Hi Honzinus,
Thanks for the topic...
I highly recommend that you program the sound... if you know it was a Prophet V, then edit a sound that is close or build one from scratch. If you have a Prophet V there you can A/B them until you nail it, or if you only have a recording that’ll work, as well. You can do this programming “by ear”.

A Waveform is not going to be “even close to” what you want... frame that Waveform with the Element parameters.
Element parameters include your Pitch, Filter, and Amplitude Envelope Generators...they include access to the LFOs and Effects.

Saying it is not “even close” is resolved by the fact that you purchased a programmable Synthesizer. Learn to dig in and make the sound you are looking for. If you view the MOXF as “just a ROMpler” you are missing the point. Many give up if the actual Waveform doesn’t immediately sound like the sound on the recording. You can tell that they don’t realize, the Prophet V used in the recording was edited to behave and sound as it does in that recording. The raw Waveform itself was filtered and amplified to shape it to sound like that. You have that same source wave (or at least a digital representation of it)...

You have to recreate that programming. And fortunately, you have every thing you need to accomplish that goal.
First thing to determine is the kind of Waveform that is used... the ancient analog synths provided a Sawtooth and Pulse Waveforms to start with...the second Oscillator offered additionally a Triangle... with these 3 basic geometric Waveforms all Prophet V sounds were built...
In MOXF you have 3,977 Waveforms (yikes)... You have the actual Waveforms from the Prophet as starting points.

Start by building a Voice using one of “P5” Waveform...

Determine Sawtooth or Pulse... likely it is a Sawtooth Waveform... then fashion your AEG. That is, shape the loudness response. Do you want it to Attack abruptly or come in more smoothly. Learn to work with the AEG. It’s your ADSR.

Next move to the Filter; Select a type that recreates the harmonic structure you hear. Sawtooth Waves have every whole note multiple of the Fundamental — all harmonics are heard, it is rich in harmonics giving Sawtooth waves a bright buzzy sound normally.... the Pulse Waves are described as Hollow and move toward nasal.

Filter selection will be from the LPF variety. Low Pass Filters, literally allow low frequencies to pass, and block high frequencies. We want to tame the high frequencies so we naturally select the Low Pass Filter.
Use a LPF6, LPF12, LPF18 or LPF24 Filter Type to tame the high frequency content — less buzzy, more smooth and rounded.

The number after ‘LPF’ is the number of dB per octave that are rolled off by this filter. A LPF6 means when the Cutoff Frequency is set to where the center Frequency is approx 440Hz, by the time you reach 880Hz the sound will be 6dB quieter. For every Octave you go up the output of those harmonics are down by that many dB.

Harmonics naturally get softer and softer as you go up the frequency ladder. The Fundament typically is the loudest and, in general, they get softer and softer as you go higher. It is the volume of those high harmonics that is critical to our recognition of the sound. They are like a sound’s fingerprint... when the output arrangement of the high harmonic matches we identify a sound. A trumpets harmonic fingerprint is uniquely different from a trombone playing the same fundamental pitch.

As a reference... a change in 1dB is barely detectable (most musicians trained to listen will hear this difference). A change of 2dB is heard by even average listeners (civilians), a change of 3dB is obvious to all listeners, even those not paying attention. By the time a 9dB drop in volume occurs, you stop paying attention because it is so far below the volume you were accustomed to listening that you assume it is going to stop.

Each 6dB is equivalent to a “pole” - a four pole filter (24dB drop for every Octave above the Cutoff Frequency is typically your most dramatic filter. You want set the Cutoff Frequency so that the bright buzzy high harmonics are reduced. You do not have to know anything... use your ears. Using the right filter is a key... do not only try the most severe (24dB) some times Less is More! Use your ears.

As you raise the Cutoff Frequency of a LPF you are allowing more high harmonics to pass through. Now as you lower the Cutoff Frequency you will notice you are taming the buzzy brightness and like the rounding off spikey mountains, you are hearing a more rounded smooth tone.

‘How much’ you smooth the tone is up to your ears... but you will quickly hear that this parameter “Cutoff” is the one having the most influence on the timbre. When you get this Cutoff setting correct, the rest is fairly easy.

Resonance makes one particular frequency louder than the others. Much like a gymnasium will have one Frequency that seems to stand out and ring when played, much like one particular frequency when sounded can resonant and actually break a glass, the Resonance cause the frequency at the Cutoff point louder. Emphasizing that frequency (it sound louder than the rest) such that when the Vutoff Frequency is moved your ear/brain tends to follow that movement.

How much resonance? Again your ears will tell you... too much and the sound howls like a microphone feeding back (these resonance peaks are related, to be sure).

You remind me that I have a tutorial I use to teach entry level synthesis.... building synth sounds from very simple Waveforms. For example, a Sawtooth wave like the “P5 Sawtooth 0 dg” can be built into strings and with a simple change in the AEG (Amplitude Envelope Generator) you can make it a Brass ensemble. But the Sawtooth can be fashioned into metallic sounds like a Steel Pan Sound from Trinidad, or a phat synth bass, and so on. It’s a matter of playing with the very basic tools of synths

Pitch (Oscillator) —> Timbre (Filter) —> Loudness (Amplifier)

In an analog synth you ran the Oscillator Waveform through the Filter, and you shaped the loudness with the ADSR.
EACH MOXF Element is that same signal paradigm. You select an Oscillator (Waveform) for Element 1, it is routed to its own Filter, and to its own Amplifier. You need one such signal path to recreate the Prophet V sound on “In the Air Tonight”

And you can have eight Oscillator Waveforms, 8 Filters, 8 Amplifiers ... per each Voice!!! as each has its own set of functions...

Extra Credit: Links to the “Synth Basics” tutorial articles.
Synth Basics: Getting Started
Synth Basic: Sound Experiments 1
Synth Basics: All Square are Pulse...

Hope that helps... the reward of rolling up your sleeves and programming will be obvious. Once you have a set goal: make a synth sound that works for “In the Air Tonight”, and you have a direction to go in to experiment. When you find that “just right” point, the sense of satisfaction is amazing... and you begin to lose the fear of tackling even more adventurous goals.

Let us know how you make out... if you have specific questions, post back here.

Thank you very much, Phil! I'll try my best... 🙂

I've created a pad that's nice and warm but it's still not what I want.

I've chcecked some videos, the guy here nailed the sound with Prophet 6:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOBeb_zbJAw

There is a description in a comment:

"I started this patch from scratch. You'll have to start with 2 triangle waves on both oscillators. Detune the second one a fair amount to get the chorusing tone. Find the sweet spot on the cutoff (filter) and add a lot of resonance. The resonance is the most crucial part to get this tone right. Add some chorus and short delay in the efx section."

I did the same: Osc 1 and 2 is my Element 1 and 2. Then I did some fine tunning to get the chorus sound, and added cut off and resonance. That's a big nice pad sound, but still not "In the Air Tonight"...I also have many plugins, I can add saturation, chorus, EQ, compression... I even messed with LFO, still no luck..

I can't do that... it's probably my fault, I believe any Motif can do that pad sound.. 🙁

Of course, it can. Stop trying to follow others instructions - they can help you but so much... Try using your own ear. It is not a very complex sound to get, at all. It will be a matter of when you are happy with your recreation. You mention "messing with the LFO" to do what exactly... Not much LFO action in the pad sound. Sounds to me like you are guessing what will work.

The Type of Filter, the original was an analog synth so you want to use a LPF (Low Pass Filter); This will be critical and the Cutoff frequency setting (basically how much high frequency content you allow to pass. If Cutoff is too high a number the sound will be too bright, if the Cutoff is too low number the sound will be too rounded. This you set by ear.

There is not a lot of movement in the part - it kind of drones away in the middle range, so again, make this setting while playing the chords.

Keep at it.

Thank you! Your response is very helpful (as always) 🙂

I've been messing with the parameters and created something that is just one step closer than before.. Maybe I'll get there... 🙂

This patch also requires chorusing, but that's easy...

I'm not sure about velocity response.. I don't know how velocity works on Prophet V...

I'm not sure about velocity response.. I don't know how velocity works on Prophet V...

Ha, ha... I’m old enough to remember...Velocity, Velocity was not a word used in world of the Prophet 5... unless you were referring to the car you drove to the gig and you had the Prophet 5 in the back seat. At a hefty ‘one thousand dollars a note’, the expensive synth was sought after by many, owned by the lucky few.

There was no Velocity Sensitivity on a Prophet 5 (1978-1984). The first Sequential Circuits analog synthesizer with Velocity Sensitivity, I believe, was the T8 (1983) - although it had the sound of the Prophet-5, with 8-note polyphony and it added a velocity sensitive, 76 piano weighted action Keyboard (if I’m not mistaken the T8’s weighted action keybed was made by Yamaha with AT)... the T8 was arguably the absolute best of the polyphonic analog synths of the 1980s (It is at least in the conversation, to be sure).

So no need to worry about Velocity Sensitivity on an accurate Prophet-5 emulation... it didn’t have it. At the time it came out in 1978, the polyphonic, Velocity sensitive, analog synth that everyone was drooling over was the Yamaha CS80 (1976) but at over 200 pounds (440kg) and a small fortune, even less of the lucky few owned one.