Dave's Evolver Presentation from 2003

[Paul Dither]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cuQXSGnUnU

I recently came across the files that I merged for this video while strolling through the online archives. It's probably the first proper DSI demo still available on video.

The Evolver presentation is from 2003. It has been filmed by and at the Synthesiser Service Centre, London, UK, then UK distributor for Dave Smith's Evolver, Roger Linn's AdrenaLinn, and a wide range of digital audio products from Mutec GmbH.

The subpar quality results from the fact that the 10 parts this video consists of have originally been made available in the RealMedia format, the common streaming format in the olden days of the internet.

Dave Smith wrote a little note about this video on December 1, 2003:
"On a recent trip to London I was 'filmed' running through some Evolver basics. […] I was a bit haggard after finishing the Paris-Brest-Paris race a couple days prior, so pardon the monotone. Special thanks to David Croft at the Synthesizer Service Centre (our UK representative) for putting it all together!"
(From the ancient news section of the Dave Smith Instruments site.)

Sources:
https://web.archive.org/web/20041206091438/http://www.synthservice.com:80/downloads.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20070817230359/http://www.davesmithinstruments.com:80/other/news.html

[dslsynth]

Thanks a lot for posting this video. Certainly going to watch it more than once!

. o O ( Vintage Dave )

[Sacred Synthesis]

Fascinating find, Paul.  Thanks for the search.

You may remember in the early days that DSI had sold an hour-long or so interview with Dave.  At the time, only the Evolvers had been produced.  Dave offered his views on starting a very small synthesizer business and his intentions to keep it small.  But there was also a lot of Evolver talk and demonstrating of the instruments by Dave.  It was quite interesting.  The video was also available on YouTube.  I bought the DVD from DSI, but later sold it.  Then it was removed from YouTube, and I've never again been able to find a trace of it.  If you ever stumble across this interview in your searchings, I'd be thrilled to get another copy, or even watch it online.

https://web.archive.org/web/20070726050704/http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/images/DaveDVD.jpg

[Paul Dither]

I do remember that DVD. I joined the party too late to be able to obtain the video back in the day, but I still have the YouTube clip on a backup drive. The file is of inferior quality, though, due to its overall resolution and some obvious glitches resulting from bad video conversion.

In case anyone wonders what this DVD is about:



I'm sure there's still a copy around in the office, but for copyright reasons it might be a bit problematic to just upload it to YouTube.

[Sacred Synthesis]

I wondered if possibly Dave wanted it removed because he had changed his game plan by growing his company.  In the DVD, he made a convincing argument for keeping things to a bare minimum, which is rather funny by hindsight.

[Paul Dither]

I wondered if possibly Dave wanted it removed because he had changed his game plan by growing his company.  In the DVD, he made a convincing argument for keeping things to a bare minimum, which is rather funny by hindsight.

No, I don't think so. I doubt he could have handled the business any longer all by himself. And he still stuck to his basic philosophy, which is slow growth. After all, DSI is still pretty small compared to what they offer, nothing in comparison to what Sequential was at its commercial peak.

[Sacred Synthesis]

From what I remember of the interview, his intention was to have no employees, or perhaps only one.  I think the growth came somewhat unwillingly. 

[Paul Dither]

You can only do that so long, i.e. if you don't have that many customers to deal with or the gear you manufacture is relatively simple - both affect maintenance and support issues. I think the current employee number is somewhat around 14, which still is not a lot at all and translates to keeping things to a bare minimum. Most people I talk to from the synth community assume that at least 90 to 120 people would work for DSI.

[dslsynth]

Most people I talk to from the synth community assume that at least 90 to 120 people would work for DSI.

Maybe not everyone have discovered surface mount boards and outsourced instrument production yet?

And yes, DSI still seems to opt for the minimal setup.