Sequential Take Five Custom Sounds

In this video, via Perfect Circuit, synthesist Nick Semrad demonstrates a variety of his custom patches for the new Sequential Take Five synthesizer.

Semrad’s patches showcase the wide range of sound possibilities with the Take 5 synthesizer.

In the second part of the video, Semrad shares his take on the Take 5 and its synthesis options.

44 thoughts on “Sequential Take Five Custom Sounds

  1. Other than a shorter/smaller keyboard, larger knobs, a walnut case, and the nostalgia factor, what about the Prophet V Rev 4 is worth over $2,000 more? The Rev 4 even has less features (e.g. no sub-oscillator). This isn’t a stripped down Rev 4, right?

    1. it can do some stuff the take 5 can’t (like mixing the wave shapes) but it’s definitely not the reason for the price difference. i think the main difference is the build, seems the part used with the prophet 5 are much more expensive.
      if it’s has practice or not it’s purely subjective.
      I also prefer the take5, the 16 slot matrix is a big advantage to me.

    2. P5 rev4 is an all analog machine with discrete vcos and filters, with beautiful woodwork, and a large keybed. The take5 has similar but not identical vcos and filters. And then digital amenities that give it its flexibilty. Also take5 ends are plastic.

  2. Nice sounds. By the way according to Semrad’s bio, he endorses and designs for Sequential. I guess that means they pay him. FWIW I’d prefer it if people were explicit about this in youtube videos.

        1. Nick endorses Sequential, and vice versa, because he trusts their gear, and uses it live. I am the same. I endorse Sequential, and am endorsed – we’re not salesman – were players that use this gear for a reason, because we love it and can depend on it. Nick was on the sound design team for other sequential boards, but not the Take 5. Read the manual to see the list of contributors. I will back my dude big on this.

    1. How is that relevant to this video? It’s not a review, but a synth demo on a commercial channel by a music store. Everyone involved is being paid and affiliated with either the manufacturer, distributor or retailer of the product.

      1. I actually love when manufacturers & retailers market their gear by getting talented musicians to actually show you how awesome it is, instead of having some marketing guy telling you “blah blah blah, its a ‘game changer’. ”

        Semrad plays his ass off and is a great sound designer, too. He shows you what the Take 5 can do in the hands of a talented musician. You watch this and you realize, if you can’t make the Take 5 sound great, it’s on you, not the synth!

        FWIW, Perfect Circuit is like Mecca for synthesists. I stopped by there last time I was in LA. It’s probably an hour drive from LA, but it’s worth it. They had more synths and modular gear than I’ve ever seen in one place, and you could try it all. They had a small record store, too, but it was all electronic music – so bigger than the electronic music sections of 95% of the record stores in the world.

      2. don’t get me wrong, it’s a really great demo. I love musical demos like this. I actually didn’t notice the channel, and just clicked it and enjoyed it. (Until the comment that he’s heard that they’re selling very well and there aren’t many left so we’d better buy it quick.)

  3. Another great sounding demo – personally prefer this synth to the prophet 5 (10)
    Makes me wonder if a larger synth, with more voices, in the style of the pro3 and take5, is soon upon us …

    some criticism:
    The exact behaviour of the “combined” envelope is not completely explained in any demos or reviews and also not in the manual.
    In one demo it is mentioned that the amount knob affects only the filter when switched to “filter + amp”
    So i wonder how to set the amp amount or if it is always full in this mode ?
    Gate mode is also only briefly mentioned in the manual – is it gate on and release (like moog) or gate on off ?

    The current manual explains sound synthesis very well – but not every knob and button in every mode. Update would be appreciated here.

    Hoping for some full in depht review soon.

    Ps.: loopop save us !

    1. Regarding the Take 5 env options – it’s inspired by the ease of switching on a Juno-60, where you can have simple Gate on/off for the Amp and then use that envelope for the filter. Which on the take5 frees up the filt env to be an independent aux env. When on filter + amp, the amp env amt becomes “filt env” amt, and amp env amt is automatically 100%. In practice its very fluid IMO.

      1. Ty for clearing that up!

        You can also share the filter env with some other mod destination and seperately control the amount?
        (To use the amp envelope exclusive.)

        Making my head up how to “distribute” the two envelopes.
        Still a 3rd free “mod” envelope (similar to the pro3) would be golden.

        Hoping that the next sequential synt in line with pro3 and take5 will be the poly synth no brainer to go for!

    1. good question, one of the modulation sources called “voice spread”
      i guess it means you can use the “function” of the voice spread to other modulations
      and they even talk about sending modulation to the panning destination (not the same) ,
      but the actual use a of voice panning is not mentioned in the manual.
      so maybe. better to ask them.

      1. super interesting, thanks for this info. many of their other synths, including their little Tetra4 have voice spread so i was hoping this does too. in my opinion this is a major selling point and should be highlighted, it makes a huge difference and sounds fantastic to have voices popping up in different places in the stereo field rather than relying on stereo effects to stretch a mono signal to stereo.

    2. One thing I like to do on Sequential synths is to use the DC mod source to set the left range of the oscillator panning, then use another mod slot to have key number modulate panning in the other direction. If your panning is set to ‘fixed’, you can then program how wide the stereo image is on your synth. It’s a bit like how a digital piano pans the notes from low to high to approximate how we hear them emanate on an acoustic piano.

      I’ll have to get around to showing this in a video sometime.

      To be clear, this is not the same thing as panning each individual voice in the stereo field, like what you can do on an OB-8, but I feel it’s actually more musical.

    3. yes ill confirm, there is no dedicated knob for “pan spread” like on the Prophet 6 and the like, but in the mod matrix if you assign “Voice Spread’ to “Pan” than it is the equivalent. Amounts can be from 0 (no pan) up to 127 (full left and right with alternating voices)

      1. isn’t the pan destination is like a knob you twist or sending lfo to it?
        if you send any kind of modulation to it, it will move all voices together, even if the change happen on every keystrokes. i can understand this function working with short sounds and mono playing but what will happen when you press a chord or playing a long release sound like a pad.
        doesn’t sound like the pan spread they have on other synths…
        Can you check it out please?

        1. you apply a value to the mod routing – Voice Spread to Pan, and its exactly like Pan Spread. If you want it to do the LFO thing you mentioend, then do ex: LFO1 to Pan. One is per voice, and the other is time based.

          1. thank you, so the “pan destination” is not like a balance knob after the sum of the voices you send a modulation to. the voice spread received separately on each voice stereo vca.

  4. Yeah… this is a great machine. Compact, sounds great. My needs are met with my excellent Rev 2 (5 octave range, splits & layers), but this is definitely a cool instrument. To have a powerful 5 voice synth for around the same price as a Subsequent 37 iirc… that’s also an outstanding value.

    I don’t think his advice to act fast is so bad… we are going through a semiconductor shortage and pandemic stuff has affected the shipping containers needed to move non-PPE products so I acknowledge the value in that statement.

    1. … what kept me from getting and using a rev2 is that no smooth manual filter sweeps are possible because the filter always snaps to the harmonoc series.

      Seems the take 5 is more hands on (panel mode is default here).
      While the rev2 is just more synth but slower to work with (no panel mode at all).

      As i said before – take 5 with more voices and 3rd envelope would be super!

  5. If you think this sounds good, then you should hear Nick demo the P5/10, the Take 5 nice but not in the same league by any stretch of the imagination, which and rightfully so it really does not claim to be….

    1. The prophet 5 is a good retro synth.
      The Take five can do retro but also 2021!

      In no way a prophet 5 has the sonic potential of the take five.
      The only feature that the P10 is ahead is more voices.
      Just because P5 costs more you trick yourself into thinking it sounds better?
      Differnt sounding maybe, but not “better”.

      Ps.:there are synth leagues ???

        1. P5 Cannot rly mix the waveforms (like sh 101 for example) just switch all of them on at the saem time. Scanning through the waveshapes on the take 5 allows for much more variety in overtones!
          Also sinwaves on analog oscs are rare. Take 5 is simply more flexible then the P5(10).

          1. you say there is no better but you clearly try to prove the take5 is better. who care if it can be mixed or mixed and level, the point is they are different, no better or worse, stop trying so hard to show your knowledge

      1. It has nothing to do with convincing ones self by the cost of anything, the sound is just butter… the P5 sounds better than the take 5 even without FX. The only convincing going on is that you’ve convinced yourself that the P5 has only a retro sound but as you can see Nicholas semrad and j3po, as well as midera are making quite modern music with the P5/10 , that retro restriction is just something some people put on themselves, and yes there are synth leagues.

        don’t get me wrong I am happy that you enjoy the take 5, that’s what it’s all about but even Dave Smith doesn’t think the take 5 is in the same league and he made it.

          1. I didn’t say he wrote it anywhere, but if I showed you then what would you say?

            You may not know what the flagship product is inside Dave Smiths business, but Dave Smith does, now I wonder do you also doubt that because you don’t know where he’s said or written that he knows what his flagship product is?

            1. You wrote, “Dave Smith doesn’t think the take 5 is in the same league and he made it.”

              How do you know this? Where/when did Dave Smith express this sentiment?

              1. yeah dave smith never said or wrote something like this i guess …
                … oh my how will mr. wonderful get out of this now XD

                – Prophet5 is definately not a flagship synth but an, admittedly great, retro reissue.
                – Flagships might be prophet X & XL.
                – Take5 is a progressive and modern take on the 5 voice.

                1. Dave Smith believes that the take 5 is just another version of the prophet 5, this is why the Prophet 5 is the flagship.

        1. To me without effects the two sound surprisingly similar at times but the take 5 geos some places the P5 simply does not. I also value the more complex and flexible oscillators and modulation options on the take5.

          I think there is a lot of subjectivity and personal taste involved when comparing the two.

          (leagues hmmm …)

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