The Ondioline was a vacuum tube-powered keyboard instrument, invented in 1941 ^[1] by the Frenchman Georges Jenny, and was a forerunner of today's synthesizers. Structure of a vacuum tube diode Structure of a vacuum tube triode In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube, or (outside North America) thermionic valve or just valve, is a device used to amplify, switch or modify a signal by controlling the movement of electrons in an evacuated space. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... The term synthesiser is also used to mean frequency synthesiser, an electronic system found in communications. ...

The Ondioline was capable of creating a wide variety of sounds. Its keyboard had a unique feature: it was suspended on special springs which made it possible to introduce a natural vibrato if the player moved the keyboard from side to side with their playing hand. The result was an almost human-like vibrato that lent a wide range of expression to the Ondioline. The keyboard was also pressure-sensitive, and the instrument had a knee volume lever. Helical or coil springs designed for tension A spring is a flexible elastic object used to store mechanical energy. ... Vibrato is a musical effect where the pitch or frequency of a note or sound is quickly and repeatedly raised and lowered over a small distance for the duration of that note or sound. ...

One of the much-repeated myths is that the Ondioline was used on Del Shannon's 1961 hit, "Runaway". In fact, the famous solo was recorded on a "Musitron", a one-of-a-kind Clavioline customized and played by Max Crook.^[2] However, the Ondioline was used many other recordings, including the soundtracks to "Spartacus", and "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.", and The Beatles "Baby You're a Rich Man". For Dell Shannon, the pen name of a police procedural novelist, see Elizabeth Linington. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Runaway (Shannon-Crook) was a number-one Billboard Hot 100 song in 1961 by Del Shannon. ... The clavioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, a forerunner to the analog synthesizer. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Magical Mystery Tour track listing Hello, Goodbye (9) Baby, Youre a Rich Man (10) All You Need Is Love (11) Yellow Submarine Songtrack track listing With a Little Help from My Friends (10) Baby, Youre a Rich Man (11) Only a Northern Song (12) Baby Youre a...

According to former Ondioline demonstration salesman Jean-Jacques Perrey, less than 700 of the instruments were sold, mostly in Europe, but a handful made it to the States. It is estimated that less than 2 dozen Ondiolines currently exist.

Jean-Jacques Perrey first acquired an Ondioline in the mid-1950s ^[3], and used it on all his older albums from the late 1960s. Album cover art from In Sound from Way Out! The musical duo Perrey and Kingsley (Jean-Jacques Perrey, b. ...

Notes, references

1. ^ New Music Box 1999
2. ^ Max Crook website
3. ^ Perrey autobiography