A Brief History of the Conn Company (1874-present)*

by Margaret Downie Banks, Ph.D.
Senior Curator of Musical Instruments
National Music Museum
Vermillion, South Dakota

© Copyright 1997-2009 by The National Music Museum.
All Rights Reserved.
No portion of this site, including this page and any of the separate pages, may be copied, retransmitted, reposted, duplicated or otherwise used without the express written permission of The National Music Museum.

*Excerpted and updated from Elkhart's Brass Roots: An Exhibition to Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of C. G. Conn's Birth and the 120th Anniversary of the Conn Company by Margaret Downie Banks (Vermillion, South Dakota: The Shrine to Music Museum, 1994).

Division of Research, Development and Design (1940-1960)

One area of the company that flourished after the war, however, was the Division of Research, Development and Design, under the direction of Dr. Earle Kent (1910-1994). The many innovations introduced by this department included the Connsonata organ, the first all-electronic organ (1946); the Lektro tuner, which played a continuous pitch for tuning (1948); the Electronic Music Box, designed to supplement other instruments in the film and recording industries (1950-51); the Strobotuner, a simplified and portable version of the earlier Stroboconn (1954); the Connstellation line of brasses (mid-1950s); the Electronic Clinician, which gave a visual indication for evaluating intonation, intensity, and quality of musical tones (1957); the Dynalevel, an audio-visual aid to measure dynamic levels (1960); and, the first fiberglass sousaphone (1960).

Above: The model 2D Connsonata Electronic Organ was introduced in 1951. It had two manuals and 25-note flat pedals. From a postcard in the Conn Archive at the National Music Museum. Gift of Dr. Earle Kent, Elkhart, Indiana, 1992.   © 1997-2009 by The National Music Museum.

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