The Prophet 2000 was Sequential's first foray into sampling, released at the same time as their Studio 440 drum sampler/sequencer. While perhaps the best sounding 12 bit sampler on the market, stiff competition from the Emu Emax and the Akai S900 hindered sales. A decade later it gained popularity for its resonant analog filters and ease of realtime on-the-fly sampling. The Prophet 2000 is a true 12 bit sampler unlike the Emu Emax which uses compression to store a 12 bit sample word in 8 bits of memory. The lack of compression and the fact that each voice has its own D/A converter accounts for P2000's incredibly clear sound. The P2000 features eight notes of polyphony with each voice having it's own resonant analog filter. Later P2000s designated as the "Plus" model featured eight individual outs in addition to the stereo pair, however the P2000 is not a stereo sampler, it merely has individual voice outputs panned across the stereo field. Two loops are available per sample, as well as forward or backward sample playback. The user interface for the P2000 consists of a three digit LED display and a membrane matrix of buttons. Anyone who has used a Moog Source or Kawai K3 will feel at home. The P2000's one button per function interface makes it ideal for quick sampling and looping. Standard memory for the P2000 is 256k words, expandable to 512k words. The memory expansion kits are still available through Whine Country as well as others. Prophet 2000 Memory Upgrade and Output Expansion Pictures Prophet 2000 Schematics The Dave Smith Synth Museum