Roland Founder Ikutaro Kakehashi Dies

Synthesizer pioneer Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of Roland Corp., has died, it was announced by drummer Tommy Snyder on April 1, though Kakehashi’s passing was not formally announced until Monday by his company, ATV Corp. 

– Ikutaro Kakehashi
handprints at the RockWalk on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood.

Kakehashi, 87, is recognized as one of the most important electronics innovators in the field of music. A self-trained watch repairman, he started his first company, Ace Electronics, in 1964 to sell the Ace Tone Rhythm Ace, a device that had preprogrammed beats and was designed to sit on top of a Hammond organ.

He soon formed a lucrative partnership with Hammond and other organ manufacturers in the United States. He also set up an import business to sell Hammond organs in Japan.

Later he even worked with Hammond to produce the Hammond Piper Autochord, which created harmonic bass chords from single notes played on the keyboard. It was considered a vital development in the popularization of home electric organs.

Though not a musician himself, Kakehashi became friends with Duke Ellington and Oscar Peterson, both of whom championed his instruments.

After selling Ace, Kakehashi founded Roland (named after Sir Roland de Velville, the illegitimate son of Henry VII) in 1972 in the city of Osaka in order to sell his TR-77 rhythm box.

He went on to create the SH-1000 synthesizer for amateur musicians with the help of synthesizer developers in the U.S. He also invented the TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines, which become instrumental in the growth of Detroit Techno, Chicago house music and hip-hop.

He also came up with the TB-303 bass synthesizer. Many of these instruments are still used widely today by professional musicians.

In 2013, Kakehashi won a Technical Grammy Award for his part in the development of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), a standard that allows synthesizers and other instruments made by different manufacturers to synchronize with one another.

MIDI was debuted in 1983. Kakehashi continued to invent new instruments and musical equipment until 2012. He eventually left Roland to found ATV in 2013.