Chamberlin Rhythmate Tape Loop Drum Machine

[MrWestonColleon]

I can hear the tape .. pretty shit sound

[videogamehistorian]

This is an amazing machine ! A question: given the enormous number of times the loop passes against the head, what was the typical life of the loops ? What type of tape was used ? At what speed did it play ? It would be fun to see the inside.

[Vinylrecordsneverdie]

@1:23 reggae sound

[freakyfadge]

was this ever used on a commercial recording?

[konfusion303]

I recently acquired one of these and am wondering what they would sell for in today's market?

[dendendn]

awesome !

[greensleeves32]

so dope! I want one to wreck and sample and produce with! It has that great analog sound I can hear even through my computer speakers... damn that's cool... ty for that!

[Raunchola]

1:33 Trio - DaDaDa ;)

It's absolutely impressing to see an ancient instrument which is in such a good working condition. Love it.

[buddyeagle]

the first Drum Machine or Rhythm box was RHYTHMICON.

[peahix]

@buddyeagle The rhythmicon wasn't anything like a drum machine

[funkberto]

@peahix Maybe wasn't a drum machine, but was a rhythm box

[Thetitwrench]

@funkberto i wouldn't call it a "rhythm box," as that implies "drum machine." it was a keyboard instrument whose tones were pulsed according to their harmonic series relation with the bottom note (fundamental). do a youtube search to see a demo video of the rhythmicon- apparently i can't post a link to it in the comments...

[motionate]

Amazing!! What will they think of next?

[paulj0557]

I've made lots of tape loops with a standard Wollensak table top reel to reel. Up until about 10 years ago you could find a Wollensak RR's 3-4 times a year, but they seem to be extinct now....but anyway, I'm jealous! This could be fun.

To clean up the sound of your loops, provided this even has an output jack on it, I had much luck with a little known device called a dynamic range expander, model DB1. In conjunction with an aural exciter, and I bet you'd think there was a young drum looper. in..

[AlexMolnar123]

tom waits.

[tomlovin2]

1949. The first drum machine ever made.

[FeCr3]

Wow! Never seen before!

[onephatcat]

cool! but no midi sync ;-)

[ImantaBabite]

Thanks very, very much for this upload!! 1:34 sounds like "When You Find Out" by The Nerves, and I may have heard 1:28 on some soul 45. So I guess these did get used on records occasionally, but just aren't as widely discussed nowadays.

[samplesmasher]

Awesome!

[snolan1990]

Ever since I heard about this machine I have wanted to hear it and I have to say it sounds really good, The ride is just how I expected it to be.

[SardarDholi]

That is nuts. Makes all my Top of the range Akai gear looks worthless. Thats absolutly amazing. I wish i could get my hands on oldskool gear like that. Nice one mate. Cheers

[olijack57]

I maybe the price of this machine it functions like a mellotron ?

wonderful !

[FlametopFred]

does Tom Waits know about this? He probably owns two or three . .. very cool. Can I ask how you come across this stuff?

[thePOLYGIRL]

real cool sounds on the tapes ! wow

[Merlin97]

That rig is better than the digitized samples we buy these days. Its like having some old pro on a classic kit sitting right in the room with you jamming.

What's the total volume output like? I suppose it could be amped. Thanks for showing this, man!

[Keijz74]

:43 <3

[JBKShoup]

So nice to see another amazing invention that my Grandpa Did!! :) Thanks so much for sharing. It's great to see it's still around and kickin'.

HUGS

Bridget Chamberlin-Shoup

Southern California

[MarsHottentot]

The man was a genius!

[bigcitymusic]

@JBKShoup Grandpa was quite a brilliant inventor; his creations still amaze us today!

[FreddieMaranzano]

Simply Awesome!

[terrytees]

WOW, sounds great. Crazy to think its over 60 years old.

These are the orginal tapes sounds right?

[outled]

probably the coolest thing ive ever seen. :O

[jeffkahl]

that was really cool! pretty authentic sounding beats too!

[feinmotoriker]

Great demo of a great machine!

Isn't it possible to avoid this hasty change of the small lever back to the A position after tape change, but go from C over B to A position every second tape for a more convenient listening experience?

[musiccalgary]

WOW! For the time and place that was extremely superb quality in a beatbox.

I'm really impressed.

[eric1love]

Excellent

[VJFranzK]

I bet the "crosstalk" could be interesting for circutbendy stuff ;-) another great video.

[mickk44flungie]

Bloody brilliant.

[Keijz74]

It has a rhythm that reminds me of Sympathy for the devil. It's in some RothHandle video.

[funkberto]

From what YEAR appear this tape loop machine?

[RustyBlade69]

@funkberto 1949, this machine is really OLD

[aleksidyll]

nice!

[squidfanny]

Wow, does this still qualify as an analog drum machine?

[pidipid]

awesome sounds! was there a built-in speaker or 1/4" outputs, or what?

[virgilio72]

Samplers' grandfather! Very cool, and loops are hi-fi, too!

[shineon1967]

ever tried to record a Funky Drummer loop onto it?

[Keijz74]

Around 1.55 reminds me of the intro of Break On Through by The Doors.

[immasuperninja]

that is mo dopenessssss

[charlessmyth]

Excellent sounds. I wonder how long the tape loops lasted in comparison to the short life of the tape loops on echo machines such as the Watkins Copycat or Roland Space Echo.

[youvexme]

this is cool as all hell. I want one!

[dubhippy]

the mellotron of drum machines. never heard of these. there a couple of nice lops in here that would be nice in a mix

[MrStereo]

The Beat at 1:34 is Sooo Crazy!!!

[Keijz74]

Really nice indeed.

[Interests2009]

Nice piece of machinery

[civilbeing]

that is fucking cool

[RustyNuts]

How do I find one of these!!

[Plasticsoul]

good luck! if you do find one of these be prepared to pay HUGE money for it. anything Chamberlin is outrageously expensive.

[bartenational]

that reminds me, I had an idea of making cassette drum and rythem loops and selling them in the 80's but I didn't have any resource for making them

[bartenational]

Great stuff

[mrbibio]

That's the freshest God damn machine I've ever seen. Listen to the state of those recordings!

[DJBonc]

does it still have the original tape loops?

can you put new ones in with any sample on them?

[PG1986ko]

lol.funny shit but part of history

[Lachlant1984]

When was the unit made? Did you have to restore it when you got it? Would it be easy to replace the tapes in the unit?

[peahix]

mine was likely made in the 60s. it did need some work, and continues to need upkeep, but nothing major. it would not be easy to replace the tapes because they're an odd width 3-track format.

[GNeuman]

Fantastic!!

Does it have MIDI???

[Lachlant1984]

I highly doubt this machine has MIDI, after all, it's based on analogue tape loops.

[marcoharder]

MIDI was invented in the 80s stupid

[GNeuman]

Yes, 1983 to be precise, the Yamaha DX9 I bought in 1984 was one of the first synths to have MIDI..

Sheeesh........try to make a joke.........

[GNeuman]

Why would I lie?.........check out my vids and you'll see my studio, been playing over 25years.

Thanks for your retarded comments,ever considered getting a sense of humour transplant?...

[Plasticsoul]

the only thing that made your comment funnier was somebody trying to explain it to you. LOL! it must suck going through life with absolutely no sense of humor :)

[Keijz74]

Mighty Interesting Drum Improvisations?

Oh yes!

;o)#

[Amazology]

Simply Outstanding !

[deadvolvo1]

Coolest drum machine I've seen aside from the Wurlitzer Side Man or the Roland TR-808. Fantastic post!

[Hobbs360]

totaly insane

[willrs]

That sounds terrific.

[CassetteMaster]

That thing is AWESOME!! So cool how it uses TAPE loops! ANALOG drum machine with TUBES! I love it! I liked the beats at :44, 1:41 and 3:33.

[MarsHottentot]

100% super cool. Can't wait for that disc set!

[amnisiakos]

Do you sell it?

:)

[HebrewRage]

damn that sounds good

[nutritionontape]

I just love how crusty and warm these sounds are. I'm looking forward to getting the Optigan disc from you and jamming with these on the MPC1000.

Matt

[jvangarling]

Amazing! I found your optigan website and read the whole story, when it comes to the part where you finally find your "Polynesian Village" disc... well, it was a moment :-)

I have a house full of Speak & Spells Ataris and Casios... yesteryear's failed attempts at realistic sounds are glorious today. Thanks for sharing your stuff!

[mellotrongirl]

Holay kow! what a versatile unit!

[peahix]

that's what all the girls say...! (sorry, couldn't resist...)

[mellotrongirl]

I've only seen one of those things...something like 12 years ago...kind of intimidating so I didn't want to monkey around with it. I know one came up for sale on eBay last year/don't know what it sold for.

[peahix]

ok, i'll resist the temptation to make more lewd innuendo! ;)

there have been a couple on ebay in recent years, at least one of which i seem to remember was listed several times with no takers at some large sum of money. seems to me the last one i saw that actually sold went for less than you might expect- maybe $500-$600? can't remember. i paid $150- for mine at a garage sale years ago.

[polyvoks]

many thanks for that, I'm very happy to ear that very beautiful and rare intrument , I'm also looking for one ,

congratulations

take care lucky man !