Gulbransen

Gulbransen Company was an American manufacturer of pianos, including player pianos; and reed and home organs in Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1904 by Axel Gulbransen as Gulbransen Piano Company, it introduced several innovations in the field.^[1][2]

Gulbransen Organ
exhibited at Museum of Making Music

Gulbransen Pacemaker
electronic home organ

Gulbransen introduced several innovations. In its early years, Gulbransen made the first upright piano with a player piano mechanism in the same case. In the 1920s, thousands of player pianos were manufactured by the firm under the Gulbransen and Dickinson name.^[1] In the electronic organ era, Gulbransen pioneered several innovations in the production of home electronic organs that became industry standards:^[2]

• Use of transistor circuitry
• Built-in Leslie speaker system
• Chime stop and piano stop
• "Automatic Rhythm" (built-in drum machine)
• "Automatic Walking Bass" (bass accompaniment)

In 1957, Gulbransen released the first transistorized electric organ: "Gulbransen Model B" (Model 1100),^[2] Its use of transistors was limited to the tone generators; the power amplifier was driven by vacuum tubes. (The first fully transistorized organ for churches was later built by Rodgers Instruments.)^{[citation needed]}

Seeburg / Gulbransen
rhythm machines

Seeburg Rhythm Prince (uses mechatronic wheel sequencer)^[3]

Seeburg/Gulbransen Select-A-Rhythm (fully electronic)^[4]

In the 1960s, Gulbransen and Seeburg Corporation released one of the earliest transistorized rhythm machines: "Seeburg/Gulbransen Select-A-Rhythm"^[4][5]. Seeburg would invent a fully transistorized rhythm machine in 1964 and receive a patent three years later.^[6]

Around 1950, the company was sold to CBS. In 1964, it merged with Seeburg Corporation. Production ceased in 1969.^[1]

In 1985, Mission Bay Investments acquired the brand and produced Elka organs under the Gulbransen name.^[2] In 2002 or 2003,^[7] QRS Music Technologies acquired the brand; pianos were made by Samick.^[1]

See also

• Electronic organ
• Drum machine
• Seeburg Corporation