Released
1949
Status
Discontinued
Harry Chamberlin invented the Rhythmate in the late 1940s in his Upland, California garage, creating the world's first sample-based drum machine using magnetic tape loops with pre-recorded drum patterns. Only around ten original units were produced, predating other early drum machines by a decade. Chamberlin later revived the concept with models like the Rhythmate 40 in the 1970s, producing a handful more, while expanding his tape replay technology into the pioneering Chamberlin keyboards that influenced the Mellotron.