OH Taxonomy
Ruth Ann Melk recalled the days when her husband’s father would design specialized tools for the repair of musical instruments, which her husband, Phil Jr, soon developed into a full time job and career. She said he was delighted to quit his day job as milk man and devote his time and energy into...
Fred Melk was born the year his father and grandfather (Philip Sr and Jr) opened a small instrument repair shop in Milwaukee, WI. The year was 1956. Fred’s father became one of the country’s foremost authorities on band instruments and repair. In the days before NAPBIRT and other organizations...
Steve Klein is a guitar luthier’s luthier! As a pioneer and innovator in the methods and tools of guitar building and designer, Steve has maintained focus on the elements of his craft which has driven his passion since he was a teenager. He refers to his guitars as “friends” and looks after them...
Hans Kuhner has followed long traditions in print music by engraving musical notes on lead plates to reproduce songs – hearkening to the days and the style in which Germany’s music publishing industry was formed some 500 years ago. In this clip from his NAMM Oral History interview, Hans...
Paul Heid grew up in the music retail world. His father formed Heid Music in Appleton, WI, and Paul along with his brother, Robert, followed in their father’s footsteps. Paul served on several industry boards including NASMD and NAMM. During his time on the NAMM Board, Paul served as Chairman (2003...
Don Griffin is the founder and president of West LA Music in Los Angeles, CA. Don’s background in music and customer service made his store the ideal stop for many of the rock and studio musicians in southern California. Don was one of the very first music retailers to break into the pro audio and...
Walt Johnston was best known throughout the industry for his role in introducing the Pearl Drum Company to the United States. After a gig selling band instruments, Walt was hired by CMI to bring the Pearl kits to the American market. His success was based on several elements, not the least of which...
LaRoy Edwards was the celebrated piano technician who began his long association with Yamaha back in 1961, the year before the company officially entered the United States market. Along the way he helped create the bond assurance program for retailers to track customer satisfaction, and the Little...
Max Mathews was working as an engineer at the famed Bell Laboratory in 1954 when he was asked to determine if the computer Bell was designing could create music. The landmark Music 2 and later Music 4 projects put the two concepts together as early as 1957-–the computer and music had a future and...
Dick Knaub served as president of the Rico Reed Corp. during the 1970s. He oversaw the reed manufacturer’s expansion into magazine advertisements and the company’s return to industry events such as the NAMM show. Dick was a proud supporter of the American Music Conference and served as president of...