San Francisco synthesizer designer Dave Smith dies at age 72

A UC Berkeley graduate in computer science and electrical engineering, Smith began creating instruments in the mid-70s while working in the aerospace industry. Smith purchased a Minimoog, and began building his own analog sequencer to program the instrument. That would become the Model 600, which allowed musicians to program melodic and rhythmic patterns. 

He founded Sequential Circuits in 1974, and the company still operates out of a headquarters in North Beach. 

The Prophet-5, the world’s first fully programmable polyphonic synthesizer that used a microprocessor, was released in 1978 and cemented Sequential Circuits as a revered brand for musicians. The synthesizer was used by artists from Michael Jackson and Kraftwerk, and original versions now sell for approximately $10,000.

The iconic wooden frame added a warm aesthetic to an otherwise otherworldly machine. “Back then, a lot of people, we’d hear of doctors and lawyers buying Prophet-5’s just to have in their living rooms, just as furniture,” Smith said at a Red Bull Music Academy interview in 2014.

Smith’s greatest contribution to electronic music was the development of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) in 1982. Similar in concept to USB technology, MIDI is a technical standard that allows music equipment to work in tandem by sending and receiving data signals via a universal cable connection. The Prophet-600 was the first instrument to incorporate the technology, but it was designed with cooperation from other prominent companies — including Roland, Korg, Yamaha and Kawai — and it soon became the industry standard. Today, nearly every electronic instrument still incorporates MIDI technology.

Sequential Circuits continued making synthesizers throughout the 1980s, building the instruments in Silicon Valley with a workforce that grew to roughly 180 people. As industry trends changed, Yamaha purchased the company in 1987 and then closed it completely in 1989. Smith would go on to work for Korg to create the Wavestation, which was used by iconic ’80s bands like Depeche Mode and Genesis. Next, he pivoted to software synthesizers, creating the first soft synths for Intel in the mid-90s.

Smith relaunched his company under the name Dave Smith Instruments in 2002, releasing popular instruments like the Mopho monophonic synthesizer and a more affordable version of the Prophet. Yamaha returned the rights to the Sequential Circuits name to Smith in 2014. The company is still releasing new synthesizer models to this day.

As news of his death broke, musicians including Hot Chip, Flying Lotus, Massive Attack took to social media to offer tribute.

Smith split his time between homes in San Francisco and St. Helena. He is survived by his wife Denise and their adult children Haley and Campbell, who were with him in Detroit at the time of his passing. Sequential has asked friends and fans who would like to share their grief to send an email to [email protected].