Joe Landers has launched Profligacy, a software synthesizer plugin for macOS and Windows designed as a low-level emulation of the Korg Prophecy hardware synthesizer. The plugin runs firmware from the original instrument, with users supplying their own ROM dumps containing the required firmware files.
Profligacy is based on an examination of several processors used in the Korg Prophecy, including the NEC V55PI, Hitachi H8/3003, and three Texas Instruments TMS57002 chips. According to Landers, communication signals between these chips were matched in timing and content during development.
The plugin does not emulate the post-DAC analogue circuitry of the original hardware. Landers notes that the Prophecy service manual specifies a frequency response that is flat to within 1 dB across the audible frequency range.
On its first launch, Profligacy opens a folder selection window. Users are required to select a directory containing either the following firmware files:
korgprop/ic12_v17.binkorgprop/ic22_v17.bin
Alternatively, the selected directory can contain a korgprop.zip archive with both BIN files. These ROM files are not included with the plugin.
Landers reports that Profligacy uses approximately half of one CPU core on an Apple M2 system, and around 80 percent of a core on an Intel iMac. The plugin has been tested on macOS systems with both Apple Silicon and Intel processors. Alpha testers have also run the plugin on Windows x64 systems.
Profligacy is distributed through GitHub. Its source code is released under version 3 of the GNU Affero General Public License.
Profligacy is available as a free download for macOS and Windows.
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