[rodgersorgan] Re: Roland


Mark took me on quite a fascinating tour of the Rodgers facility a few years 
ago when he and I were meeting for a college reunion in Portland.  Needless 
to say, I was very impressed at what Rodgers has become.

I toured the facility, which was not much more than a pole barn, back in 
1982, as part of a paper I was writing for a college class.  Then it still 
had the class of a professional organization, but it lacked prominence for a 
serious nitch in the church organ market.  Roland's takeover seems to have 
been a incredible boost, and has made Rodgers a manufacturer that even the 
purists take notice of.

Anyway, if any of you get out to Oregon during your vacation, it'd be well 
worth your time to skip down the road to Hillsboro and take the tour of the 
plant.  You'll see why Rodgers is as good as it is.

Rich Wildhirt
Federal Way, WA


>From: Mark Huth <pdx_36@xxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [rodgersorgan] Roland
>Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 14:06:29 -0700 (PDT)
>
>
>
>As someone who was present both before and after the Roland
>acquisition, I have to echo Paul's recent comments.  I'd also
>like to offer my impressions of the magical transformation which
>occured at Rodgers after the Roland acquisition.
>
>Rodgers had already been a world-leader in many things; a wide
>variety of technologies which are now commonplace (i.e.,
>microprocessor controls, magnetic key contacts, to name a few)
>had been developed at Rodgers.
>
>I had the priviledge of being on teams which developed many of
>the Rodgers MIDI systems, from the early "MIDI I" design to that
>which is used on the Trillium organs.  I can attest to the fact
>that Roland's leadership in MIDI certainly helped Rodgers
>separate itself from the pack even more.
>
>Rodgers had already embraced MIDI to a large degree before
>Roland came along; don't forget that it was the first company to
>offer MIDI as a standard feature on all its instruments.  This
>was occuring in the late 1980's, when most of the other organ
>companies trashed the concept outwardly, even accusing Rodgers
>of using MIDI to conceal poor organ voices!
>
>As we all know, they've changed their tune!
>
>With Roland's acquisition, Rodgers' MIDI knowledge and
>experience increased exponentially, as did the functionality and
>power of the MIDI design used in the instruments.
>
>Roland's leadership has been a tremendous asset for Rodgers;
>without a doubt, this has contributed to the development of what
>is the most powerful and user-friendly MIDI system in the organ
>market.  Rodgers has also picked up on Roland's desire for
>standadization and sharing of philosophies between company; this
>has resulted in Rodgers embracing the GS Format, furthering the
>GM standard and pushing for SMF file formats - - - all of these
>things allow for greater flexibility and compatibility between
>brands.
>
>However, the Rodgers association has been good for Roland, as
>well.  Many things which Rodgers developed in house have been
>studied and adapted by Roland.  In addition, Rodgers is also a
>site for Roland manufacturing in the US, building pianos, synths
>and organs for worldwide distribution.  The competitors who
>tried to sell Rodgers as "un-American" seemingly forgot that the
>Roland association brought a significant degree of manufacturing
>back to the US.
>
>Above all, Roland is a company filled with vision, integrity and
>a desire to further the cause of music making in a wide variety
>of arenas.  Rodgers has been lucky to join them in this cause.
>The Roland Group, of which Rodgers is a key player, has become
>an international company which provides great instruments to all
>reaches of the world.
>
>Pretty amazing for a company which started in a crowded backroom
>in 1958!
>
>Mark
>
>
>
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Richard


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