Main fundraiser photo

Help Save Music's Rarest Instrument



The Birotron, the rarest instrument to appear on albums, concerts and a hit single, now approaches extinction. Help us save it. 

You'll get special rewards for your donations! 
(See the bottom of this page)


"It was a very, very unique sound. If I’d have known what I know now I’d have mothballed it and brought it out ten to fifteen years later." Rick Wakeman

"I was taken by the Birotron because it doesn't sound like anything else, it just doesn't." Earthstar's Craig Wuest

John Lennon wanted one. So did Paul McCartney. So did Led Zeppelin, The Beach Boys, Chicago, Dudley Moore, Gary Wright, Keith Emerson, Elton John, Patrick Moraz, Rod Stewart and The Faces, Roger Whittaker, Captain and Tennille.. The list goes on and on.

Almost every popular musician and band in the mid 1970's wanted one. Over 1000 orders (totalling over 1 million dollars on paper) were received from musicians worldwide. As an early sampling keyboard, the Birotron was expected to change the face of music. But sadly only  3 bands ever received one: Yes, Tangerine Dream, and Klaus Schulze with Earthstar. The Birotron vanished without explanation. Musicians, agents, producers, and stores awaited the arrival of something that would never come: "Where can I get a Birotron?" became the most Frequently Asked Question to Keyboard magazine in 1979. 

So what happened? 


The Birotron went unreleased. Although they were manufactured from 1974-1977, and had sound libraries recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra for them, it was time consuming and costly, and the venture was abandoned by early 1979. It was thought that no customer would ever want an 8-track tape loop playing keyboard when digital computerized keyboards were on the horizon. The main sponsor - Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, lost upwards of half a million dollars.  Rudkin-Wiley - the manufacturers of the famous wind deflector atop of trucks, (and whose grandmother Margaret Rudkin founded Pepperidge Farm Foods) tried to pick up the pieces in 1980, but also lost huge amounts of money. Inventor Dave Biro was rendered penniless and homeless. No one even knows how many Birotrons were made. The best estimates are from 13-35. Today 5 Birotrons are accounted for. But only 2 are complete and functional. 

But for a fleeting moment, the Birotron was a success. The only keyboard in its tape loop genus, and halted by natural circumstances (not artificial low production) - stands as the rarest instrument to appear on record albums, concert tours and even a top 40 hit single. Yet, it's also the least recorded instrument: appearing only deep in the mixes, never featured by itself. Those who saw it in concert would have witnessed something truly unique, for the first.... and last time.

Birotron 8 track loop tapes had a 100 hour lifespan. With no replacement tapes available, the exact sounds and atmospheres it produced disappeared from music. What those sounds really sounded like has remained a mystery for almost 40 years. 

Today no Birotron has an 'original condition' tape set. All the 8 track tapes have been worn or erased (if playable at all). The Birotron remains an unexplored instrument. Over 100 original studio master tapes have been unearthed but have never been heard.

Ironically the technology that killed the Birotron can now be used to save it.

The goal of this project is to:

1) Save the master tapes from further deterioration and archive them digitally.

2) Make new playable tape loop cartridges for the Birotron.

3) Make a commemorative Birotron album.

4) Make a museum quality hologram of a Birotron performance.

5) Arrange a Birotron/Mellotron live concert performance.

Your support funds go to literally saving music's rarest instrument from extinction. Over 100 Birotron studio master tapes are deteriorating and need to be cleaned and heat treated in a special oven to dry them out. Then the tapes can played on old reel to reel machines in the studio, and the precious sounds saved to a computer.  

The next step is editing and recording those sounds onto tape in unused mint condition blank 8 track tape cartridges. Once these tapes are put into the Birotron, we'll be hearing sounds from another era, 40 years ago, for the first time. We'll be discovering what's in the Birotron 'time capsule' together.

Then, a special commemorative Birotron album will be recorded. Using only vintage instruments, the music will represent what might have been recorded by other bands in that era, had the Birotron been released to the public. The album will also feature Rick Wakeman's old double Mellotron used with the band Yes (also unheard for 38 years), singer Gino Vannelli's Chamberlin keyboard, the sole working Godley and Creme Gizmotron guitar device, special Mellotron tapes recorded by members of King Crimson and Genesis, as well as old secret recordings from other musicians, which come from an EMI manufactured Mellotron requiring special licenses. 

The Birotron deserves to be enjoyed by the public but its rarity prevents this from happening. It's also unknown how much longer the Birotron will function, so an actual true 3-D hologram needs to be made of a Birotron performance.  Unlike a regular 2-D video, a hologram is always in 3-D and  can capture detail at the microscopic level. The hologram Birotron performance will be designed for museum display and art galleries.

A live performance of the Birotron and other related instruments will be the last stage of this project and include fantasy world stage decor, and supporting talented musicians . 


Meet our team:  

Chris Dale is a professional studio musician, soundtrack composer, and schoolteacher. His album credits include contributing Mellotron and Chamberlin keyboards for bands Glueleg, Discipline, singer-guitarist Andrew Cole, and conducting educational lectures about the Mellotron at Beatles conventions in Toronto and Orillia, as well as live Mellotron performances with Classic Albums Live and fundraising performances for homelessness and eye cancer charities. He also contributed to an Optigan sample CD ROM, restored Rick Wakeman's Mellotron MKV prototype, restored the world's only working original Godley and Creme Gizmotron, and recorded Mellotron samples for guitarist Steve Hackett of Genesis. He has supplied rare instruments for Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) and Macy Gray. He won the Western Ontario Drama League's Special Adjudicators award for his soundtrack to Lesley Havard's theatre play Hide And Seek, and also a recognition award from Dae Je Middle School in Korea for teaching and training non-English speaking students to win the Ban Ki Moon (Secretary General of the United Nations) Speaking Contest for three years in a row 2010-2012. He's also one of the few teachers to visit North Korea. His recent soundtrack to the Canadian Motion Picture Film 'Primordial Ties' features the Moog Synthesizer, Optigan, and Orchestron. He owns one of the two surviving operational Birotrons and the Birotron master tape library and its copyrights.

Mark Plancke is a professional musician, studio owner, music producer and audio recording specialist. Mark is extremely knowledgeable with a wide variety of analog and digital equipment. Mark has worked with Elton John, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Hedley, Dick Wagner, Jim McCarty, Big Wreck, Buena Vista Social Club, Carrie Underwood, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Marcus Belgrave, Michelle Wright, Stacy Heydon, Kelly Hoppe (Big Sugar) and many other award winning artists and producers through out his 25 years of studio production.  

Jason Sapan is a holographer who has created portrait holograms of Andy Warhol, President Bill Clinton, Isaac Asimov, NYC Mayor Ed Koch, Prime Minister Edward Heath, Pierre Cardin, Sally Jessy Raphael, John Kenneth Galbraith, Phyllis Diller, Billy Idol, The Smothers Brothers, Phil Donahue, and John Cage. His corporate clientele include commissions for Mitsubishi, AT&T, Tag Heuer, Goodyear, IBM and NYU Medical Center. Jason has lectured at the School of the Visual Arts in NYC, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Ohio State University, University of Vermont, City College of New York, New York University, and various other schools. Jason also worked as an assistant recording engineer at Record Plant Studios in New York City, at a time when they were recording with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Alice Cooper, Dizzy Gilespie, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Tammy Wynette, George Jackson, Roberta Flack, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra. Jason also produced the laser light effects for the original Studio 54 on CBS, the Flock of Seagulls music video, "It's Not Me Talking," and the cult film, Class of Nuke 'Em High. He also served as a consultant for the film Vanilla Sky, and did laser effects for the ABC Weekend Special; Jeeter Mason and the Magic Headset. Jason's former interns include Jason Corsaro (who engineered Madonna’s "Like a Virgin" album, David Bowie’s "Lets Dance" album, and Queen’s "We are the Champions/We will Rock You"), John Gaeta, (Academy Award winner in 2000 for Visual Effects for his work on The Matrix), and Vince Gilligan - creator of the TV show "Breaking Bad".

Peter Robinson was the Birotronics and Packhorse Road Case company Managing Director in England. He was responsible for overseeing all aspects of research and development, financing, recording sound libraries, factory production, and marketing. He was the only man who was there 100% of the time and as such, is the most knowledgeable authority of what happened in the business world of the Birotron.  
He helps in a Business Consulting Service and Support capacity for the Birotron project.


Dave Biro was the inventor of the Birotron. Dave is a professional musician who plays keyboards, violin, and cello. He's also been a grade school teacher, automotive repairman, and home renovator. His Birotron invention was funded by Rick Wakeman of the band Yes, and designed and built in the Packhorse Road Case Company factory in England. The Birotron was also later funded by Rudkin-Wiley, the exclusive makers of the 'Air Shield' wind deflector for trucks. Hank Rudkin is grandson to Margaret Rudkin- creator of Pepperidge Farm Foods. 


Where the funding goes:

Your contributions will help us pay for studio time, album production and manufacturing costs, hologram manufacturing costs, and concert staging expenses collectively incurred in the production of the project. The funds will be equally applied to preserving the tapes, album production, hologram production and staging the concert. Preserving the Birotron tapes and recordings first however, is the starting point. Without the original sounds, the Birotron culturally and effectively no longer survives. You will receive regular updates about our progress as we go. Any additional funds go to repairing an abandoned and unfinished Birotron prototype and making Birotron sounds accessible to other interested musicians and artists.  

Because the Birotron is impossibly rare, even within the music that features it, it's likely that anything associated to the Birotron would appeal to those who love music or rare, unusual, select, boutique items. 

You will receive a unique reward not available anywhere or anytime else, one that could become a highly collectable item because all things ‘Birotron’ are extremely rare and valuable. You’ll be also saving music’s rarest instrument from extinction. It’s a win-win situation. You get something unique and valuable for yourself, and bragging rights for helping to save music’s rarest instrument. To use a terrible cliché: “how cool is that?”


With your sponsorship, you will be actually making music history, joining a lineage of people like world renowned keyboardist Rick Wakeman, or Pepperidge Farm grandson Hank Rudkin. These people made the instrument a culturally significant item - going back to 1974 and now awaiting rediscovery. In essence, you will be helping us achieve something that verges on the impossible - bringing back and reviving an instrument that has been shrouded in limbo for 40 years.

Most importantly - you are helping to save music's rarest instrument.

You can check our progress & ask questions here:

https://www.facebook.com/birotron




REWARDS 

The rewards you receive are special. They have never been made available before to anyone at anytime. They are strictly limited to this project by the nature of the Birotron’s rarity. Rewards #1-14 arrive to you via the internet, and rewards #15-20 contain items that arrive through the mail.  All pre-production artwork and promotional music is copyright and a prototype of its own and may or may not appear in the final version of the recorded album, which makes this the only way to ever obtain it. Since you are funding something unique, it is only right that your reward be just as unique.  


$5 OR MORE
- A picture of the Birotron in our project and
 -A personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Nov 2016


$10 OR MORE
-1 picture of pre-production art for the album.
-A personal thank you note via e-mail. 
  Estimated delivery: Nov 2016


$20 OR MORE
- 2 pictures of pre-production art for the album.
- Personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Nov 2016


$25 OR MORE
-3 pictures of pre-production art for the album.
- Promotional 'single' mix of two songs.
- Personal thank you note via e-mail.
   Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$50 OR MORE
-4 pictures of pre-production art for the album.
-Promotional 'single' mix of three songs.
-A personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017



$60 OR MORE
-5 pictures of pre-production art for the album.
-Promotional 'single' mix of three songs.
-A personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017



$70 OR MORE
-6 pictures of pre-production art from the album. 
-Promotional 'single' mix of four songs.
-A personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$80 OR MORE
-7 pictures of pre-production art from the album. 
-Promotional 'single' mix of four songs.
-A personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$100 OR MORE
-8 pictures of pre-production art. 
-Copy of 1976 promo flyer.
-Promotional 'single' mix of four songs. 
-Personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$200 OR MORE
-9 pictures of pre-production art.
-Copy of 1976 promotional flyer.
-Promotional 'single' mix of 5 songs.
-Personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$300 OR MORE
-10 pictures of pre-production art.
-Copy of 1976 promotional flyer.
-Promo 'single' mix of 5 songs.
-Personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$400 OR MORE
-Copy of 1976 press release.
-10 pictures of pre-production art.
-Copy of 1976 promo flyer.
-Promo mix of 5 songs. 
-Personal thank you via e-mail.
 Estimated delivery: Aug 2017



$500 OR MORE
-Copy of 1976 newspaper story.
-10 pictures of pre-production art.
-Copy of 1976 flyer.
-Copy of 1976 press release.
-Promo mix of 5 songs.
-Personal thank you via e-mail.
 Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$600 OR MORE
-Copy of 2 newspaper stories.
-Copy of 1976 promo flyer.
-Copy of 1976 press release.
-10 pictures of pre-production art.
-Promo mix of 5 songs.
-Personal thank you via e-mail. 
 Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$700 or more
 -T shirt that says "I helped save music's rarest instrument".
-Photos of the British prototype Birotrons.
-Copy of the 1976 promotional flyer.
-Copy of a 1976 Birotron press release.
-2 original newspaper stories on the Birotron.
-10 pictures of pre-production art from the album.
-Promotional 'single' mix of five songs.
-Personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


 $800 or more
 -T shirt that says "I helped save music's rarest instrument".
-1976 promotional T shirt that says “You bet your Birotron”. 
-Photos of the British prototype Birotrons.
-Copy of the 1976 promotional flyer.
-Copy of a 1976 Birotron press release.
-2 original newspaper stories on the Birotron.
-10 pictures of pre-production art from the album. 
-Promotional 'single' mix of five songs.
-Personal thank you note via e-mail. 
 Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$1000 or more
-Signed vinyl copy of Part One of the Birotron album.
-Extremely rare photos of the Air Shield/Pepperidge Farm Birotron models.
-Photos of original blueprints.
-T shirt that says "I helped save music's rarest instrument".
-1976 promotional T shirt that says “You bet your Birotron".
-Download copy of Dave Biro's unreleased prog album "Wizard Of Kinderhook".
-Copy of the 1976 promotional flyer.
-Copy of the 1976 Birotron press release.
-Copies of two original newspaper stories on the Birotron
-Photos of the British prototype Birotrons.
-10 pictures of pre-production art. 
-Promotional 'single' mix of five songs.
-Personal thank you note via e-mail.
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$1500 or more
-Signed vinyl copy of Part One and Part Two of the Birotron album.
-Photos of the Air Shield/Pepperidge Farm Birotron models and parts.    
-Photos of original blueprints.
-T shirt that says "I helped save music's rarest instrument". 
-1976 promotional T shirt that says “You bet your Birotron”.
-Download copy of Dave Biro's unreleased prog album "Wizard Of Kinderhook".
-10 pictures of pre-production art from the album.
-Copy of the 1976 promotional flyer.
-Copy of a 1976 Birotron press release.
-Copies of two original newspaper stories on the Birotron.    
-Photos of the British prototype Birotrons.
-Promotional 'single' mix of five songs.
-Personal thank you note via e-mail. 
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017



$2500 or more
-Two Tickets to local Birotron/Mellotron concert.    Signed vinyl copy of Part One and Part Two of the Birotron album. 
-Photos of the Air Shield/Pepperidge Farm Birotron models & parts. 
-Photos of original blueprints.
-T shirt that says "I helped save music's rarest instrument".
-1976 promotional T shirt that says “You bet your Birotron”.
-Download copy of Dave Biro's unreleased prog album "Wizard Of Kinderhook".
-Copy of the 1976 promotional flyer.
-Copy of a 1976 Birotron press release.
-Copies of two original newspaper stories on the Birotron.
-Photos of the British prototypes.
-10 pictures of pre-production art from the album.
-Promotional 'single' mix of five songs.
-Personal thank you note via e-mail. 
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017


$10000
 Limited reward (1 of 1)

-A once in a lifetime opportunity to use the Birotron on your own recording here in a local studio. 
-Photo of the American Birotron PolyVox lone surviving circuit board. 
-Two tickets to local Birotron/Mellotron concert. A signed vinyl copy of Part One and Part Two of the album. 
-Photos of the Air Shield/Pepperidge Farm Birotron models & parts. 
-Photos of original blueprints. 
-T shirt that says "I helped save music's rarest instrument". 
-1976 promotional T shirt that says “You bet your Birotron”.  
-Download copy of Dave Biro's unreleased prog album "Wizard Of Kinderhook". 
-Copy of the 1976 promotional flyer. 
-Copy of a 1976 Birotron press release.
-Copies of two original newspaper stories on the Birotron.
-Photos of the British prototypes. 
-10 pictures of pre-production art from the album. 
-Promotional ‘single’ mix of five songs. 
-Personal thank you note via e-mail
  Estimated delivery: Aug 2017




 FAQ


Why should I support or fund your project?

You receive a unique reward not available anywhere or anytime else, one that could become a highly collectable item because all things ‘Birotron’ are extremely rare and valuable. You’ll be also saving music’s rarest instrument from extinction. It’s a win-win situation. You get something unique and valuable for yourself, and bragging rights for helping to save music’s rarest instrument. 
 

Is the Birotron really music’s rarest instrument?

Yes!  It’s the rarest manufactured instrument to be used on recordings, in concerts, and on a hit single. There’s many one-off machines out there, but they all use the same or similar technology. The Birotron is the only manufactured tape loop keyboard – the only instrument in its own category. Only 2 complete Birotrons survive. The Birotron has no chance of survival without your help. This is a singular and unique opportunity for you and me to do something truly remarkable.



Isn’t the Mellotron the same as a Birotron? Don’t they use tape loops as well?

No. The Mellotron and Chamberlin use 6 foot long strips of tape which play for 8 seconds and then rewind by an attached spring or roller. The Birotron uses tape loops which play indefinitely.  The Mellotron, Chamberlin, and Birotron also have completely different sound libraries.

 

What kind of music will you record for the Birotron album?

The Birotron album will feature progressive rock and pop music. It’s based on the music styles that bands would have recorded with the Birotron if it had been released.

 

In what format will the music be released?

Some promotional music will be available for download. The main album will be released on vinyl, with extensive sci-fi artwork, liner notes, and an accompanying concept story.  The artwork features scenes or landscapes in the story and includes photos of unusual natural earth objects and extra-terrestrial elements too – no really!! It will stand on its own and be as equally unique as the music.

 

Why are you making a hologram? Is this really necessary?

Yes.  The Birotron must be preserved. It also deserves to be publicly enjoyed. Since the Birotrons’ rarity prevents this, a hologram of a Birotron performance at places like Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum, or the Guinness Book of World Records Museum, is ideal. A hologram is an accurate 3-D representation right down to the microscopic level. It features important details missing from regular pictures or video. This is not a fake 2-D concert stage projection! This is a true 3-D scientific hologram worthy of museum display for all people to see.



What sounds are in the Birotron library?

Violins, Cellos, Flutes, Horns, and Woodwinds were recorded 40 years ago by the London Symphony Orchestra for the Birotron.  Choirs were also recorded and that word appears on weathered labels. A special Church Organ was recorded by Rick Wakeman. Unfortunately we don’t know all the sounds because many of the master tapes are unlabeled. It’s mostly guesswork. Not even Birotronics Managing Director Peter Robinson or the inventor Dave Biro knows exactly what’s on them. 

 

Do you own the master tapes?

Yes. I own and hold the rights to the recordings, and the copyrights to the masters. I also have the surviving legal Birotron paperwork and some photos, parts and memorabilia as well. There’s little that survives, but it was necessary to try and save whatever remained. You can’t know whether you’re going to need it or not.    
 

 

There must be other rare keyboards close to the Birotron’s rarity. What are they?

The Musitron (a modified Clavioline keyboard) was used on Del Shannon’s Runaway. The Con Brio synth was used on the soundtrack of Star Trek TMP. And there are numerous others which use analog circuitry of organs and synths. But the Birotron remains uniquely rare because there is no other keyboard in its tape loop genus. It remains in a class all its own.

 

Where will the concert be held?

The concert will be held in Canada at a small theatre. The exact location is determined by how successful the project is. The more the interest, the bigger the venue. It will also feature the Double Mellotron used by Yes/Rick Wakeman. This actual Mellotron was the direct inspiration for the Birotron and has also not been seen or heard publicly since the 1970’s.  


If you’re successful, or exceed your goals – what happens then? How will you use the money?

Any extra funds will be put towards repairing an unfinished Birotron prototype and hopefully making some preserved Birotron sounds available to other recording musicians. New Birotron sounds will also be created.  We must always continue to keep making new music and art.

 
Can I use the Birotron on my own recordings?

Yes.  It would be interesting to see how other musicians would use it. That’s really the original question, so the only way to answer this is to include and continue with other artists and musicians.  But this is contingent on completing everything else first - (saving the master tapes, preserving the sounds, creating new tape cartridges, etc.) 



 






Donations 

  • Dieter Vanmarcke
    • $100 
    • 8 yrs

Organizer

Chris Dale
Organizer
Windsor, ON

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