Rain Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 https://mixdownmag.com.au/news/legendary-synth-pioneer-and-sequential-founder-dave-smith-has-passed-away/ Synths weren't all that popular amongst us metalheads when I was a teenager, but I've always had a fascination for sounds of all sorts, and eventually I outgrew the stereotypes. That being said, I knew nothing about synths themselves, but eventually, I started working with digital audio and I remember a Prophet patch in Native Instuments' Generator that I really dug, and the name stuck with me. Then they released their Pro-5 and I was over the moon. Besides Robert Moog, Smith and the Prophet are the first names I remember from when I started actually learning about synths and using synth sounds in my music. Sad day. But what a legacy! 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wookiee Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 Another music icon of the synth world RIP Mr Smith thank you for your work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Roseberry Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 Sad one for sure. The newly released Prophet 10 (and Prophet 5) are outstanding. Dave Smith somewhat recently collaborated with Tom Oberheim to release the Sequential OB6. Shame to see him pass... when there's somewhat of a renaissance with analog synths. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Nicholls Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 We will all be experiencing his aftertouch for many years to come 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBH Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 (edited) Sad news, have to agree that he brought real analogue back to the masses.......... again. Amazing guy. I've been wanting an OB6 since they first came out. Edited June 4, 2022 by RBH 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Everyone who uses MIDI in any capacity owes a debt to Dave Smith. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeGBradford Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Sad news indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aleo Posted June 7, 2022 Share Posted June 7, 2022 A great loss. Dave was such an innovator and a real pioneer in the area of MIDI technology, and he continued to be right through his last years. I mentioned in the Coffee House that you can find a great Panel Discussion that included Dave, Roger Lynn, and Tom Oberheim back at the 2015 Gearfest on the Sweetwater website. It's about 90 minutes long, but very interesting to listen to whether you are an old hand or new to electronic music and synths. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted June 11, 2022 Share Posted June 11, 2022 https://tapeop.com/blog/2022/06/09/remembering-dave-smith/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 I once read a Gearslutz thread where some pissant refuted a Dave Smith comment by posting "who the hell knows or cares who Dave Smith is?". I stopped hanging out on that forum soon after. This is for anyone who still doesn't know who the hell Mr. Smith was. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Would have liked to talk with him! One of my best encounters was to hang out with Robert Moog while we watched a friend's band. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 (edited) Now I am wondering where my first MIDI interface is. It was a Sequential (for the Commodore 64). That led me into dabbling with assembly language programming with MIDI on the C-64. The interface "manual" (more of a guide/booklet) had all I needed to understand how to access and send MIDI data using the chips. Not 100% sure, but I seem to recall it also had asm code segments (setting the chips, reading the registers, etc.). Thank you, Dave Smith! Edited June 18, 2022 by User 905133 removed a comma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Heh, I still remember mine! It was a too expensive Turtle Beach MIDI interface (with onboard General MIDI sounds!) that I used to help Greg betatest Cakewalk v1.0 with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitflipper Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 I had one of those too! I couldn't afford the full package, though, which included the cheapest POS MIDI keyboard ever made. Still, I was convinced that it was the future of electronic music. Fortunately, MIDI was becoming standard and it wasn't long before I had a proper synth (Jupiter 6) with a MIDI port on it. That's what I first recorded with in Cakewalk 1.0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBH Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 My first Midi device was an add on sequencer recorder on for my prophet 600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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