RIP Dave Smith

[3bc]

This will be a bigger deal in other parts of the interweb. But RIP to Dave Smith, and condolences to his family and friends.

Dave, if you did not know, created one of the world's first polyphonic synthesizers, and the first to have digital controls that allowed it to create, save and recall presets, the Prophet 5. Which appears on many 80's hits (In the Air Tonight) all the way up to more modern electronic "classics" (Everything in its Right Place).

As importantly, Dave is considered the "Father of Midi", having come up with its conceptual design and convinced other synth pioneers from Roland and Korg etc. to adopt its usage.

Dave Smith just might deserve a space on the Mount Rushmore of music equipment pioneers alongside the likes of Leo Fender.

 

[Bassman316]

Wow, that's sad to hear. Condolences to family and friends indeed.

I've gotten into synthesizers in the past couple of years, and even though I'm not fortunate enough to own any Dave Smith gear, I know how highly regarded the instruments with his name on them are in the synthesizer world. And I also understand how influential he was in the development of MIDI. I can't imagine where modern electronic music or home music production would be if it weren't for Dave Smith and the work he did in developing MIDI technology. The synth world has lost an icon.

 

[3bc]

Wow, that's sad to hear. Condolences to family and friends indeed.

I've gotten into synthesizers in the past couple of years, and even though I'm not fortunate enough to own any Dave Smith gear, I know how highly regarded the instruments with his name on them are in the synthesizer world. And I also understand how influential he was in the development of MIDI. I can't imagine where modern electronic music or home music production would be if it weren't for Dave Smith and the work he did in developing MIDI technology. The synth world has lost an icon.

I would venture to guess midi is somewhere in the top 10 in terms of important/influential inventions in the musical production world. Guitar is relatively unimportant to modern music production, with rock’s roll so greatly diminished in the world of music, but without midi most of it would not be possible.

 

[slimefuzz]

He achieved so much and helped move music forward in many ways.
Also seemed like a nice person.
He will be missed.
Peace.

 

[Ronzo]

RIP, Dave Smith. Thanks for changing music for the better!

 

[LBS-bass]

Wow, the Prophet 5 was the holy grail synth in its day. Sad to see the pioneers being laid to rest. Rest peacefully, Dave Smith, and thanks for all you did for music.

 

[nutdog]

That's an impressive list of accomplishments.

 

[steve_ss]

He should have been nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

[FilterFunk]

This will be a bigger deal in other parts of the interweb. But RIP to Dave Smith, and condolences to his family and friends.

Dave, if you did not know, created one of the world's first polyphonic synthesizers, and the first to have digital controls that allowed it to create, save and recall presets, the Prophet 5. Which appears on many 80's hits (In the Air Tonight) all the way up to more modern electronic "classics" (Everything in its Right Place).

As importantly, Dave is considered the "Father of Midi", having come up with its conceptual design and convinced other synth pioneers from Roland and Korg etc. to adopt its usage.

Dave Smith just might deserve a space on the Mount Rushmore of music equipment pioneers alongside the likes of Leo Fender.

I'm a synth player, and I have what I call the Prophet 5's "little brother," the Sequential Circuits Six-Trak. Bought it in 1986, and it will never leave me. MIDI is incredibly important to my home studio, and I've never come close to using all of its capabilities.

I agree with the last line of the OP's post, but I would change "just might deserve" to "absolutely, undoubtedly deserves". RIP, Mr. Smith, and I can't thank you enough.

 

[3bc]

I'm a synth player, and I have what I call the Prophet 5's "little brother," the Sequential Circuits Six-Trak. Bought it in 1986, and it will never leave me. MIDI is incredibly important to my home studio, and I've never come close to using all of its capabilities.

I agree with the last line of the OP's post, but I would change "just might deserve" to "absolutely, undoubtedly deserves". RIP, Mr. Smith, and I can't thank you enough.

I would tend to agree. But there's a lot of competition for Mount Rushmore. Leo with popularizing electric guitars and electric basses, Bob Moog with popularizing modern, portable, playable synth with Model D. Les Paul with multitrack recording, etc.

Funny thing is that each of these things are really credited to these individuals but none of them actually invented it. Leo popularized electric guitar and bass, but invented neither. Moog's Model D popularized a portable synthesizer system, but a former employee kind of had the idea before he did, and before he was even keen on the idea at all. Les Paul didn't invent multitrack recording.

Smith for all intents and purposes invented midi, invented preset capable synthesizers, heck, he even helped design/program the first ever software synthesizer in 1995. Impressive guy, and a true gentleman by every account.

 

[3bc]

I'm a synth player, and I have what I call the Prophet 5's "little brother," the Sequential Circuits Six-Trak. Bought it in 1986, and it will never leave me. MIDI is incredibly important to my home studio, and I've never come close to using all of its capabilities.

I agree with the last line of the OP's post, but I would change "just might deserve" to "absolutely, undoubtedly deserves". RIP, Mr. Smith, and I can't thank you enough.

The six track is a very cool synth with some very cool and impressive features even the P5 did not have.

 

[Michedelic]

In 1982, I jumped into key bass as it figured heavily in a lot of music I was listening to at the time, what was termed “electro pop”, before it became something of a cliche. Not ditching bass guitar, but adding to it, as pedal technolgy had yet to fully explode. The Minimoog seemed to be the go-to model for synth bass, but I couldn’t afford one. Sequential Circuits had just issued the Pro-One, which I picked up on, and it really held it’s own. It had a sharper sound, and a small sequencer section, which was very useful. It might have been monophonic, but I got a lot out if it.

 

[PolkaHero]

I used to own a Prophet, what a killer sounding synthesizer it was and still is today!

 

[ElectroVibe]

If the first polyphonic synthesizer came out in 1977, does that mean that music of Tangerine Dream before that time was recorded on monophonic keyboards?

 

[Michedelic]

If the first polyphonic synthesizer came out in 1977, does that mean that music of Tangerine Dream before that time was recorded on monophonic keyboards?

They used Mellotrons frequently, and then, while I don’t know if they in particular used one, there was the ARP/Solana string machine, dating back to 1974.

 

[3bc]

If the first polyphonic synthesizer came out in 1977, does that mean that music of Tangerine Dream before that time was recorded on monophonic keyboards?

Early TD would have been done on monophonic instruments. A lot of it is old organ type keyboards which are obviously not monophonic, but are also not really analog synthesizers either. Another trick you can employ on say, a model D, is to separately tune the three oscillators to make a chord style sound with three distinct notes. But they all go through a single amp, filter and EG's and played on a single key. The Arp Odyssey would have been available by 1974 and offered duophonic playing, which would allow two note chords, again through a single filter, amp and EG.

I'm not a TD historian, not sure what they were using back then, but a lot of organ sounds and spacey, hyperactive LFO's to get those washy gurgling sounds.

 

[ElectroVibe]

I'll bet they were all over the Prophet when it first appeared.