Sometime early in 2025, it occurred to me that the Prophet-6, an instrument I helped design, was turning 10. I had the bright idea that I might celebrate that by jotting down a few ramblings about its making and, at the same time, use them to revive my semi-dormant website. Those ramblings turned out to be more substantial than anticipated, and more…rambly. I also made the decision to move the site over to WordPress, with which I was wholly unfamiliar. (Now I’m just mostly unfamiliar.) And, you know. Life.

So here I am on the cusp of 2026 and I’m finally publishing something. If you’ve ever wondered how and why a synthesizer gets made, you may find this interesting. If not, might I suggest theuselessweb.com? In general, I made the assumption that if you’re here you’re probably at least somewhat synthesizer literate. If not, it could be a tough slog. I made a halfhearted attempt to break up what I wrote into smaller, more easily digestible chunks. I imagine that even some of you who are interested may still find it TL;DR.

If you’re still hanging in there, here is Is It Vintage Yet? Celebrating 10 Years of a Modern Workhorse: The Sequential Prophet-6.

Andrew McGowan
December 20, 2025