Roland US Invests in Fender

Roland Corporation has recently announced a minority investment in Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC). This investment is intended to fortify the long-standing relationship between Roland Corporation U.S. and FMIC.

"Roland Corporation U.S. is pleased to partner with a company that's essentially an American icon," said Roland Corporation U.S. president Dennis Houlihan. "Not only is FMIC a world leader in manufacturing and distribution of electric guitars and amplifiers, but it's also a company committed to expanding the number of music makers worldwide. So this seemed an appropriate step for us to take as we move into the new year."

The solid relationship between Roland and FMIC has been strengthened over the years by innovations such as the Roland 13-pin GK Divided Pickup, a product which allows musicians to interface with Roland "GK-Ready" guitar processing and synthesis gear such as the VGA-7 V-Guitar Amp, VG-88 V-Guitar System and GR-33 Guitar Synthesizer. During the last decade, Roland has brought its successful GK Pickup format to guitarists worldwide by forging alliances with FMIC and other major guitar manufacturers, resulting in products like "Roland-Ready" Stratocasters, which feature a built-in GK Pickup.

"Our collective experience from the projects such as the GK pickup format has been wonderful and opened the door to further collaborations," said Fender Musical Instrument's Chairman and CEO Bill Schultz. "We look forward to now developing even more projects with Roland in the near future."