The RotoSound Story: How It All Began

In 1952 James How, a violin and viola student with a diploma in engineering, fell in love with the sound of the zither after watching the film The Third Man and took to learning the 32-string instrument.

After hours of playing, James ran out of zither strings and using his knowledge of acoustics, harmonics, engineering design and construction he designed himself a winding machine. With the aid of two of the family turning handles each end of his machine, after five minutes of frantic exhaustion one Zither string was produced.

As the years went by James How invented and designed more and more strings, more machines and in 1958 James and brother Ron formed their own business in Blackfen, Kent called Orchestral & Jazz Strings. The first strings were branded ‘Top Strings’ which soon changed to ‘Rotop’.

Among the first clients were the Shadows, Beatles, Rolling Stones, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, all strings for the Vox Organ Company, and for the Burns Guitar Company.

As more and more players sought the use of these roundwound strings James and Ron decided to create a new brand which summed up their innovation. Highlighting the strings’ distinct full, bright sound combined with the Latin verb for round, ‘Roto’, they called the new brand Rotosound.