Birotron

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

Features

The Birotron was named after its inventor, Dave Biro, and developed with investment from regular Mellotron player Rick Wakeman.^[1][2] Like the Mellotron, the instrument produced sounds from magnetic tape, but it used eight-track tape in a loop. As such tapes never need rewinding, 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 after hearing Wakeman play the Mellotron on Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes.^[4] He used the keyboard from an old piano and parts from a local hardware store, plus a set of automotive eight-track decks from a junkyard.^[3] Biro built the prototype in his father's garage with "no plans, no drawings. nothing. All I remember is that absolutely no one thought it could work".^[4] Despite several faults, Biro 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.^[5] Development progressed in 1975, when Wakeman had Biro produce a working model with help from his technicians at his factory and rehearsal facility in High Wycombe, England.^[6]

The Birotron was announced in September 1975 and marketed by Complex 7, a group of companies that Wakeman directed to help build and market the instrument.^[7][8] Pete Robinson was in charge of operations.^[9] Advance orders came from John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Keith Emerson, John Paul Jones and Elton John.^[1][3] Wakeman used the instrument on his solo album Criminal Record and on Yes's Tormato.^[10]

In late 1978, Wakeman said that between 30 and 35 unfinished models had been built, and the instrument performed to his satisfaction in a studio setting, but problems arose when it was used on tour with Yes a year prior. Its precise voltage requirements made it unsuitable for use in countries outside the UK, and a decision had yet to be made to either produce several models to work on different voltages, or add a built-in transformer.^[10] Wakeman said a key problem was that the instrument had "teething problems" that did not 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. Ultimately, few models were manufactured and the instrument never entered regular production. Wakeman later said he lost around £50,000 in the investment.^[11]

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^[update], only two working models are known to exist.^[11]

References

Sources

External links

• Eight Track Heaven - Birotron page featuring an interview with Rick Wakeman
• Dave Biro Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2013)

This page was last edited on 2 February 2024, at 05:30