Published
Thu, Jun 2, 2022, 17:30
- Sequential, the company he founded, announced the news late on June 1st.
Dave Smith, the brain behind the iconic Prophet synthesizer, has died at the age of 72.
The news was first reported by Sequential, the synth brand he founded in 1974, via a post on the company's website and Instagram. No details were given on the cause of death.
Smith, who was due to appear at the California trade show NAMM this week, was widely respected for his synthesizer creations as well as his essential role in the development of MIDI, a technology that connects a wide range of electronic instruments and is considered the universal language of electronic music.
At Sequential, the California-born engineer designed and released iconic instruments such as the Prophet-5, the first fully programmable polyphonic analog synth that shaped music creation throughout the '80s. Alongside Sequential engineer Chet Wood, Smith also designed the MIDI interface in the early '80s with help from Roland founder Ikutaro Kakehashi. Shortly thereafter, Smith also invented the first MIDI-compatible sample-based drum machine, Drumtraks, and launched one of the first MIDI synths, the Prophet 600.
Following Yamaha's acquisition of Sequential in 1987, Smith moved to Korg, where he helped develop the Wavestation synth. In 2002, he launched Dave Smith Instruments, which later changed its name to Sequential after getting permission from Yamaha. In 2013, Smith and Kakehashi won a Technical Grammy award for their work on MIDI. More recently, Smith also collaborated with fellow synth designer Tom Oberheim on the Oberheim OB-X8.
Tributes have flooded social media in recognition of Smith's valuable contribution to electronic music.