The NAMM Foundation has awarded the Sequential Prophet X its prestigious Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Award for “Best New Musical Instrument.” The Award was presented at the Foundation’s annual awards ceremony at the National Association of Music Merchants convention in Anaheim, California. The award marks the third TEC award for Sequential and the second TEC award for 8Dio’s Troels Folmann, sample content developer for the instrument.
The TEC Awards are the “Oscars” of the pro audio and sound recording industry and recognize the most outstanding products and technical achievements in the world of music making, live performance, video games, television, and film. Winners represent superior accomplishments in their respective fields and categories.
In addition to the TEC award, the Prophet X has garnered wide critical acclaim from both the music industry press and users alike for its sonic versatility and depth. Its powerful, yet easy to use combination of synthesis-plus-samples technology powers two simultaneous 16-bit, 48kHz sample-based instruments plus two high-resolution digital oscillators with waveshape modulation — all processed through analog filters.
It boasts an internal library of 150 GB of sample content from Academy-award winning sample developers 8Dio, as well as the ability to import up to 50 GB of additional user samples and third-party add-on content. Users can shape the samples through loop manipulation, sample stretching, and a full complement of synthesis functions which include 4 envelope generators, 4 LFOs, and a deep modulation matrix. A dual-effects engine, 64-step polyphonic step sequencer, and arpeggiator add additional performance features.
Sequential founder Dave Smith commented: “We’re proud that the Prophet X has been recognized by both the NAMM Foundation and by the public for what it is — a great-sounding, easy to use creative tool that puts powerful technology in the hands of musicians. That’s always been our philosophy and that’s what we continue to do.” 8Dio co-founder Troels Folmann added: “Receiving a TEC award is always a gratifying experience, but we’re particularly pleased to receive it for our work on the Prophet X because the synth gives musicians a very immediate, expressive, and tactile way to use our deep-sampled instruments.”