Rodgers Instruments

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Rodgers Instruments LLC designs and manufacturers classical organs, using digital technology. Their range includes both pipe organs and electronic organs of all sizes, and also hybrid instruments combining both technologies. Rodgers was founded in 1958 by Rodgers W. Jenkins and Fred Tinker, employees of Tektronix, Inc., of Portland, Oregon and members of the Tektronix team that was developing transistor-based oscillator circuits. It was the first electronic organ builder to use solid-state oscillators. Although it did not introduce digital sampling in church organs, it was, however, the first company to use a software-based system to reproduce pipe organ sounds. It is the only digital organ company in the United States that uses stereo sampling techniques of organ pipes.

Until recently, smaller models of electronic and hybrid organs were supplied as standard models off the shelf, while larger models and pure pipe organs were custom designed. Today, Rodgers' Trillium Masterpiece instruments are custom designed through Rodger's Organ Architect, while some models remain as standard designs. Following several purchases, they are now the largest manufacturer of pipe organs in the world.

Their primary factory is located in Hillsboro, Oregon with additional manufacturing done in Japan and Italy. In 1977 Rodgers became part of CBS Musical Instruments along with Steinway & Sons pianos, Fender guitars, Rhodes electric pianos, Gemeinhardt flutes, and a number of other instrument brand names. In 1985 CBS divested itself of Rodgers, along with Steinway and Gemeinhardt, all of which were purchased by Steinway Musical Properties. Rodgers is now a subsidiary of the Roland Corporation since 1987.

Organist Virgil Fox brought Rodgers organs into the limelight when in the late 1960s and early 1970s he used a Rodgers Touring Organ, built in 1966 and known as "Black Beauty," for his "Heavy Organ" concerts, including a 1970 all Bach performance with light show at the Fillmore East Auditorium in New York.