Mellotron

Post by **Dale** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:38 am

I've always loved this vintage keyboard instrument called the Mellotron. I got to spend a couple of hours playing one in the late 1970s, courtesy of a friend who had keys to a recording studio. For those of you who don't know, before digital synthesizers and samplers, this keyboard actually played audio tapes of acoustic instruments, choirs, and so on. Wonderful sounds but a notoriously unwieldy and unreliable instrument. It's the instrument you hear in the flute-sound introduction to Strawberry Fields. It's heyday was the prog rock era and it was used extensively by Yes, Genesis, Moody Blues, The Strawbs, and that crowd. I recently ordered a new software emulation of the instrument that's supposed to be dead-on.

Here's a cool video....a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the mysterious Mellotron. Be sure to note the tape movement in the last seconds of the clip.

http://www.gearwire.com/mellotron-exposed.html

Pop quiz, dedicated to Peter Laban: After listening to the video, what does a Mellotron and Generation whistle have in common?

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:45 am

Dale wrote:Pop quiz, dedicated to Peter Laban: After listening to the video, what does a Mellotron and Generation whistle have in common?

I'm still waiting for the vid to load, but I'll hazard sticking poster putty in it.

Edit: Only one out of every hundred Mellotrons would sound good? No way. A good player can can make it sound good.

Re-edit: And Mellotrons sound chiffy.

Dale wrote:Wonderful sounds but a notoriously unwieldy and unreliable instrument.

The uilleann pipes came immediately and most forcefully to mind.

Post by **Dale** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:54 am

There's a video here

http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/vt0704/mooatron.htm

the last half of which is a guy playing "NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN" on Larry Fast's M400 Mellotron. Poor video quality, sadly.

CHasR · Post by **CHasR** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:06 pm

weird...I was just thinking about this thing the other day; (Stevie Winwood on Melotron)...

djm · Post by **djm** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:21 pm

Yes, there's nothing quite like the squooshing sound of a melontron.

djm

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:24 pm

If you've got a MIDI keyboard and a cable to connect it to your computer, GMEDIA Music's <A HREF="http://www.gmediamusic.com/gforce/m-tro ... >M-Tron</A> is loads of fun.

Coffee · Post by **Coffee** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 3:21 pm

Mellotron. That was one of the Decepticons in the old Transformers series right?

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 3:49 pm

that was hysterical. i swear, i saw dinosaur droppings down in the cabinet.

my grandfather immigated from czechoslovakia in the 1880's and he lived to be 103. he went from nothing, to electricity, indoor plumbing, and watching i love lucy on tv. that was his absolute favorite. he always wondered what was going to happen next. i'm starting to wonder too.

Post by **Dale** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:40 pm

raindog1970 wrote:If you've got a MIDI keyboard and a cable to connect it to your computer, GMEDIA Music's <A HREF="http://www.gmediamusic.com/gforce/m-tro ... >M-Tron</A> is loads of fun.

Yeah. That's what I ordered!

raindog1970 · Post by **raindog1970** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:08 pm

Dale wrote:
raindog1970 wrote:If you've got a MIDI keyboard and a cable to connect it to your computer, GMEDIA Music's <A HREF="http://www.gmediamusic.com/gforce/m-tro ... >M-Tron</A> is loads of fun.
Yeah. That's what I ordered!

I've never had the opportunity to play a real Mellotron, but M-Tron is more fun than any other virtual instrument I've ever tried.
Your keyboard is split between the right hand for the lead instrument and left hand for rhythms and backgrounds.
There are also three additional volumes of 'tape banks' available, and you're going to want those too!

Post by **Dale** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:26 pm

raindog1970 wrote:
Dale wrote:
raindog1970 wrote:If you've got a MIDI keyboard and a cable to connect it to your computer, GMEDIA Music's <A HREF="http://www.gmediamusic.com/gforce/m-tro ... >M-Tron</A> is loads of fun.
Yeah. That's what I ordered!
I've never had the opportunity to play a real Mellotron, but M-Tron is more fun than any other virtual instrument I've ever tried.
Your keyboard is split between the right hand for the lead instrument and left hand for rhythms and backgrounds.
There are also three additional volumes of 'tape banks' available, and you're going to want those too!

Actually, in the latest version, all the tape banks are included.

Dominic Allan · Post by **Dominic Allan** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 3:02 am

We recorded a song for our myspace page using software called "tapeworm"
Hopefully this will appear as a link...[url=http://www.myspace.com/domandwoody]
The song is Mr Resentful melotron mix.

Dominic Allan · Post by **Dominic Allan** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 9:40 am

The song in question is now at myspace.com/clingfish
We intend to add some more later in the year.

Denny · Post by **Denny** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:23 am

http://www.myspace.com/domandwoody

buddhu · Post by **buddhu** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:36 pm

Had a go on a mellotron many years ago. what struck me was the slight delay between keying a note and the tone sounding. Felt a wee bit odd.

Been used on some great tracks though.

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