Ikutaro Kakehashi

Ikutaro Kakehashi
梯郁太郎
Born(1930-02-07)7 February 1930
Osaka, Japan
Died1 April 2017(2017-04-01) (aged 87)
NationalityJapanese
Occupation(s)Engineer, entrepreneur
Years active1947–2017
Known forFounder of Ace Tone, Roland, Boss and ATV
Notable workElectronic musical instruments, MIDI, guitar amplifiers, effects units

Ikutaro Kakehashi (梯 郁太郎, Kakehashi Ikutarō, 7 February 1930 – 1 April 2017), also known by the nickname Taro,[1] was a Japanese engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur. He founded the musical instrument manufacturers Ace Tone, Roland Corporation and Boss Corporation, and the audiovisual electronics company ATV Corporation.

Kakehashi founded Ace Tone in 1960 to produce electronic organs and early drum machines. He founded Roland in 1972 and was involved in the development of various influential electronic instruments, such as the TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines and the TB-303 and Juno-60 synthesizers, in addition to Boss guitar amplifiers and effects pedals. He was also key to the development of MIDI, a technical standard that connects a wide variety of electronic instruments, in the 1980s; in 2013, Kakehashi received a Technical Grammy Award, shared with Dave Smith of Sequential, for the invention of MIDI. Kakehashi's inventions are credited with shaping popular music genres such as electronic, dance, hip hop, R&B, rock and pop music.[2][1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

  1. ^ a b McKee, Ruth; Grierson, Jamie (2 April 2017). "Roland founder and music pioneer Ikutaro Kakehashi dies aged 87". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  2. ^ The life and times of Ikutaro Kakehashi, the Roland pioneer modern music owes everything to, Fact
  3. ^ Pareles, Jon (3 April 2017). "Ikutaro Kakehashi, Engineer Behind Revolutionary Drum Machine, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  4. ^ Creative Media (2 April 2017). "BBC World Service tribute to the founder of Roland Corporation". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved 29 May 2017 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Ikutaro Kakehashi, Founder of Roland and Developer of the TR-808, Has Died at Age 87, Vice
  6. ^ "Roland Founder Ikutaro Kakehashi Has Died". Synthtopia. April 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  7. ^ Ikutaro Kakehashi, Roland Founder and Music Pioneer, Dies at 87, Spin
  8. ^ Reid, Gordon (2004), "The History Of Roland Part 1: 1930–1978", Sound on Sound (November), retrieved 19 June 2011
  9. ^ Anderson, Jason (27 November 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm". CBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  10. ^ "Tribute: Ikutaro Kakehashi and Roland's Impact on Music". reverb.com. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.