Product Engineers
Norman Erickson was hired by the Lowrey Company in 1947. At that time, the company was still producing cement powder mixture. However, Lowrey’s owner had an interest in the electronic organ that was being developed by Laurinz Hammond, so he sought Norm as an engineer. Norm’s designs, in addition to...
Herbert Fischbach spent his entire working career in the design and crafting of brass musical instruments. As was the tradition in the German village of Markneukirchen, Herbert studied the fine craftsmanship that was handed down from generation to generation, and then handed down his techniques to...
William Tapia stood up in front of United States solders playing his ukulele and singing at the tender age of eight years old. He was entertaining the troops for World War I and did not stop playing until the year of his passing at the age of 103! His life in music was almost as fasinating as his...
Aspen Pittman grew up in the 1960s as a student of the folk music movement. He studied the art form and performed on every type of string instrument there was to play. During high school he and a buddy got a job delivering organs for a retailer that was just about to open a rock and roll retail...
John Page is the founder of a guitar company in Sunny Valley, Oregon, which produces hand made instruments. John Page Guitars, formed in 2006 by John and his wife Dana, is just one of the many fascinating capers in his long and successful career as a luthier. His association with Fender Musical...
Eddie Toporek began as an innovative musical wholesaler when he set out to create a new type of distribution business, with a heavy influence on the latest technology. As a result Eddie created software for invoicing and account management that was not available in the late 1970s and early 80s....
Jimmie D. Webb operated a small music shop in Antioch, California, which was also the headquarters for his amplifier business. The Webb Amps were widely used by electric blues and rock bands, mostly in San Francisco beginning in the early 1970s. Although he never developed a production line or...
George Riley is an embodiment of the passion so often found in the music products industry. George worked side by side the founder of Electro-Voice, Al Kahn, during the major expansion years following World War II. The company grew as a result of creative and innovative products, and George helped...
Bob Ziems (it sounds like "seems as in Ziems it seems") was a dedicated member of the testing department at CG Conn from 1941-1971 and later with Selmer. However, it was what he did for a hobby that became most important to the NAMM Resource Center. As early as 1937, Bob took photographs of every...
Abe Wollam was a close associate of Bud Reglein. Beginning in the 1940s, Abe worked with Bud at the jj Babbitt Mouthpiece Company out of Elkhart, IN. Abe developed strong engineering skills, which proved to be invaluable as the company grew over the years and required specialized tooling. As...