Sequential Circuits
Encyclopedia
Sequential Circuits Inc. (SCI) was a California
-based synthesizer
company that was founded in the early 1970s by Dave Smith
and sold to Yamaha Corporation in 1987. The company, throughout its lifespan, pioneered many groundbreaking technologies and design principles that are often taken for granted in today's greatly enhanced world of music technology. Sequential Circuits was also pivotal in the planning, design, and support of 1982's groundbreaking music technology, MIDI.
s and programmer devices
for third-party synthesizers.
Their first synthesizer, the brainchild of Dave Smith and John Bowen
was the very successful Prophet-5, released in 1978. This was the first affordable, fully programmable polyphonic
analog synthesizer, and became very popular in the early 1980s. In combining full microprocessor control with low-cost synthesizer module chips made by Solid State Music and later Curtis Electromusic, Sequential was able to make a relatively low-cost keyboard with five voices of polyphony. This revolutionary principle of combining five similar analog voices with easy editing and programming in one case became then the standard for a polyphonic instrument, making it possible to play real chords on a synth as e.g. on a piano. With the addition of patch storage (an innovation brought to reality by Dave Smith with assistance from E-mu
's Dave Rossum) the synthesist was able to cycle through many different (up to one-hundred) sounds in a sitting, without having to re-calibrate the instrument for every switch. These were very unexpected developments in the synthesizer industry, especially from a previously unknown company that operated out of a California garage. Dave Smith designed, programmed, and built the Prophet in less than eight months.
Sequential followed up this successful debut with a ten-voice version of the Prophet, Prophet-10 in 1980, coming in a massive dual-manual
package with a digital sequencer and the ability to play two different timbre
s at once. A monophonic version called the Pro-One followed, becoming particularly successful with sales of over 10,000 units.
Sequential was also instrumental in developing MIDI, and, in 1982, introduced the first MIDI synthesizer: the Prophet 600. At the January, 1983 NAMM convention, this instrument successfully communicated with a Roland Jupiter-6
synthesizer in the first public demonstration of the MIDI protocol.
In October 1983 (at the Goodman Music Expo), Hybrid Arts and Robert Moore demonstrated the first personal computer, the Atari 800 (8 bit computer with 48k of memory) communicating to a MIDI keyboard, which was the Prophet 600. The program, MidiTrack, included both a 16 Track, MultiTrack, MIDI Recorder/Sequencer and full graphic user interface (GUI), Synthesizer Programmer/Editor/librarian. All the knobs and switches of the Prophet 600 were displayed on the CRT of the Atari 800, even though the text-only Atari did not display graphics. Robert designed custom fonts to do the graphics and programming was done using a "Light Pen
". Over 1,000 "patches" (aka; programs) of the Prophet 600 could be stored on a single floppy disk. Hybrid Arts "MidiMate" (the first MIDI to personal computer interface) connected the Prophet 600 to the Atari 800 computer (no computers offered a MIDI interface). Robert Moore and his partner, Paul Rother designed the MidiMate and also jointly developed the MidiTrack program.
The Prophet-T8 (1983) featured an 76-note wooden keyboard (uneven A to C), and implemented a basic MIDI interface. It had an eight-voice structure that was similar to that of the Prophet 5. The weighted, velocity and aftertouch-sensitive
keyboard mechanism was so well-liked that New England Digital
adopted it for use in their Synclavier
workstations. Dave Smith himself keeps and maintains a T8 unit as the main controller keyboard in his home studio.
The Six-trak
(1984) was one of the first multi-timbral synthesizers, equipped with MIDI and an on-board six-track digital sequencer. It was designed as an inexpensive and easily portable 'scratch-pad' machine for trying out arrangements. New iterations of this technology appeared in the Multitrak and MAX keyboards, which also signaled an ill-fated leap into the undeveloped realm of computer-based editing and sequencing. Sequential's relatively unsuccessful experiment in this field set the stage for further financial troubles.
Sequential also released two drum machine
s: the Drumtraks and the TOM.
In late 1985, the Prophet 2000
sampler was released, along with their last analogue synthesizer
, the commercially unsuccessful Split-8
.
The Prophet VS vector synthesizer, which was Sequential's only digital synthesizer, came out in early 1986. Boasting a synthesis scheme known as vector synthesis
, it combined the revolutionary digital waveform generator and vector joystick to the tried and proven analog Curtis filter, and resulted in a unique instrument with a very distinct sound. It still sees heavy use today despite its reliance on rare custom components with a high failure rate.
The last Sequential Circuits instrument commercially released was the Studio 440. This $5000 unit looked like a drum machine and combined a sampler
and a sequencer to make a music composition workstation
. This preceded the release of the popular Akai MPC sequencers by several years, which were designed by Roger Linn
, a good friend and frequent collaborator of Dave Smith.
In 1987, the company was working on a 16-bit sampler called the Prophet 3000 but went out of business and was bought out by Yamaha. Yamaha then sold the few completed samplers for a very low price. Like most of the Sequential line, this sampler contained features that were far ahead of their time, such as automatic pitch detection, key-mapping, a remote control interface, and facilities for easily looping and trimming sampled sound. Many of these technologies were later included in Yamaha's A-series samplers.
R&D department. Dave Smith consulted with Korg at this time, and the powerful and memorable Korg Wavestation
synthesizer was born. These two synthesizer designs borrowed certain elements from the Prophet VS, but broke new ground in making full use of the new digital technology that had developed in the years since.
Sequential Circuits products are popular targets for simulation or emulation in software synthesizer
s, with companies such as Native Instruments
and SonicCore offering virtual instruments inspired by the Sequential designs. Various analog modeling synthesizers also include presets to emulate Sequential's signature sounds. For example, the Clavia Nord Lead
includes a preset patch bank which contains faithful recreations of the Prophet 5's factory sounds.
Today, Dave Smith operates Dave Smith Instruments, which manufactures, among other things, the Prophet '08, an update of Sequential Circuits' Prophet line; and the Tempest analog drum machine.
, in addition to a faux-Celtic font used for the model name.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
company that was founded in the early 1970s by Dave Smith
Dave Smith (engineer)
Dave Smith is an engineer and guitarist who pioneered many groundbreaking technologies in music technology. Smith was responsible for the first polyphonic and microprocessor-controlled synthesizer, the Prophet 5...
and sold to Yamaha Corporation in 1987. The company, throughout its lifespan, pioneered many groundbreaking technologies and design principles that are often taken for granted in today's greatly enhanced world of music technology. Sequential Circuits was also pivotal in the planning, design, and support of 1982's groundbreaking music technology, MIDI.
Products and innovations
Sequential's first products were sequencerMusic sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
s and programmer devices
Programmer (hardware)
In field of computer hardware, the term programmer, chip programmer or device programmer refers to a hardware device that configures programmable non-volatile circuits such as EPROMs, EEPROMs, Flashs, PALs, FPGAs or programmable logic circuits....
for third-party synthesizers.
Their first synthesizer, the brainchild of Dave Smith and John Bowen
John S. Bowen (sound designer)
John Scott Bowen is an American sound designer known for his early work with synthesizers.-Moog and Sequential Circuits:Bowen started out as the first official Moog clinician in 1973, demonstrating and contributing to designs for Moog Music. In 1976 he started working with Dave Smith to promote his...
was the very successful Prophet-5, released in 1978. This was the first affordable, fully programmable polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
analog synthesizer, and became very popular in the early 1980s. In combining full microprocessor control with low-cost synthesizer module chips made by Solid State Music and later Curtis Electromusic, Sequential was able to make a relatively low-cost keyboard with five voices of polyphony. This revolutionary principle of combining five similar analog voices with easy editing and programming in one case became then the standard for a polyphonic instrument, making it possible to play real chords on a synth as e.g. on a piano. With the addition of patch storage (an innovation brought to reality by Dave Smith with assistance from E-mu
E-mu Systems
E-mu Systems, Inc. is a synthesizer maker and pioneer in samplers and low-cost digital sampling music workstations.-History:Founded in 1971 by Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum, E-mu began making modular synthesizers...
's Dave Rossum) the synthesist was able to cycle through many different (up to one-hundred) sounds in a sitting, without having to re-calibrate the instrument for every switch. These were very unexpected developments in the synthesizer industry, especially from a previously unknown company that operated out of a California garage. Dave Smith designed, programmed, and built the Prophet in less than eight months.
Sequential followed up this successful debut with a ten-voice version of the Prophet, Prophet-10 in 1980, coming in a massive dual-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
package with a digital sequencer and the ability to play two different timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
s at once. A monophonic version called the Pro-One followed, becoming particularly successful with sales of over 10,000 units.
Sequential was also instrumental in developing MIDI, and, in 1982, introduced the first MIDI synthesizer: the Prophet 600. At the January, 1983 NAMM convention, this instrument successfully communicated with a Roland Jupiter-6
Roland Jupiter-6
The Roland Jupiter-6 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation introduced in 1983 as a less expensive alternative to the Roland Jupiter-8. The Jupiter-6 is widely considered a workhorse among polyphonic analog synthesizers, capable of producing a wide variety of sounds, such as...
synthesizer in the first public demonstration of the MIDI protocol.
In October 1983 (at the Goodman Music Expo), Hybrid Arts and Robert Moore demonstrated the first personal computer, the Atari 800 (8 bit computer with 48k of memory) communicating to a MIDI keyboard, which was the Prophet 600. The program, MidiTrack, included both a 16 Track, MultiTrack, MIDI Recorder/Sequencer and full graphic user interface (GUI), Synthesizer Programmer/Editor/librarian. All the knobs and switches of the Prophet 600 were displayed on the CRT of the Atari 800, even though the text-only Atari did not display graphics. Robert designed custom fonts to do the graphics and programming was done using a "Light Pen
Light pen
A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's CRT TV set or monitor. It allows the user to point to displayed objects, or draw on the screen, in a similar way to a touch screen but with greater positional accuracy...
". Over 1,000 "patches" (aka; programs) of the Prophet 600 could be stored on a single floppy disk. Hybrid Arts "MidiMate" (the first MIDI to personal computer interface) connected the Prophet 600 to the Atari 800 computer (no computers offered a MIDI interface). Robert Moore and his partner, Paul Rother designed the MidiMate and also jointly developed the MidiTrack program.
The Prophet-T8 (1983) featured an 76-note wooden keyboard (uneven A to C), and implemented a basic MIDI interface. It had an eight-voice structure that was similar to that of the Prophet 5. The weighted, velocity and aftertouch-sensitive
Keyboard expression
Keyboard expression often shortened to expression is the ability of a keyboard instrument to respond to the dynamics of the music or change the tone of the sound in response to the way that the performer depresses the keys of the musical keyboard...
keyboard mechanism was so well-liked that New England Digital
New England Digital
New England Digital Corp. , founded originally in Norwich, Vermont and eventually relocated to White River Junction, Vermont, was best known for its signature product, the Synclavier Synthesizer System, which evolved into the Synclavier Digital Audio System or "Tapeless Studio." The company sold...
adopted it for use in their Synclavier
Synclavier
The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation, manufactured by New England Digital Corporation, Norwich, VT. The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of...
workstations. Dave Smith himself keeps and maintains a T8 unit as the main controller keyboard in his home studio.
The Six-trak
Sequential Circuits 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 digital sequencer, hence the name. It was designed as...
(1984) was one of the first multi-timbral synthesizers, equipped with MIDI and an on-board six-track digital sequencer. It was designed as an inexpensive and easily portable 'scratch-pad' machine for trying out arrangements. New iterations of this technology appeared in the Multitrak and MAX keyboards, which also signaled an ill-fated leap into the undeveloped realm of computer-based editing and sequencing. Sequential's relatively unsuccessful experiment in this field set the stage for further financial troubles.
Sequential also released two drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
s: the Drumtraks and the TOM.
In late 1985, the Prophet 2000
Sequential circuits prophet 2000
The Prophet 2000 was a sampler synth created by Sequential Circuits as its first full digital musical instruments. Introduced in 1985, it contained by today's standards, a puny 256k to 512k. Most of the sounds generated or music recorded had to be stored onto a floppy disk that could be inserted...
sampler was released, along with their last analogue synthesizer
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
, the commercially unsuccessful Split-8
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 model number 608. It was released in 1985 at a list...
.
The Prophet VS vector synthesizer, which was Sequential's only digital synthesizer, came out in early 1986. Boasting a synthesis scheme known as vector synthesis
Vector synthesis
Vector Synthesis is a type of audio synthesis introduced by Sequential Circuits in the Prophet VS synthesizer during 1986. The concept was subsequently used by Yamaha in the SY22/TG33 and similar instruments and by Korg in the Wavestation....
, it combined the revolutionary digital waveform generator and vector joystick to the tried and proven analog Curtis filter, and resulted in a unique instrument with a very distinct sound. It still sees heavy use today despite its reliance on rare custom components with a high failure rate.
The last Sequential Circuits instrument commercially released was the Studio 440. This $5000 unit looked like a drum machine and combined a sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
and a sequencer to make a music composition workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
. This preceded the release of the popular Akai MPC sequencers by several years, which were designed by Roger Linn
Roger Linn
Roger Linn is an industrial designer, mainly of electronic drum machines, and has recently branched out into guitar effects pedals. His products have become underground hits, being used on many famous recordings...
, a good friend and frequent collaborator of Dave Smith.
In 1987, the company was working on a 16-bit sampler called the Prophet 3000 but went out of business and was bought out by Yamaha. Yamaha then sold the few completed samplers for a very low price. Like most of the Sequential line, this sampler contained features that were far ahead of their time, such as automatic pitch detection, key-mapping, a remote control interface, and facilities for easily looping and trimming sampled sound. Many of these technologies were later included in Yamaha's A-series samplers.
Legacy
Support for Sequential Circuits instruments is now provided by Wine Country, which is run by ex-sequential employee Dave Sesnak. After a short stint at Yamaha, which bore fruit in the form of the SY22 and TG33 vector synthesizers, several members of the Sequential team became part of the KorgKorg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
R&D department. Dave Smith consulted with Korg at this time, and the powerful and memorable Korg Wavestation
Korg 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 different PCM waveform data are played successively,...
synthesizer was born. These two synthesizer designs borrowed certain elements from the Prophet VS, but broke new ground in making full use of the new digital technology that had developed in the years since.
Sequential Circuits products are popular targets for simulation or emulation in software synthesizer
Software synthesizer
A software synthesizer, also known as a softsynth is a computer program or plug-in for digital audio generation. Computer software which can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed are allowing softsynths to accomplish the same tasks that previously required dedicated...
s, with companies such as Native Instruments
Native Instruments
Native Instruments is a technology company that develops software and hardware for music production and DJing. The company has originally been identified mostly with software instruments, but has also expanded to various other music equipment segments in recent years.Current products of Native...
and SonicCore offering virtual instruments inspired by the Sequential designs. Various analog modeling synthesizers also include presets to emulate Sequential's signature sounds. For example, the Clavia Nord Lead
Clavia Nord Lead
Clavia Nord Lead is a virtual analog subtractive synthesizer, which was developed in Sweden, being released to the public by Clavia in 1995.The Nord Lead was the first synthesizer on the market to emulate analog synthesis. The now widely accepted term "virtual analog", was first coined by Clavia...
includes a preset patch bank which contains faithful recreations of the Prophet 5's factory sounds.
Today, Dave Smith operates Dave Smith Instruments, which manufactures, among other things, the Prophet '08, an update of Sequential Circuits' Prophet line; and the Tempest analog drum machine.
Other
The Sequential Circuits logo makes use of the Stop font designed by Aldo NovareseAldo Novarese
Aldo Novarese was an Italian type designer who lived and worked mostly in Turin where he produced an impressive number of unique designs.-Training and Career:...
, in addition to a faux-Celtic font used for the model name.
Sequential Circuits products
- Model 600 (1974) – analog sequencer
- Model 800 (1975) – digital sequencer
- Model 700 (1977) – programmer
- Prophet-5 (1978):
- The Prophet-5 was Smith's first commercialized product and was first introduced by Sequential Circuits in 1978. The Prophet 5 was a 5-voice analog synthesizer, and groundbreaking in that it was one of the first analog synthesizers to implement patch memory, a feature which scanned the settings of every parameter on the synthesizer and stored it into internal memory. The Prophet-5 was in production from 1978–1984, and sold approximately 8,000 units.
- Fugue (1979) – ensemble keyboard consists with polyphonic and solo synth, designed by SCI and built by SielSielSocieta Industrie Elettroniche was an Italian company that made electronic organs and synthesizers in the 1980s.- Timeline of major products :* 1979 - Orchestra Societa Industrie Elettroniche (SIEL) was an Italian company that made electronic organs and synthesizers in the 1980s.- Timeline of...
- Prophet-10 (1980):
- The Prophet-10 was essentially 2 Prophet-5s in one big (and heavy!) enclosure. There were two 5-octave keyboards, allowing the musician to play two different sounds at one time. It also included a polyphonic sequencer module, with its own tape backup module, and up to 10,000 note storage. With the sequencer option, it sold for US $9,000, and less than 1,000 were made.
- Pro-One (1980)
- Pro-FX (1982) – the first programmable modular effects units
- Prelude (1982) – 4 section orchestral synthesizer, manufactured by Siel; a silk screen variation of Orchestra 2 and OR400
- Prophet 600 (1982) – the first MIDI synthesizer
- Prophet Remote (1982) – remote keyboardKeytarA keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...
for Prophet-5 - Prophet T8 (1983) – The first "piano action" MIDI synthesizer
- Six-trakSequential Circuits Six-TrakThe 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 digital sequencer, hence the name. It was designed as...
(1984) – The first multi-timbral synthesizer - Drumtraks (1984)
- MAX (1984) – 6 voice synthesizer controlled by external PC
- Multi-Trak (1985) – the first multi-timbral synthesizer
- Split-8Split-8The 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 model number 608. It was released in 1985 at a list...
/ Pro-8 (1985) - TOM (1985)
- Prophet 2000Sequential circuits prophet 2000The Prophet 2000 was a sampler synth created by Sequential Circuits as its first full digital musical instruments. Introduced in 1985, it contained by today's standards, a puny 256k to 512k. Most of the sounds generated or music recorded had to be stored onto a floppy disk that could be inserted...
(1985) – 12bit sampler - Prophet VS (1986) – The first vector synthesizer
- Studio 440 (1986) – sequencing/sampling drum and music production machines
- Prophet 3000 (1987) – Final Sequential Circuits product