RMI (Rocky Mount Instruments)
Rocky Mount Instruments (RMI) was a subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, active 1966–1982, formed to produce portable electronic keyboards: electric pianos, harpsichords and, most famously, the Electra-piano (1967) — a four-octave instrument with a dedicated LC oscillator per key and a "flying hammer" mechanism, retailing around $695–845 for the companion Explorer models.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-rocky-mount-instruments.md]
Why it matters to the Hammond story
RMI's Electra-piano and harpsichord models became the standard second keyboard bolted next to the Hammond in late-1960s/70s rock rigs — portable, loud and cutting where a second tonewheel organ was neither:
- Jon Lord of Deep Purple kept an RMI Electra-piano-plus-harpsichord in his Hammond-and-Marshall arsenal; it is featured on Fireball ("Demon's Eye") and across the Mark II Purple years^[raw/articles/wikipedia-rocky-mount-instruments.md]^[raw/articles/wikipedia-jon-lord.md]
- Brian Auger used RMI keyboards alongside his Hammond in the Trinity years^[raw/articles/wikipedia-brian-auger.md]
- Other players: Todd Rundgren, Steve Winwood, Rick Wright, Herbie Hancock, Ray Manzarek^[raw/articles/wikipedia-rocky-mount-instruments.md]
The portable-keyboard problem RMI solved for organists is the same thread explored in Portable Hammonds.