Mighty Mopho Power
A couple weeks ago, Dave Smith Instruments told EM that it would announce an affordable analog monosynth by the end of September—Dave’s first since the Sequential Circuits Pro One (1981), which essentially offered a single Prophet-5 Rev 3 voice. Today DSI let the proverbial cat out of the bag and began shipping the Mopho, a tabletop module with an old-school voice architecture identical to the Prophet ’08’s, but with a few twists of its own. Best of all, the Mopho retails for just $439. At that price, I expect to see it take off as fast as DSI can make them.
So how analog is it? With two voltage-controlled oscillators, a dual-slope voltage-controlled filter, three 5-stage envelope generators, a voltage-controlled amplifier, and an external audio input, the Mopho delivers features that should make any synthesist giddy. Like the Prophet ’08, it also has an arpeggiator and a 4-channel, 16-step gated sequencer. Unlike the Prophet ’08, it has two sub-octave generators—one an octave below Osc 1 and the other two octaves below Osc 2. Another bonus is a multifunction button labeled Push It!, which can trigger notes or latch notes or sequences.
All that technology is crammed into a 7.5-inch-wide box; that’s the same size as an AdrenaLinn and the original Evolver. Even in such a confined space, Mopho sports a dozen knobs (four of them user-assignable), half a dozen buttons, and a 16-character-by-2-line LED display. You also get Mac- and Windows-compatible editor software that gives you access to all its parameters. For the price, and judging by the audio demos on DSI’s Web site, the Mopho’s competitors are going to have a helluva time matching it.
