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SEQUENTIAL/DSI => General => Topic started by: cbmd on June 01, 2022, 04:12:27 PM

Title: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: cbmd on June 01, 2022, 04:12:27 PM
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Dave Smith's death. He was a tremendous individual, brilliant engineer, and visionary of music technology. We hope you hold some space in your heart to preserve our dear friend's memory and legacy.

www.sequential.com
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: LPF83 on June 01, 2022, 04:17:47 PM
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Dave Smith's death. He was a tremendous individual, brilliant engineer, and visionary of music technology. We hope you hold some space in your heart to preserve our dear friend's memory and legacy.

www.sequential.com

I don't even know what to say right now, aside from just choking back any thoughts about my own emotions right now and wishing my sincere condolences to all who knew him, or simply felt connected to him through to the magical musical instruments he created.  To say he will be missed is like the understatement of a lifetime. 
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: LoboLives on June 01, 2022, 04:45:14 PM
A legacy and mind that will never be equaled in music or synthesis. R.I.P. to the absolute king.

Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Sacred Synthesis on June 01, 2022, 04:49:17 PM
Goodness gracious...no.  I'm speechless. 

Thank you, Dave, for making exceptional musical instruments that changed peoples' lives, including my own.  And thank you, Sequential staff, for being the sort of talented people that could bring his brilliant ideas to life.   

Dave Smith, requiescat in pace.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: chysn on June 01, 2022, 04:59:34 PM
All you can ask for is to leave the world a better place than it was. Dave Smith certainly did that.

Condolences to his family and his staff at Sequential.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: marzzz on June 01, 2022, 05:13:46 PM
I am utterly stunned. I was looking forward to chatting with him later this week.

RIP
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: leroysdog on June 01, 2022, 05:23:39 PM
Love DSI/Sequential synths. Dave Smith will be missed
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: backdoorranky on June 01, 2022, 05:33:00 PM
RIP legend  :'(
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Jonas on June 01, 2022, 07:36:51 PM
Such sad and heartbreaking news.  His instruments will be with me forever.  I'll be toasting him across from his office at Tony Nik's.  It's really difficult to hear this... don't know how to take it. Such a talented and good natured person.  Very sad that we lost Dave. God bless him.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: thedigitalman on June 01, 2022, 07:44:43 PM
Dave changed the world and my life forever. The world has lost a great innovator!
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Gerry Havinga on June 02, 2022, 01:15:33 AM
Such sad news, rest in peace Dave. Condolences to family, friends and colleagues.

The Rev2 was my first analog synth and it still has a very proud place in my studios, next to the Prophet X, Pro3 and Evolvers.

A few weeks ago I played the Rev2 live for the very first time. A real honor to be able to play an instrument designed by Dave.

Thank you Dave for all your work and astounding innovations.

Love you forever.

Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: jok3r on June 02, 2022, 02:35:33 AM
RIP and condolences to his family inside and especially outside of Sequential.

I'm really shocked, to be honest. He didn't look the bad in the videos from 10 days ago. How did that happen so fast?
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: lvbeethoven on June 02, 2022, 04:07:18 AM
Thank you for all Mr. Smith, my most sincere respectful thoughts.  :'(

Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: pnadora2 on June 02, 2022, 04:15:54 AM
Really sad to hear this. My deepest condolences to his family and his friends!

Noone will ever know how music today would sound without his groundbreaking work and influence on more than one generation of artists and music technology companies. I am very happy to now call one of his cretations my own and it makes me happy everytime I use it.
So thanks Dave for your influence on the small scale, by enriching my amateur/hobby musicianship, as well as on the big scale, by driving a whole industry forward.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Callsign 66 on June 02, 2022, 08:21:25 AM
 :'(  There are no words.  Long live the Synth Prophet.  

We raise our glasses, to the one and only

DAVE SMITH!!!!!



Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Manbird on June 02, 2022, 08:57:38 AM
Dave has been such a vibrant character, and I think we all imagined he' d be with us for another 100 years. Sending love to his family and friends and the Sequential crew.

The Pro One was my first synth, and Sequential has always held top rank in my synth life. I'm surrounded by Sequential and DSI gear and my wife has a P5 (and Poly Sequencer) that came from Terry Riley. Dave's creations have a true living spirit in them. We'll raise our tea cups in tribute to the epic and eternal Dave Smith.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: SynthMarc76051 on June 02, 2022, 12:25:27 PM
Dear Dave,


You made my pandemic not just bearable but joyous. I love my Prophet X and is beautiful lushness. I love your positive and upbeat attitude. Love how you teamed up with Tom and helped him get back into making synths under the Oberheim name. I feel like the wind has been knocked out of all of us.

Prayers to your family and to all of Sequential. I hope the company presses on and not only honors your legacy but continues to produce great, quality instruments that continue to inspire all of us.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Sacred Synthesis on June 02, 2022, 12:49:17 PM
Yes, that's another virtue on Dave's part - his kind-heartedness towards Tom in helping him to get back into the field.  He didn't have to do that, but he chose to.
Title: WHAT?!?!?
Post by: Morgenspaziergang on June 02, 2022, 02:45:06 PM
What can I say that has not already been said about this man. I have owned several of his synths over the years , sold them all and eventually got the new P10 rev4. In the video he made for this synth, you can see (at least to me) that this was something he really loved bringing to his fans. I am so honored to own one and will cherish this synth in new ways now.

Salute to Mr. Dave  "MIDI" Smith. My man... 8)
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: thaJeztah on June 02, 2022, 05:39:17 PM
Really sad news; wishing strength to his family, friends and colleagues 😢
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: jg666 on June 03, 2022, 10:43:32 AM
Only just seen this news, very shocked and saddened. He always struck me as being a very nice man as well as a genius in his chosen field.

My best wishes to all his family and all his "extended family" on these forums.

Edit - also must give my best wishes to all the team at Sequential who must all be devastated
.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Derek Cook on June 04, 2022, 03:18:50 AM
My sincere condolences to Dave's family, friends and colleagues in the industry.

I think it is fair to say that Dave was a giant in the synth industry, who innovated and shaped much that we use today, which is a tremendous legacy.

2022 has not been a good year in terms of the giants in music (players like Vangelis and Alan White and now innovators like Dave) who have left us.

It took me a long time to plunge into the world of Sequential (thanks to a Prophet X bargain that was too good to miss), but I am glad I have made the journey.

RIP Dave
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Mr Kay on June 04, 2022, 02:08:49 PM
All my condolences for his family an the Sequential team.

Thanks for everything, Dave...
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: bass2rez on June 05, 2022, 04:33:12 AM
I am very saddened to hear this news. My sincerest condolences to Dave's family, friends and colleagues at this upsetting time. After many years of saving, I managed to buy myself a Prophet~6 last year and that synthesizer is everything I every hoped it would be, a wonderful instrument. 

Dave was a true synthesizer pioneer and he will be sorely missed.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: kpatz on June 05, 2022, 06:59:46 AM
SFGate article on Dave Smith: https://www.sfgate.com/local/amp/San-Francisco-synthesizer-designer-Dave-Smith-obit-17215048.php

Obituary on legacy.com: https://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/dave-smith-1950-2022-synthesizer-pioneer/
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Paul Dither on June 06, 2022, 12:49:19 PM
Last week's news hit hard.  Dave has played a significant and inspiring role during my musical journey, right from the point at which I, as a teenager, spent my summer job earnings on my first proper synth, a Korg Wavestation.  And thanks to an even greater invention he initiated, I was finally able to hook up my Wavestation to a Kawai Q-80 MIDI sequencer, so I could record tracks early 'bedroom studio style.'  Through countless records and keyboard magazine articles I also learned that Dave designed quite a few classic synths whose sound I was really fond of, such as the Prophet-5/10 and the Pro One.

Fast forward to 2013, the Prophet '08 marked my return to hardware synths after having spent years 'in the box'—somewhat echoing Dave's sentiment that operating synths with a mouse in front of a computer screen is not so much fun after all.  Two years and several of his creations later I ended up translating manuals for Dave Smith Instruments and was eventually asked whether I would fancy designing sounds for new and upcoming synths, something my teenage self could never have imagined.  I first met Dave (and his cat) in person when I was doing a Q&A session with him via Skype at the SAE Institute in front of the then newly founded Nashville Electronic Music & Synthesizer Group.  After we chatted for about 90 minutes, everyone in the room agreed on him being a truly approachable character and downright fun to talk to.  Even better yet, he enjoyed it too, as he would let me know three years later at Superbooth19.

On that occasion, he pointed to the empty spot right next to him on the sofa in the Sequential booth, looked at me and said: "Hey Mike, I've got a question for you," which in my mere mortal ears rather sounded like "Son, thou shall pass the doors to the synth pantheon," immediately followed by the thought that I should better not mess this up.  It turned out that he wanted to ask me about my thoughts on revisiting the Prophet-5.  Instead of jumping about in sheer enthusiasm, I just replied with a sober "Why? I thought you had no interest in revisiting the past," only to realize that I probably blew it after those words slipped out.  Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and he even examined a synth mockup I came up with.

Later on, we would hang out with Ken MacBeth after we witnessed the latter's rousing and hilarious performance with FucKETy BuCkEty (featuring T.Raumschmiere and St.John Mantle).  The three-piece band performed on the lake stage and towards the end of the set, Ken would jump into the water on his way to the audience and yet again on his way back to the stage.  After the gig, Dave walked up to a fully drenched Ken MacBeth, telling him how cool he thought the performance had been.  It became not only obvious to me that Dave couldn't say no to a great party, but that he was also very humble.  On the next day, for example, he would tell me how much respect he had for "true engineers" (as he put it) like Dave Rossum while underlining the brilliance of the designs of the former-competitor-turned-friend.

I last met Dave at Superbooth22.  When I spotted him, he looked rather frail to me, but a very warm welcome pushed away my initial concerns.  After asking me what I had been up to since the last time we met, he told me that working on the Prophet-5 Rev4 kept him sane during the pandemic and how much he enjoyed not having to act as Sequential's CEO any longer because this would allow him to focus on what he liked best, namely designing new instruments.  Relaxed and gentleman-like as ever, he shared some intricacies of the collaborative design process that led up to the OB-X8 and highlighted how much he was looking forward to continuing working on new and innovative synths again soon.  His still ongoing drive was reflected in the last three words he directed at me before I had to leave the booth: "See you later."—Indeed, Dave, see you later.

My condolences go out to Dave's family and friends as well as everyone at Sequential.
Title: Re: Remembering Dave Smith 1950-2022
Post by: Sacred Synthesis on June 12, 2023, 02:49:02 PM
I never made a special piece of music in memory of my synthesizer hero, Dave Smith.  I only made this little piece for his birthday, for which he was kind enough to personally thank me by email.  It was an honor.  I do miss the guy....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9hOyVZZibg