CHAMBERLIN RHYTHMATE Drum Machine

via this auction

"Approx. 15 7/8” wide x 11” deep (including knobs) x 6 3/4” tall (including steel bracket -- 5 1/8" tall without). Total weight: 15 lbs.

DESCRIPTION:
Rare, vintage drum machine.
Chamberlin Rhythmate model 20. Serial #4151. 14 tape loops, each loop with 3 different prerecorded drum tracks on it. Volume and tempo controls. Power indicator light. Single RCA jack on back. New 9 volt battery and 1 amp fuse included. (Note that this model does not have an internal speaker. Use an RCA to 1/4" plug to play through your guitar amplifier.)

Plywood cabinet finished with wood grain plastic laminate (formica). Painted aluminum face plate. There is a large steel bracket mounted on bottom bearing the Chamberlin manufacturer's plate (this bracket hugs the edge of my kitchen counter nicely, but presumably also functions as a means to hang the unit vertically, face plate up).

Circa mid 1970s (assuming the wiki article below is accurate), but the technology definitely belongs to the 1950s-60s. USA.

According to the wiki article below, fewer than 700 Chamberlins (comprising all models) were made 1951-1981, with fewer than 50 working examples accounted for today. "

CLICK FOR MORE »

Chamberlin Rhythmate

via this auction

"a piece of Musical history. A very nice working condition Chamberlin Rhythmate Vintage Tape Drum Machine. The sound is just wonderful... Tom Waits uses one."

See the Chamberlin label below for more including video.

Inside a Chamberlin Rhythmate.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Peter Forrest's A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers books

via this auction

"A complete two-volume set of the most comprehensive encyclopaedia of analogue synths and keyboards in the world - direct from the author. Now that all completely mint copies of the A-M part are sold out, I'm selling sets which include an A-M which is not mint...

"The A-M is a printers' run-on copy, so had no serial number, but I have written that in it, and the N-Z is serial number 855. Both books will be signed by the author - if you want a particular dedication, please say when you pay.

The original A-M was produced in 1994, and then re-written and expanded in 1998. There are probably nearly twice as many words crammed in to the second edition as there were in the first. The second edition has 320 pages, 16 of which are full colour, while the original edition only had 240 pages. There's a whole lot of extra information about EMS, Moog, and many other manufacturers; a greatly improved index, and a new index to the musicians mentioned in the book. So if you're into, say, Tangerine Dream, you can find the 25 pages on which they're mentioned; Tim Blake, 8 pages; and even Tim Buckley on two.

The first edition was printed in a run of 2000, and 2000 copies of this revised edition were also printed. This second edition has been officially out of print for well over a year now, so is impossible to buy via any bookseller like Amazon.

The original N-Z was printed in 1996, in a run of 2000, and then the second revised edition (of 3000) was printed in 2003. It has 384 pages, including 16 in full colour. Please check the photos to see the sort of coverage you will get of rare, obscure instruments like the Syntons and Wavemakers or ultra-famous offerings like the Rolands and Yamahas.

The total number of words in these two books is probably over half a million. With hundreds of illustrations, charts, etc., the whole package provides a comprehensive guide to analogue synths, organs, electric pianos, theremins, etc., up to 1998 for ones beginning A-M, and 2003 for the N-Zs. The books have been well-reviewed in magazines all round the world, by people as knowledgeable as Mark Vail and Gino Robair, and enjoyed by some of the best-known names in electronic music, such as Fatboy Slim, Hans Zimmer, Herbie Hancock, Aphex Twin, Chemical Brothers, Depeche Mode, and Adrian Utley of Portishead.

Who's selling: my name's Peter Forrest. I've been writing about synths, keyboards, effects and recording gear for over 20 years now, and for 14 years I have been running an internet auction called VEMIA (Vintage Electric Musical Instrument Auctions) which specialises in synths, drum machines, effects, and so on. Please check my eBay feedback to see that you can bid with confidence. Feel free to email me any questions."

I have a copy of these books. They are absolutely amazing. Highly, highly recommended. This is the ultimate analog synth reference book. This is also listed in the Synth Books section.

Pages pictured:

-Cover
-Roland System 100 and 100m
-Roland Pics
-Exclusively Analogue Aviator, F.A.T. and Farfisa
-Moog The Source
-Cano Electronics, CEI, Cellulophone, CFR Associates, INC, Chadacre, Chamberline
- Buchla, Crumar, Stylophone, Digisound Mod 80, EDP pics
EMS
- College, Series3000 - note that is not a x0xb0x
- Wavemaker
- Yamaha
- Moog pics

CLICK FOR MORE »

Jerry Lewis Chamberlin.mov

YouTube via MellotronMovie — May 17, 2010 — Jerry Lewis demonstrates the Chamberlin

Super Rare Vintage Chamberlin Rhythmate Drum Machine

Untitled from PHONOGRAPH VIDS on Vimeo.

via this auction
"super rare Chamberlin Rhythmate Drum Machine. This is an early model 35 with el84 tube amp, 12 inch speaker and 16 track tape loop. This IS the one! I haven't seen a Rhythmate for sale in over ten years on Ebay. These were Chamberlin's first designs and the predecessor to the Melotron. This is a must for any Chamberlin, Melotron, Optigan collector or avid fan... as am I. I hate to sell this as it was in my collection of things..."I'll never sell" but things happen, babies get made, and this too shall live on someone else's record. Here is a recording I did with it a couple months ago:
SONG SAMPLE OF ACTUAL MACHINE: MP3

It runs extremely smoothly and all 16 tracks play as seen in video. The back of the amp has controls for treble, bass, and volume as an addition to the volume knob on the top. The tempo stick is a little finicky though I have been told this is how they are. I believe it works similar to an optigan tempo which controls the voltage. 16 beautifully recorded drum tracks on to tape!"

Musikmesse: Side by Side: Melltron new and old by the new owner of the Mellotron/Chamberlin brand

YouTube via Moogulator
"The new and classic Mellotron shown at the Moog Booth at Musikmesse Frankfurt 2010, by sequencer.de synthesizer database - just "the looks" not a real "guide" or something."

Long Way Down

YouTube via dickeyboyz. "Michael Penn plays live"

via Brian Kehew:
"Patrick Warren playing Chamberlin M1, live with Michael Penn on the tonight show. Incredible work; he uses cellos and strings, marimbas, and the electric guitar patch for the solo at 2:20. I really think Patrick is the best player of tape-replay keyboards, very tasteful and beautiful and he created a unique style pitch-bending by slowing down the motor."

NAMM: Markus demo 2.mov

YouTube via MellotronMovie

"Markus Resch of Mellotron Archives shows under the hood of his new digital Mellotron"
Note this will feature Chamberlin and Optigan sounds as well.

NAMM: Mellodrama at NAMM

via the BIG City Music blog, and mentioned in this previous post. Note the event will start with Amin Bhatia and documentary filmmaker Dianna Dilworth discussing the impact and evolution of vintage keybards. Michelle Moog-Kouss will join for a Q&A. You might remember the name Amin Bhatia from this previous post.




MELLODRAMA: Mellotron/Chamberlin Documentary Trailer
YouTube via MellotronMovie

"From a California garage to Royal Albert Hall, Mellodrama is a documentary film by Dianna Dilworth that explores how the haunting sound of an ingenious contraption called the Mellotron changed the production and texture of popular music, from the Beatles to Kanye West.

The film will be released on DVD at the end of 2009.

http://www.mellodramadvd.com
http://www.mellotronmovie.com
http://twitter.com/MellotronMovie
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellodr...
http://www.myspace.com/mellotrondocum...

http://bigsky.bside.com/2009/films/me...
http://www.bafici.gov.ar/home09/en/fi...
http://www.documentamadrid.com/ficha....
http://www.revolvefestival.com/schedu..."

Brian Kehew and the Chamberlin 200.mov

YouTube via MellotronMovie
"An outtake from Mellodrama, the Mellotron documentary, in which Brian Kehew, author of "Recording the Beatles" talks about the very first Chamberlin keyboard invented by Harry Chamberlin in 1951. To find out more about the history of the Chamberlin and the Mellotron and the documentary that recounts the history, go to www.mellotronmovie.com or www.bazillionpoints.com."

Overdubbing Solo Chamberlin Voice to the Mazurka

YouTube via RothHandle
"Yesterday was a really good day in the studio. Me and Matti continued our work for the Theatre production of Bröderna Lejonhjärta (by Astrid Lindgren, the author of the Pippi books) for Stadsteatern. Yesterday we started working on the song part. All of these little films are merely snapshots of the work we are doing...In the end it is all up to the director to chisel out the moods and sounds he wants.

Yesterday we recorded two song Ideas one is for the Guldtuppen scene which is a sort medieval bar setting. The idea was to do a more rowdy cirkusy thing...So naturally we used the Optigan this time we pulled out a fairly rare one...The Mazurka disc from the Polka time package.

If you are curious about the studio please mumble by the homepage for more info and pics, booking and stuff. www.roth-handle.nu It has been a while since it was updated but there might be some bits and pieces of info you might find interesting.

Thanks for watching,

Mattias"

Chamberlin Rhythmmate

images via this auction
"late '60s CHAMBERLIN RHYTHMATE TAPE LOOP DRUM MACHINE. I purchased this item new at the Chamberlin exhibit at the 1968 NAMM show at the Chicago Hilton. I used and performed with it for maybe 3 - 4 months. It sounded great. I then put it aside and played in several bands that had drummers. It sat on a back stockroom shelf wrapped in plastic for 40 years. The unit still works fine. Sometimes you have to "coax" the tape to run by pressing gently on the drive roller. The unit has either 14 or 16 different tracks. The movable head designates which track is playing. There is a top mounted tempo control, volume control and a tone control located on the bottom of the unit. There is a number on the bottom of the unit : 25 618 I'm not sure what that number means. It measures 6 X 8 X 4 1/2 inches and is in excellent condition. It does NOT have scrapes, scratches or wear & tear marks. It is AC powered and does not require any adapters. There is NO internal speaker. It hooks up to an amp like any current model drum machne. A hookup cable is included. It does NOT PLAY IN STEREO ! The tape in the unit is a rock style. There is a SECOND TAPE included which should have latins and traditional '60's beats. I was told that the inventor of this unit also designed the famous "Mellotron" from the '70's."

SampleTron Video Walkthrough

YouTube via audiomidicom
"Derek Floyd of IK Multimedia walks you through the features and sounds of the IK Multimedia SampleTron."

Chamberlin Rhythmate Tape Loop Drum Machine

YouTube via peahix
"This is a quick demo of my Chamberlin Rhythmate. This was an early drum machine which played back tape loops. It's a predecessor of the Mellotron. A lever moves the tape head across 14 different tape loops, each of which has 3 tracks on it, for a total of 42 different drum loops. A sub-lever shifts the head across the tape to align it with one of the 3 loops. Sometimes it's hard to avoid crosstalk.

Samples of all the loops from this Rhythmate are available as bonus material on my Optigan/Orchestron/Talentmaker sample CD-Rom, which can be ordered here:

http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan.html

Here's a little infomercial i put together for the cd-rom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeUeME..." (previously posted here).

Big Elf - "Madhatter"

YouTube via sross108. Two Mellotrons and a Minimoog. via Brian in the comments of this post. "Maybe they should check out "Big Elf" - who do music just like this for about 15 years, with real Mellotron, Moog Modular, Hammond and Chamberlin."

Chamberlin M-300

images via this auction.

"For your consideration is this 1959 Chamberlin M-300 electro-mechanical keyboard in 100% ALL ORIGINAL condition. This one-of-a-kind Chamberlin M-300 was invented and crafted by Harry Chamberlin for the great Bobby Darin. This exact Chamberlin is the one which was later used on Darin's 1960 hit "Mack the Knife." Harry Chamberlin only made ONE M-300, which is essentially the better half of an M-600.

This Chamberlin has been completely restored to factory specs and is ready for professional studio recording use. In the early M-600s, and in this M-300, the tapes themselves have much more dynamics and detail than the later tapes found in the M1s. This is probably due to fewer generations of copies to the original masters. Additionally, the vacuum tube preamp and amplification stages are far superioir sounding to the transistorized amplifcation stages found in the M1.

The sound of this M-300 is far superior to that of an M1 and M4, and it sounds most similar to a Mellotron Mk II. The keyboard action on the 300 is much better suited for the mechanical tape keyboard system. The keys have much better response to the tapes than an M1.

Recording directly off the speaker is much more dynamic than going direct, as both the amplification stage and quality of the speaker are amazing.

There were a couple owners between myself and the great Bobby Darin- none of whom are very interesting musicians are who were able to express the greatness of this keyboard.

None except the notorious and legendary Vincent Gallo who used it for recording and performance on several occasions. I tried to buy this unit from Gallo for years offering cash or whatever it would take to get it, but finally during a restoration Gallo was doing on his Universal Audio board I was able to offer the unfindable parts he needed to complete the task. So I acquired this machine from Gallo after he relucatantly did a deal with me, even insulting me as I left.

I expect him to bid if he finds out it is for sale."