Tape replay keyboard
Encyclopedia
A tape replay keyboard is a musical instrument that uses pre-recorded analog tapes to produce sound when a key is pressed. Examples of tape replay keyboards include the Chamberlin
, the Mellotron
, and the Birotron
.
Today samplers
are used to play back musical sounds from computer memory instead of analog tape.
Tape replay keyboards were invented in the late 1940s and were in use in the music world from the 1950's through the late 1970s, the most popular being the Mellotron
. With the creation of cheaper music synthesizers and samplers through digital storage, tape replay keyboards became largely obsolete, although some are still in use today and are even being produced new.
The reasons for this are:
1) Tape replay keyboards have been used on and even responsible for creating iconic recordings (for example the Mellotron on the Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever
")
2) Tape replay keyboards use pre-recorded tapes where not only the musical notes are recorded, but also, for example the pick of a guitar, air in the flute (Chamberlin
), scratch of the violin or cello bow (Mellotron
), the breath of a choir or ambience of a real church organ (Birotron
), as well as the ambient acoustics of the room the instruments were recorded in. Many musicians feel this adds an extra quality of realism and 'time capture' which is ignored or compressed out and missing from digital sources.
3) The sound of tape replay keyboards is generally of lower fidelity and as such is very smooth, shimmering, haunting and distinctive in recordings that feature them. Tape replay keyboards add an elusive colour to music that cannot be created or replicated easily by other means. This is due to tapes riding slightly uneven over tape heads with changing fidelity.
The sound is also slightly different each time the key is played because the tape has moved and the start point is at a different position.
Other related keyboards that retain similar qualities are the Optigan
, Talentmaker, and the Orchestron
which have even lower fidelity as the sounds are played back from pre-recorded waveforms on optical discs.
All tape and disc replay keyboards are rare, not having been made in comparably large quantities. Occasional mechanical unreliability and lack of proper maintenance quickly led to mechanical breakdowns and their falling out of fashion at the end of the 1970's.
The Optigan
is the most common of these and easiest to find, being mass manufactured by toy company Mattel
. The Mellotron
comes second with production of 1850 machines.
The Chamberlin
follows with production of around 500-700 machines. The Orchestron
follows next
with around 70-100 machines produced.
The Talentmaker had around 50 machines produced, and the rarest and hardest to find is the Birotron
which was never released commercially with only 8-12 pre-production prototypes ever assembled.
Chamberlin
The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by Iowa, Wisconsin inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. Various models and versions of these Chamberlin music instruments...
, the Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, and the Birotron
Birotron
The Birotron is a tape replay keyboard conceived by Dave Biro of Yalesville, Connecticut, USA, and funded by Rick Wakeman of the progressive-rock group Yes, and Campbell Soup Company-Pepperidge Farm Foods in the mid-late 1970s....
.
Today samplers
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
are used to play back musical sounds from computer memory instead of analog tape.
Tape replay keyboards were invented in the late 1940s and were in use in the music world from the 1950's through the late 1970s, the most popular being the Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
. With the creation of cheaper music synthesizers and samplers through digital storage, tape replay keyboards became largely obsolete, although some are still in use today and are even being produced new.
The reasons for this are:
1) Tape replay keyboards have been used on and even responsible for creating iconic recordings (for example the Mellotron on the Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever
Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...
")
2) Tape replay keyboards use pre-recorded tapes where not only the musical notes are recorded, but also, for example the pick of a guitar, air in the flute (Chamberlin
Chamberlin
The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by Iowa, Wisconsin inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. Various models and versions of these Chamberlin music instruments...
), scratch of the violin or cello bow (Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
), the breath of a choir or ambience of a real church organ (Birotron
Birotron
The Birotron is a tape replay keyboard conceived by Dave Biro of Yalesville, Connecticut, USA, and funded by Rick Wakeman of the progressive-rock group Yes, and Campbell Soup Company-Pepperidge Farm Foods in the mid-late 1970s....
), as well as the ambient acoustics of the room the instruments were recorded in. Many musicians feel this adds an extra quality of realism and 'time capture' which is ignored or compressed out and missing from digital sources.
3) The sound of tape replay keyboards is generally of lower fidelity and as such is very smooth, shimmering, haunting and distinctive in recordings that feature them. Tape replay keyboards add an elusive colour to music that cannot be created or replicated easily by other means. This is due to tapes riding slightly uneven over tape heads with changing fidelity.
The sound is also slightly different each time the key is played because the tape has moved and the start point is at a different position.
Other related keyboards that retain similar qualities are the Optigan
Optigan
The Optigan was an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound...
, Talentmaker, and the Orchestron
Orchestron
The Vako Orchestron is a keyboard instrument, which produces its sound through electronic amplification of sound pre-recorded on an optical disc...
which have even lower fidelity as the sounds are played back from pre-recorded waveforms on optical discs.
All tape and disc replay keyboards are rare, not having been made in comparably large quantities. Occasional mechanical unreliability and lack of proper maintenance quickly led to mechanical breakdowns and their falling out of fashion at the end of the 1970's.
The Optigan
Optigan
The Optigan was an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound...
is the most common of these and easiest to find, being mass manufactured by toy company Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
. The Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
comes second with production of 1850 machines.
The Chamberlin
Chamberlin
The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by Iowa, Wisconsin inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. Various models and versions of these Chamberlin music instruments...
follows with production of around 500-700 machines. The Orchestron
Orchestron
The Vako Orchestron is a keyboard instrument, which produces its sound through electronic amplification of sound pre-recorded on an optical disc...
follows next
with around 70-100 machines produced.
The Talentmaker had around 50 machines produced, and the rarest and hardest to find is the Birotron
Birotron
The Birotron is a tape replay keyboard conceived by Dave Biro of Yalesville, Connecticut, USA, and funded by Rick Wakeman of the progressive-rock group Yes, and Campbell Soup Company-Pepperidge Farm Foods in the mid-late 1970s....
which was never released commercially with only 8-12 pre-production prototypes ever assembled.