Dave Smith Instruments Retiring Five Synthesizers

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Dave Smith Instruments announced today that they are retiring five of their synthesizers. 

We’re retiring some of our much-loved but mature products — namely, Mopho, Mopho Keyboard, Mopho Keyboard SE, Tetra, and Evolver.

While each of these instruments is something of a classic in its own right, and each has found its place in countless studio recordings and stage performances, a time comes when every good synth deserves its place in the great electronic retirement community in the sky.

DSI notes that some stock for these synths may be available via dealers, which you can find via the Dealer Locator on their site.

35 thoughts on “Dave Smith Instruments Retiring Five Synthesizers

  1. I remember getting the evolver desktop synth direct from DSI in late 2004. My first analog. (I know it’s a hybrid digital/analog) I loved it so much then and love it now. Sits right next to my mopho keyboard. I run my guitar through the effects. And it sounds great in everything it does, is easy to program and can be brought with me everywhere. It’s indeed a sad day as this will no longer be available but it was sold new far longer than I would have guessed. Rip my friend and on to something new for DSI, hopefully at that price.

  2. My Mopho keyboard is my favorite piece of kit. Chained to my Mopho desktop it produces huge sounds.
    I presume the value of these units will start to increase from today. Unlike certain digital counterparts (Kore, anyone?) discontinuation of production does not spell the end of the gear’s usefulness.

  3. the mopho will be daves legacy, kids will be picking them up cheap in years to come and finding that inside that little yellow box is a whole lot of synth waiting to be discovered.

  4. At the time, the Mopho really seemed like an amazing bargain. I think it was the best value in inexpensive new analog synths when it came out. Still love mine.

  5. Except Evolver, these are all the same synth, just multiple voices. Considered Tetra for multiple output. But Tempest is probably better investment.

  6. These were all decent synths, but synth modules don’t sell, and DSI’s newer keyboards are dialed into the nostalgia that a lot of people want.

  7. Poly Evolver is still a classic, timeless synth with a unique sound and features. DSI removed the product page from their site awhile ago… but if you can find one 2nd hand, do yourself a favor and pick one up, especially if you can expand the polyphony. 8 or 12+ voices on a PEK simply sounds massive. 🙂

  8. Sold my mopho. The aftertouch mechanism of the keyboard is the best I’ve played. I didn’t like how you couldn’t tie notes on the sequencer. Sounded pretty good, but I think if they did a prophet 6 mono it’d be pretty good.

  9. Considering what is available, and DSI’s propensity to offer something that is slightly different than their current offerings, but compelling enough to convince you to drain your bank account again, my wild guess that is likely wrong would be a semi-modular monosynth based upon the prophet 6 architecture. It would reflect recent trends from the competition, and it would be enough to convince pro 2 owners they need this new one as well. Again, it is a guess, and I’m likely wrong.

  10. Does this make my Tetra and Mopho vintage synths? 🙂 Great machines that I love a lot. Powerful and great value even though they were lacking in the interface department is there anything that offers the same depth for that kind of money?

  11. This makes a lot of sense. The product line was becoming unwieldy for such a small company.

    That, and the new DSI stuff is great. I’m really hoping for updated versions of the Tempest and Evolver. A Pro2/Evolver mashup would be insane.

    The Evover will be very sought after one day. Such a unique and wonderful synth.

  12. I’ve long considered picking up a used Tetra, but always decide the Matrix1000s I own have that covered. Maybe I should check out the Evolver.

  13. OH NO! I was thinking of adding a MoPho to my current setup. I need a synth that is cheap, sounds great, but is easy to use and setup live. My hope was to literally velcro the MoPho to the top of my Korg Triton.

    I need to easily recall presets live. Of all of the digitally-controlled analog synths at this price range, what other manufacturers make anything like the MoPho?

  14. Thank god they finally ran out of PA397’s! Won’t miss any of those synths. As for what’s next it’s already I front of us… Pro 2, prophet 12 prophet 6. The 6 will most likely get a rack version. And maybe smaller/less voice versions. This is great to me. The VCO/VCF’s in pro 2 and prophet 6 are significantly better IMO

  15. I hope they make a sequel to the Tetra (tetr8/oct8? tetr16? sign me up!) – it’s an awesome and versatile instrument – 4 part multitimbral (and 4-way channel aftertouch) which is fun to sequence or play as a modular-style 4-voice with channel rotation and poly pressure, sequencing, sub-oscillator/feedback extending the prophet ’08 design – and it has flexible poly chain so you can use it to add 4 more voices to a prophet ’08 for example.

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