Lably
Skip to content

Ace Tone

  • 5 min read
  • 2 chapters

Related on Lably

Through World War II and Transistor

Lab · Class 8–10India's Freedom StruggleLab · Class 8National MovementLab · Class 12Semiconductors & Diodes

History

Ikutaro Kakehashi began learning practical mechanical engineering as a teenager, and found there was a demand for electronics repair in Japan following the end of World War II. After recovering from tuberculosis in 1954, he opened a goods store in Osaka and began assembling and repairing radios. He attempted to build an electric organ in the late 1950s from spares, including parts of an old reed organ, telephones and electronic components, and started a business in 1960, initially making amplifiers. He subsequently designed an organ that was sold by Matsushita.

In 1964, Kakehashi designed his first hand playing electronic drum, the R1 Rhythm Ace, constructed from transistor circuitry. It was designed to be attached below the manuals on a home organ, and had six buttons that created a variety of percussion sounds. It was presented at that year's NAMM Show. However, it lacked automatic accompaniment and so was unsuccessful.

In 1965, Ace Tone established a US distribution agreement with Sorkin. In 1967, the company introduced the Rhythm Ace FR-1, which allowed a variety of automatically-played popular rhythms with a variable tempo. It was commercially successful and led to partnership with the Hammond Organ Company, who added Ace Tone's rhythm units to its range of instruments. At the end of the 1960s, Ace Tone began manufacturing guitar effects boxes, such as fuzz which was modelled on an earlier Gibson model.

Sign in to keep reading

One more chapter is free with a Lably account.

More in Chemistry

Carbon dioxideCarbon-oxygen gasOxygenChemical element with atomic number 8 (O)HydrogenChemical element with atomic number 1 (H)IronChemical element with atomic number 26 (Fe)CopperChemical element with atomic number 29 (Cu)WaterChemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen