At the time of its conception, Pollard was a session drummer working for the Beach Boys and the Grass Roots.
[1] In 1976, he met Barton, who had designed and built some working prototypes which were previewed to some prominent drummers.
Their reactions were encouraging, so Joe, Mark and Donald Stone incorporated Pollard Industries and starting selling Syndrums in Culver City, California.
was a sine wave that pitch-bends down; it can be heard at the beginning of "Good Times Roll", the opening track of the Cars' 1978 debut album, throughout Sparks' 1979 album No.1 in Heaven, particularly the opening track "Tryouts for the Human Race" and "The Number One Song in Heaven", and the percussion break of "Rydeen" by Yellow Magic Orchestra.
After the Syndrum’s introduction to the marketplace, several companies produced electronic drum units, such as the Synare.