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Despite not being a musician of any sort, the YouTube algorithm decided I needed to see this demo of the Birotron B-90, a synthesizer that used 8-track cartridges to loop samples infinitely. Sort of like an evolved Mellotron. Labeled as "Music's Rarest Instrument" - I was dubious! Was this a Polybius situation? A great backstory to a device that is more legend than reality?
Fortunately, that is not the case. The Birotron is real. The Wikipedia runs down the entire history of the device and why it became so rare. The TLDR of the device is that inventor Dave Biro got together with Rick Wakeman (of Yes) to produce this device and they hit hardship upon hardship to get the manufacturing right. So much so that only 13 devices were ever really produced and "only two are thought to exist today."
The YouTube demo captures the results of the effort of a fan trying to restore and recapture the sounds from one of the last existing devices. The sounds themselves will never be restored because they were captured on tapes that degrade over time... but that certainly adds to the haunting nature of the whole thing.
The Internet has trained me to stay dubious. Maybe this is still an elaborate hoax and I'm falling for it? It's entirely possible but I'm embracing optimism and remain fascinated by the device itself and its sorted history.
Fortunately, that is not the case. The Birotron is real. The Wikipedia runs down the entire history of the device and why it became so rare. The TLDR of the device is that inventor Dave Biro got together with Rick Wakeman (of Yes) to produce this device and they hit hardship upon hardship to get the manufacturing right. So much so that only 13 devices were ever really produced and "only two are thought to exist today."
The YouTube demo captures the results of the effort of a fan trying to restore and recapture the sounds from one of the last existing devices. The sounds themselves will never be restored because they were captured on tapes that degrade over time... but that certainly adds to the haunting nature of the whole thing.
The Internet has trained me to stay dubious. Maybe this is still an elaborate hoax and I'm falling for it? It's entirely possible but I'm embracing optimism and remain fascinated by the device itself and its sorted history.
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