Rocky Mount Instruments
Subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rocky Mount Instruments (RMI) was a subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, active from 1966 to 1982. The company was formed to produce portable musical instruments, and manufactured several electronic pianos, harpsichords, and organs that used oscillators to create sound, instead of mechanical components like an electric piano.
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Founded | 1966; 58 years ago (1966) |
Defunct | 1982 (1982) |
Products | Electronic pianos, synthesizers |
Parent | Allen Organ Company |
The first significant instrument produced by RMI was the Rock-Si-Chord, which emulated a harpsichord. The best-selling and most widely used instrument was the RMI Electra-piano, that was played by numerous artists in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Steve Winwood, Genesis' Tony Banks, and Yes' Rick Wakeman. Later, the company became a pioneer of digital synthesizers, including the Keyboard Computer and RMI Harmonic Synthesizer; both were used by Jean Michel Jarre. The company struggled to compete with digital synthesizers in the early 1980s, which led to its closure. A number of sample libraries featuring RMI instruments are available for modern digital keyboards.