Dave Smith

Dave Smith was the founder of Sequential Circuits and inventor of the polyphonic synthesizer, the Prophet 5. Dave was also the designer and original pioneer of MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) technology. Dave became a part of an active group of innovators in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s who sought to create new electronic sounds and easier and more consistent methods to play them. The technology for MIDI was not very complicated according to Dave; the challenge was in getting so many companies from the United States and Japan to agree to the protocol. The arrangement took place during two NAMM shows beginning in 1983.