Dave Smith’s Mopho keyboard prototype wows analog fanboys at NAMM (video)

Dave Smith’s name is as revered in the synth business as those of Tom Oberheim and “Handsome Ron” Casio. Having had his hands in everything from the Prophet 5 synth to developing the MIDI specification to his own company (Dave Smith Instruments), the man has given electronic musicians plenty to be thankful for. The boutique’s latest, the Mopho Keyboard (seen here in prototype form at NAMM 2010) takes the existing Mopho synth module — a pretty sweet deal with its sub-octave generators, audio input (you know, for modulating stuff), and feedback options — and adds a thirty-two key keyboard and a whole mess of controls. Like original, this new Mopho has a 100 percent analog signal path, ships with a sound bank editor for both Windows and Mac, and it sounds pretty, pretty bad ass. Look for it in the near future for around $800. Video after the break.