Birotron
The Birotron was a keyboard instrument that was developed in the late 1970s by the American David Biro in collaboration with the keyboardist Rick Wakeman . Technically and sonically, it was connected to the Mellotron and, according to the developers' plan, should iron out some of the disadvantages of its well-known model.
The Birotron was based on analog sampling and played back sounds stored on 8-track cassettes , the tapes of which, in contrast to the tapes of the Mellotron, could be played back as an endless loop . In this way, the Birotron could hold tones indefinitely, while the tapes of the Mellotron rewound by themselves after about eight seconds and the tone was interrupted. In addition, the Mellotron was not suitable for fast runs, as the tapes reacted with a delay to the keystroke.
The Birotron was manufactured under the model name B90 and had a keyboard with 37 keys, two preamplifiers and various options for changing the sound. 20 eight-track cassettes, on each of which the sounds of four instruments were recorded, were inserted into the housing. The price was set at £ 1,000 .
David Biro invented the Birotron and presented it to Wakeman after a concert at Carnegie Hall in 1975 , which fascinated him so much that he financed Biro to build more copies. For this purpose the company Birotronics Ltd. founded, which according to its own information had received over 1000 pre-orders for the instrument. However, this company went bankrupt in 1979 and, according to Biro, could only produce 17 copies of the instrument between 1975 and 1978, four of which went to Wakeman. Wakeman, on the other hand, named production figures of 35 pieces in interviews and added that of his four instruments two were stolen and the other two were irreparably damaged.
Wakeman used the Birotron on the albums Tormato (1978) and Yesshows (1980) his band Yes as well as on his solo album Criminal Record (1977). It can also be heard on three albums by the band Earthstar and Tangerine Dream also used this instrument.