Casio was established in April 1946 by Tadao Kashio, an engineer specializing in fabrication technology. Kashio’s first major product was the yubiwa pipe, a finger ring that would hold a cigarette, allowing the wearer to smoke the cigarette down to its nub while also leaving the wearer’s hands free. Japan was impoverished immediately following World War II so cigarettes were valuable, and the invention was a success.
There’s just so much to love about Mellotrons: their simple electro-mechanical design: using tape, springs, rollers & levers; their sound (the attack sound made by the tape head being depressed is wonderful, and I personally enjoy wow & flutter); two keyboard sections with different voices; swappable/customisable sound sets (albeit with effort); their temperamental response to abuse; and how they require a specific playing technique in order to avoid hitting the 8 second playback limit.
Pretty much every 60s psychedelic and 70s progressive rock band has used one at some point, as have many musicians and producers since then. One hell of a legacy for a device who’s core principle is so easily diagrammed as above.
(*°∀°)=3
Alka - Improvisations On The EMS Synthi AKS Mk 1 (Pt 1/2)
Hrm, something seems to be missing from this instrument but I can’t quite determine what.
I bet she’s heard the line “Can I run my fingers along your skirt?” more than once.
And possibly “Can I tickle your ivories?”
