Prophet VS plugin as controller for the original hardware?

Software Instruments Prophet V
#1

Synthgods,

Does anyone know if I can use the Arturia Prophet VS plugin as a controller for the original hardware?

Thank you!

#2

Welcome to the forum.

An unusual question as most people ask if hardware can control the plugin.

I am not 100% sure but I think the answer to your question is no. Someone here will undoubtedly know for sure and give you an explanation as to why not. It may have something to do with bi-directional control, a feature that the Soundforce controllers employ. I have three of those and they are great. However I think the principle may not apply to a synth as it does a controller.

#3

Hi @Pim and welcome to The Sound Explorers Forum!

Possibly the easiest way to check quickly would be to go through the midi implementation section of the manual for your Prophet VS, it should tell you in there.

A quick check on Google, other search engines are available of course, suggests that yes it is possible…

How to use it for hardware control:

  1. Connect via MIDI: Connect your hardware Sequential Prophet VS to your computer via a MIDI interface or USB.
  2. Match MIDI Channels: Ensure the hardware is set to receive on the same MIDI channel that you are transmitting from within your DAW or the Prophet-VS V standalone app.
  3. MIDI Learn: Use the MIDI Learn feature inside your DAW (or Arturia’s mapping panel) to assign the plugin’s knobs, the joystick, and envelope sliders to the corresponding physical controls or parameters on the Sequential Prophet VS.
  4. Important limitations: The plugin features a more modern architecture, built-in effects, and a vastly expanded mod matrix that are not present on the 1980s hardware. Because of this, you cannot simply dump custom plugin patches directly into the hardware and expect them to translate perfectly.

HTH!

#4

Pim is asking if the s/w can control the h/w - i.e, he moves a slider/knob on screen and it changes the corresponding control/value on the hardware. Will MIDI learn enable changes bi-directionally?

#5

According to Gemini it will, i’d just check the midi spec for the hardware though, a quick glance at the midi spec should reveal all.
Theoretically it should, i mean if it can receive midi data from a sequencer etc then why not.
I’m not on my studio machine currently and so cannot test it out myself.
Using exactly the same search term as i did earlier, this came up…

How to Control the Hardware Remotely

If you want to control your Prophet VS hardware from your computer, you should use a generic MIDI control setup User Manual Prophet-VS V rather than relying on the Arturia plug-in interface:

  1. Map Your DAW: You can use a dedicated MIDI mapping tool within your DAW (like Ableton’s “Configure” mode Arturia - Prophet-VS V or Logic Pro’s controller assignments). [1]
  2. Assign CCs: By assigning generic MIDI Control Change (CC) numbers in your DAW to your hardware, you can automate knobs and faders natively.

It all depends on whether The Prophet VS sends midi out, again i can’t test this currently as i’m not on that machine. Again, according to Google it does.
If this is the case, then although you’re not going to get a 1:1 translation between the two, you should be able to set it up manually as described above.

HTH!