Les Nicholas

Video

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Job Title
Former Engineer
Company Name
Estey Organ Company

Les Nicholas was hired as an engineer to assist the famed electronic music inventor Harold Bode.  Mr. Bode was given a lab within the Estey Organ Company In Brattleboro, Vermont in 1954.  The company wanted to expand it's products to include an electronic organ.  To assist with the task he hired Les in 1955 and the two created the star of the art Estey Electronic Organ, first the S and then the AS1 models.  Harold left the company in 1959 and would go on to write an article on modular synthesizers that would be the inspiration of a young Bob Moog.  Les stayed another year with Estey until it was closed. At the end of which entered the realm of service to consumer electronics,- TV, Audio, Video, and the myriad of related products, which includes Electronic Organs. He also was certified to service Lowrey and Gulbransen organs as well as Estey organs and others.