Chamberlin Rhythmate Tape Loop Drum Machine

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=aeUeMEhqLA0

Category:

Music

Tags:

• chamberlin
• rhythmate
• mellotron
• analog
• tape
• replay
• drum
• machine
• sampler
• vintage

[buddyeagle]

the first Drum Machine or Rhythm box was RHYTHMICON.

[peahix]

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

[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

[FreddieMaranzano]

Simply Awesome!

[nancythetall]

@MrWestonColleon That's part of the sound. Tape is pleasant.

[nancythetall]

I am salivating.

[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

[bigcitymusic]

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

[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 !