Judy Rinehart began working for the Selmer Company in Elkhart, Indiana in the 1970s. Her work at the time was very precise hand work, which changed over the years with the advent of the ...
Jack Ripperger was the director of marketing for the Hammond Organ Company for seven years, at the height of the home organ boom in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. During hi...
Bob Rissi was the founder of Risson Amplifier Company, which produces Made-in-America products based on Bob’s own designs. He began designing amplifiers in 1960 when he was hired by Leo ...
Art Ritchie grew up in East Rochester, New York in the same part of town that Elmer Brooks grew up. Elmer would later hire Art becoming one of his mentors in the music industry. After ser...
Jens Ritter is the innovative luthier who gained wide attention after a three page article about his instruments ran in a 1996 issue of Guitar & Bass magazine. A few years later, he a...
Dave Rivard has thoroughly enjoyed his role at Roland Corporation as a sales rep. He has grown the role over the years and covered nearly every state, making connections, introducing new ...
Ed Rizzuto was surrounded by music his entire life. As a young boy he started playing trombone, which he continued throughout high school and into his military service in the early 1950s....
Lloyd Robbins became executive vice-president of the Rodgers Instruments Corporation in 1997. Rodgers is part of the Roland Corporation and is dedicated to creating its unique and success...
Dan Roberts is the president of the Manhasset Specialty Company located in Washington State. The company began making music stands in 1935 with a keen focus on quality. This remains the t...
Tommy Robertson was born in Austin, Texas, a feat he calls “as rare as a unicorn these days.” Tommy played drums throughout his teen years before he decided to open his first drum shop. T...
Larry Robinson's career as a luthier began in 1972 as an unpaid apprentice for three years before working for Alembic, Turner Guitars and with Modulus Graphite, a San Francisco company ma...
Marietta Robison was living next door to Sheryl and Tevis Laukat in 1996 when the couple approached her for help with their idea to start an instrument company. With a strong background i...
Kelsea Robson faced a devastating car accident temporarily putting her college education and career aspirations on hold, but her determination and passion for music never wavered. Kelsea ...
Warren Roché met Michael Thomas in the sixth grade where they were studying the trumpet. Both went on to studio careers and together they formed a valve oil company (Roché-Thomas) to make...
John Roderick studied percussion at the Hart School of Music, which proved to be a great benefit for his long and successful career in the music products industry. John has worked for sev...
Dan Rodowicz was encouraged at an early age to play music. His parents arranged piano lessons, which led to trombone, which was the instrument of his beloved uncle. Dan was influenced by...
Manuel Rodriguez Sr. was very proud of his ancestry as a classical guitar luthier in the deep tradition of his native Spain. With honor, pride and passion, the art and craftsmanship has b...
Roger Robindore found himself overdubbing at an early age. While he was born in Pennsylvania, Roger became a recording engineer in Paris for several years in the 1990s. He had some wonder...
John Rogers provided an in-depth overview of the Paxman Company during his NAMM Oral History interview, which happened to have taken place as the company was celebrating 100 years in busi...
Ed Roman opened a guitar store in Las Vegas after a successful career in the motorcycle industry. What he learned about that business and the customer base he found, he could easily apply...
Pepe Romero Jr literally grew up surrounded by guitars. As part of the Romero family, Pepe was exposed to classic guitars and music from the time he was born. While he learned to play at ...
Steve Rorie landed a part time job the very same day he graduated high school at the Vincent Bach plant in Elkhart, Indiana. He later would accompany his grandfather and father at EK Bles...
Brent Rosborough can trace his family roots in music back to his father who played during World War II. Brent picked up the guitar when he was eight years old playing in 70s rock bands be...
Adam Rose is a luthier and guitar designer for Santa Cruz Guitar Company and has worked with the company's founder, Richard Hoover since the 1980s. Adam's passion for the woods has been ...
Floyd Rose began his career as a machinist working on jewel inlays, all the while playing guitar on the side in local bands and in clubs. Over the years he became frustrated with the lack...
Bud Ross made his first amplifier for his own band in 1958 to save a little money. Within 5 years he had established Kustom Amps, a leader in product design and innovations. The powerful ...
Dave Rossum and Scott Wedge attended college together and soon developed a few clever ways of combining their engineering training with their passion for music. They began creating sound ...
Phil Rovner was having some trouble with his intonation as a saxophone player, and decided to design a new approach to attaching the reed to his mouthpiece. As an engineer, he had the kno...
Mary Rowden serves as the Office Manager for the Manhasset Specialty Company. The music stands maker began in 1935, when Otto Lagervall designed a stand that was sturdy and used top quali...
Bonnie G. Rowe did not seem to mind much when people thought he was a woman because his given name was Bonnie. For 87 years he corrected people and never gave much thought to using his mi...
Elliott Rubinson fell in love with the bass at the age of 12 and played it every waking moment as he grew up in Queens, New York, in the rock era of the 1960s. He toured with a number of ...
Bob Rufkahr's long career in the music business began in retail in 1962! He later moved into wholesale and manufacturing before he formed his own company, Image Marketing in 1980. Along...
