Mellotronists

from keyboardmuseum.org

The Singing Keyboard (1936)

F. Sammis invented the "singing Keyboard" in 1936, a precursor of modern samplers, the instrument played electro-optical recordings of audio waves stored on strips of 35mm film which were triggered and pitched when the player pressed a key. More recent instruments such as the Mellotron and Chamberlin use a similar technology of triggered and pitched magnetic tape recordings.