There was a keyboard in 1936 called The Singing Keyboard which played back strips of movie film in a similar way optically...can't find any pics or much info online about it, or if it survived anyplace or patents still exist.
--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, lsf5275@... wrote:
>
> It looks and sounds like an amazing piece of shit, doesn't it? I can't
> imagine Pat Moraz could have ever been remotely thrilled with it, even though
> he had a really jazzy one. The more I see and hear them the less I want one.
> In fact, I sooo don't want one at this point, I really want Nancy Pelosi
> to have one. And I want it to sound just like Pea Hicks'.
>
>
> In a message dated 2/1/2011 6:19:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> charel196@... writes:
>
>
>
>
> In the Pea Hicks video when he's demo'ing the Orchestron, the violins disc
> sounds a lot like they sampled Mellotron violins too me. I thought I read
> long ago that Vako used a Mellotron to make some of the discs.
>
> --- In _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_
> (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) , Chris Dale <unobtainiumkeys@> wrote:
> >
> > Orchestrons can made to sound really good (different than a Mellotron) by
> > using what you describe below.
> >
> > Vako never had the budget for the laser reader and it was nothing bnut
> > marketing. I have stickers on my that say it's read by lasers but it's
> > nonsense.
> >
> > There were suppsedly some glass test discs made but those broke easy and
> > they stuck to the Optigan format.
> > All of the discs stacked in one system would have been a good idea too!!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 4:40 PM, Charles <charel196@> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > After watching several Youtube videos of Orchestron playing (like Pea
> > > Hicks' recent posting) I am amazed no one ever seems to use a volume
> pedal
> > > on the thing and a good long delay/reverb to get more realistic swells
> & cut
> > > offs & smoothing over the loop glitches. I think those things might
> sound
> > > good if properly played with a pedal & run thru some noise filtering.
> > > I wonder if Vako had had the budget to use higher quality technology
> (like
> > > a laser for reading the discs, better motors and audio circuitry, and
> > > thicker and more rigid records instead of the flimsy Optigan discs)
> what the
> > > result might have been? An Orchestron could have been built with all
> the
> > > sound/optical records placed stacked in a seperate cabinet never
> having to
> > > be touched and accessed remotely by a master control keyboard.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>