This large format book presents the stories of eight major producers of musical instruments in the U.S. Many were immigrants who had learned their skills in their home countries. Others adapted skills they had to the development and production of their respective specialties. During World War II many used their factories for military products. Avedis Zildjian learned cymbal making in his home country of Turkey before coming to the U.S. His son went on to develop new types of cymbals by asking the musicians who used them what they wanted. Heinrich Steinway made organs and pianos in Germany before developing the grand piano and an industry dynasty. C.G. Conn got into the brass instrument business after inventing a cornet mouthpiece that wouldn't hurt his injured lip. C.F. Martin learned guitar making in Austria where battles between the Violin Makers and Cabinet Makers Guilds convinced him to emigrate and set up business in Nazareth, PA. William Ludwig came to Chicago from Germany as a child where he learned to play and later manufacture drums. Larry Hammond was an engineering prodigy who designed an automatic automobile transmission at the age of of twelve and went on to invent an electric organ that could compete with pipe organs. Clarence Fender turned his hobby of electronics into the most famous name in electric guitars. Robert Moog and his engineer father also loved tinkering with electronics and built theremins to play as a teenager. With the assistance of composer Herb Deutsch, Moog invented his famous synthesizer which was made famous by Wendy Carlos (formerly Walter Carlos) in the late '60s. This book is well illustrated with photos and images of the people, instruments, and the musicians who used them. Sidebar information adds a lot to this book.
The audience for this as a book intended for children is limited unless they are musicians. For me, however, it was fascinating, especially when I realized that, with the exception of Martin guitars, someone in my family owns, owned, or played instruments by all of these manufacturers. My nephew played Zildjian cymbals and Ludwig drums. There is a Conn trombone in my house. My brother owned a Fender telecaster and my son owns a Fender bass. My brother also had Moog synthesizers one of which later became ours before we gave it to Steve Jones a few years ago. My mother-in-law owns a Steinway piano that my husband grew up playing. She also played a Hammond C3 organ for over twenty years as a church organist. But the most amusing part of this is that the first stereo speakers my husband & I owned were the 4 foot tall beasts he made from the original speakers from the Hammond church organ that was replaced by a Leslie tone cabinet in the mid '70s.
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