Ken Freeman

Ken Freeman (born 1947) is an English composer and session musician who performed most prominently on the massive concept album, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds of 1976. His most famous prototype of the Freeman String Symphonizer, Prototype #2, was constructed while living in London, and was the result of collaboration with City Electronics, an organ manufacturer based in the suburb of Harrow. The instrument was exhibited in 1971 at a local musical instrument fair, and attracted the investing interest of the Hertfordshire-based Ling Dynamics electronics firm. Ling premiered the third prototype at the Frankfurt Musik Messe in 1972 but, despite positive response, ceased further involvement with the project on the basis of an undetermined market. Following failed attempts to secure another investor and manufacturer throughout continental Europe, Freeman presented his design to the Chicago-based Lowrey Organ Company, who was, at the time, a division of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI). An agreement was settled upon, and CMI, as overseen by Lowrey, began to manufacture the first production models based on Freeman’s third prototype. At the point of the instrument’s release in 1974, the Cordovox Model CSS Freeman String Symphonizer name was used; more commonly, the instrument is simply referred to as the Freeman String Symphonizer. Having signed the rights to his design to Lowrey, Freeman effectively ended his involvement with the project. Today, he is often forgotten not only as the creator of this instrument, but also as the inventor of the string machine itself.