OH Taxonomy
Bert Neidhardt was one of the leading experts on musical instrument importing and exporting. As president of German American Trading, he established trade policies and relationships on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Bert told the stories of the German market before, during and after the Berlin...
Bob Heil received his first break into the pro audio market when the Grateful Dead’s sound system was not available for a concert date. Bob’s own powerful system was used, and a new name for speakers and microphones was born into the world. Several of his innovative products, including sound...
Pat Downes combined his engineering background with his passion for music to create the electronic air drums. Forming the company Palm Tree Instruments, Pat became an inventor in the world of electronic mechanical devices that produce sounds. The air drums are among his most noted products, which...
Steve Cohen is the president of Jason’s Music Center in Pasadena, MD. As a creative thinker, Steve has pioneered a new approach to college piano sales by bringing the concept into the public schools beginning in the early 1980s. A passionate salesman, Steve understands people and enjoys bringing...
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...
Ray Kurzweil appeared on the popular 1950s and 1960s quiz show “I’ve Got a Secret” to reveal that he had made a computer that could make music. Since those early days, Ray has come to define the computer age of music making. Founder of Kurzweil Music, Ray designed some of the industry’s most noted...
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...
Evan Brooks became interested in electronic musical instruments during the early days of synthesizer development. He worked on MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) controllers for E-MU and other San Francisco Bay Area companies. Soon thereafter, Evan started designing his own technologies...
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...
Tony Lalonde comes from a family of inventors. His father, who held several patents for musical accessories, enjoyed a long career as a retailer in Minnesota. Tony and his brother started music stores in California in conjunction with Tony expanding the family’s line of patents and innovative...