Dave Smith Instruments – Pro 2

June 20, 2014

A couple of weeks ago Dave Smith Instruments teased us with an unexpected announcement of a new instrument, and last night we were treated to what will be one of the biggest synthesizer announcements of the year – Dave Smith Instruments have released the Pro 2. Dave Smith calls it his “most powerful monosynth ever”, and we agree wholeheartedly with that. It appears that not only have DSI created a very powerful self-contained sound creation tool they also have built the Pro 2 with enough internal and external control capabilities that it could proudly sit at the centre of many production and live set ups.

We recommend that you watch the excellent introduction video above to get the best idea as to what this is capable of but check the full specs below to get the bigger picture.

Available in late July from the regular DSI stockists and dealers, street price will be $1999.

Oscillators

Four DSP-based oscillators plus one sine wave sub oscillator
Four classic wave shapes (saw, square, triangle, sine) per oscillator
Twelve selectable complex shapes per oscillator
13 Superwaves
Three noise types per oscillator: white, pink, violet
Shape modulation/pulse width/superwave detune amount
Oscillator cross modulation: frequency modulation (FM) and amplitude modulation (AM)
Hard sync, individual Glide, Oscillator Slop

Paraphonic Playability

True 4-voice paraphonic mode with individually-gated envelopes per oscillator

Character Effects

Five high-quality digital effects. Thicken the signal and add harmonics or completely destroy the signal pre-filter.
Girth and Air are high and low shelf equalizers with harmonic excitement. Useful for thickening and/or adding air to the signal.
Hack and Decimate are sample and bit rate reduction algorithms which can add subtle grit or completely trash the signal. It’s harsh yet musical.
Drive is a soft saturator for adding soft distortion and harmonic content to the signal

Filters

Dual analog filters operate in serial or parallel
Filter 1 is a 4-pole resonant analog low-pass filter inspired by the original Prophet-5 filter.
Filter 2 is a 2-pole resonant analog state-variable filter inspired by the Oberheim SEM filter and can be continuously varied between low-pass, notch, and high-pass operation, with an optional band-pass mode.
Oscillator Split allows oscillators 1 & 2 to be sent to Filter 1 and oscillators 3 & 4 to Filter 2.

Feedback and Delay

Tuned Feedback
Three-tap syncable delay with feedback and amount controls, pan, and high-pass and low-pass filtering, all per delay. A separate fourth delay is a digital bucket-brigade delay (BBD) for analog-style effects.

Envelopes

Five Delay + ADSR envelopes (Filter 1, Filter 2, VCA , and two Auxiliary envelopes)
Auxiliary envelopes 4 and 5 freely assignable to multiple modulation destinations
All envelopes can repeat/loop

LFOs

Four syncable LFOs with phase offset and slew per LFO

Modulation

16 x 2 modulation matrix with over 50 mod sources and over 140 mod destinations
Parameters that can be sent to CV outputs include oscillators, LFOs, envelopes, sequencer tracks and any other source within the modulation matrix. Runs up to audio rates.
Gate Out for triggering external CV-compatible devices; any CV in can be used as a gate input.

Control Voltage Ins & Outs and Gate Out

Four 1-volt-per-octave control voltage inputs and outputs for interfacing with modular synths and other CV-compatible devices
Modulation assignment buttons enable quick and easy modulation routing.
Mod Matrix runs up to audio rates.

Sequencer

Advanced step sequencer provides up to 32 steps per sequence and up to 16 tracks.
Supports real-time input, rests, and variable-length sequences
Syncs to MIDI clock and external audio and CV input
Sequences can control not only oscillator pitch but any parameter in the modulation matrix.

Arpeggiator

Sophisticated arpeggiator with up, down, up+down, random, assign modes
Supports real-time input, rests, and variable-length sequences
Re-latching arpeggiation

Programmable Distortion

Stereo analog distortion

Controls

More than 50 knobs and 65 buttons enable deep and comprehensive editing with minimal menu diving.
Backlit pitch and mod wheels are easily visible in low-light situations and have a smooth yet precise feel and response.
Independently adjustable upper and lower pitch wheel range
Two assignable position- and pressure-sensitive latchable touch sliders for enhanced interactivity and control
Full-sized, three-and-a-half-octave, semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and aftertouch

Memory

396 user and 396 factory programs
Playlist mode for generating easily accessible setlists of your favorite programs

I/O

1 MIDI In, 1 MIDI out, and 1 MIDI Thru/Out 2 port
USB port for bidirectional MIDI communication
4 CV inputs (4 x 1/8″ jack)
4 CV outputs (4 x 1/8″ jack)
1 Gate Out (1/8″ jack))
1 Sustain/footswitch input
1 expression pedal input
1 external audio input (1/4″ phone jack)
Main stereo output (2 x 1/4″ phone jack)
Headphone out (stereo 1/4″ phone jack)

Power

1 universal IEC AC power inlet for internal power supply
Operates worldwide on voltages between 100-240v, 50-60Hz, 30 watts maximum power consumption

Physical Specs

Walnut end panels and trim
Dimensions: approximately 29.2″ L x 12.8″ W x 4.15″ H (74.2 cm x 32.5 cm x 10.5 cm)
Weight: 18.7 lbs (8.5 kg)