1961: The F.A. Reynolds Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the newly formed Richards Music Corporation (aka Richards Musical Instruments, Inc.), which was led by Paul E. Richards, financed by Wurlitzer and based in Elkhart, Indiana. Heinrich Roth remained head of the Reynolds division of Richards Music. (The Scherl & Roth stringed instrument business would be later sold to Conn in 1964.)
As a division of Richards Music, Reynolds became part of the “Roundtable of Musical Craftsmen” (RMC) along with the Martin Band Instrument Co., E.K. Blessing and Flat/Jacks Drums (all owned by Richards Music Corporation). Instruments produced by these companies during the Richards era all bear a RMC shield logo.
Under Richards Music, Reynolds introduced the Medalist trumpet, cornet and trombone, replacing the existing Roth models, in an attempt to take advantage of the sales opportunities created by expanding school band progams (and funding) in the 1960s. In order to produce the anticipated volume of needed student instruments, Richards contracted manufacturing of the Medalist lines to a variety of locations. The presence of “Elkhart, Ind” markings on many models indicates horns that were made at the Blessing factory in Elkhart, Indiana (confirmed by Merle Johnson, former President of Blessing). Other Medalist instruments are marked “Made in USA” and are of unknown origin (if not also made by Blessing).
Paul Rawlins notes that the early student horns produced by RMC/Reynolds were made with low-quality, inexpensive sheet brass. The concept was to put a cheap horn in a durable Samsonite case and sell the package to the student rental market. The approach worked until it was discovered that the low-quality brass used to make the horns could not be repaired without permanent damage to the metal.
1962: RMC/Reynolds was a principal sponsor of the 1962 “The Music Man” Marching Band Competition Festival in Mason City, Iowa, held in conjunction with the premiere of the Warner Bros. motion picture, Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man”. The first place award, won by the Lockport, Illinois High School Band, included over $5,000 in Reynolds Contempora brass instruments.
Richards Music also sponsored “The Music Man Contest” for individual musicians between ages 8-18, with national, regional and local award winners. “Music Man”-branded Emperor trumpets, cornets and trombones were produced in conjunction with the contest.
1963: On April 1, 1963, Paul Richards resigned as President of Richards Musical Instruments. In a letter to THE SCHOOL MUSICIAN magazine, he writes:
“I have resigned … and am no longer directly associated with the company. I sincerely hope that the company will continue to serve properly the many music dealers and music educators that have honored the company with their business and their loyalties, and will continue to support music educators in every way possible.”
Despite Richards’ good intentions, Richards Music and the RMC partnerships later dissolved and the various company assets were placed on the auction block. Merle Johnson (married to Virginia Blessing) acquired the assets to E.K. Blessing, restoring it as a family-owned and -run company. Wurlitzer (who had financed Richards Music) retained the assets to the Martin Band Instrument Co., but eventually sold Martin in 1971 to Leblanc, now part of the Conn-Selmer conglomerate. Flat/Jacks Drums was purchased by former owner/founder[?] Ralph Kester.
1964: The assets of the F.A. Reynolds Co. were purchased by Maurice Berlin and the Chicago Musical Instrument (CMI) company; at the time, CMI was one of the largest musical instrument distributors in the world and owned F.E. Olds, Lowrey Organs, Gibson Guitars and several other firms.
As the new owners of F.A. Reynolds, one of CMI’s first actions was to pack up and move the company from its long-time plant in Cleveland to a new manufacturing facility in Abilene, Texas (August). With the move to Texas, CMI began the merger of F.A. Reynolds’ and F.E. Olds’ operations. Production for both companies during 1964-1970 was split between the Olds’ plant in Fullerton (350 South Raymond Avenue, Fullerton, CA) and the new Reynolds factory in Abilene (5520 North First Street, Abilene, TX). The trumpet, cornet, horn (except nickel-silver models) and trombone lines for both companies were made at the Olds plant in Fullerton, while the other brasses (plus nickel silver horns) for both companies were made at the Reynolds plant in Abilene. Some low brass parts, particularly tuba and sousaphone bells, were produced in Fullerton and then shipped to Texas for assembly with other parts being made in Abilene.
As part of the merged production, Reynolds expanded the Emperor lineup to include horns and baritones. Olds Ambassador French Horns produced at the Olds plant in Fullerton were rebranded as Reynolds Emperor horns, while Emperor and Ambassador baritones came off the same production lines at the Reynolds plant in Abilene, Texas. According to Bernie Marston, these Olds Ambassador instruments were sold as Reynolds Emperor models in an attempt to keep the dealer networks of both Olds and Reynolds intact. The Reynolds Emperor Flugelhorn was also produced after the move to Abilene and was based on the Olds Flugelhorn Model L-12.
In addition to instrument manufacturing in the Abilene plant, CMI established the Consolidated Band Instrument Service company as a distributor of instrument accessories, including lubricants, oils, grease, etc. for brass instruments.
The Reynolds serial number sequence was reset at 200,000 and instruments were engraved with “Made in Abilene, Texas” regardless of whether they were produced in Abilene or Fullerton.
1965: Reynolds hosted a Texas-themed “Reynolds Round-Up” open house on April 9-10, 1965 to celebrate the new plant in Abilene. Print advertisements from 1965 are “Texas themed” and celebrate Reynolds’ new start.
1969: CMI was purchased by conglomerate Ecuadorian Company Limited (ECL), a Panamanian holding company whose principal business was a brewery in Ecuador. A year later ECL became Norlin Industries — “Norlin” was named for Norton Stevens, ECL president, and Maurice Berlin, CMI president.
Merle Johnson recalls that as Maurice Berlin grew older, increasing control of Norlin’s operations was given to Berlin’s son, Arnold M. Berlin, and his college associates. This ushered in the era of aggressive profit management and ultimately spelled the beginning of the end for Olds and Reynolds.
1960s: RMC and CMI
1961: The F.A. Reynolds Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the newly formed Richards Music Corporation (aka Richards Musical Instruments, Inc.), which was led by Paul E. Richards, financed by Wurlitzer and based in Elkhart, Indiana. Heinrich Roth remained head of the Reynolds division of Richards Music. (The Scherl & Roth stringed instrument business would be later sold to Conn in 1964.)
As a division of Richards Music, Reynolds became part of the “Roundtable of Musical Craftsmen” (RMC) along with the Martin Band Instrument Co., E.K. Blessing and Flat/Jacks Drums (all owned by Richards Music Corporation). Instruments produced by these companies during the Richards era all bear a RMC shield logo.
Under Richards Music, Reynolds introduced the Medalist trumpet, cornet and trombone, replacing the existing Roth models, in an attempt to take advantage of the sales opportunities created by expanding school band progams (and funding) in the 1960s. In order to produce the anticipated volume of needed student instruments, Richards contracted manufacturing of the Medalist lines to a variety of locations. The presence of “Elkhart, Ind” markings on many models indicates horns that were made at the Blessing factory in Elkhart, Indiana (confirmed by Merle Johnson, former President of Blessing). Other Medalist instruments are marked “Made in USA” and are of unknown origin (if not also made by Blessing).
Paul Rawlins notes that the early student horns produced by RMC/Reynolds were made with low-quality, inexpensive sheet brass. The concept was to put a cheap horn in a durable Samsonite case and sell the package to the student rental market. The approach worked until it was discovered that the low-quality brass used to make the horns could not be repaired without permanent damage to the metal.
1962: RMC/Reynolds was a principal sponsor of the 1962 “The Music Man” Marching Band Competition Festival in Mason City, Iowa, held in conjunction with the premiere of the Warner Bros. motion picture, Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man”. The first place award, won by the Lockport, Illinois High School Band, included over $5,000 in Reynolds Contempora brass instruments.
Richards Music also sponsored “The Music Man Contest” for individual musicians between ages 8-18, with national, regional and local award winners. “Music Man”-branded Emperor trumpets, cornets and trombones were produced in conjunction with the contest.
1963: On April 1, 1963, Paul Richards resigned as President of Richards Musical Instruments. In a letter to THE SCHOOL MUSICIAN magazine, he writes:
Despite Richards’ good intentions, Richards Music and the RMC partnerships later dissolved and the various company assets were placed on the auction block. Merle Johnson (married to Virginia Blessing) acquired the assets to E.K. Blessing, restoring it as a family-owned and -run company. Wurlitzer (who had financed Richards Music) retained the assets to the Martin Band Instrument Co., but eventually sold Martin in 1971 to Leblanc, now part of the Conn-Selmer conglomerate. Flat/Jacks Drums was purchased by former owner/founder[?] Ralph Kester.
1964: The assets of the F.A. Reynolds Co. were purchased by Maurice Berlin and the Chicago Musical Instrument (CMI) company; at the time, CMI was one of the largest musical instrument distributors in the world and owned F.E. Olds, Lowrey Organs, Gibson Guitars and several other firms.
As the new owners of F.A. Reynolds, one of CMI’s first actions was to pack up and move the company from its long-time plant in Cleveland to a new manufacturing facility in Abilene, Texas (August). With the move to Texas, CMI began the merger of F.A. Reynolds’ and F.E. Olds’ operations. Production for both companies during 1964-1970 was split between the Olds’ plant in Fullerton (350 South Raymond Avenue, Fullerton, CA) and the new Reynolds factory in Abilene (5520 North First Street, Abilene, TX). The trumpet, cornet, horn (except nickel-silver models) and trombone lines for both companies were made at the Olds plant in Fullerton, while the other brasses (plus nickel silver horns) for both companies were made at the Reynolds plant in Abilene. Some low brass parts, particularly tuba and sousaphone bells, were produced in Fullerton and then shipped to Texas for assembly with other parts being made in Abilene.
As part of the merged production, Reynolds expanded the Emperor lineup to include horns and baritones. Olds Ambassador French Horns produced at the Olds plant in Fullerton were rebranded as Reynolds Emperor horns, while Emperor and Ambassador baritones came off the same production lines at the Reynolds plant in Abilene, Texas. According to Bernie Marston, these Olds Ambassador instruments were sold as Reynolds Emperor models in an attempt to keep the dealer networks of both Olds and Reynolds intact. The Reynolds Emperor Flugelhorn was also produced after the move to Abilene and was based on the Olds Flugelhorn Model L-12.
In addition to instrument manufacturing in the Abilene plant, CMI established the Consolidated Band Instrument Service company as a distributor of instrument accessories, including lubricants, oils, grease, etc. for brass instruments.
The Reynolds serial number sequence was reset at 200,000 and instruments were engraved with “Made in Abilene, Texas” regardless of whether they were produced in Abilene or Fullerton.
1965: Reynolds hosted a Texas-themed “Reynolds Round-Up” open house on April 9-10, 1965 to celebrate the new plant in Abilene. Print advertisements from 1965 are “Texas themed” and celebrate Reynolds’ new start.
1969: CMI was purchased by conglomerate Ecuadorian Company Limited (ECL), a Panamanian holding company whose principal business was a brewery in Ecuador. A year later ECL became Norlin Industries — “Norlin” was named for Norton Stevens, ECL president, and Maurice Berlin, CMI president.
Merle Johnson recalls that as Maurice Berlin grew older, increasing control of Norlin’s operations was given to Berlin’s son, Arnold M. Berlin, and his college associates. This ushered in the era of aggressive profit management and ultimately spelled the beginning of the end for Olds and Reynolds.