date of 1980, but it could just as easily been printed as early as mid-1979 when the Prophet-10 specs appeared in Contemporary Keyboard's July 1979 spec-sheet write-up. I originally included that write-up, as well as the Prophet-10 advertising timeline back in a January 2011 post for the instrument. Definitely worth a look back if you are interested.

So - because I ended the Prophet-5 post with a YouTube video, I thought I would share this dual Prophet-10 video one with you. Dude is really rockin' it.

 Enjoy  :)

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet "Two and a half years ago" ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1980

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet "Two and a half years ago" 1-page advertisement from page 13 in Contemporary Keyboard July 1980.

Update: Added to the Sequential Circuits Inc. advertising timeline tool.

I've blogged *a lot* about Sequential Circuits Inc.'s Prophets and the Prophet-5 in particular. My Prophet-5 label is up to 12 or 13 at last count, and most include links to a wack of great Prophet resources around the Web.

But somehow this ad evaded my blog. I would start, and then while surffin, or noodling around in my studio, get caught up on something else. But, I always knew I would get to it some day. If for only one reason. And that reason starts with another Prophet ad.

For a long time I had always thought that this colourful Prophet advertisement was special for two reasons.

1. First Mattos-designed advertisement. Woot!
2. First ad to promote the Rev. 3 Prophet. And I based this claim on the small "addendum" text that appears at the end of the ad-copy during the second ad-run (see that blog post for more details).

But, this "Two and a half years ago..." advertisement was actually the one that introduced the world to the new features of the Rev. 3s in July 1980, which included the switch to recently-blogged-about Curtis Electromusic Specialties CEM chips.

The ad itself is gorgeous. The black and white up-close-and-personal photo of the Prophet's front panel shows off SCI's characteristic control knobs and buttons to great effect, as well as the small read-out screen. But, I have to admit, my curious mind keeps trying to figure out why SCI chose "32" as the number to show on the screen. I was guessing that the "2" was chosen so that the LED on button "2" would be lit within the photo frame - a nice balance with the lit "Keyboard" button on the left side of the photo. But, why "3" to go along with it? Maybe because it is the Rev. 3 Prophet?

Yah, I realize I'm probably thinking to deeply on the matter. It's probably because "32" just looked nice. :)

The other thing that is really nice about this photo is that it bleeds right to the edges of the page. A lot of ads get framed on the page, with a good centimeter of white space around the edges. But this advertisement was expanded to take up the full page, making that up-close photo look even more impressive.

The ad-copy is also fantastic. The way it is lined up on an angle to follow the wood panel in the photo works well, and doesn't impede reading as much as one would think it should. The text really looks like it belongs there.

The content of the ad-copy is exactly what you would expect. It starts with a short well-earned pat on the back explaining how SCI had created the first completely programmable polyphonic synth, and then right into a feast of historical references. Yum.

I don't think I've seen the variable scaling feature described to such an extent in any other Prophet ad.

"JUST INTONATION, Pythagorean, mean tone, and other types of scales are now available. The Prophet enables you to individually tune each note in the scale (C, C#, ...B) and then program that scale into its memory. This allows instant changes from one scale to another (or a given scale can be tuned in different keys, to allow instant modulation in performance). This tuning feature makes the Prophet-5 ideal in educational environments, as well as an excellent tool for experimentation and performance by all musicians. Imagine... a keyboard with thirds that don't beat!"

Even more interestingly, SCI doesn't shy away from the Prophet's technical issues of the past. Instead it meets the issues straight on:

"A new oscillator design, coupled with a unique computer-correction scheme, eliminates tuning problems and periodic internal adjustments. With fewer electronic parts, the new circuitry cuts service problems and dramatically improves the reliability and roadworthiness of the instrument."

Nice touch.

Not even the Spec Sheet promo, which appeared in the same issue as this advertisement, says as much about these new features. But, it does provide a bit of information not found in the ad, including the all important retail price point!

"Revised Prophet-5. The Prophet-5 polyphonic synthesizer has been revised to include the following features: a built-in cassette interface, an A-440 tuning control, voice defeat switches, a new kind of edit mode, and a mode that lets you individually tune each note of the scale to accommodate tunings other than equal temperament. The cassette interface lets the user store program on cassette tapes. The edit mode functions in such a way that turning a knob or hitting a switch will change the sound immediately (previously, you had to hit an edit switch). The voice defeat function is provided for emergency situations where a voice goes out in some way and can't be used. The voice defeat function lets you turn off whatever voice is malfunctioning so you can continue to play the instrument. The tuning feature lets you tune the notes of the scale to different frequencies. the range for each note is about 1/2-semitone from its normal equal-tempered value. These different tunings can be stored in memory (and in cassette tape memory) for later recall. Price is $4,595.00. Sequential Circuits, 3051 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95134."

As mentioned previously, there's not much more to be said about the Prophet-5 that hasn't been said by all the great Prophet resources out there.

Just click on the Prophet-5 label to get started.

Now... back to my long weekend at the parent's. My dad is letting me operate the chainsaw to clear some fallen trees at their farm in Saskatchewan.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :D

Sequential Circuits Prophet -5 and Prophet-10 "The Industry's First" ad, Synapse 1978

Sequential Circuits Prophet -5 and Prophet-10 1-page advertisement from Synapse Magazine January/February 1978.

A long time ago before I did much writing, I had scanned this ad and just popped it up as a post. But, as I was creating the Sequential Circuits advertising timeline last weekend, I realized that I've never really said much about this ad. And that is a shame, because this has some great historical significance.

The thing is, as far as I can tell, this was the first ad for the Prophet. And, although Contemporary Keyboard magazine was usually the first place that synth peeps back in the day would come across these synth ads, technically speaking this ad first appeared in Synapse magazine. In other words, this ad first appeared in the February 1978 issue of CK, but it appeared in the January/February 1978 issue of Synapse. :)

That's pretty good timing though. I kind of take it for granted that my different synth sites will pick up on gear news within *minutes* of each other, and all the different mags will pretty much report on a piece of new gear in the same month. But I would guess that back in the pre-Internet days, if gear news happened to get out to different publication sources within a month or two of each other, the Marketing Manager was probably getting a hefty bonus at Christmas.

And this ad, and the whole initial marketing/promo campaign around the Prophet, is probably a good example of some pretty good timing.

For example, the same Jan/Feb issue of Synapse that included this first Prophet ad also included a little blurb in the "What's Happening" section about this introduction of this new instrument:

"Sequential Circuits will unveil, at this month's NAMM Western Market Show, a new polyphonic synthesizer named the Prophet. The Prophet is available in 5 and 10 voice versions with 50 programmable pre-sets (programmed at the factory but re-programmable by the user). The unit is controlled by a micro-computer and features pitch and modulation wheels, programs modifiable in real-time, a memory power back-up unit allowing the instrument to be turned off without erasing the stored patches, and a 5 octave keyboard. the 5 voice version (10 oscillators) is expected to list for under $3000.00. Although no retail price has been committed for the 10 voice version, manufacturer's literature states that the conversion from 5 to 10 voices is literally as simple as adding one printed circuit card."

Meanwhile, although SCI's marketing peeps also got the Prophet ad showing up in the February issue of Contemporary Keyboard, it wasn't until a month later (March 1978) that the specs made it into CK's Spec Sheet section:

"Sequential Circuits Synthesizer. The Prophet is a polyphonic synthesizer with a micro-computer built in to control its operation. This computer automatically tunes all of the unit's oscillators. The Prophet is available with either five or ten voices. Each voice has two oscillators. The unit also has a computer memory to store patches. It comes programmed with forty different patches, each of which can be reprogrammed by the user at any time. Other features include a 5-octave keyboard, pitch and modulation wheels, live editing capabilities, sequencer interface for use with the Sequential Circuits Model 800 digital sequencer, volume and filter pedal input jacks, a final release foot-switch, and a memory power backup with a 10-year life. The unit measures 37" (94 cm) wide, 16" (40.6cm) deep, and 4 1/2" (11.3 cm) high. Sequential Circuits, 1172G Aster Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086."

Still - only a month delay? Not too shabby for the time period.

Looking at these two descriptions, I can't help but compare them.

The Synapse promo contains quite a bit less technical detail, and it also contains a factual error - the number of patches is listed as 50, where the ad in the same magazine says 40. Now this might have been because Synapse received early pre-NAMM specs to help promote the NAMM show introduction, while the ad arrived for printing later on. Meanwhile, CK may have also received pre-NAMM info, but for one reason or another, the Spec Sheet write up didn't make it into CK until after the NAMM show - at which time there may have been more tech details available. All just guesses, but that's the fun part of blogging in hindsight. :)

Yah, I know that it's not really up to the company on when they get promo'd in these sections, but just the fact SCI is organized and connected enough to get pre-NAMM news into a mag is pretty good marketing work in itself.

Side note (more of a question): Would I rather have my new gear info fed to me early on, with an increased chance of errors/changes? Or later, with full, correct specs? Tough one...

Anyways, again - not too bad in terms of timing. Within two months, both the ad and the specs could be found in two highly respected mags.

The ad continued to run in Synapse pretty regularly right into the January/February 1979 issue. While in CK, the ad ran only until July 1978, after which SCI decided to take break from any advertising in that magazine. Then, in November 1978, SCI ran this "You'll look at it's features" Prophet ad just once in CK (and never appeared in Synapse as far as I can tell - see my blog post and my guess that this was just an interim ad), and then this longer running "No excuse" ad in February 1979. This ad didn't start running in Synapse until mid-1979.

So, a little bit of a campaign transition issue when you look at the two mags, but again, three months ain't too shabby for the time period.

Could you imagine if there was this type of timing issue online?

InterWebz - you rock. :D

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-10 "The Ultimate Keyboard" ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1980

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-10 "The Ultimate Keyboard" advertisement from page 10 in Contemporary Keyboard December 1980.

What the...?!?! Ewwww. Not pretty! Not pretty! Mattos - come back!

When I first saw this ad, I thought maybe it was the some ugly duckling from SCI's past. Like, from back in 1978 when this similarly ugly early Prophet-5 advertisement found its way in CK magazine.

But, in fact, it is not. This advertisement appeared in Keyboard in late 1980.

Now, if you recall the time line of other recent Prophet-10 ads in my Mattos artwork blog posts, you will see what I'm all in a tizzy about. The Prophet-10 advert time line looks like this:

Mid 1980--> late 1980 (ACK!) --> Mid 1981

So, why run a really awesome Mattos-based ad, then switch to a boring black and white ad with absolutely NO design, and then wait half a year to run a new Mattos-based ad?

My guess? SCI had needed to get the word out on the specs of this awesome beast of a synth. As great as those previous Mattos ads were, they didn't tell readers *anything* about the instrument itself. Still, replacing that "Theatre" ad with this ugly thing breaks my design heart a little bit. I'm surprised that SCI didn't have any budget money to spice it up at all. Although - they did keep one aspect of the earlier ad - the "Ultimate Keyboard" tag-line (it appeared at the bottom of the "Theatre" ad, and then at the top of this ad).

But as ugly as that ad is, I'm still drawn to it because it contains so much technical info on the Prophet-10 - and as you'll see below, it is also a symbol of SCI's determination to get this beast to market.

As mentioned, the ad is a treasure chest of reference material that readers of CK were most likely waiting a long time to get their hands on. I say that because the only other real info I can find in CK on the Prophet-10 dates back to July 1979 from the Spec Sheet section. And that was probably when SCI anticipated the release of the Rev. 2 Prophet-10, that according to synthmuseum.com's Prophet-10 page was dropped after the first three prototypes were made. So, CK gear-junkies had been waiting over a year to hear more about the Prophet-10.

That July 1979 Spec Sheet write-up provides some great reference info:

"Sequential Circuits Polyphonic Synthesizer. The Prophet 10 is a dual-manual (5-octaves each manual) ten-voice synthesizer with 32 user-writable programs available on each keyboard. Extra programs can be stored on cassette tapes. An optional five-voice polyphonic sequencer is also available with a built-in cassette interface for storing sequences. It operates on the bottom keyboard and can be retrofitted into units purchased without the sequencer to begin with. Other features include pitch-bed and modulation wheels, octave transposition switches, assignable voice modes (you can set how many notes you play on each keyboard; you can also control two separate tone colors from the same keyboard), voice-assignment LED indicators to let you know which voice is being triggered at any given time, automatic tuning, programmable volume control, a program increment footswitch, three-band programmable equalization on each keyboard, two assignable and programmable control voltage pedals which can act on each keyboard in the same or different ways, depending on how you program them, two oscillators per voice, ADSR envelope generators, polyphonic modulation section, upper and lower keyboard balance control, an A-440 reference tone, stereo unbalanced and balanced outputs (for separate amping of upper and lower keyboards), and a mono unbalanced and balanced output. Sequential Circuits, 1172G, Aster Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086."

And as the saying goes - when it rain, it pours. This information-packed advertisement ran in October and December 1980, and then just a month later in January 1981, CK published Dominic Milano's Prophet-10 Keyboard Report. That write-up finally provided readers with all the Prophet-10 info they would ever need, and the introduction is especially juicy because it provided readers (and me!) with a lot more history on exactly what happened with the Rev.1 Prophet-10's overheating issue.

You may recall that Rev. 1 Prophet-10s were built into the same single-manual chassis as the Prophet-5. Well... Dominic tells it much better than I ever could in that Keyboard Report introduction:

"In January 1977, Sequential Circuits brought out a polyphonic synthesizer called the Prophet, which was initially available in two models, a 5-voice and a 10-voice. The two models were identical except that one of them let you play up to five notes at once and the other let you play as many as ten. The Prophet's voices were homogenous - that is, only one tone color was available at a time - and each voice consisted of two VCOs, a resonant 24dB/octave lowpass filer with an ADSR envelope generator, and a VCA with another ADSR. These circuits were tied in to a Zilog Z-80 microprocessor which was programmed to remember voltage values and could therefore store complete patches in its computer-type memory. The Prophet-5 became one of the success stories of the synthesizer industry, but the original Prophet-10 was quickly withdrawn from the market. Despite the fact that much of the circuitry was in microchip form, too much electronics had been crammed into too small a space to allow for adequate heat dissipation, so the oscillators weren't very stable. Only a handful of units were shipped before the 10-voice was discontinued."

So, what we have here is a great example Sequential Circuits' drive and determination. After the failure of the Rev. 1 because of heat dissipation, and the drop of the Rev. 2 prototypes when the switch from SSM chips to CEM chips was made, SCI kept at it.

And a good thing too - because otherwise the world would never have had such a wonderful beast. :o)

Sequential Circuits Inc. advertisements / Mattos artwork round-up

Okay, my John Mattos infatuation is coming to a close.

For now... :o)

But, before I put it to bed, I thought that since he was, in my humble opinion, responsible for some of the most juicy, well-remembered synthesizer ads of the late 70s/early 80s, I would provide a few more yummy nuggets of Mattos info that I came across a while back.

And, who better to relay this info, but SCI themselves, through a short article that appeared in the February 1982 issue of Sequential Circuit's newsletter/magazine called "The Patch" (Volume 2, Number 1).

The half page write-up appeared at the top of page 12 (the last page) of the newsletter, and gave readers an excellent introduction to John.

In addition, the article contains some wonderful historical reference information and is a must-read for hoarders of SCI promotional material, John Mattos' work, and heck, synthesizer historical information in general.

"Love your artwork..."

"Can I get posters?" "Who does all your stuff? It's terrific!" John Mattos does our "stuff," and we think it's pretty terrific, too. At 28, John is a phenomenal air brush artist whose works have drawn critical acclaim from the Western Art Directors Club and the Art Directors Club of New York.

Born in Modesto, John's first interests included horseback riding and music as well as art. At thirteen, he received his first award for art (a blue ribbon) at the Stanislaus County Fair, where he also won an award for equestrian dressage! Music captured his attention in high school and he played a Vox "Phantom" guitar with a group that performed at every prom from Stockton to Merced. "The band was popular because we knew the long version of 'Sunshine of Your Love,' and the real verses to 'Louise, Louie'!"

After high school, John majored in illustration at the Art Center College in Los Angeles and received his degree in 1975. His first "real" commission came from A&M Records for an insert in Rick Wakeman's album, "The Myths and Legends of King Arthur." John traveled in Europe for the next two years and worked as an illustrator in Paris. "I drew black and white rapidiograph (technical ink pen) pictures of men shaking hands, women in front of refrigerators, platters of food, grinning men with fistfuls of French money; horrible work but it prolonged my stay - two years of no air brush."

In 1978, John returned to California and took up residence in Palo Alto as a free lance artist. The Blank Design Group, then representing SCI, commissioned him to portray a multitude of sounds rising from a new instrument called a Prophet-5. This advertisement was entitled "Beware of False Prophets," which was later combined with gold lettering to become the "Earotic poster". John's next assignment was the Sphinx ad, "A Legend in its Own Time." This piece and all subsequent artwork has been commissioned directly by Sequential Circuits, and has appeared in Contemporary Keyboard, Musician Player and Listener, International Musician and Recording World, Music & Sound Output, Sound Arts, as well as SCI publications in the form of posters, decals, literature folders, and Christmas cards.

John's biggest contribution to SCI has been the personification of the Prophet synthesizers in the form of the Prophet Man. Originally seated on his "throne" ("The Prophet delivers" poster), the Prophet Man has taken off (reflecting the success of the instruments he represents) and has flown a bi-plane, a turbo-jet, and a rocket plane in the "Ear * Force" campaign. In 1982, we'll be launching him into space for some Extra Vehicular Activity with a Remote keyboard!"

Where do I begin? So much historical reference info!

Well, for starters, this article confirmed my research that the "Beware of False Prophets" and Legend In Its Own Time" artwork were among the first ads to be created by John. I initially couldn't find any info on the "The Prophet Delivers" poster also mentioned above, but then remembered the SCI merchandise ad that included a lovely gal wearing "The Prophet Jersey". Look at that image (bottom right corner of the ad) for what is probably the image from the poster.

And, how about that reference to Rick Wakeman's "King Arthur" album.

A quick Google Images search brought up the album page on the Audio Preservation Fund Web site, which includes some high resolution images of the inserts. A quick scan of the images didn't bring up the identifiable Mattos signature that can be found on his SCI artwork, but gatefold 1 and 2 (which make up one larger image) in particular looks fairly Mattos-ish. Especially the clouds. But, I could be totally off-base there. Just thinking out loud.

But, what I'm most interested in is the reference to Mattos artwork that was included in Christmas cards.

Does anyone know anything about these cards? Copies? Scans? Anything?

Seriously. I have never heard of these cards, and would love to see a sample.

One last thing. I thought I would also mention that you can view more of John Mattos' artwork on his Web site. Some great stuff there.

Also, I have created two new labels - one for MATTOS, and one for ARTWORK, so you can see even more great artwork done for SCI, Octave, Korg, and ARP.

Yummy.

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-10 "Sequential Circuits Presents The Ultimate Keyboard" ad, Contemporary Keyboard 1980

Sequential Circuits Inc. Prophet-10 "Sequential Circuits Presents The Ultimate Keyboard" advertisement from page 31 in Contemporary Keyboard Magazine, September 1980.

Number three!

That's right. This is the third Sequential Circuits advertisement to feature the artwork of John Mattos, and SCI had to know they were on a role. You could probably hear the high-fives making their way around the SCI offices when this ad first appeared in the February 1980 issue of Contemporary Keyboard, following closely on the heals of the ever-so-popular Prophet-5 "Beware of False Prophets" ad that first appeared in November '79, and the "Legend In Its Own Time" ad in January '80.

This ad has a lot in common with the "Beware of False Prophets ad". For example, this Prophet-10 Mattos ad wasn't the first ad for the Prophet-10 - but definitely a step up. And this ad was also modified slightly during its ad-run.

In the case of the "Beware of False Prophets" ad, an addendum paragraph was added at the end of the ad-copy when the version 3 Prophet-5 was released. In this Prophet-10 ad, the text "NOW SHOWING! See Your Local Dealer!" was added much later in the roughly nine-month ad-run.

So, could the "now showing" text addition possibly correlate to any changes in the Prophet-10? You betcha. Kinda. Well maybe...

Looking back, as far as I can tell the last time the Prophet-10 was featured in a CK ad was way back in 1978 when the first Prophet ad appeared. Back then, the 'version 1' Prophet-10 was just a single keyboard instrument. Then, according to Synthmuseum.com's Prophet-10 page, the double-manual keyboard version of the Prophet-10 was "once again attempted in 1979". That same synthmuseum page tells us that the 'version 3' Prophet-10 was released in 1980.

But, those dates don't exactly line up with this advertisement appearances between February and September 1980. So, I have three theories:

1. This ad started showing up at the beginning of 1980 as a delayed response to the introduction of the version 2 Prophet-10, and then the "now showing" text was added when version 3 came out.

2. This ad started showing up a a teaser for the version 3 Prophet-10, and "now showing" was added to the ad when the new version started showing up at local dealers.

3. There is no correlation. Which I doubt considering SCI's previous strategic marketing efforts.

I also checked Vintagesynth.com's Prophet-10 page, and although it didn't contain any useful version release information, it still had some good general reference material. I also got a chuckle out of one of the Prophet-10 comments left at the bottom of the page in March 2010. Commentor "Mezzo" writes:

"Sick, sick, sick. No one else had the balls to take their flagship synth (p5) and graft two together to make such a beast (imagine a Jupiter 16). One of the most over the top and wonderful analog instruments ever."

Well, maybe the Oberheim Eight-Voice. That was ballsy too - but not technically two Four-Voices grafted together. So, Mezzo is probably right.

End note: This ad also has something else in common with the previous ads that included Mattos' artwork - and it is probably one of my favorite features of this ad. Humor. Look closely in the bottom right hand corner and you will see a poodle doing it's "business" on tux-guy's leg.

*Giggle*

Sequential Circuits Inc. family of products, Keyboard 1982

Sequential Circuits Inc. family of products advertisement, including (clockwise) Prophet-10 synthesizer, Remote Prophet keyboard, Prophet-5 synthesizer, Poly-Sequencer, and Pro-One synthesizer, from page 50 of Keyboard Magazine February 1982.

This advertisement ran sporadically throughout 1982 starting in February. You've probably seen this ad numerous times on the Web, but I just had to post and blog about it because the ad has some absolutely great historical significance.

Not only was it one of the first ad campaigns to replace the famous Ear-Force campaign (along with the plexiglass Pro-One ad), but it was also one of the first SCI advertisement to use the new Sequential Circuits Inc logo.

Ever since I can remember coming across this logo, I had always thought the little swervy design element beside the logotype was supposed to represent recording tape. But, of course, I was wrong (again)...

The new logo was actually introduced and explained on page one of the February 1982 issue of 'The Patch' (Volume 2, Number 1) - SCI's customer magazine that included information about new products, hints and how-to's, patches, etc.

"SCI has introduced a new corporate logo designed by Greg Armbruster, Advertising Coordinator. Greg took the simple, reverse 'S' shape from the evolution of the treble clef and combined it with the existing Sequential Circuits typeface. John Mattos air brushed the design, creating a three-dimensional symbol and 'ruby' letters. Look for this new logo, which will be extensively used in all future ads and promotional campaigns!"

A treble clef! (*smacks forehead with hand*) How did I not see that? Geeez.

And even better, overly-blogged-about beloved Ear-Force ad designer John Mattos also had a hand in the design. Awesome.

If you've read past blog posts, you will know that I like researching the evolution of logos. I've blogged about SCI's early logo evolution before, and here we see more. The new logo started to appear on gear shortly after the launch - but there seemed to be a problem. Even as far as into late 1984 when SCI was about to change their logo yet again, you would see gear both in the wild and in ads that had both the new logo ('S' logo) and a version of the old logo (although, maybe technically it never was the logo without the 'inc' - but I'm going to keep calling it that). And we are talking both logos on the same piece of gear.

So, for example, all the Six-Traks I've come across have a non-treble-logo (sans inc.) on the front and a treble-logo on the back. Even when looking at Six-Traks in ads running as late as 1984.

(Photos shamefully taken from
MATRIXSYNTH's Flickr stream)

Drumtraks vary - I've seen ads from as late as 1984 with the old-style logo on the front, but my Drumtraks, and most of the ones I come across in the wild, have the new treble-logo on them. Prophet-T8's - old logo on the front, even in later ads.

I'm a big fan of consistency in branding - if you have a new logo, it should always be used. But I think I can see SCI's reasoning for continuing to use the older logo style in most cases. Aesthetics and/or real estate.

In gear that had already been designed like the Prophet-10, the front panels were really thin - so keeping the older logo makes sense. Otherwise the logotype would just appear too small. But, again, then why not include the 'inc.' as well? Consistency!

In gear designed after the new logo launched, such as the T8, the long thin wooden front panel screams for the old logo as well. In something like the Drumtraks, the front panel is a bit taller, so the treble-logo snuggles in nicely and is balanced.

So far, so good. Looks like SCI is making some good calls on when to use the old or new-style logo.

But then you look at the Prophet-600. All Prophet-600's seem to have the new logo on the front as well as the back. Finally! Consistency!

But when I look at it, that front logo just looks too small. Gah!

Maybe I'm just being nit-picky.

Probably.

Sequential Circuits Prophet-10, Keyboard 1981

Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 synthesizer from page 7 of Keyboard Magazine August 1981.

I've been on a roll with SCI lately, what with yesterday's belt buckle post that linked back to an earlier SCI merchandise ad. This Prophet-10 ad may also look familiar from that merchandise ad - the artwork was used in one of the three Ear*Force posters that could be purchased as a set for six bucks.

The artwork in each ad/poster references a particular synthesizer in the Prophet line - Prophet-10, Prophet-5, and Pro-One - and each also features that wizard dude that reminds me of Gandalf from LOTR (incidentally, The LOTR film by animator Ralph Bakshi came out around 1978)... You can be sure I'll be uploading the other two ads in the future.

The ad doesn't really mention anything about the Prophet-10, but luckily there is a lot of information online at the usual places (see below for links). Unfortunately, the Prophet-10 Wikipedia page was deleted in June 2008.

• Vintage Synth Explorer
• Synthmuseum.com - including a link to a SCI Prophet ad listing famous prophet owners
• Harmony Central reviews

Sequential Circuits Prophet -5 and Prophet-10, Contemporary Keyboard 1978

Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 and Prophet-10 synthesizers from page 9 of Contemporary Keyboard magazine June 1978.

This was the first Prophet ad to appear in CK, running during the first half of 1978, ending in July. It would be another four months before another SCI ad (Prophet-5!) would appear in CK.

This ad features content about both the Prophet-5 and -10. The first versions of the Prophet-5 and -10 looked virtually alike. The more commonly known double-keyboard Prophet-10 didn't come out until 1979.