Mellotron and Moog synthesizer

www.planetmellotron.com

The Mellotron is unique in that each individual key plays a note that was recorded by a living, professional musician.  Therefore, if you listen, you will hear bow inflections in strings, breath variation in woodwinds, and subtle timber changes in vocals.  (a music major in college pointed this out to me many years ago).  

 

Although there have been many attempts to emulate the Mellotron with digital circuitry (ARP String Ensemble, Polymoog etc.), they are as sterile sounding as CDs compared to vinyl records.  Mellotron sounds are more organic and rich, which is heard best on songs like “The Revealing Science of God.”  

 

There are now many digital synths and even iPad apps available that utilize samples of genuine Mellotron tapes, and I had the pleasure to watch King Crimson play Mellotron samples on iPads in their concert on 26 September, 2014 in Chicago.  Bob Fripp would sometimes trigger Mellotron samples with his guitar, and others in the band held up iPads.  It was remarkable to watch!  I even have the software on my own iPad (Mellotronics), it is fun to play with! 

 

Interestingly, many of the musicians who recorded the music samples we hear are probably now deceased, so in a real sense, playing a Mellotron with authentic tape samples is to summon the music of ghosts.  I find that a fascinating aspect of this amazing instrument.  

Here we see Prof. Fripp with the only black Mellotron I've ever seen!!  

Edited by cstack3 - September 06 2020 at 02:34

Contrary to popular belief, the Moog modulars were never massively popular. 

For a start, Moog only ever made about 150 modular systems. Huge Moogs were virtually unheard of, and most of the production was geared towards Model 55 (and smaller) systems. The high spots were probably around 1968-74 or so. Really, the Minimoog took over from there. 

Early Minimoogs were dreadful, the oscillator tuning and scaling on them was hit and miss in the extreme. Most early analogue synths had very poor build quality, as the components were pretty spotty quality, with resistors varying massively in value, leaky capacitors, crackly potentiometers. It's only when builds shift to a more integrated circuit based design with, say, ARP's range of synths that buying an analogue synth became less hit and miss. 

Polymoogs and polyphonic synths are slightly out of the "classic" period of prog rock as well. The Polymoog came in in 1975, but, the world being what it was at the time, it was a good few years before bands could find them, let alone afford them. 

Also in the pot are early string synths, like the Elka, which rarely get a mention, but were much more common. 

As for the Arturia VST range, they bear as much resemblance to the original instruments as a VST drumkit does to a real one. Toys. 

These two posts on the mellotron and minimoog by cstack and davesax were excellent. It's wonderful to hear from two experts on the subject.

Edited by SteveG - September 06 2020 at 10:59

Davesax1965 wrote: Early Minimoogs were dreadful, the oscillator tuning and scaling on them was hit and miss in the extreme. Most early analogue synths had very poor build quality, as the components were pretty spotty quality, with resistors varying massively in value, leaky capacitors, crackly potentiometers. It's only when builds shift to a more integrated circuit based design with, say, ARP's range of synths that buying an analogue synth became less hit and miss.  Polymoogs and polyphonic synths are slightly out of the "classic" period of prog rock as well. The Polymoog came in in 1975, but, the world being what it was at the time, it was a good few years before bands could find them, let alone afford them.

There's a great mention up there of the Solina. Solina and Elka string synths rarely get a mention, but sometimes when you think you've heard a Mellotron, it's an old string synth. 

I've got a modern Waldorf Streichfett here, they really are a very good modern repro. 

One note (no pun intended) about the Mellotron was that it was an utterly impractical instrument. New sound ? Change tapes. This was NOT easy. Basically, a huge compromise due to the limitations of the technology: it was always going to fail. Like tape echoes, they were always going to be replaced by electronics, as soon as something came along. 

One of my musician friends has a modern Mellotron, which sounds excellent. At the end of the day, it's playing digital samples..... the original Trons played samples in the form of tapes. I fail to see what the difference is. If you want it to sound "tapey" then there's all kinds of effects you can apply to it later. It's actually best to have an instrument which sounds perfect which you can then alter than to have an instrument which sounds imperfect which you can't. ;-)

Yes, I've got some VST Mellotrons as well. Like all VST stuff, they sound dead and lifeless. The subtle dynamics aren't there. VSTs have a place, they're for people who can't afford the real thing (who can ? Oh yes, King Crimson) , or don't want to have the brain ache of having to maintain vintage instruments.

That's fine, where it becomes "not fine" is where companies like Arturia market them as being replacements and someone buys them and tries to convince you a sub $100 plugin is ever going to sound and behave like a $150,000 Moog modular.

No it doesn't, as if it ever would, and here's someone with the hem hem knowledge having played both instruments rather than the hem hem opinion of having read something on the internet. Dunning Kruger time again. 

Mellotron samples can't be stretched by wear or suffer unpredictable changes in pitch like a real Mellotron. Another set of it's endearing features. But yes, aside from that, samples sound fine.

Well, at least no one posted about the dreaded Synclavier. 😋

The attempts to emulate them have been using digital technology. 

Here's what I use for string synth simulation.