Chamberlin Rhythmate

Short description : One of the earliest ” drummachines ” in existence using prerecorded drummers for the rythms. Based on the same Idea as the Chamberlin and Mellotron.

Used by : As far as I know there aren´t any documented recordings with the rythmmate. As it sounds almost like a real drummer it is hard to make out though.

Production period : 1960 - 1969

Numbers made : 100

This is one of my new favorites for obvious reasons. Being a big fan and user of the mellotron and Optigan and drummachines getting my hands on this historic gem makes complete sense. To make matters very clear, the term drum ” machine ” is very widely used as there is very little machine like elements to this piece of ancient machinery. The loops are all of real drummers playing standard beats of the late 50´s and 60´s but as there weren´t any monitoring possibilities as there weren´t any drummachines yet, all the rythms are played freely tempowise which makes for interesting rythmic hmmm diversity. The worst ( or best if you like ) is a march beat that has no relation to military discipline at all. Honestly, the drummer must have been drunk. There are some latin beats that sound perfect for a tiki lounge and heavy footed waltzes. There are 36 loops all in all and the tempo also relates to the sound faster tempo higher pitch, like the Mellotron. Also the loops are cut and looped in the same out of wordly fashion which makes it all even more charming. Weird pings and scratches are plentiful.

I picked this one up from the B-52s keyboard tech who had had it one his repairlist for too long and wanted to get new tapes for his mellotron. I had a spare tape and voila !

This isn´t a piece of equipment for everyone but for the right track and right band it just might fit in. So far I have used with two bands Vijaya and Clockwork but it is also used on the Nanook disc ( not my unit though ).

Foto: David Lundberg

Moving pictures. Now with sound.