Music Manufacturing
Thomas Dotzauer is a master mandolin builder from the region of famed music instrument production center Bubenreuth in Germany. He did his apprenticeship in guitar production of Walter Hoyer for the Hoyer Guitar Company. Over the years Thomas Dotzauer has focused on producing custom-made mandolins...
Tabor Stamper was a band director before joining the manufacturing side of the industry for which he has a true passion. During his NAMM Oral History interview, conducted in March 2011, Tabor spoke of the interest he had in providing top quality instruments for students as well as step-up products...
Mimi Piper was looking for a part time job after raising her three boys when a neighbor told her of an opening at Rico Reeds in Los Angeles. She joined the company as an assistant in 1974 and remained with the company until it was sold in 2005. During her career with the company she worked...
Leon Pascucci grew up in the music industry as his father was the president of Leblanc in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Leon remembers well the times he spent with Mr. Leblanc in France and the many company workers he felt were part of his family. Leon’s father Vito slowly exposed Leon to all areas of the...
Emmett Chapman was studying guitar when he began playing a two hand tapping style. As he researched the idea he found that he could create a unique instrument and style of playing that would later be explored by musicians of nearly every musical style. The Chapman Stick has become one of the most...
Chris Bristol was a music retailer in Southern California when a salesman came in one day to show him some gear from a new company called Roland. Chris took to the products right away. With his background as a musician and engineer he could understand the dedication that was put into the products....
Drew Armentrout worked in music retail for years before being hired by the Roland Company to work in the electronic drum division. His early experience served him well as he viewed both the musician’s and retailer’s points of view when developing and marketing products for Roland. Drew’s passion...
Jack Ripperger was the director of marketing for the Hammond Organ Company for seven years, at the height of the home organ boom in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. During his time in the industry Jack played a vital role in increasing the promotion of African-American musicians who...
Don Buchla grew up with a passion for music and a passion for engineering. When he combined the two loves, he created electronic musical instruments the world had never dreamed of before. His early synthesizer work parallels the similar work Robert Moog was doing on the East Coast while Don was...
Trev Wilkinson began painting cars as a teenager and soon there after painted his own guitar, which started him on the road to guitar restoration and building. His long and fascinating interest in guitar design has resulted in many musical product innovations including the Wilkinson Brass Roller...