A sample of the sound I'm looking for

Greetings! Would anyone care to tell me what synth is likely to produce this sound? If I had to guess, it'd have to be a Prophet-5 of some kind. Above this paragraph, I've provided a hyperlink containing the raw synth stem (on YouTube) to share. Not many a forum dare tell the equipment used to make such a lovely love ballad such as Ambrosia's "Biggest Part of Me", except for the rather hilariously inaccurate takes the Google AI made thinking it was the work of a Yamaha DX7 and/or a Roland D-550.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I work mostly with plugins, not so much real hardware (yet). God bless.

 

The DX-7 was released in 1983, and the D-550 was released in 1987. The track in question was released in 1980. So yes, those are wrong. Which is probably why ChatGPT says it is a Oberheim OB-X, OB-XA, or the Prophet 5 which you already guessed.

This is the recipe it gave me:

Spoiler

That’s a classic question — the synth brass in Ambrosia’s “Biggest Part of Me” (1980) is a great example of late-70s/early-80s polysynth brass programming. It’s warm, slightly nasal, with that unmistakable Oberheim/Prophet vibe.

Here’s how to recreate it:

1. The Source Synths

• Most likely Oberheim OB-X / OB-Xa or possibly a Sequential Prophet-5. Both were staples in 1980, and their brassy poly patches define that era.
  
  
• Any modern analog or VA (Prophet Rev2, OB-X8, Arturia OB-Xa V, u-he Diva, TAL-U-NO-LX for a Juno flavor, or even your Virus TI2 in analog mode) can nail this.
  

2. Oscillators

• 2 Oscillators per voice (detuned slightly):
  
  • OSC1: Sawtooth wave
    
    
  • OSC2: Pulse wave (square, with pulse width around 40–50%)
    
• Detune OSC2 just a little flat/sharp for thickness.
  

3. Filter

• Low-pass filter (24 dB/oct or 12 dB if available)
  
  
• Cutoff: medium, so you still hear brightness but not piercing.
  
  
• Resonance: low to none.
  
  
• Envelope Amount: moderate — the filter opens up a bit on attack.
  

4. Filter Envelope

• Attack: ~20–40 ms (not instant, gives it that “brassy” swell).
  
  
• Decay: ~600 ms – 1 sec.
  
  
• Sustain: medium-low (brass “settles down” after the bite).
  
  
• Release: similar to decay or slightly shorter.
  

5. Amp Envelope

• Attack: short (~10–20 ms, but not clicky).
  
  
• Decay: medium.
  
  
• Sustain: medium-high (keeps body under chords).
  
  
• Release: medium (enough to sound natural when keys are released).
  

6. Modulation

• LFO (subtle vibrato): Route sine LFO to pitch, very slow rate, low depth.
  
  
• Optionally add PWM modulation for more “life” in the sound.
  

7. Performance

• Play in block chords, staccato and sustained — the patch comes alive with chord voicing. Ambrosia used big jazzy chord stacks, which makes it sound fuller.
  
  
• Layer with subtle chorus or ensemble (Oberheim had that natural detuned richness; if your synth doesn’t, use a chorus plugin).
  

8. Optional Effects

• A tiny bit of plate reverb or a short room — just enough air, not drowning it.
  
  
• Some engineers back then would add a touch of compression to keep the brass “punchy” in the mix.
  

On your Virus TI2, I’d suggest:

• Init patch → 2 oscillators: Saw + Pulse.
  
  
• Detune ~5–7 cents.
  
  
• Filter: LP24, cutoff ~75, env amount ~50.
  
  
• Filter env: A=25 ms, D=700 ms, S=40, R=500 ms.
  
  
• Amp env: A=15 ms, D=400 ms, S=80, R=500 ms.
  
  
• Add chorus (Virus classic mode).
  
  
• Light vibrato via LFO1 to pitch.
  

 

Thank you! I'll check this out, perhaps I'll transcribe the parameters from the reciept into Arturia OB-X, maybe G-Force OB (what with the official endorsement from Oberheim, heh).

 

Prophet 5.