Check amazon for Triumphs & Trials of an Organ Builder
After further communication with Deutsch expressing Allen's interest, plans were made for me to visit Rockwell in mid-November. We arranged an appointment to meet at Rockwell's corporate offices near the Los Angeles airport. So, on the designated day, I made my way to the headquarters of Rockwell, not knowing just what to expect.
As I approached the office building, I was awestruck. I had never dealt with such a massive organization before. There were so many people, some in military uniforms. I was duly impressed even before entering the multi-story office structure. After checking in through the security system, I met the man who called me on the phone a few weeks earlier, Ralph Deutsch. Others were also there including Harold Downes, a Vice President. When the cordialities were completed, we entered the elevator, which was to convey us to the roof. Another wave of awe shot through me. There, on a pad, was a helicopter ready to whisk us to the Anaheim facility many miles away. Although I had never been in a helicopter before, I never batted an eye upon entering. The President of Allen Organ Company of Macungie, Pennsylvania, appeared calm, cool, and collected — as though riding helicopters was part of my daily routine. However, my heart had a mind of its own, and it was revving up along with the chopper blades.
Arriving at Anaheim, we landed on another roof. As we descended into the building, I tried to focus my mind on the business at hand — an objective assessment of what all this might mean to Allen Organ. We entered the room containing the new system, and I saw it for the first time face to face.
I immediately recognized a Lowrey spinet organ console, but coming out of it was a cable which was hooked into a strange-looking piece of equipment. Deutsch took over the conversation and discussed the unit, explaining that this was a purely experimental system that was built to demonstrate some of the potential of their newly evolving ideas regarding the design and construction of organs. He further explained that with a development effort based on the wonders of space-age microelectronics, the whole tone generator of an organ with total harmonic control could be shrunk to the size of a magazine.
Mr. Downes had touched on the joint-venture plan. Allen would fund the project and provide the organ/musical know-how, Rockwell would do the engineering design, manufacture the resulting MOS/LSI circuit devices, and provide technical support. Allen would have exclusive rights to the new digital organ technology, would buy the MOS/LSI circuit devices from Rockwell, and assemble and sell organs based on the new technology.
I must have expressed some incredulity when listening to the primitive sounds of the experimental system because both Deutsch and Mr. Downes essentially said not to worry because Rockwell was well on its way to putting a man on the moon. Having this obvious expertise, they could guarantee that any problems I had with sound quality could be solved.
I had been presented with a myriad of factors to consider. The picture Rockwell painted was spellbinding. However, the stakes were enormous. Allen's future as a company was on the line. I had both positive and negative feelings about the situation. Let me share some of my thoughts from that point in time.
On the plus side, I was very impressed with Deutsch's description of the harmonic-control capabilities of the proposed tone generator. The harmonics available to create a sound are somewhat analogous to the colors available to create a painting. He said that I would have precise control over the 24 harmonics generated by the system at that time. To me, this was a most exciting prospect. I had been using a spectrum analyzer in my work with analog tone generators and knew about the sounds of tones in relation to their harmonic structures. The problem with the analog generators was that the harmonic structures could not be controlled at will. It was a frustrating hit-or-miss proposition. So, Deutsch's portrayal of the new system's total harmonic control made a great, positive impression on me.
It was obvious to me that Deutsch played a central role in the technicalities of the new system. He did all the talking, at least with regard to the technicalities. During my visit he readily volunteered that he was the inventor of the digital organ concept and was its program manager at Rockwell. Among other things, he had taught electronics and had authored scientific books, one of which was even translated into Russian. I was duly impressed with such heavy academic and scientific credentials.
What I saw at Rockwell was definitely impressive. I saw the radically new technology associated with the space program. I saw the microchips which apparently had been used by the military for some time but were just now being made available to the commercial world. I saw the promise of incredible size and cost reduction made possible by the use of space-age electronics, not to mention the increase in reliability. I could visualize all kinds of organ-design possibilities given a small, low-cost, high-quality, highly reliable tone generator.
On the minus side, I knew that the sounds I actually heard were definitely not very impressive. In fact, in no way did the sounds I heard compare favorably with the electronic organs prevalent on the market at that time — including the Allen, of course. On the other hand, I had been assured by the Rockwell people that if Allen entered into a development program with them, the results would be stupendous.
Of course, there were a lot of other less tangible factors with which to deal. The feeling of flattery I experienced upon receiving that first call from Rockwell had been diluted. I had first naively assumed that Allen was the first company selected by Rockwell to be honored by the joint venture proposal. During my visit, I learned that Rockwell had already approached other companies in the organ field. In fact, although I didn't know it at the time, I ultimately found out that Allen was actually the last to be called! At any rate, what I was told then was that although Rockwell was in contact with other companies, they definitely wanted to do business with Allen — assuming I didn't keep them waiting too long for an answer. Naturally, I responded with concern under the threat that if we didn't act quickly this new opportunity might be grabbed up by a competitor with resultant dire consequences for Allen.
With a mixed but heavy bag of ponderables, I returned to Allentown. After discussing the whole thing with my executive associates, we decided to take the gamble. In the following months, more visits were made in both directions to work out the details of the joint venture. Attorneys on both sides wrestled with the contracts. We on the Allen side did our best to ensure that the technical specifications were correct; however, we sure were inept in our comprehension of the new technology. I don't fault us, however. We were wrestling with a brand-new technology and, by definition, this meant that not many people understood it at that time.
At any rate, when we got to the technical details of the contracts, we expressed our requirements in the technical language familiar to us and Deutsch translated these requirements into the foreign language of the new technology. We didn't understand the foreign language of the new technology; however, we had no reason to be concerned with this procedure because, after all, we felt that we were in a joint venture. Rockwell and Allen would be partners. Obviously, in a joint venture, in order for each company to succeed individually, both companies have to work towards the success of the combined enterprise. In other words, there seemed to be a spirit of harmony and mutual cooperation at that time.
Negotiations concluded in May, 1969, with several agreements including the license, the patent, and the development contracts whereby Allen would pay Rockwell substantial monies and royalties should the development meet our expectations. Patents which would result from the program would be exclusively licensed to Allen. Allen would be obligated to convey cash and securities in the amount of at least one and one-half million dollars to Rockwell.