written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . april 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message roland corporation type public k.k. traded as tyo 7944 industry electronics founded osaka japan april 18 1972 ; 44 years ago april 18 1972 headquarters hamamatsu shizuoka japan key people ikutaro kakehashi junichi miki 1 products musical instruments audio video electronics computer related products number of employees 3 060 2013 website roland.com roland e09 keyboard the roland corporation r rando kabushiki kaisha is a japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments electronic equipment and software . it was founded by ikutaro kakehashi in osaka on april 18 1972 with 33 million in capital . in 2005 roland s headquarters relocated to hamamatsu in shizuoka prefecture . today it has factories in italy taiwan japan and the usa . as of march 31 2010 it employed 2 699 employees . 2 it has existed in different forms since 1960 citation needed making it relatively old among still operating manufacturers of musical electronics . citation needed known for hundreds of popular synthesizers drum machines and other instruments roland has been one of the top names citation needed in professional music equipment since the late 1970s . in 2014 roland corporation was subject to a management buyout by roland s ceo junichi miki supported by taiyo pacific partners . 1 contents 1 origin of the roland name 2 brands 3 timeline of noteworthy products 4 see also 5 references 6 external links origin of the roland name edit kakehashi founded ace electronic industries in 1960 a manufacturer of numerous combo organs guitar amplifiers and effects pedals . he was also contracted by hammond to produce rhythm machines for the company s line of home organs . in 1973 kakehashi cut ties with both companies to found roland . as with many japanese start ups of the period the name roland was selected for export purposes as kakehashi was interested in a name that was easy to pronounce for his worldwide target markets . rumour has long circulated that he named his company after the french epic poem la chanson de roland . in reality the name roland was found in a telephone directory . kakehashi opted for it as he was satisfied with the simple two syllable word and its soft consonants . the letter r was chosen because it was not used by many other music equipment companies and would therefore stand out in trade show directories and industry listings . kakehashi did not learn of the song of roland until later . 3 brands edit roland markets products under a number of brand names each of which are used on products geared toward a different niche . 4 the roland brand is used on a wide range of products including synthesizers digital pianos electronic drum systems dance dj gear guitar synthesizers amplifiers and recording products . boss is a brand used for products geared toward guitar players and is used for guitar pedals effects units rhythm and accompaniment machines and portable recording equipment . edirol was a line of professional video editing and video presentation systems as well as portable digital audio recorders . edirol also had desktop media dtm products more production oriented and included computer audio interfaces mixers and speakers . following roland s purchase of a controlling interest in cakewalk software most of the division s products were rebranded as cakewalk products or blended with the professional audio rss products to form roland systems group . 5 roland systems group is a line of professional commercial audio and video products . rodgers was founded in 1958 as an organ company and survives today as a subsidiary of roland still manufacturing high quality electric electronic and pipe organs . cakewalk music software company is a long term partner of roland s. in january 2008 roland announced the purchase of controlling interest in the company . in 2013 ownership of cakewalk passed from roland to gibson guitar corporation . roland dg produces computerized plotters vinyl cutters and printers for the production of commercial signwork and point of sale materials . at one point roland acquired the then defunct rhodes name and released a number of digital keyboards bearing the rhodes brand but it no longer owns the name . the late harold rhodes regained the right to the name in 2000 . rhodes was dissatisfied with roland s treatment of the marque and had plans to re introduce his iconic electric piano but died before he was able to bring it to market . 6 timeline of noteworthy products edit this article contains embedded lists that may be better presented using prose . you can help by converting the list or lists to prose if appropriate . editing help is available . august 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message 1972 roland af100 bee baa a fuzzbox with four knobs on the rear panel roland as1 sustainer the ancestor of today s compression sustain pedals . roland rhythm 33 rhythm 33 tr33 had the cut out body shape that showed that it was intended for mounting underneath a piano or organ keyboard roland rhythm 55 rhythm 55 the tr55 was more of a tabletop design roland tr 77 rhythm 77 upscale version of the tr 55 . tr 77 is known as an updated version of ace tone rhythm ace fr 7l . 7 it is also known as hammond rhythm unit . 1973 roland ad50 double beat by virtue of combining wah fuzz and a simple phaser possibly the ancestor of all today s multi effects pedals roland ag5 funny cat auto wah roland aw10 wah beat wah pedal roland ep10 combo piano japan s first fully electronic piano roland ep20 combo piano japan s first fully electronic piano roland re100 space echo a tape based delay effect roland re200 space echo a tape based delay effect roland sh3 synthesizer the earliest japanese example of a classic synthesizer . infringing bob moogs filter patent . roland sh 1000 synthesizer japan s first commercial keyboard synthesizer . 1974 roland ep 30 roland piano the world s first touch sensitive electronic piano . roland re 101 space echo roland re 201 space echo the renowned space echo machine one of the most popular tape delay based echo machines ever produced . roland sh 3a synthesizer monophonic synthesizer with a new vcf and vca roland sh 2000 synthesizer a pressure sensitive preset synth designed to compete directly with the arp pro soloist 1975 roland af60 bee gee roland ap2 phase ii roland ap7 jet phase which offered four jet modes alongside two conventional phasing modes . roland revo 30 revo sound system designed to imitate the sound of a leslie rotary speaker system . roland revo 120 revo sound system roland revo 250 revo sound system roland rs 101 strings the first appearance of what was soon become to roland s trademark its ensemble effect . roland sh 5 synthesizer a splendid synthesizer packed with innovative features . roland system 100 synthesizer roland s first attempt at a modular synthesizer . roland tr 66 rhythm arranger roland jazz chorus 60 jc 60 guitar amplifier roland jazz chorus 120 jc 120 guitar amplifier a two channel 120 watt amplifier equipped with two 12 inch 30 cm speakers built in chorus and vibrato effects and a 3 band eq per channel renowned for its super clean sound and durability it has remained in production for over 35 years . 1976 roland dc 50 digital chorus an analog chorus ensemble similar to boss ce 1 chorus ensemble boss ce 1 . 7 some collectors assume that it was also supplied as oem product multivox cb 50 . 8 roland rs 202 string ensemble roland jazz chorus 160 guitar amplifier roland system 100 synthesizer roland system 700 synthesizer roland s first professional quality modular synthesizer . 1977 roland ga series 20 30 40 60 120w guitar amps . roland gb series 30 50w bass amps roland jc60a and jc120a jazz chorus amps roland dc10 analogue echo roland re301 chorus echo roland gs500 guitar synth system roland mp700 piano roland mpa100 amplifier amplifier for the mp700 roland vk 6 organ analog organ roland vk 9 organ analog organ roland mc 8 microcomposer a groundbreaking digital sequencer . roland s first product to utilize a microprocessor . 9 roland gr 500 guitar synthesizer roland s first commercial guitar synthesizer . 10 1978 cube 40 guitar amplifier 40w . ga series 50 guitar amplifier 50w . jc50 jc200 and jc200s jazz chorus amps rd125l revo . rd155l revo sb series 200 bass amp 200w dc20 analogue echo dc30 analogue delay ge810 graphic eq ge820 graphic eq ph830 stereo phaser rv100 reverb rv800 reverb mp600 combo piano mrs2 promars monosynth rs09 organ strings keyboard rs505 paraphonic strings sh1 monosynth sh7 monosynth sh09 monosynth cr68 human rhythm player roland cr 78 compurhythm a user programmable drum machine . roland jupiter 4 jp 4 roland s first self contained polyphonic synthesizer . roland vk 09 electronic organ early attempt to clone hammond 1979 sh1 monosynth roland sh 2 synthesizer a super little dual oscillator monosynth roland system 100m roland studio system semiprofessional modular synthesizer successor of system 100 . roland vp330 vocoder plus the vocoder shapes its envelope and filters by any sound source fed into it roland sdd 320 dimension d a rare outboard stereo chorus effects unit . 1980 roland cr 8000 compurhythm the cr 78 used analog drum voices which sounded very little like real percussion instruments but they instead had their own distinctive sounds roland vk 1 combo organ roland s first decent attempt to clone the hammond b3 . roland tr 808 rhythm composer one of the most popular programmable analog drum machines ; its distinctive analog sounds such as its cowbell sound and its kick drum have become pop music clich s heard on countless recordings . roland gr 300 guitar synthesizer roland sh 09 synthesizer small single oscillator monosynth ; little brother to the roland sh 2 1981 roland vk 09 electronic organ early attempt to clone hammond roland mc 4 microcomposer a popular digital sequencer and the successor to the mc 8 . roland tb 303 computer controlled bass line the bass line is a synthesizer with built in sequencer manufactured from late 1981 to 1984 . it had a defining role in the development of contemporary electronic music particularly in acid house . roland tr 606 drumatix a programmable analog drum machine designed to be used with the tb 303 . roland jupiter 8 jp 8 roland claims this synthesizer put them in the forefront of professional synthesizers . a successful 8 voice programmable analog synthesizer after the hugely successful sequential circuits prophet 5 and oberheim s products . roland sde2000 digital delay roland s first digital effects unit . 1982 roland juno 6 polyphonic synthesizer roland s first synthesizer with digitally controlled oscillators . roland juno 60 programmable polyphonic synthesizer roland s first synthesizer with digitally controlled oscillators with memory roland g 505 g 202 the 3rd generation of roland electric guitar synthesizer controllers . these strat style guitars came with the matching gr 700 and pg 200 pedal boards which also work as a regular guitar effector as well as a midi synthesizer bank . roland sh 101 keytar synthesizer designed to be worn hung around the neck with a strap with an optional modulation attachment that protruded like the neck of a guitar . 1983 roland jx 3p programmable preset polyphonic synthesizer first roland synthesizer to support midi . roland jupiter 6 jp 6 6 voice programmable analog synthesiser . roland s second synthesizer to support midi . roland pg 200 synthesizer programmer for the jx 3p mks 30 and gr 700 . roland dxy 100r x