Chamberlin

He designed the first Chamberlin instrument as early as 1949, intended as a home entertainment device for family sing-alongs and playing the big band standards of the day.

When the player releases the key, the sound stops, and the tape rewinds by either metal spring rods (on the early Chamberlins) or by a return-roller mechanism (on the later M1 models).

Harry Chamberlin converted a walk-in closet into a home studio and spent considerable time (usually from sunrise to sunset) experimenting with sounds.

The Chamberlin sounds have little compression and possess dynamics true to the instruments recorded on the tapes (such as the air in the flute, or the flow in of the strings).

In an effort to compete, these companies created drum rhythms and added plastic tabs with orchestral instrument names on them.

The American Federation of Musicians took notice and attempted to limit live performances of Chamberlin instruments fearing that their members would be put out of work.

Franson travelled the country offering the Chamberlin instruments to music stores, parlours, and cocktail lounges.

Offers of wider distribution were made, but Harry Chamberlin preferred word of mouth advertising and did not like the terms and conditions of distributorship and eschewed it.

Franson had left for England by boat taking two Chamberlin 600 models with him (one of these eventually became the possession of Todd Rundgren's studio and appears on XTC's Skylarking album in 1986).

Mistaking Chamberlin sounds for real instruments is common because they were recorded with no processing and because there were fewer mixdown master tapes used compared to the Mellotron library.

These musicians included Disneyland/Disney Worlds' live performance artist Michael Iceberg in his shows featuring electronic instruments.

Others include Skip Konte with Three Dog Night, Olivia Newton-John, Leon Russell (Carney in 1972), Neil Merryweather, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Ambrosia, Mike Pinder with The Moody Blues on the album Seventh Sojourn (1972), American progressive rock band Ethos, David Bowie (from Low in 1977 through Scary Monsters in 1980), Edgar Winter (Jasmine Nightdreams in 1975), Joe South, Iron Butterfly, Chip Taylor, New York session player Barry Frederick, Canadian musicians Joe and Gino Vannelli, jazz/fusion group Shadowfax (Watercourse Way in 1976), and Bob Seger keyboardists Robyn Robbins and Tom Neme.

In the 1980s Chamberlin recordings were minimal but producers Mitchell Froom (Crowded House) and Todd Rundgren (XTC's Skylarking in 1986) used the instrument.

[2] The Chamberlin experienced a revival in the 1990s with a new generation of musicians using them and appreciating the unique sounds produced by playing them in unorthodox ways.