The Birotron was an electro-mechanical musical instrument based as a successor to the similar Mellotron, and financed by Rick Wakeman.

Features

The Birotron was named after its inventor, Dave Biro, with investment from regular Mellotron player Rick Wakeman.[1][2] Like the Mellotron, the instrument produced sounds from magnetic tape, but used eight track tape in a loop. This avoided the problem that the Mellotron had, where a sound would stop playing after around eight seconds.[1]

The instrument has 37 keys and features 19 eight track cartridges. Tapes could be easily exchanged or replaced, and it was intended that musicians could add their own recordings to the instrument.[3]

Production

Biro first started designing a tape-replay instrument in 1974, using the keyboard from an old piano, and parts from a local hardware store.[3] He persuaded Wakeman to financially invest in the instrument after meeting him backstage at a concert later that year. As part of the deal, Wakeman retained full rights with an offer of compensation to Biro should the instrument become successful.[4]

The instrument was announced in 1976, with advance orders coming from John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Keith Emerson, John Paul Jones and Elton John. However, few models were manufactured and the instrument never entered regular production.[1][3]

In 1979, Wakeman said a key problem was that the instrument had "teething problems" that didn't bother him, but would be unacceptable to the general public.[1] A further problem was the increasing popularity of string synthesizers which could reproduce a similar sound without any mechanical issues. Wakeman later said he lost around £50,000 in the investment.[5]

The only musicians other than Wakeman to have bought a Birotron are Tangerine Dream (who bought two), Klaus Schulze and Tom Rhea. As of 2019, only two working models are known to exist.[5]

References

  • Awde, Nick (2008). Mellotron: The Machines and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock. Bennett & Bloom. ISBN 978-1-898948-02-5.
  • Vail, Mark (2000). Keyboard Magazine Presents Vintage Synthesizers: Pioneering Designers, Groundbreaking Instruments, Collecting Tips,Mutants of Technology. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-603-8.
  • Lenhoff, Alan; Robertson, David (2019). Classic Keys: Keyboard sounds that launched rock music. University of North Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-57441-776-0.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.