Guitars
Chris Martin is the proud descendent of the instrument craftsmen in Germany who founded the C.F. Martin & Company in 1833. As CEO of the company, Chris has overseen the expansion of the company while keeping family traditions in tact. Chris began the now infamous limited edition series guitars...
Jesse Flores was the founder of Flores Music stores located in Peoria and Pekin, Illinois. He had the idea of surrounding himself with music when he was a young boy and when the chance came to open a store, he took it. The year was 1957. Jesse saw the rise of the electric guitar and the home organ...
Happy Traum began his musical career in the 1960s, greatly influenced by the folk movement that had gripped the culture in America. He and his late brother, Artie, helped establish a New York scene for folk music along with some of their friends and fellow-musicians such as a young Bob Dylan. After...
Dean Markley thought there must be a better way of making a guitar string, so he found it and in the process changed the way accessory products were sold. Founder of Dean Markley Strings, he often sought to refine the manufacturing process to produce a larger variety of strings for a gamut of...
Jane Traum and her husband Happy, are the founders of Homespun Music, which for decades has offered a growing collection of musical instrument training classes. Happy began with a new classical guitar program, which at the time was released on cassette tape. Today the expanded programs are offered...
Bob Gallien has been an innovator in bass guitar amplification for some 30 years! Inspired as a young guitar player in the 1960s by bands like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, Bob loved the role the bass guitar had in rock music, although it was clear the sound needed improving. As co-founder of...
Gary Gand grew up playing music and developed a passion for musical instruments. In 1971, he parlayed this passion into a successful career in music retail. Gand Music and Sound, located in Northfield, IL, was among the first stores in the country to carry pro audio and lighting equipment and has...
Kay Koster was a pioneering woman retail owner, who not only successfully ran a business on her own beginning in 1940, she also personally repaired guitars and amps of all makes and models for decades – even after she closed her retail store. Koster Guitar Center in Rockford, IL was primarily a...
Roger Cox began his career at Ampeg in Linden, NJ. At Ampeg he served as Vice President of Operations responsible for Quality, Manufacturing, Service, and Research and Development. During his time at Ampeg, Roger fathered the Ampeg SVT which is still in production. After two years at Altec Lansing...
Toshitsugu “Tom” Tanaka, the president of Hoshino Gakki. Ltd, recalled with a smile his early training in the industry under Harry Rosenbloom of Medley Music. That experience not only educated him on the American instrument market, it was also the foundation of his partnership with Mr. Rosenbloom....