The little synth that could!

I can’t say enough how over the moon I am about the Take 5. As a singer songwriter and sometimes instrumental composer, I build most of my music around piano and guitars but want synth to compliment my sound. I’ve owned quite a few synths and have learned what I like and don’t like over the last few years. The most important thing for me in a synth is immediacy and flow when creating patches, and the Take 5 has that in spades.

Here are the reasons why this synth is fantastic and extremely underrated:

Reason 1: The Sound This synth sounds so great. It’s just awesome. Having the option of a sine wave is a wonderful option for bass patches and isn’t something you normally see on a Sequential synth! I love the vintage knob, it adds that wobbly woozy drift that wasn’t as easy to achieve on the DCO based rev2. The dedicated effects channels are really nice, and the dedicated reverb is a welcome addition. I didn’t like having to choose between delay OR reverb, or chorus OR reverb. It makes so much sense to have verb on its own dedicated channel, and it sounds nice. I have made some HUGE sounding epic brass patches with the Take 5, as well as some really nice, 70’s inspired funk sounds. It’s a versatile little synth!

Reason 2: Panel layout and workflow The layout on the Take 5 is extremely efficient, and makes it incredibly easy to create and tweak patches. I love having big filter knob front and center: when I owned the Rev2, I hated that the cutoff knob was the same size as the rest of the knobs on the panel. It also has clear individual mixing between oscillators, where some synths have a single oscillator level blend knob. When it comes to workflow, I love how simple and clear everything is. Assigning something to the mod matrix uses Sequential’s genius UX choice of holding source assign and moving the knob you want. Done.

Reason 3: The key bed These keys feel so great to play. I loved the Rev2’s keyboard and felt like it was a joy to play, the Take 5 is just as good if not better. The aftertouch is super responsive, the key travel is just right… it’s really nice!

Reason 4: The… whole package? This last one is kind of hard to describe… but all of the design decisions on this synth make perfect sense together, and it makes all the difference while you’re using it. Yes, it’s 44 keys and that’s limiting. BUT: The low octave split feature allows you to set a point in the keyboard where the low keys can be 1 or 2 octaves below the rest. This is a brilliant bit of design and in practice can really make the keyboard feel closer to a 61 key one. The vintage and drive knobs are excellent. The case is well made doesn’t feel flimsy. The continuous blend knobs on the oscillators are a cool touch. I love that you can add some weird FM style sounds. Envelope routing works like a dream.

Only Con I really, really hate the logo. Like, with a passion. It’s horrible.

Summary Overall, it’s just an incredible synth. It really is. I used to own the Minilogue and really liked it, but here’s what’s interesting to me: For every reason I liked the Minilogue, the Take 5 does so much better. Sound, layout, build quality, immediacy, interesting sounds. Obviously this is a MUCH more expensive synth than the Minilogue, but I really feel like the Take 5 is everything I wished the Minilogue was. It’s a high quality, great sounding, super versatile compact synth that has found a permanent home in my studio.

Preferred Settings + Usage:

A genuine analog

It's the only synth I've got that collects all my playing experience (since '70s!) in one place. Everything is logically arranged, quick to edit, in a single word: familiar. The sound is gorgeous, lots of details (thanks to the Dave Rossum' filter), and the VCO-based engine is well appreciated in the foreground. Two LFOs, one common and one per-voice, allow detailed sound model. Two ADSRs to be used with VCF, VCA or used as a modulation source through the flexible modulation matrix. Arpeggiator and 64-step sequencer are welcomed extras. The effects are good quality and pleasant to add with no definition impact on the sound. By usage, it remembers to me my 1975 ARP Odyssey, a quite similar feeling, except for the polyphony of course. With this price, indeed I couldn't expect anything more, either as sound quality, nor as building one.

Super Flexible

Interesting filter (does not lose volume when resonance is increased) and split mode. Not as bright as the classic Prophets but VERY close sonically to the Prophet 6. Great LFOs and modulation matrix with tons of destinantions and a super useful vintage knob and (polyphonic) glide knob. Pretty simple but useful Arp and Sequencer. If you can find a used one for around 1000, get it. Perfect for live use and very useful FX section (most of it), although I prefer its raw sound with external FX. Sounds great in both Mono and Stereo.