In this second installment of our August 2017 visit with synth designer extraordinaire and inventor of MIDI Dave Smith, I (Stephen Fortner) check out a handful of the factory patches on the Prophet REV2 .

Can I just say that it's awesome that you can get 16 real analog voices for US$2,000? I've looked closely at everything DSI has released, I've been a cheerleader since the original Evolver desktop wedge thingy, and every single synth has its individual virtues. But as an old-school keyboard player who's demographic is about as dead-center Generation-X as you can get, the REV2 is the one I'd want in my gig rig next to my stage piano and drawbar organ. I would play the big square-wave wash on Prince's "1999" on this. I would play the synth stabs from Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" as I comped on a CP70 electric grand patch on whatever stage piano I had onstage. The sounds that come out of it are simply huge, and pitch-perfect for '80s pop. I'm completely in love with this thing and may do some damage to my credit score to acquire one.

By the way, that voice you hear off-camera telling me what's up when I ask a question? That's Dave Smith. If only we could always have the guy who made the thing at hand when we're figuring out how to use the thing.

Let's have a listen ...