What is Birotron?
{{multiple issues| {{cleanup|reason=|date=March 2024}} {{complex|date=March 2024}} {{copyedit|date=March 2024}} {{expert-subject|date=March 2024}} {{no sources|date=March 2024}} {{restructure|date=March 2024}} {{wikify|date=March 2024}} }} The '''Birotron''' is a unique electronic [[keyboard instrument]] invented, developed, and manufactured in the 1970s. Although many people were excited about this new musical instrument, it was never produced commercially or released to the public. Today, [[Musicology|musicologists]] refer to the Birotron as the rarest manufactured instrument in the world. == Development == The Birotron was a tape-replay keyboard, meaning it could store sounds and songs on magnetic tape and later play them back to produce music. It was similar to the [[Mellotron]] and Chamberlin, two other types of tape-replay keyboards. However, these three keyboards used different methods of storing tape. The Birotron used 8-track tapes in endless loops, meaning they never had to be rewound or replaced. In contrast, the Mellotron and the Chamberlin used strips of tape wrapped around pulleys. The Birotron was developed by Dave Biro and financed by [[Rick Wakeman]] (of the band [[Yes (band)|Yes]]), alongside the Rudkin-Wiley Corporation, which was under the ownership of [[Pepperidge Farm Foods]] / [[Campbell Soup Company|Campbell Soup]], and [[Air Shield Ltd]]. == Early interest and pre-orders == The Birotron was heavily advertised in [[trade magazine]]s and gained attention in newspaper articles. Over 1,000 pre-orders, valued at more than one million dollars in sales, were received from many of the most popular [[band]]s and [[musician]]s of the time. Legendary artists who pre-ordered the Birotron included [[John Lennon]], [[Paul McCartney]], [[Elton John]], [[Vangelis]], [[The Beach Boys]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Tangerine Dream]], [[Klaus Schulze]], [[Chicago (band)|Chicago]], [[Uriah Heep]], [[Roger Whittaker]], [[The Faces (band)|The Faces]], [[Yes (band)|Yes]], [[Larry Fast|Larry Fast (Synergy)]], [[