A
Japanese (and nowadays very
international) musical
instrument manufacturer, best known as one of the
leading companies in
synthesizers and related gear. Roland was formed in
1972 and produced the
SH-1000,
Japan's
first ever
keyboard synthesizer.
Roland also has the
Boss sub-brand for low-budget
equipment.
Roland products featured in Everything2:
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From www.synthmuseum.com:
Why does Roland have such a western name?
Founder and
President of Roland,
Ikutaro Kakehashi, was also the founder of
Ace Electronics, but
eventually left after a
business disagreement with his
partner. When he decided to start a new firm, he chose the name
Roland because
Acetone (the
organ they manufactured) got
pronounced differently in different places, while Roland was pronounced the same
everywhere. Ironically,
Roland isn't that easy to pronounce if you're
Japanese, since Japanese doesn't have an
L sound.