P-10 includes two oscillators, based on the original instrument's Curtis Electromusic Specialties 3340 oscillator chips. Along with their filter, VCA, and envelope chips, the compact size of the CEM integrated circuits were perhaps the most significant factir in creating the (relatively) compact and reliable five-voice Prophet-5 synthesizer, and were equally important in the creation of the Prophet-10. And unlike some other famous vintage analog synths, the raw waveforms produced by the 3340 oscillator chips were quite accurate, and P-10 reproduces them precisely. Just like the original, P-10 includes two oscillators with the following controls:
Oscillator A
Frequency- Sets the coarse pitch range in half-step intervals, over a four-octave range.
Shape- Selects the oscillator waveform, including ramp or variable-width pulse. Either or both can be selected.
Pulse Width- Sets the width or "duty-cycle" of the pulse wave, from a perfect square to a very narrow pulse.
Sync- This causes Oscillator A to force reset its cycle at the beginning of Oscillator B's cycle. Using the Poly-Mod section to sweep Oscillator A's pitch via the filter envelope results in the "tearing harmonics" sound, famously used in The Cars classic, “Let’s Go” (and No Doubt’s “Just A Girl,” in case you weren't born yet in 1978).
Oscillator B
Frequency- Sets the coarse pitch range in half-step intervals, over a four-octave range.
Fine- Sets fine-tuning of Oscillator B pitch with range of 1 semitone.
Shape- Selects the oscillator waveform, including ramp, triangle, or variable-width pulse. Waveforms may be selected in any combination.
Pulse Width- Sets the width or "duty-cycle" of the pulse wave, from a perfect square to a very narrow pulse.
Lo- Sets the Oscillator B pitch (mostly) below audible range. This is intended to be used in conjunction with the Poly-Mod section and allows Oscillator B to be used as a low-frequency oscillator mod source.
In case you're wondering why you'd want to sacrifice a perfectly good audio oscillator when there's already a dedicated LFO... we'll fully explain this in the Poly-Mod section.
Keyboard- Turning this off disconnects the keyboard control voltage from Oscillator B. This means pitch remains the same regardless of keys played on the keyboard. This can be useful for single-pitch drones, but it's really intended for the situation described above where Oscillator B is being used as an LFO via Poly-Mod. In this situation, disabling keyboard control keeps the mod rate constant and prevents modulation from increasing in speed as higher notes are played.