Dave Smith, a renowned engineer who revolutionized modern music by helping create the Prophet-5 synthesizer that became a staple in 1980s pop music, has passed away at the age of 72.
According to the Washington Post, Smith also contributed to the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) electronic system that let drum machine, keyboards and sequencers talk to one another.
The engineer died on May 31 at a hospital in Detroit, Michigan. His wife Denise confirmed the tragic news, citing complications from a heart attack as his cause of death.
Smith was reportedly in the city to attend the Movement electronic music festival.
The inventor initially worked in the aerospace industry, but he became fascinated with instruments. He purchased a Minimoog synthesizer and built his sequencer to program it.
In a previous interview, Smith said when the Minimoog first came out, people thought it was broken.
"When the Minimoog first came out, since it had a keyboard on it, a lot of people would go up to it, and the first thing they'd do is play a chord, and only one note would play, and they'd go, 'What's going on? Is this broken?' "
He quit his job in 1974 to focus on building a line of synthesizers.
The experiment resulted in the Model 600, an instrument that allowed musicians to program melodic and rhythmic patterns.
The Prophet line of synthesizers was designed by Smith and John Bowen for the former's Sequential Circuits company in the late 1970s. Deadline reported that his company is still operating today.
By the 80s, the instrument was commercially marketed to the public. Their synthesizers were unique and were a hit at the time because musicians who used them could play harmony and full chords.
Each unit had a unique programmable memory that helped users to store and reuse sounds they had recorded in the past.
The Prophet-5 synthesizer became a part of some of the most iconic and chart-topping songs like 1982's "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, 1984's "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, "Abacab" by Genesis, and many more.
It was also used in different scores for movies.
His company was purchased by Yamaha in 1987, leading him to work for Korg where he invented the Wavestation. The instrument was used by bands like Genesis and Depeche Mode.
He established another company in 2002 called Dave Smith Instruments. He released the Mopho monophonic synthesizer, a cheaper alternative for the Prophet.
Smith was able to obtain the rights of his Sequential Circuits again in 2014.
Smith is survived by his wife Denise and their children, Haley and Campbell.
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