Music Manufacturing
Mr. Laurie Westell was just 21 years old when he began working in the music products industry. He was hired by Hohner to deliver harmonicas around London. He enjoyed the job, rising in the company to become sales manager. He was sent on the road and represented the company during a period of growth...
Jimmy Gibbs opened the very first crate containing a Hammond B-3 in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Several years later, at the height of the Cold War, Jimmy brought the famous organ to Moscow, the first person to do so in history. He found that “music can speak every language and that no one ever...
Charles Watkins invented the Watkins Copicat, an echo unit introduced in 1958. Mr. Watkins was inspired by the Morino Marini Quartet who made famous the Comi Prima, which contained a special use of repeated phrasings. The Copicat revolutionized the world of music beginning in the United Kingdom,...
Jason How is the CEO and Chairman of Rotosound, the British string company his father formed in 1958. James How was an innovative toolmaker who designed equipment that could produce various guitar string gauges in high numbers while retaining consistency. Jason played a key role in the company’s...
Martyn How is the Commercial Director or the British string company Rotosound. Martyn and his brother Jason carry on the traditions of their pioneering father who started the guitar and bass string company in 1958. Martyn oversees the sales and marketing for the company as well as performer...
Jean Francois Rico had an early interest in news photography, but following his grandmother’s passing, Jean began working at the company his grandfather had established, Rico Reeds. The company dominated the reed industry for many decades with a powerful sales force around the world and a steady...
Karl Pucholt and Lars Seifert have helped bring C. A. Seydel Sohne back to the forefront of the industry once again. The historic harmonica manufacturer, located in Klingenthal, Germany, had fallen on hard times before its re-birth in 2004. Founded in 1847, the company produced many innovative...
Lars Seifert was interviewed alongside Karl Pucholt in the oldest building of the CA Seydel & Sons harmonica company in Klingenthal, Germany. The two men headed the team that brought back the company, which in name and innovations had become legendary within the industry. After decades of...
Gunter Schmalfuss has taken great pride in working on one instrument most of his career, the tuba. Since 1961, Mr. Schmalfuss has studied, built and designed tubas in addition to teaching the craft of repair. Following a great tradition of handcrafted work, he has played a vital role in the...
Johannes Scherzer was a world-renowned master trumpet maker who spent much of his long career with JA Musik Group in Markneukirchen, Germany. His passion for the instrument contributed to innovative designs and an increase in the JA product line. While focusing on improving methods and procedures...