Chamberlin's Garage Around the same time Les Paul was perfecting the multi-track tape recorder for use on his radio show, another inventor began working on a device that would make tape more accessible to traditionally trained musicians. In 1946 Harry Chamberlin had an early tape recorder and was recording himself playing at the home organ. He recounts the moment of inspiration to Len Epand: So I bought myself a tape recorder and set It on the bench next to me. And I was putting one finger down like this [ . . .] and I said, ‘For heaven’s sake. If I can put my finger down and get a Hammond organ note, why can’t I pick a guitar note or trombone note and get that under the keys somehow and be able to play any instrument? As long as I know how to play the keyboard. I could play any instrument.' Like Thaddeus Cahill who built the first keyboard controlled synthesizer, Chamberlin put his money and his labor where his mouth was. A man of great vision and intense initiative, he produced the first models from his own garage. He dedicated his life to make the instrument he dreamt of a reality. The models he built in the 1950s were complex mechanical creations of tape players with up to 70 matched tape heads linked to 2 separate 35-key keyboards. With one keyboard the player would play a choice of lead instruments by moving the tape heads to choose amongst the sounds loaded inside the cabinet, the other keyboard had drum loops and sound effects. The shear number of tapes packed into the cabinet of the Chamberlin and the somewhat unreliable method for choosing amongst sounds lead to frequent breakdowns and the machines required quite a bit of maintenance. Chamberlin would spend the rest of his life pursuing reliability and durability for the instrument that bore his name. Although Hollywood studios had created sound effects devices with tape libraries under control of buttons, the Chamberlin is often regarded as the precursor to the modern digital sampler. The instrument was used in recordings by many talented and famous artists, inspiring inventors and musicians and achieving Chamberlin's goal of making tape technology more accessible. During the course of overseas promotion in the United Kingdom , the technology was given to Leslie, Frank and Norman Bradley by Chamberlin's salesman without Chamberlin's approval. The Bradley Brothers built their own version, supposedly unaware of the infrigment on Chamberlin's ideas and patents. There was a dispute when Chamberlin found out, but he needed money at the time and sold the rights in a way that allowed him and the rival British company to continue to refine the instrument as each saw fit. A well-tuned Chamberlin is widely regarded as superior to the Mellotrons released by the Bradley Brothers.