The Dave Smith Instruments Mopho SE was introduced in late 2013 as a special-edition expansion of the original Mopho concept: a compact, fully programmable, monophonic analog synthesizer built around two oscillators, sub-oscillators, a Curtis low-pass filter, extensive modulation, and a performance-oriented sequencer. What changed in the SE was not the underlying voice so much as the instrument around it. By giving the Mopho a larger 44-note semi-weighted keyboard, a more mature black-and-wood enclosure, and a front panel better suited to real-time work, DSI turned a clever compact mono into something closer to a serious stage and studio keyboard.
Sound and character
The Mopho SE sounds focused, muscular, and slightly hard-edged in a way that makes immediate sense for basses, leads, and sequenced patterns. Its basic voice architecture is not lush in the manner of a vintage polysynth, nor especially soft or romantic. Instead, it tends toward a direct, forward sound that sits well in dense arrangements and rewards deliberate programming.
Part of that identity comes from the combination of two oscillators, two sub-octave generators, and the switchable Curtis low-pass filter. The sub-oscillators give the instrument unusual physical weight for a compact mono. Bass patches can feel thick without turning vague, while leads cut with a distinctly electronic contour rather than a blurred analog haze. The filter helps here too: in 4-pole mode it can sound tighter and more assertive, while 2-pole mode opens the sound up a bit more and makes the instrument feel less closed-in.
The Mopho SE is also more versatile than its reputation sometimes suggests. It can do solid conventional monosynth duties, but it becomes more interesting when you lean into what makes the Mopho line specific: feedback, audio-rate modulation, sequencer-based motion, and the option to process external audio through its signal path. Those elements let it move from familiar bass-and-lead territory into more metallic, unstable, percussive, or harmonically abrasive sounds. Even then, it usually remains more controlled than chaotic. This is not an anarchic machine; it is a disciplined one with a taste for aggression.
Another key part of its character is the balance between precision and imperfection. The oscillators are accurate enough that the synth feels dependable and tight, but the Oscillator Slop function allows some controlled drift when a patch needs a little more movement. The result is a monosynth that rarely sounds floppy or diffuse. It stays articulate, which is one reason it works so well in modern electronic contexts as well as onstage.
Features and architecture
- Manufacturer: Dave Smith Instruments (now Sequential)
- Year introduced: 2013, with launch announcements in October and shipping expected at the end of that month
- Production years: Commonly listed on the secondary market as 2014–2016; officially discontinued today
- Synthesis type: Analog subtractive synthesis with a 100% analog signal path
- Category: Monophonic analog keyboard synthesizer
- Polyphony: Monophonic; expandable via Poly Chain with compatible DSI instruments
- Original price: US$949 at launch; contemporary UK coverage placed it at around £700
- Current market price: Used pricing varies by region and condition, but current secondary-market signals place it roughly in the mid-hundreds of US dollars, with Reverb browse pages also showing localized listings in the R$3,700 range
- Oscillators: 2 analog oscillators with sawtooth, triangle, saw/triangle, and variable pulse-width square waves, plus hard sync; 2 sub-octave generators; white noise generator
- Filter: Curtis low-pass filter, switchable 2-pole/4-pole, with audio-rate modulation and self-oscillation in 4-pole mode
- LFOs: 4
- Envelopes: 3 envelope generators (ADSR plus delay)
- Modulation system: 20 modulation sources and nearly 50 destinations, plus performance controls such as velocity, aftertouch, and assignable wheels
- Sequencer / arpeggiator: Gated 16 x 4 step sequencer and arpeggiator
- Effects: None onboard
- Memory: 3 banks of 128 user programs, for 384 total
- Keyboard: Full-sized 44-note semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and aftertouch
- Inputs / outputs: Stereo outputs, audio input, headphone output, sustain input, expression/CV input
- MIDI / USB: MIDI In, Out/Thru, Poly Chain, and USB MIDI
- Display: LCD-based editing and program display
- Dimensions / weight: Approximately 25.2” x 11.1” x 3.6”; 13.25 lbs
- Power: External power supply for 100–240V AC operation
Strengths
- A genuinely strong monosynth voice in a practical keyboard format. The original Mopho concept already had sonic authority, but the SE makes that engine easier to exploit musically because the extra octave changes how the instrument is actually played.
- Serious low-end authority. Two oscillators plus two dedicated sub-octaves give the instrument a weight that feels larger than its footprint, especially for bass lines and unison-style parts.
- Useful modulation depth for its class. The modulation matrix, four LFOs, three envelopes, sequencer routings, feedback, and audio-rate filter modulation give it much more design headroom than many comparably sized monosynths.
- Strong live-performance ergonomics. Velocity, aftertouch, real wheels, a compact chassis, and a more generous keyboard make it far more stage-usable than many small mono keyboards.
- External audio processing expands its role. The ability to run outside signals through the filter, VCA, and modulation architecture helps the instrument function as a sound-shaping tool, not just a note generator.
- A more mature industrial design than earlier Mophos. The darker finish, wooden side panels, and Prophet 12-style soft-touch knobs gave the SE a more refined presence than the bright-yellow earlier models.
Limitations
- It is still fundamentally monophonic. However deep the modulation is, the SE remains a one-note instrument unless expanded through Poly Chain, which limits its role for players who want self-contained harmonic capability.
- No onboard effects. That keeps the signal path honest, but it also means many users will want delay, reverb, or saturation downstream before the synth feels fully finished in a mix.
- The sequencer is powerful but not a full note sequencer in the conventional modern sense. It functions as parameter sequencing inside the synth architecture and does not transmit MIDI note data.
- Its sonic personality is not universally flattering. The Mopho sound can be punchy and vivid, but some players hear it as more controlled and less inherently “soulful” than certain VCO-based competitors.
- The interface reflects an earlier DSI era. It is more accessible than the desktop Mopho, but still not as immediate or visually generous as later Sequential instruments.
- Secondary-market identity can be confusing. Listings do not always describe it consistently, and buyers sometimes conflate the SE with the 32-key Mopho Keyboard or with the four-voice Mopho x4.
Historical context
The Mopho SE arrived during a moment when analog hardware had decisively returned, but affordability and portability were still major competitive questions. Dave Smith Instruments had already shown with the desktop Mopho that it was possible to offer a real analog monosynth at a much lower price than flagship instruments, while still keeping a substantial architecture. The original Mopho was explicitly framed as compact, affordable, and powerful, with a voice related to a single Prophet ’08 voice but modified for heavier bass through added sub-oscillators and feedback.
The SE did not reinvent that formula. Instead, it corrected one of its most obvious practical compromises. The 32-key Mopho Keyboard had already moved the platform toward performance, but the SE went further by giving players 44 full-sized semi-weighted keys, aftertouch, and a more polished chassis derived visually from the Mopho x4 and broader contemporary DSI design language.
That timing mattered. By late 2013 and early 2014, the market was full of small analog monosynths, but many of them forced a choice between compactness and playability. The Mopho SE was DSI’s answer to musicians who wanted the Mopho engine without treating it like a module with attached keys. In that sense, it was less a new synthesis statement than a usability statement.
Legacy and significance
The Mopho SE matters because it shows an often-overlooked stage in the history of modern analog revival: not the moment of technological return, but the moment of refinement. The desktop Mopho had already proven the concept. The SE asked a different question: what happens when you stop treating affordability as an excuse for awkwardness and instead build a better instrument around the same voice?
That shift is more significant than it may appear. Plenty of synths are memorable because they introduce a new architecture. Others matter because they reveal what a company has learned about musicians by the second or third iteration. The Mopho SE belongs to the second category. It did not change the underlying grammar of DSI synthesis, but it made the Mopho line feel more complete.
It also helped define a practical middle ground in the DSI catalog. It sat below the company’s larger and more expensive instruments, but it did not feel disposable. It offered real keyboard expression, real depth, and real performance value without asking buyers to step all the way up to a flagship poly. That is part of why it remains appealing now: it embodies a period when compact analog instruments were being taken seriously as professional tools rather than lifestyle objects.
There is also a cultural point here. The Mopho SE never became a mythic collector’s icon in the way some vintage monosynths did, and that is part of its significance. It belongs to the lineage of working instruments: synthesizers bought to be used, gigged, programmed, and folded into setups, not merely admired for rarity. In that sense, its legacy is quieter but more grounded.
Artists, users, and curiosities
Public artist documentation around the Mopho SE itself is thinner than around the standard Mopho Keyboard, which is interesting in its own right. The instrument has always had more of a working-player profile than a celebrity-aura profile. Current gear-tracking sources specifically associate the SE with names such as Eric Wilson and Biosphere, while the broader Mopho keyboard line appears in rigs connected to artists including Vince Clarke, Sufjan Stevens, Com Truise, and Gui Boratto.
One of the most memorable curiosities about the SE is visual rather than sonic: it effectively retired the most polarizing part of the original Mopho identity, namely the bright yellow case. In its place came a darker enclosure with wooden sides and Prophet 12-style knobs, making the instrument feel less like an eccentric budget box and more like a coherent member of the contemporary DSI family.
Another revealing detail is that the SE appeared only shortly after the Mopho x4. That made it feel, even on arrival, like a very deliberate repackaging of an established voice rather than the start of a new branch. For some players that limited its glamour. For others it was exactly the point: the Mopho sound, but in the form it arguably should have had earlier.
Market value
- Current market position: A discontinued DSI monosynth that is respected, somewhat overlooked, and more appreciated by informed buyers than by casual nostalgia hunters.
- New price signal: Launch price was US$949, which placed it above many entry-level monosynths but below larger DSI keyboards.
- Used market signal: Current used signals cluster in the mid-hundreds of US dollars, while Reverb’s localized Brazil-facing pages have shown listings around the upper-R$3,000 range.
- Availability: Not impossible to find, but clearly less common than more standard Mopho variants; some listings explicitly frame it as a rarer find.
- Buyer notes: It is worth confirming whether a listing is for the SE and not the earlier 32-key Mopho Keyboard. Keyboard size, enclosure style, and included power supply matter.
- Support ecosystem: Better than many discontinued synths in its bracket because Sequential still hosts documentation, sound-bank downloads, editor links, and legacy support materials.
- Ease of finding: Intermittent rather than constant. It appears often enough to remain attainable, but not so often that buyers can always wait for the perfect example.
- Long-term position: Not truly collectible in the inflated vintage sense, but also not disposable. It looks stable, undervalued, and likely to remain attractive to players who want a serious mono with a real keyboard.
Conclusion
The Mopho SE was not a revolution inside Dave Smith Instruments. It was something subtler and, in some ways, more useful: a refinement that made an already capable analog voice feel like a more complete instrument. Its importance lies in that combination of sonic weight, modulation depth, portability, and grown-up playability. It may never be the most romantic name in Sequential history, but it remains one of the clearest examples of how smart design changes can elevate a good synth into a durable one.