In 2025 and 2026, the Dave Smith Instruments Prophet-6 and OB-6 each turn 10. I’ve been thinking a lot about the time spent developing them and wanted to document some of it. These synths delivered a one-two punch that elevated our little company to a new level of success and growth that continued with the Prophet Rev2 in 2017.

Here is Is It Vintage Yet? Celebrating 10 Years of a Modern Workhorse: The Sequential Prophet-6. I’ve also written a shorter-but-not-short companion piece, A Recollection of the OB-6 10 Years On.

In general, I made the assumption that if you’re here you’re probably at least somewhat synthesizer literate. If not, it could be a tough slog. I imagine that even some of you who are interested may still find it TL;DR.

Andrew McGowan
January 21, 2026