Joe South, Iron Butterfly, Chip Taylor, New York session player Barry Frederick, Canadian musicians Joe and Gino Vannelli, jazz/fusion group Shadowfax (Watercourse Way in 1976), and Bob Seger keyboardists Robyn Robbins and Tom Neme. Chamberlin Co. continued to earn revenue by licensing patents to Mattel for their Optigan keyboard, which uses its prerecorded loop as well as some Chamberlin music tapes in the Optigan library. By the end of the 1970s, digital synths eroded the market for tape-based keyboards and Chamberlin ended M1 production in 1981, building the last few units in an Ontario, California factory, and later in the family garage with previously unreleased sounds. Harry Chamberlin died in 1986. In the 1980s Chamberlin recordings were minimal but producers Mitchell Froom (Crowded House) and Todd Rundgren (XTC's Skylarking in 1986) used the instrument. The Chamberlin experienced a revival in the 1990s with a new generation of musicians using them and appreciating the unique sounds produced by playing them in unorthodox ways. These included Michael Penn and his keyboardist Patrick Warren (March, Free-for-All, Resigned, MP4 as well as Penn's film scores for Boogie Nights in 1997), singer/songwriter Sam Phillips on her album Cruel Inventions (1991), and singer/songwriter/producer Jon Brion on the soundtrack to the film I Heart Huckabees (2004). Tom Waits also used the instrument on albums such as The Black Rider (1993) and Bone Machine (1992). Models Various models exist of the Chamberlin. There are both keyboard-based instruments and drum machines (which are called Rhythmate). Approximately 500–700 units were made, but the exact number is unknown. Sounds Keyboards: Marimba, Piano, Vibraphone (with vibrato), Bells (glockenspiel), Organ, Tibia Organ, Kinura Organ, Harpsichord, Accordion, Electric Harpsichord, and Flute/String Organ. Brass: Trombone, Trumpet, French Horn, Do Wah Trombone, Slur Trombone, and Muted Trumpet. Woodwinds: Alto and Tenor Saxophones, Flute, Oboe, and Bass Clarinet. Voice: Male Voice (solo) and Female Voice (solo). Strings: 3 Violins, Cello, and Pizzicato Violins. Plucked strings: Slur Guitar, Banjo, Steel Guitar, Harp Solo, Harp Roll, Harp 7th Arpeggio (harp sounds were not available to the public), Guitar, and Mandolin. Effects: Dixieland Band Phrases and Sound Effects. References External links The six Chamberlin/Mellotron patents accessed 12 July 2009 Keyboard instruments Electronic musical instruments Electric and electronic keyboard instruments 1956 introductions Analogue samplers