An Illustrated Guide to Prog Rock Instruments (new

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 The Dark Elf wrote:

 HackettFan wrote:

 Gerinski wrote:

^ I don't know about real calliopes used in rock, but 'calliope' is also the name of a popular preset in synths (actually it is one of the lead synth presets in the standard General Midi sound bank).
 I didn't know that, although I kind of figured so.

 The Dark Elf wrote:

From everything I've read, there is a calliope during the end of "In the Court of the Crimson King". Listening to it here, I am sure that it is present and not a synth or midi sound (being in 1969 and all)
 Knowing Crimson, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was a real calliope, but, although it certainly wasn't a synth, do we know for sure it wasn't a mellotron with calliope sampled recordings?

Unfortunately, there is only anecdotal evidence that it was a real calliope. The album cover credits Ian MacDonald as playing the "mellotron, harpsichord, piano and organ", so there is no direct mention of the calliope; however, that Ian played harpsichord and organ indicates that not everything was sampled.

Well, it does sound very convincing.  Maybe they just lumped the calliope in with organs, being a kind of miniature pipe organ, I don't know.  I wish these were the sort of questions interviewers would ask musicians.  Still it's a neat little instrument.  I wonder how hard they are to find.