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progismylife 
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: October 19 2006 Location: ibreathehelium Status: Offline Points: 15535 |
 Posted: February 25 2007 at 13:06 |
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I'll revive this thread because I'm curious on the mellotron myself.
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prog4evr
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 22 2005 Location: Wuhan, China Status: Offline Points: 1455 |
Posted: November 14 2006 at 05:48 |
I couldn't agree more! Wakeman, with and without Yes; Banks with Genesis; Kelly with Marillion (Fish-era); and - a recent favorite - the choir mellotron on Like Wendy's 'Falcon Suite.' |
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer 
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: November 14 2006 at 03:32 |
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Today I will publish my MELLOTRON SPECIAL on the Symphonic Prog
Appreciation Thread, I am looking forward to your reactions.
DarioIndjic: Guet-Apens
 is on my list of favorite Mellotron compositions, you will notice that in my Mellotron Specialpierreolivier: please keep your comments for my Mellotron Special
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pierreolivier
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 31 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 222 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 23:05 |
Ange"Guet-Apen" is very good.Apparently,"Guet-Apen" is the only Ange release that use mellotron.The mellotron sound on earlier albums is apparently done with an heavy modified Viscount organ passed through a homemade spring reverb.Ange used an M400 on "Guet-Apen" but they tend to modify their equipement a lot so maybe their tron was also modified.On that album,they also used not often heard sound like the men choir on "Capitaine Coeur de Miel".A great french album with mellotron,wich are rare because musicians in France had to pay a tax to the Musician's Guild for using a mellotron because it remove jobs for violin players(that's sadly the truth!).That's why there's not a lot of French albums containing mellotron in comparaison of those that came from the UK(where the bill was considered by the Musician's Guild but not adopted thanks to Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues).So, France Musician's Guild was the only one to adopt and respect that stupid amendement.
 Speaking of good French mellotron album,2 weeks ago I brought the excellent "Métronomie"(1972) by Nino Ferrer.What a good album and recommended it for fan of French progressive rock,Italian progressive rock(it remind me of Le Orme in the organ playing) and of course for Mellotron fan(perhaps the first in France to use it and almost all songs contain mellotron).If you find it cheap,I really recommended an hearing.
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DarioIndjic
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 15 2005 Location: Universe Status: Offline Points: 600 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 21:56 |
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Hi guys,i would love to know,if anyone of you heard Ange's album Guet-Apens,there is a lot of marvellous mellotron in it and i it suddenly became one of my fav albums.I want to know what kind of mellotron is used on that album?Particularly on the first track,mostly at the end of the first track(It is also used on their first album on the first track) because it has a kind of different sound ,very beautiful.
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Ars longa , vita brevis
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 18:08 |
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To check out I just played a Marillion bootleg CD from 1982 featuring .. indeed, the Mellotron, impressive choir sound in the final part of Forgotten Sons
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pierreolivier
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 31 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 222 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 18:02 |
Apparently,Mark Kelly got his own M400 and even use it in his pre-Marillion band Chemical Alice.Go check it out at the Andy Thompson website:http://www.planetmellotron.com/UK80sprog.htm
He even got a little pic of the band at an early gig with a M400.
I also had a very old book about Marillion, released by the time of Misplaced Childhood released who clearly states that Mark Kelly had a M400 when he joined Marillion.He replaced it with an Emulator when the band got signed to EMI and the whole band had enough money to replace their old equipement.
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 17:47 |
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Well Pierolivier, good to see you back, I hope you will visit my Mellotron Special on my Symphonic Prog Appreciation Thread tomorrow, I have made a great compilation of interesting facts and photos!
About Marillion, Mark Kelly used a Mellotron on Grendel that he was allowed to borrow from the EMI Studio is my information.
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pierreolivier
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 31 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 222 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 17:34 |
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Hi Erik and gang! It's been a while since my last post.I've been throught a separation early this October and lives with a friend since(who happens to be a mellotrons owner) and I don't have a computer there.I can watch the post only when I am at my parent house in the Laurentian mountains(where I am at the moment). The affirmation by Mandrakeroot who said that PFM were the first to use the Minimoog synthesizer in Italy is true but I'm afraid it's wrong for the Mellotron.I Giganti album "Terra in Bocca"(1971) is the earliest known example of Mellotron use in Italy.
For Marillion's Mark Kelly not using a Mellotron,that's false too.He actually used one before Marillion got signed to EMI.You can hear it on early demos and on the "Market Square Heroes" EP.Mark Kelly used it also in his pre-Marillion band,Chemical Alice.
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 16:00 |
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The sound of a Mellotron is in fact a sample of instruments like the violin, flute, trumpet or even a choir but because the Mellotron is always a bit out of tune and the tapes sound just a little bit different from the real instruments (including the hisses), you get that special Mellotron sound like the flute in Julia Dream by Pink Floyd, the violins in The Court Of The Crimson King and the choir in Afterglow on Seconds Out by Genesis. It's a matter of learning to listen and greadually you will recognize it more and more.
To play a Mellotron you have to develop a special technique because of that limitation of the tapes that stop after 8 seconds. For example, Rick Wakeman named his technique the 'Tarantula grip' which enabled him to sound like Tony Banks does on Watcher Of The Skies: you change the chords to a lower or higher octave or you change the positions of your fingers while the sound remains powerful and bombastic, only a bit higher or lower. Edited by erik neuteboom - November 13 2006 at 16:00 |
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lobster41
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 08 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 115 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 15:38 |
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OK, I'll ask the stupid question:
How do you tell what is a Mellotron, and what is another type of keyboard?
I have loved Genesis forever, including "Fountain of Salmacis" and "Watcher of the Skies". I know that the intro to "Watcher" is mellotron.
But another of my favorite groups is Marillion. Mark Kelly plays great keyboards, but apparently no 'tron?
Also, if you only have 8 seconds of tape, how is it that the intro to "Watchers" is like two minutes long?
This is where I become the dunce of the class.
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The beatings will continue until morale improves.
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Mandrakeroot
Forum Senior Member
Italian Prog Specialist Joined: March 01 2006 Location: San Foca, Friűl Status: Offline Points: 5851 |
Posted: November 13 2006 at 03:44 |
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The PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI was THE FIRST GROUP IN ITALY to use: MELLOTRON, MOOG and MINIMOOG
(see: www.pfmpfm.it)
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: November 12 2006 at 18:08 |
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This week I will collect the most interesting information in this thread in order to make a Mellotron special in the Symphonic Prog Appreciation Thread because it is such a pity when all these great posts disappear in the Prog Archives vaults ..
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verslibre
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 01 2004 Location: CA Status: Offline Points: 19377 |
Posted: August 24 2006 at 01:14 |
Perhaps your solos were perceived as "edgy" and "unorthodox" because the perfomer added "rests" every bar-and-a-half! |
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:43 |
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I am familiar with that great list, Mystic Fred, I discovered that the starting motor on Love Is The Drug by Roxy Music is a Mellotron so the bag pipe sound in Mull Of Kyntire by Paul McCartney and Wings is, very surprising!
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mystic fred
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 13 2006 Location: Londinium Status: Offline Points: 4252 |
Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:33 |
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...on the subject of mellotrons.............. can i plug my mellotron list..?
it's a bit lonely out there in Tech Talk land!
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 Prog Archives Tour Van 
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:25 |
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Sad story, indeed
 , here it is: |
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rileydog22
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 24 2005 Location: New Jersey Status: Offline Points: 8844 |
Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:16 |
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^ that's why Rick Wakeman was so interested in the ill-fated Birotron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birotron); it used 8-track tapes, so they looped. You never run out! Too bad it never caught on...
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erik neuteboom
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 27 2005 Location: Netherlands Status: Offline Points: 7659 |
Posted: August 20 2006 at 14:30 |
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Well, Off Centre, I am afraid that the average classically trained pianoplayer has difficulties to control the Mellotron because the way of playing is not really simple. When I played at the Mellotron I constantly forgot that the tapes are running out of time after 8 seconds so there was often silence during my Mellotron soli |
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Off Centre
Forum Groupie 
Joined: August 19 2005 Status: Offline Points: 83 |
Posted: August 20 2006 at 09:03 |
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I had the pleasure of playing one a few years ago, thanks to Mike
Dickson, he told me it was going to be a "near religious experience"
and thats probably the best way to describe playing one.
I have a friend who's a great piano player who also played it, but he didn't seem so keen on the instrument. It's not for everyone I guess.  My favourite mellotron moments are by Ian McDonald. Edited by Off Centre - August 20 2006 at 09:04 |
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A big hand for the MELLOTRON !!
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erik neuteboom wrote: