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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MELLOTRON???

#21
Actually, mellotrons are getting a bit of a revival. A good example is Ratatat, their last two albums are full of mellotron.

If you're into VSTs and the like, the best (IMO) and cheapest way to get very nice Mellotron sounds is the M-Tron Pro by M-Audio. You need a midi keyboard, though, which is cheap and easy to find. Or, if you have an iphone/ipad, you can get the Manetron Mellotron app. There's only three sounds on the iphone version (cello, strings and flute), but the quality of the samples are very good! Check this out:

YouTube - Genesis Watcher of the Skies on Manetron Mellotron App iPhone
 
#22
A friend/bandmate of mine back in the early 90's had a mellotron in his studio setup. It was a mixed blessing. Huge and heavy, so no one wanted to ever move it. It worked (then) but had to have regular expensive repairs. AND really, even then there were sounds that were nearly as good, nowadays you can get there with modern samples and software.
 
#23
OPBASSMAN1994 said:
So I fell in love with the sound of the mellotron on "Watcher of the skies" by Genesis (from Foxtrot), and I thought I'd try to find one on ebay, craigslist, guitarcenter vintage, elderly, musicgoround, even some boutique piano shop site, just to see what one might cost, what a real one looks like (I've never seen one, which should have told me something anyway). NOTHING.

So here's my question:
How can one of the most talked about keyboard instruments of the sixties and seventies (and a mafia godfather of the modern synthesizer and sampler) just disappear?

Where did they go? Rick Wakeman or Tony Banks' house?
Click to expand...

I played one in a music store back in the early 70s. It sounded killer. But the $5000 price tag scared me off. Now I have a Yamaha and a Korg that do more for a lot less money and they are light and reliable.
 
#26
Chrisk-K said:
As for the most famous Melltron bits in music, I would nominate the intro flute sound of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and the Spanish guitar solo of "Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill".
Click to expand...

Also the first King Crimson album, especially "In The Court Of The Crimson King" & "Epitaph". But you're right, those wouldn't be as recognizable as the Beatles songs.
 
#27
Something of interest:

A guy from my home town, Meriden, CT, invented a thing called a Byrotron. His name was Dave Byro (sp?).

It was a homegrown thing made out of 8 track (cha chunk) tape machines.

I heard that Rick Wakeman had interest in the product.

Don't know what happened with the thing.

john m
 
#28
onosson said:
Clavia has licensed Mellotron samples, resampled from original master tapes, available for their Nord keyboards. They've done a fantastic job. Their Mellotron page has playable clips, and some information on the development and history of the instrument:

Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

I play an Electro3 and the Mellotron samples are excellent! :bassist:

Plus way more reliable and easier to gig with than the real thing or a bunch of Walkmans! ;)
 
#30
OPBASSMAN1994 said:
So I fell in love with the sound of the mellotron on "Watcher of the skies" by Genesis (from Foxtrot), and I thought I'd try to find one on ebay, craigslist, guitarcenter vintage, elderly, musicgoround, even some boutique piano shop site, just to see what one might cost, what a real one looks like (I've never seen one, which should have told me something anyway). NOTHING.

So here's my question:
How can one of the most talked about keyboard instruments of the sixties and seventies (and a mafia godfather of the modern synthesizer and sampler) just disappear?

Where did they go? Rick Wakeman or Tony Banks' house?
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me?? Mellotron, Mark VI, Mark VII

I plan to get one of the new digital ones when I have the necessary discretionary funds available...
 
#32
I used to work for a company that, in an earlier incarnation, made its name importing the Mellotron into the US. I never saw one in for service or got to work on one. But I was fascinated by the technology since my teens.

It was a very clever idea, and in the fingers of a good player, was a wonderful sounding instrument. But its complex and delicate mechanics were incredibly unwieldy. Its workings and functions just scream out "do this digitally!!" which, of course, can be done now but couldn't in the late 60s and 70s.
 
#33
I was thrilled when I finally found a keyboard that had a good mellotron sample. GREAT emblematic sound of the '60s/early '70s.

But you dudes - have you ever SEEN one? They are a MESS. I was in a band, in my misspent youth, where the board player had one... Holy cow - every note was tape loop... the thing weezed and rattled... Sure, it made that great sound, but you can sure see why not many survived!!
 
#35
I my dark days as a roadie I worked a tour as a keyboard tech, there were 3 of us, one guy's only job was to baby the Mellotron. He had a total love/hate thing with the machine, seemed that every day there was some problem or another-broken tape, warped wheel, twisted lever, burned out motor..........had 2 full trunks of tools and spare parts for the Mellotron, some how he always had it working by showtime. Once digital samplers became more common most Mellotrons are in museums or studios. 16 & 24 bit machines are a bit too hifi to my ear so I keep an old Ensoniq Mirage 8 bit machine around to get that sound.
A bit of trivia Gayle Moran recorded the most common tapes that were used but many bands also recorded their own.
 
#36
I remember them from the early to mid 70's. A northeast Philadelphia music store sold them.If I remember correctly they were distributed by Dallis Arbiter in the US.
A few local bands had them. These were the small white consumer ones. They were heavy but not near as bad as a B-3. You had a quarter inch line out & you ran them into an amp or a board. I don't remember them being $5,000. I think ( I could be wrong) they were about $1,000 to $1,500.This particular music store (Cintioli's) always had odd european gear cheaper then anybody else.You could get different tape racks with different sounds on them. They were a pain in the butt! You had to go in and clean & demagnatize the tape heads from time to time.They made a bit of mechanical noise as well.
Two guys I play with once a month still have a working one in their studio. The iPhone app sounds great and you can even control how much mechanical noise you want for that authentic Mellotron expierience.
 
#38
Bob Lee (QSC) said:
I used to work for a company that, in an earlier incarnation, made its name importing the Mellotron into the US. I never saw one in for service or got to work on one. But I was fascinated by the technology since my teens.

It was a very clever idea, and in the fingers of a good player, was a wonderful sounding instrument. But its complex and delicate mechanics were incredibly unwieldy. Its workings and functions just scream out "do this digitally!!" which, of course, can be done now but couldn't in the late 60s and 70s.
Click to expand...

Yup - it's hard to get my head around the idea of a loop of tape for *every note*... And how you keep that from taking a dump?? Yikes!

I recall that you could swap your tapes out for a different sound - the default was dual tape of "Strings" and "Voices"...

Thank goodness for digital sampling!!!
 

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