They were not very different from the earlier Ace Tone machines, but had a place in the home-organ market. Rhythm 77) was the first ever Roland product in 1972, launched as the flagship alongside the TR-33 and TR-55. Japan’s First Synth And The Early Years (1973-1979) In 1972 he left Ace Electronic Industries and started Roland Corporation with a capital of ¥ 33 million (€ 250,000) and sales offices in Osaka and Tokyo. Kakehashi’s eyes, by now highly trained in the art of business, were since the beginning focusing on the global market.
MANUAL KORG POLY 800 PORTABLE
They designed, built and released the Ace Tone GT-7 portable organ in 1971, which later became the Hammond X-5. In 1968 Kakehashi joined with the Hammond International Company and formed Hammond Japan. It was a giant leap forward compared to previous units and became an instant success.īetween 19 Ace Tone produced several popular organs of all sizes, including the multitude of “TOP”-series portable combo organs. The preset-program Ace Tone FR1 Rhythm Ace changed all that in 1967.
These machines were huge, heavy and so expensive that only very select musicians could afford them. The early days of drum machines include electro-mechanical monsters like Rhythmicon in 1931, Chamberlin Rhythmate in 1947, and the Wurlitzer Sideman in 1959. The company used the trade-name Ace Tone, and one of the first products was a spinet organ called TO-1 which supposedly stood for transistor organ.Īce Tone’s designs quickly diversified to include amplifiers, effects and drum machines such as the R1 Rhythm Ace in 1964, the world’s first fully transistorized rhythm unit. Three years later he designed and built his first electric organs, and that led to the foundation of Ace Electronic Industries Inc.
This was also a highly sought after trade in a war-torn Japan, and he started Kakehashi Radio Electrical Appliance Store in 1954. However, young Ikutaro was more inspired by retrieving parts from broken radios and building new ones, and as his business got better, changed discipline and moved towards electronics. After loosing his parents in young years and surviving tuberculosis, he started his own watch-repair business at the age of sixteen. The first part of this story begins in 1930 in Osaka, Japan, with the birth of Ikutaro Kakehashi. Ikutaro Kakehashi was the founder of Roland Corporation, and Tadao Kikumoto was the chief designer of the infamous TB-303 and TR-909, later on to become chairman of the highly successful multinational Roland Group. That might seem a little strange considering that these two men have made essential technological contributions to electronic music in particular, and music engineering in general. It would be reasonable to say that Ikutaro Kakehashi and Tadao Kikumoto are not household names, even amongst people in the business. How Japanese Engineering Changed The Sound Of The World