RMI

RMI (Rocky Mount Instruments) was an American electronic keyboard manufacturer established in 1966 as a subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company. Design work was carried out at Allen's Pennsylvania headquarters, while manufacturing took place in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, which gave the division its name. The company grew out of Allen's late-1950s experiments with transistor-based organ circuitr...

15 Products · Used by 69 Artists

RMI Basswitch IQ DI Bass Preamps

^# 18

in Bass Preamps Rank

3 artists using

RMI Electra-piano and Harpsichord (300-Series) Vintage & Electric Pianos

5.0 (3)

^# 21

in Vintage & Electric Pianos Rank

36 artists using

RMI Rock-Si-Chord Vintage & Electric Pianos

5.0 (1)

^# 28

in Vintage & Electric Pianos Rank

17 artists using

RMI Lehle Basswitch Dual Band compressor Effects Processors

RMI Harmonic Synthesizer Synthesizers

4.0 (1)

5 artists using

RMIF Opus Synthesizers

4.0 (1)

RMI 360-Series Keyboard Amplifier Keyboard Amplifiers

4.0 (1)

^# 85

in Keyboard Amplifiers Rank

RMI Keyboard Computer KCII Synthesizers

2 artists using

RMI Calliope Organs

2 artists using

RMI Band Organ Organs

3 artists using

RMI Lark Organs

1 artist using

RMI Keyboard Computer KCI Synthesizers

4 artists using

RMI Explorer Organs

2 artists using

RMI DK-20 Digital Pianos

RMI Electra-piano and Rock-Si-Chord (600-Series) Vintage & Electric Pianos

2 artists using

RMI is best known for its Electra-piano, a fully electronic keyboard that differed from the electro-mechanical designs of Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Hohner. Roughly 10,000 Electra-pianos were built across models including the 300, 368, and 368X, and the instrument became a staple of late-1960s and 1970s rock and progressive keyboard setups. Earlier in the line, the Rock-Si-Chord (1967) offered harpsichord-style voices aimed at stage use.

The company also produced several pioneering digital instruments, including the Keyboard Computer I and II—early digital wavetable keyboards that used punch cards for additional waveforms—and the Harmonic Synthesizer, an additive-synthesis instrument with sliders controlling 16 harmonics per oscillator. The DK-20 digital keyboard followed at the end of the product line. Notable users of RMI instruments included Tony Banks, Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord, Todd Rundgren, Steve Winwood, Elton John, and Jean Michel Jarre, who featured the Keyboard Computer and Harmonic Synthesizer on Oxygène.

RMI has 15 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Synthesizers, Organs, and Vintage & Electric Pianos. Their gear is featured by 69 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Pop, and Electronic. Notable users include Jean Michel Jarre, Garth Hudson, and Rick Wakeman.