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Sequential is an American
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the
Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential (company), Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and John S. Bowen (sound designer), John Bowen in 1977, who used Microprocessor, m ...
, the first programmable
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
synthesizer; it became a market leader and industry standard, used by artists including
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, and John Carpenter. In the 1980s, Sequential was pivotal in the development of
MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
, a
technical standard A technical standard is an established norm or requirement for a repeatable technical task which is applied to a common and repeated use of rules, conditions, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, ...
for synchronizing electronic instruments. In 1987, Sequential went out of business and was purchased by
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
. Smith continued to develop instruments through a new company, Dave Smith Instruments. In 2015, Yamaha returned the Sequential Circuits trademark to Dave Smith Instruments, which rebranded as Sequential in 2018. In 2021, Sequential was acquired by the British audio technology company Focusrite.


History


1974–1980: Founding, first products and Prophet-5

The engineer Dave Smith founded Sequential Circuits in San Francisco in 1974. The first Sequential Circuits product was an analog
sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...
for use with Moog and ARP synthesizers, followed by a digital
sequencer Sequencer may refer to: Technology * Drum sequencer (controller), an electromechanical system for controlling a sequence of events automatically * DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sam ...
and the Model 700 Programmer, which allowed users to
program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...
Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
and ARP 2600 synthesizers. The Model 800, launched in 1975, was controlled and programmed with a
microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...
. At the time, Smith had a full-time job working with microprocessors, then a new technology. He conceived the idea of combining them with synthesizer chips to create a programmable synthesizer, but did not pursue the idea, assuming Moog or ARP would design the instrument first. When no instrument emerged, in early 1977, he quit his job to work full-time on a design for the
Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential (company), Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and John S. Bowen (sound designer), John Bowen in 1977, who used Microprocessor, m ...
, the first fully programmable
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
synthesizer. He demonstrated it at
NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
in January 1978 and shipped the first models later that year. Whereas previous synthesizers required users to adjust cables and knobs to change sounds, with no guarantee of exactly recreating a sound, the Prophet-5 used
microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...
s to store sounds in patch memory. This facilitated a move from synthesizers creating unpredictable sounds to producing "a standard package of familiar sounds". The Prophet-5 became a market leader and industry standard, used by musicians such as
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, and
Dr Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...
, and by film composers such as John Carpenter. It was followed by the larger Prophet-10, which was less successful as it was notorious for unreliability. The smaller Pro-One, essentially a monophonic Prophet-5, saw more success.


1981–1982: MIDI

In 1981, Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of the Japanese synthesizer company
Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
, contacted Smith about creating a standardized means of synchronizing electronic instruments manufactured by different companies. Smith and Sequential engineer Chet Wood designed an interface using Roland's Digital Control Bus (DCB) as a basis. This standard was discussed and modified by representatives of Roland, Yamaha, Korg, and Kawai.Holmes, Thom. ''Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition''. New York: Routledge, 2003 The protocol was named Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) and unveiled by Kakehashi and Smith, who received Technical Grammy Awards in 2013 for their work. In 1982, Sequential released the Prophet 600, one of the first MIDI-equipped synthesizers.


1987: Closure

In 1987, Sequential Circuits went out of business. Smith blamed the decision to move to computer audio in 1985: "We were too small and under-capitalized, and we were a few years too early in the market ... It drained our resources, so by the time we pulled back to professional instruments, it was too late." Sequential Circuits was purchased by the Japanese corporation
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
; Yamaha shut it down in 1989, and released no products under its name. Smith moved to Korg, where he worked mainly on the
Wavestation The Korg Wavestation is a vector synthesis synthesizer first produced in the early 1990s and later re-released as a software synthesizer in 2004. Its primary innovation was Wave Sequencing, a method of multi-timbral sound generation in which di ...
synthesizer.


2002–2014: Dave Smith Instruments

In 2002, after several years working on software synthesis, Smith opened a new company, Dave Smith Instruments, to build new hardware. Its first product was the Evolver synthesizer in 2002. In 2008, Dave Smith Instruments launched the
Prophet '08 The Prophet '08 is a polyphonic analog synthesizer created by Dave Smith of St. Helena, California, US, for Dave Smith Instruments (DSI), released in late 2007. As with DSI's other instruments, the Prophet '08 uses analog subtractive synthesis, ...
, conceived as an affordable eight-voice analog synthesizer.


2015–present: Return to Sequential and Focusrite acquisition

In January 2015, Yamaha returned the Sequential Circuits brands to Smith in a goodwill gesture. This was at the encouragement of Kakehashi, who had worked with Smith to create MIDI. Kakehashi said: "I feel that it’s important to get rid of unnecessary conflict among electronic musical instrument companies. That is exactly the spirit of MIDI. For this reason, I personally recommended that the President of Yamaha, Mr. Nakata, return the rights to the Sequential name to Dave Smith." In 2015, Sequential released the Prophet-6, followed in 2018 by the Prophet-X, which featured
sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...
playback and digitally controlled oscillators. On August 31, 2018, the 40th anniversary of the Prophet-5, Dave Smith Instruments rebranded as Sequential. On September 30, 2020, Sequential announced an updated reissue of the original Prophet-5. Sequential reported revenues of $18.3 million in 2020. On 27, April 2021, Sequential announced that it had been acquired by the British audio technology company Focusrite. Smith died on 31 May, 2022.


List of products

*
Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential (company), Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and John S. Bowen (sound designer), John Bowen in 1977, who used Microprocessor, m ...
(1978–84, 2020–present) * Prophet-10 (1981–84, 2020–present) * Pro One (1981–84) * Fugue (1981–85) ''built by
Siel Societa Industrie Elettroniche (SIEL) was an Italian company that made electronic organs and synthesizers in the 1980s. Timeline of major products * 1979 - Orchestra (Divide down oscillator network for full poly. Brass/string/key/organ. ARP ...
'' * Prelude (1982) ''built by Siel'' * Prophet 600 (1982) * Prophet T-8 (1983) * Max (1984) *
Six-Trak The Six-Trak was an analogue synthesizer manufactured by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California and released in January 1984. It is notable for being one of the first multi-timbral synthesizers, equipped with MIDI and an on-board six-track ...
(1984) * Drumtraks (1984) * Multitrak (1985) *
Split-8 The Split-8 is a polyphonic analogue keyboard synthesizer manufactured by Sequential Circuits. Built in Japan and going by the alternative name Pro-8 in some markets, this was one of the last synthesizers produced by the company and was assigned ...
(1985) * TOM (1985) *
Prophet 2000 The Prophet 2000 is a sampler keyboard manufactured by Dave Smith's Sequential Circuits (SCI) and released in 1985. It was the company's first sampler, and, despite its low audio fidelity and technical limitations by modern standards, marked a sh ...
(1985–87) * Prophet-VS (1986–87) * Studio 440 (1987) As Dave Smith Instruments: * Evolver (2002) * Poly Evolver (2005) * Mono Evolver (2006) * Prophet 08 (2007–16) * Mopho (2008) * Tetra (2009) * Tempest (2011) ''co-created with
Roger Linn Roger Curtis Linn is an American designer of electronic musical instruments and equipment. He is the designer of the LM-1, the first drum machine to use samples, and the MPC sampler, which had a major influence on the development of hip ho ...
'' * Prophet 12 (2013) * Pro 2 (2014) As Sequential Circuits: * Prophet-6 (2015–present) * OB-6 (2015–present) * Prophet Rev2 (2017–present) * Prophet X (2018–present) * Pro 3 (2020–present) * Take 5 (2021–present) * Trigon (2022–present)


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Official website
{{Sequential Circuits Synthesizer manufacturing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in San Francisco Yamaha Corporation Manufacturing companies established in 1974 Electronics companies established in 1974 1974 establishments in California 1987 mergers and acquisitions 2021 mergers and acquisitions American brands