Roland Corporation

Roland Corporation
Public (K.K.)
Traded as TYO: 7944
Industry Electronics
Founded Osaka, Japan (April 18, 1972)
Headquarters Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
Key people
Ikutaro Kakehashi
Products Musical instruments, Audio/Video, Electronics, Computer-related products
Number of employees
3,060 (2013)
Website roland.com
Roland E09 keyboard

Roland Corporation (ローランド株式会社 Rōrando Kabushiki Kaisha) is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005, Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Italy, Taiwan, Japan, and the USA. As of March 31, 2010, it employed 2,699 employees.[1] It has existed in different forms since 1960, making it relatively old among still-operating manufacturers of musical electronics. Known for hundreds of popular synthesizers, drum machines, and other instruments, Roland has been one of the top names in professional music equipment since the late 1970s.

Origin of the Roland name

Kakehashi founded Ace Electronic Industries in 1960, a manufacturer of numerous combo organs, guitar amplifiers, and effects pedals. He was also contracted by Hammond to produce rhythm machines for the company's line of home organs. In 1973, Kakehashi cut ties with both companies to found Roland.

As with many Japanese start-ups of the period, the name Roland was selected for export purposes as Kakehashi was interested in a name that was easy to pronounce for his worldwide target markets. Rumour has long circulated that he named his company after the French epic poem La Chanson de Roland. In reality, the name Roland was found in a telephone directory. Kakehashi opted for it as he was satisfied with the simple two-syllable word and its soft consonants. The letter "R" was chosen because it was not used by many other music equipment companies, and would therefore stand out in trade show directories and industry listings. Kakehashi did not learn of "The Song Of Roland" until later.[2]

Brands

Roland markets products under a number of brand names, each of which are used on products geared toward a different niche.[3]

At one point, Roland acquired the then-defunct Rhodes name, and released a number of digital keyboards bearing the Rhodes brand, but it no longer owns the name. The late Harold Rhodes regained the right to the name in 2000. Rhodes was dissatisfied with Roland's treatment of the marque, and had plans to re-introduce his iconic electric piano, but died before he was able to bring it to market.[5]

Timeline of noteworthy products

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

Roland D-50

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

DIGITAL RECORDERS

HOME/ACCOMPANIMENT PRODUCTS

GUITAR SYNTHS

MASTER KEYBOARDS

PIANOS

RHYTHM PRODUCTS

SAMPLERS

SEQUENCERS

SOUND CANVASES

SYNTHS & HI-TECH

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004 AMPS, MIXERS & SPEAKERS

DIGITAL ACCORDIONS FR5 & FR7 DIGITAL RECORDERS & MIXERS

EDIROL PRODUCTS

GUITAR SYNTHS

HOME/ARRANGER KEYBOARDS

ORGANS

PIANOS

RHYTHM PRODUCTS

SYNTHS & HI-TECH

Roland Fantom X6 Top View

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2014

As of May 23rd 2015, SubBass Academy of Electronic Music will be hosting the world's first Roland certified Aira Academy.[13] David Barnard, Roland's education consultant said he was delighted to welcome SubBass as the world’s first AIRA Academy and looks forward to developing a range of courses that balance technical knowledge with musical know-how. [14]

References

  1. Roland Corporate Data
  2. I Believe In Music, Ikutaro Kakehashi with Robert Olsen, 2002. p. 64
  3. "Brands and Business Domains".
  4. "Roland rebrands for the future".
  5. "Biography of Harold Rhodes".
  6. 6.0 6.1 Sound On Sound Magazine – The History of Roland (Part I)
  7. MATRIXSYNTH: Multivox CB-50
  8. Synclavier Early History – In 1975, New England Digital released "ABLE computer" which utilized Data General's microprocessor. It was developed to control "Dartmouth Digital Synthesizer" without expensive mainframe computer, and later these pair became Synclavier.
  9. In truth, Roland was in a late-started group within the guitar synthesizer manufacturers.
    One of world first guitar synthesizer may be Innovex's "Condor GMS" released around 1970. (Note: Innovex was a joint venture company of Hammond and Ovation)
    After then, before 1977, Ludwig Phase II (1971) , EMS Synthi Hi-Fli (formerly Sound Freak (1973)) , 360 systems slavedriver and spectre guitar synthesizer had been released. And also in 1977, Ampeg & Hagström Swede Patch 2000 , ARP Avatar had been released.
    However, Roland persistently continued development after other makers left from market , and in late 1980s, its GK interface became de facto standard of industry.
  10. Harmony Central's Keyboard And MIDI Reviews for the Roland HS-80
  11. Sonicstate.com HS-80 Synth
  12. SynthMania.com has many different Roland SR-JV80 boards and highlights associated sounds with each board, but does not contain all the patch names and all the sounds of each board; The Roland Corporate Support website has all the different boards listed here along with manuals which contain patch listings.
  13. http://www.subbassdj.com/courses/music-production-courses/Roland/AIRA
  14. http://www.subbassdj.com/blog/airaacademy

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roland Corporation.