Julian Cisneros is a passionate, creative, full time composer based in Los Angeles, California. Julian’s professional career began in 2010 composing music for iOS apps and progressed to working with a multitude of clients in the corporate, film, and television industries. Some of Julian’s clients have included Disney, Lucasfilm, RED Digital Cinema, Warner Bros., Hasbro, Chris Burkard Studios, Patagonia, Huxham Creative Studio, Vizio, Dolby Digital, Panasonic, and many more. Julian currently resides in Santa Clarita, California with his wife Briana, daughter Ayla, and son Jude.
We chatted with Julian on how he’s using the Prophet-6:
What made you choose the Prophet-6?
“After composing with a monophonic synth for a while, I realized the limitation of working in mono and wanted to explore the option of adding a poly synth to my setup. I had always known the prestige of Dave Smith Instruments, so I naturally started to explore the best options within that ecosystem.
The Prophet ’08 was the first synth I looked at because some of my favorite artists are regular users. Though that synth is obviously solid, and I plan on getting the updated Rev2 soon, I really wanted the warmth of the VCOs and VCFs of the Prophet-6. The more I looked into the Prophet-6, the more I realized that it was the perfect fit for me and for what I do.”
How are you using it?
“The Prophet-6 has become my instant go-to when I need to start forming ideas. In most instances, I build up a patch from scratch. I always love the subtractive part of synthesis, so this process usually leads me to a solid, usable spot. If I realize that the sounds I’m creating aren’t exactly what I’m looking for, I’ll start cycling through presets, randomly hopping around different banks before finding something that has the correct feel for the scene I’m scoring to. I then start tweaking that preset, creating something completely unique.
Once I’m satisfied with what I want to lay down, I perform the piece straight into my project in Logic. I know a lot of people trigger the Prophet-6 via MIDI, but I find the imperfection in a real-time performance really adds to the character of the score. I will even trigger arps straight into the project while sweeping the filter as opposed to sequencing from Logic. Occasionally however, I will draw specific MIDI information into the piano roll of an external MIDI track if the type of piece I’m scoring needs that perfectly quantized performance. Triggering from Logic does have its case-by-case advantages because it frees me up to tweak knobs as I’m recording. Long story short… I do whatever is best to serve the score!”
What’s one of your favorite things about it?
“I think the sheer diversity that the Prophet-6 offers is my favorite thing about it. It’s an idea machine, a creativity igniter, and because of that, it’s the tool I most turn to when I need a spark of inspiration.”
What does it give you that other synths don’t?
“There are plenty of poly synths in the market, but most don’t have a completely analog signal path along with USB flexibility. That combo makes the Prophet-6 a true jackknife for composers.”
Any interesting Prophet-6 tricks or techniques you’d like to share?
“There are a few techniques I like to apply depending on what genre I’m working with. When wanting to do some interesting sound design, I begin by utilizing the onboard effects of the Prophet-6 as well as exploring different filter modulation techniques. I then record into Logic and continue to experiment by adding additional reverbs like Eventide’s Blackhole reverb, or Valhalla DSP reverbs. If I want to really push the sounds to another realm, I start adding in Soundtoy’s effects like EchoBoy, Crystalizer, or FilterFreak. If I’m creating something in the 80s synth wave world, I work hard to dial in the perfect bass line or lead. Once in Logic, I like to use D16 plugins like Decimort to bit crush the sound or Fasortan to add that classic 80s movement.”
LINKS
Films featuring the Prophet-6:
Finale cue for Chris Burkard’s film Under An Arctic Sky
Cue for Abandon Visuals’s film Fire and Ice
Cue for Black Diamond Equipment spot Shelter On the Go
MORE ABOUT THE PROPHET-6
For more information, check out the Prophet-6 product page here.
Find your local dealer for Prophet-6 pricing here.
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