David Cockrell is a co-founder of EMS (Electronic Music Studios) in London, the company that created some of the most idiosyncratic and influential synthesizers of the late 1960s and 1970s alongside Peter Zinovieff and Tristram Cary.

Cockrell contributed to the VCS3 (Putney), a portable synthesizer with a distinctive matrix pinboard for patching instead of cables. The VCS3's raw, unpredictable character made it a favorite of Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

He also worked on the Synthi 100 ("Delaware"), a large-format studio system used by academic and broadcast institutions, and the Synthi AKS, a briefcase instrument with a touch keyboard and sequencer that extended EMS's reach to educators and experimental composers.

Notable products: EMS VCS3, Synthi 100, Synthi AKS.