The PRO-53 from Native Instruments is software that carries on the tradition of vintage synthesizers. This virtual instrument is fashioned after the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 synthesizer, and provides the unique sonic properties of the original, while meeting the practical requirements of the present day. It can be used as a plug-in or as a stand-alone application with the possibility to run several plug-in instances in parallel.
In addition to the included sounds, the PRO-53 is able to import original Prophet-5 SysEx sound data, allowing it to accurately reproduce all the existing sound libraries made for the original hardware. New to the software version is that the subtle deviation from perfect behavior, which is typical of analog circuits and crucial to its sound, can now be fine-tuned. The filter can be switched from a normal low-pass to a high-pass filter and the action of the filter envelope can be inverted, which allows for more sonic colors.
A built-in effects unit adds multi-echo, chorus and flanging effects. The software also has an audio input for processing external audio signals through its filters and effects. MIDI implementation is broad ranging, with "MIDI-Learn" allowing the control elements of the software to be operated manually by assigning them to selected knobs and sliders on a MIDI hardware controller.