I will respond to these questions to the best of my ability, but I amhappy to be correct if my ageing mind has introduced erroneousinformation
At 22:13 15/04/2009, Jim Bailey wrote:
--- Innewmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, Chris Dale<unobtainiumkeys@...> wrote:
> I'm not going to add to what appears to be an argument, so I'll justsay my
> personal experience and knowledge of the Birotron is this:
Lots of good info; thanks, Chris.
A coulple of things occurred to me while reading this though, and I'msurprised it hasn't come up before in discussions regarding thisinstrument, unless I managed to miss it. Perhaps you could address themfor me.
1/ How long are the loops in a BiroTron cartridge?
This did vary, as we obtained cartridges form different sources but Ibelieve the majority were about 12 minutes - this being the norm for astandard audio cartridge, i.e. 8 tracks, thus 4 stereo tracks and 4∗ 12 being adequate for an album of the time. As I recall there were somepurchased specifically from manufacturers to Birotronics spec, and I donot know what length they might have been. I will find out.
2/ What happens at the looppoint?
I suspect there would have been some audio effect there, but given thelength of tape and average use it is not something that would occur veryoften at all, and I do not know if this was ever commented on, but Idoubt it.
Subsidiary question: Is thephysical loop point the same as the recorded one?
No, not at all. The recordings made for Birotronics (i can't comment onother later recordings) were recorded on to two loops and manually fadedback and forth to avoid the splice - I did read somewhere that this addedan 'ethereal' (or "unrealistic", depending on your point ofview) feeling to the sound.
Even with a perfect splice therewill have to be a noticeable change somewhere.
See above.
The second question relates towhat I perceive as a major flaw in the playability of this instrument: Ifone is playing a sustained note when the recorded loop point passes, isthere an audible clunk as though the note were being started from thebeginning?
No, the fading of the original recordings made it such that this didn'toccur, but consider the comments above.
While this would be bad enoughwith a single note, I can't even imagine the kind of train-wreck thatwould occur when playing a chord.
LOL - it would be, but the only issue would be the splice in thecartridge loop, the rest has been taken care of. Now the way the keyboardis associated with the tapes is not 1:1 (or, I suppose, 4:4,). Adjacentnotes are spread across different tapes, so for example A is track 1,tape 1, B is track 3 tape 1, C is track 2 tape 2 etc. (these are not theactual spreads, they are give a suggestion of the way the keyboard totape mapping worked, because I'm too lazy to go and check on my Birotronat this time of night). Now here's the theory, and again I do not claimto be an expert but state what I believe to be the case. Spreading thenotes across the tapes this way, when carefully considered, cansignificantly reduce unwanted harmonics resulting from crosstalk, orbleeding between adjacent tracks. It also avoids your train crash, thechance of any chord being played when all loop splices are in the sameposition is so remote as to be negligible.
As has been mentioned withregard to the Mellotron, it is the attack at the beginning of a note thatdefines the "instrument" being played. If this happens part-waythrough, the result would sound, to put it bluntly, rather stupid I wouldthink.
It would indeed be stupid, but it doesn't happen because of the way thetapes are recorded. This is probably a defining difference in the twomachines.
Depending upon the application of the machine though, I cannot agree thatthe attack is the sole defining factor of an instrument alone. The attackcertainly prepares out cognitive senses as to what is to come, if we havehad knowledge of that instrument's sound previously, and possibly bylosing that attack a sound more akin to early electronic pianos, someorgans and early synths will be created. But for many that is, or was,not an issue, the finery of concert quality was not need by Slade, and Idon't think Chas and Dave would have looked comfortable around aSteinway.
I must say though that I am merely expressing my opinion, I make no claimother that to have had the experience of building the few Birotrons evermade, and to have an interest in them for that reason. If anything I havestated above is incorrect and any party wishes to correct me, I am, ofcourse happy to receive their constructive criticism.
Please let me know, so that Ican sleep peacefully in my bed tonight (or wherever I endup).
Sleep well, you have little or naught to worry about. But if you end upanywhere other than home we will tell your:- partner/cat/dog/neighbour/drinking buddy∗
∗delete as appropriate.
All the best
Nic