Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments and electronic equipment. Their current headquarters are in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan with around 3.060 workers in 2013.

With factories located in Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and United States, Roland has manufactured numerous music instruments that shaped history in the music industry.

Founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, the company was a major player in the development of the MIDI interface, a standardized means of synchronizing electronic instruments manufactured by different companies. He and Dave Smith of Sequential Circuits unveiled MIDI in 1983 and remains the industry standard which we can find in Oberheim, Sequential Circuits, Yamaha, Korg and Kawai products.

Kakehashi’s concept for Roland is to attract amateurs and hobbyists musicians with miniaturization and affordability. He had created Ace Electronic Industries Inc. in 1960 before, so with seven employees from his former company and $100.000 money in pocket he started Roland in a rented shed.

The name “Roland” was selected for export purposes to easily pronounce it due to his worldwide target markets. He found the name in a telephone directory and the letter “R” was not used by many other music manufacturers at the time, therefore it would stand out in the musical instruments directory.

Their first product was the TR-77 drum machine followed by the TR-33 and TR 55, all released in 1972. They introduced the SH-1000, the first compact synthesizer produced in Japan in 1973. 

In the following years they expanded their line of products, such as RE-201 Space Echo in 1974 and the legendary guitar amplifier JC-60 and JC-120 Jazz chorus in 1975. This model became widely popular in the 1970’s to 1980’s, used by many professional or amateur musicians worldwide. Its name coming from the built-in analog chorus effect.

When Kakehashi knew that microprocessors could be used to program drum machines, Roland launched its first programmable drum machine in 1980, the TR-808 drum machine. This machine was eventually used on many hit records more than other drum machine brands. It was followed by the TR-909 in 1983. One of the most extensive users was the legendary singer and drummer Phil Collins who had recorded many of his songs using TR-808 and TR-909.

During 1990’s and 2000’s, Roland released many products that have long lasting influence on popular music. The Roland brand is used on a wide range of electronic musical products including synthesizers, digital pianos, electronic drums, DJ gear amplifiers an recording equipment. 

While the Boss brand is a brand used for guitar accessories such as guitar pedals, effects units, amplifiers and portable recording equipment. Edirol is a line of professional video-editing as well as digital audio recorders for computers with desktop media system.