Thank you 
that is very kind of you to say. I do like to think I make an effort to use field recordings in the way you describe it.
That is an old DFAM sample Iâve had lying around for some time, combined with noise from foot steps I recorded as I took a walk through the snow when we still had winter around here.
Hang in there my friendâŚ
Mine was stuck in Chicago for a good 2 weeks+ ( @jemmons was right, it eventually makes it out of the United airport at some point)
It made it to the post office today in Canada, will pick it up tomorrowâŚ
I just love the way this filter responds to audio rate modulation. Hereâs two random pads making use of that technique: Waterworld and Bee Orchestra.
Iâm honestly so into this synth. Eager to get my hands on a Pro 2 as well now.
Yes, I got it eventually (9 days in Chicago) after several calls to FedEx. It came in the Dave Smith box and no outer packaging and the box was water damaged, black and moldy smelling!! Thankfully, the contents were all sealed in plastic and in perfect condition, but I was pissed at the way it was shipped (Pro Audio Star if anyone is interested).
Oh man I had a bit of a heartattack reading that second sentence. Iâm so happy the content were sealed and the synth is all good. Hope Pro Audio Star does something to make up for their poor service.
EDIT: the added picture is grim as hell.
holy moly⌠did they have it in some flooded warehouse? make sure to double and triple check everything works.
Proaudiostar shipping seems to be careless. Not the first instance I have seen.
Got mine from proaudiostar too. Must have been sitting on a pile of them. Mine also shipped in the DSI box, for what itâs worth â though luckily dry and without mold.
Glad yours checks out! Scary seeing a package like that arrive on your doorstep.
Finally got it today.
Got mine from Detroit Modular, glad to say it arrived double boxed and pristine.
Althought extra points for DSI for the fact that they kinda seal-wrap their gear when they box it.
Now turning off internet, time to get in the lab.
Master @circuitghost, would you mind sharing some sound design tips on the P12? Do you have any go-tos or general advice?
Some workflow tips I found very helpful:
Thanks for asking. The title certainly carries some responsibility, to which I cannot live up to, Iâm afraid. I donât approach the Prophet 12 in any specific way, but just sort of move around and go wherever the mind takes me.
With that said, there are a few things I always do -
Donât use the delay as a traditional delay. Youâll be disappointed. Instead, apply it to create effects that give reverb-like qualities or even chorus style stuff. Turn off the sync. Set a looong tail on something and slam the HPF filtering of the tail into high gear. Youâll expand the room and widen the sound.
The 12âs a bit rowdy on the frequencies. Itâs not as contained as the more polite Prophet 6 or 5. I always use the high-pass filter to some extent, to just not get those low, thundering frequencies that EQ canât fix (nor would I want to, I just prefer a clean source rather than trying to fix it in mixing). The character sectionâs Air can be considered like a subtle version of a high band EQ and the Girth like a low band equivalent. Their effect is subtle but youâll notice them more clearly as you start using the results in a mix.
Really pay attention to especially the reputed harsher tones of the Prophet 12. If youâre not entirely sure if youâre on the right side of the fence, dial down the low pass filter somewhat, to avoid those ear cutting patches. You donât always hear them as clearly before you know the synth well, but youâll notice them when you start using the material in context. And especially if you sample your work, like I do, this is the kind of stuff thatâs not easily fixed in mixing. Especially the resonance can be pretty brutal if youâre not careful.
The LFO slew rate is amazingly smooth. Even just a little, goes a long way to make those organic movements more alive. You donât hear the movement, you just feel it. Lovely stuff.
Always modulate something within the VCA. The envelopes on the Prophet 12 are fantastic. Especially the VCA responds so well to modulation and real time tweaks. This is where the synthâs heritage really shows. Filters are great and all, but the envelopes is where the real magic happens.
Bi-timbrality is mostly overrated. Thereâs so much going on in one patch, you usually donât need another one going at the same time. Especially since the output mixing is very limited. It gets crowded, fast.
Donât try to make it sound like a Prophet 6 or 5. You canât. You can get close. But if you truly want that tone, the Prophet 12 canât do it. Look for the sounds outside the classic ones, where you can still retain the vintage character. You donât even have to use wavetables to find those tones, just the classic oscillators are enough. You get this synth because you want to explore sounds that you donât find on records from the 80âs. You donât want to replicate the Stranger Things theme or Pink Floydâs On The Run. Youâre not here to play Van Halenâs Jump nor go for the Blade Runner lead. Not today, anyway.
Quoting myself from earlier in this thread. Same olâ same olâ. With the VERY notable exception that thereâs a P12 module available second hand now⌠somewhere on the internet. For 1000âŹ.
I probably donât need to tell you but the icanhazsynth demos on Soundcloud are CRAZY GOOD!
really good insights here, as a new owner I appreciate it as well as the guy who asked iâm sure!
as for my word to the wise, one thing I had to do was tell myself constantly⌠you donât need to use all the OSCs and LFOs ahaha. when I got the P12 I almost felt like I was wasting it by not trying to modulate everything all the time. often I find I get great results with just 2 or 3 osc voices.
as for your note about bitimbrality⌠noted as well. I have the A out going straight into my mixer and the B out going through my FX before the bluebox. this lets me easily route the P12 to my mixer either dry or wet, and if iâm feeling kinky I can often create a little mono sequence or bassline on the B layer without stealing from the A layer, which makes my SE02 and DB01 feel lonesome. I almost wonder with the split outs on the P12 if I can sell themâŚ
overall the unit is really beautiful. almost anything I tweak gives me something charming in some way. I absolutely love the sounds and textures that come out of this thing.
Very good points, all. I rarely use all four osc or the sub osc. When splitting the P12 through a mixer, the bi-timbrality becomes very useful. Thatâs essentially two poly synths. For sound design, itâs messier, tho.
The icanhazsynth demos was definitely what pushed me over the edge - alongside the tireless entusiasm of @circuitghost and a bit of panic due to the discontinuation.
If all goes well, my module arrives today! 
I feel you, I most definitely do!
Looks like someone, ehm, claiming to be me wrote the seller of the P12. Payment pending but this is going down!
For live performance the bi-timbral setting is incredible.
Examples -
left hand bass, right hand chords/leads
Left hand chords, right hand lead/arp
Or stacking a pad with an arp - though I prefer to use my novation SLMkIII to do this rather than the prophet settingsâŚ
I had a jam (in real life, woah) yesterday with a band and they were constantly amazed at the versatility of the thing, literally anything they asked me to do I could set it up so quickly. âHey can you do a kindof 8-bit arp over that pad sound?â
âYepâ
âOh shit is that delay stereo, nice!â
âYepâ
And then when I had two patches running, holding the patch select so youâre editing both, and running both through the distortion to make a huge build.
Ah man itâs the perfect synth
Edit: oh yeah and being able to run the bass sound through a bass amp separately means you can shake the building
Probably a stupid question (i.e. that could be answered by reading the manual) but is it possible to split the P12 module into bi-timbral mode using something like the Moog Matriarch as a midi controller?
Edit: Suppose it is.
Mmmmm I actually donât know, I have mine always in bi timbral mode and use my keyboard to make splits and layers, so I donât actually need to turn it off and on, if that makes sense
For me 6 voices is more than enough, so I permanently rock it in bitimbral mode. I agree using the stacking might be overkill. Thereâs a few instances where it can be useful though, for example if you want to achieve poly unison.
Most annoying aspect of the bitimbral implemantation is the patch storage. You canât save just one layer, and you canât initialize just one layer.
Another few tips Iâd give:
