A big hand for the MELLOTRON !!
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Topic: A big hand for the MELLOTRON !!
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Subject: A big hand for the MELLOTRON !!
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 14:45
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Last week a progrock dream came true: I was introduced to somebody who owned a Mellotron M400 and allowed to play on it. Although I only know a few chords, I could get a bit of an impression how impressive a Mellotron sounds but also how vulnerable it is: some tapes were lost, it took a hell of a time before 'the machine was warm', some keys didn't function and indeed, after 8 seconds the sound simply stops because the tape stops ... I have experienced it now by myself, it's incredible but true! Playing on the Mellotron I was overwhelmed by progrock memories: the choir Mellotron evokes Rick Wakeman's solo piece on Yessongs and Tony Banks on Afterglow (Seconds Out version), the violin Mellotron evokes In The Court Of The Crimson King and The Moody Blues and the flute sound evokes Strawberrry Fields Forever by The Beatles and Julia Dream by Pink Floyd, what an amazing sound!  I also realised that this both unsurpassed as infamous keyboard has contributed hugely to the story of the progressive rock and at this moment it's more and more becoming popular, mainly because it sounds so unique, just listen to Anekdoten, Willowglass, La Maschera Di Cera ... to name a few! I am curious to your opinion about the Mellotron like it's role in the progrock history, your experiences with playing on it or simply which are your favorite Mellotron compositions? I am looking forward to your reactions, fellow Tron-manicas     ATTENTION: MELLOTRON SPECIAL ON PAGE #6 !!!
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Replies:
Posted By: pirkka
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 14:56
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When you talk about Mellotron there are two bands that stand out:
- Moody Blues
- Spring
Everybody knows Moody Blues and the way it championed the instrument but Spring is probably in the list of forgotten bands. They only made one record in 1971: http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive_rock_discography_CD.asp?cd_id=2543 - Spring but it included 3 mellotrons. It is a must for a Mellotron fan and actually great prog to whom so ever. It gets average of 4.26 points.
But as I notice that it was you Eric who added Spring into PA you are familiar with it
 .My all time favourite mellotron songs are from The Moody Blues greatest album Seventh Sojourn: New Horizons, For my lady, Isn't life strange. But then they were not played with a mellotron but with a Chamberlain made by the same guy who invented the mellotron.
Pirkka
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 15:22
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On the DVD Isle Of Wight Festival you will see a mellotron Mark II on stage while The Moody Blues are performing Nights In White Satin, the violin-Mellotron is so typical and added an extra dimension to their sound.
Yes Pirkka, it was me who added Spring, I have always loved their Mellotron drenched sound and I also added Lift because this overlooked USA band features some great Mellotron!
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 16:16
Pretty sorry to correct you Pirkka but some of your informations that you stated here are false.First,Spring didn't have 3 mellotrons,they have one(a Mark II) but was played by 3 different members of the band.Andy Thompson mellotron website clear the myth.
Secondly,Chamberlin was not invented by the guy who invented the Mellotron.It was invented by an american named Harry Chamberlin from Ontario,California.He patented it's first model in 1952 and developped it in his garage.In 1962,a guy who was working for Mr.Chamberlin as a saleman,Mr.Bill Fransen,went to England in order to find a company that manufactured tape heads.He went to Birmingham and found Bradmatic owned by the 3 Bradleys brothers: Leslie,Frank and Norman,who made tape heads.Fransen order a set of 70 matched replay heads to the Bradley brothers and the brothers were very curious about this strange request and one brother guess it rightly that it must be for something like a music machine.Then,they asked Fransen about the usage of theirs tape heads and Fransen bring 2 Chamberlin MusicMaster 600 to the Bradmatic workshop and the Bradleys were very impressed with it.Fransen then ask if they were interested to manufacture the machine in mass production and the Bradleys agreed to help Fransen.But,Fransen didn't say that this machine was invented by Harry Chamberlin and the Bradleys thaught that it was Fransen who invented it.They eventually develloped the Mellotron Mark I,who is almost a Chamberlin MusicMaster 600 replica and developped it further and update some of the components with the Mark II.Originally,the Mellotron were supposed to be called the "Franson" in honour of Bill Fransen but choose the name "Mellotron" for commercial reason.Harry Chamberlin eventually heard of the Mellotron in 1965-1966 and was very mad at Bill Fransen(who was still working for Mr.Chamberlin in the US during the Mellotron developpement) but was not angry about the Bradley brothers because they didn't know about it and thaught it was Fransen invention.Chamberlin agreed that the Mellotron should go further and a monetary arragement was set between the 2 firms in 1966 and the 2 companies devellopped products independantly trought the 80's.
Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues use a Chamberlin on the "Seventh Sojourn" album but also use a Mellotron Mark II and M300 on the album.
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pirkka wrote:Posted By: akin
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 16:44
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I wish I could own a mellotron, but I can't afford one. Sometimes one
or another mellotron is avaiable on sale in eBay, but they do not ship
overseas and as the value of the money in my country is lower than in
US and the conditions for a common man too, let's say that a mellotron
that costs $1,500 represents to me something like $7,000. I am fascinated by the mellotron sounds and the band which best uses the Mellotron is The Moody Blues. It is almost impossivel to hear The Voyage, House of Four Doors, for example, and believe that it is only mellotron. At least I could afford an Alesis Micron which can emulate perfectly analog sounds. There are some sounds that sound like a mellotron. I'm starting to use it in my psychedelic band (ridiculous, because it is only me playing bass (poorly), guitar (so-so) and keyboards (poorly))... I'm interested now in hearing Spring. It will go to my "wishlist". Fortunately, although imported, the cd is not so expensive, less than 20% more expensive than a cd made in Brazil. I will just way till the cds I have already purchased to arrive and them I'll check this band out. |
Posted By: pirkka
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 17:00
Don't be sorry at all. I am extremely happy to be able to read the information you write here. Most interesting indeed! My knowledge was based on the liner notes from the CD.
Pirkka
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Posted By: maani
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 17:10
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I also had the privilege of playing a real Mellotron when I fronted a Genesis/Yes cover band in the late 70s. I have no idea how our keyboardist got his hands on it. It was one of the most amazing feelings to play it, especially the vox.
As an aside, the reason the Moody Blues had the first Mellotron in rock was that Mike Pindar was friends with Harry Chamberlin, who actually developed the MK-I and MK-II models.
There is no question of the Mellotron's place in the history of prog. It allowed proto-prog and early prog bands to incorporate actual orchestral (string) and chorus (vox) sounds into their already quasi-orchestral arrangements. And it provided "color" in a way that organs and early synths did not.
If there were a Hall of Fame for prog instruments, the Mellotron would have to be the first instrument inducted.
Peace.
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 17:12
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Thanks for your warm reactions till so far but I forgot to mention some of my favorite Mellotron drenched pieces/albums: Museo Rosenbach-Titletrack from the album Zarathustra
Outer Limits-Titletrack from their album The Scene Of Pale Blue
Fantasy-Alanderie from the CD Beyond The Beyond
Greenslade-Live 1975
Schicke Fuhrs & Frohling-Live 1975
Barclay James harvest-Live (1974)
Standarte-Curses & Invocations
.....
 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Posted By: elpprogster
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 18:14
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Hey Erik,
Congratulations for another great thread (we´re all waiting for it but were afraid to ask
 ) after the ELP inspired bands one!Ahhh the Mellotron...Simply the pillar of Progressive Rock... Youmay not believe, but I carry a photo of a Mellotron in my wallet instead my girlfriend´s one
 !! |
Posted By: Liquid Len
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 18:21
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Great 'Tron site.
http://www.planetmellotron.com/ - http://www.planetmellotron.com/ ------------- Can you tell me where my country lies? |
Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 19:03
That's almost the truth.Mike Pinder worked for Streetly electronics(Mellotron makers) for 18 months in 1963-1964.He tested the finished Mark II at the end of the production line.Mr.Pinder have a lot of knowledge in electronic and like very much working for the Bradley brothers.When he left the job to form the Moody Blues with Dennis Laine and Ray Thomas(the "Go now"formation),he wanted to use a Mellotron but couldn't afford a new one.A little later,in 1966,Mr.Leslie Bradley called him and say that the Dunlop Tires company social club had a Mark II that they didn't want anymore,so Mr.Pinder was able to brought his first Mark II at a reasonnable price.It's probably more Leslie Bradley that you are refering as he was the person who called him and Mike Pinder was always grateful to Leslie Bradley for that and eventually became friend and Mike Pinder was also a Mellotron Prime ambassador in the 60's-70's,even now..He met Harry Chamberlin later in the beginning of the 70's when he brought his first Chamberlin.
For me,the real starter for my love of the Mellotron is the fabulous Harmonium album "Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison".I discoverd this album when I was about 15 years old and it was the first I really noticed his presence on an album.I was already a Yes,Genesis and King Crimson listener and remarked the Mellotron in the credits but didn't know about the instrument at the time.Later,in about 1993-1994,swedish bands like Anekdoten and Anglagard reinforced my love for the instrument and want a mellotron.In 1995,I met a collector here in Montreal and was able to buy an M400 in 1996.
For those intrested in Mellotron,I recommended the buy of " the Mellotron book" by Frank Samagaio,where I learn all the infos that I talked to you before about the Chamberlin and the story about Mike Pinder working for Streetly in the 60's before forming the Moody Blues.It's quite an interesting reading for Mellotron fans.I also recommanded the visit of the Andy Thompson's Planet Mellotron website(wich I help bringing him some Quebecois prog albums)who is full of informations about Mellotron famous recordings.
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 20:05
Thanks Pirkka!
I find these informations on "The Mellotron book" by Frank Samagaio and on the PlanetMellotron website. |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 20:11
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When I think of the tron "Epitaph" inmediatly pops into my head... Wow, erik Im soooooooooooo jealous   ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: Minimalist777
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 20:52
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Man, I wish I could play a Mellotron someday, its such a great instrument! ------------- WWOSD? What Would OliverStoned Do? |
Posted By: chamberry
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 20:54
This pretty much sums my feelings for the mellotron. . . . I just wish I could at least see one  ------------- 
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 21:12
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same here for all the 'I wishes' I'd love to rattle the windows with the intro to PFM's Appena Un Po' some other 'tron favs of mine of the top of my head.. Uriah Heep - Lady in Black The Moody Blues - The Voyage Genesis - The Fountain of Salmacis of course Museo Rosenbach - The Zarathustra title track ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 02:45
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I remember when I was at about 11-12 years old I founded a playback trio on the primary school and played the song Hi Hi Said The Clown by Manfred Mann on selfmade wooden instruments (guitars and keyboards, no drums). I think that was the moment that the Mellotron (flute sound) entered my brains and settled itself in my subconsience. When I discovered progrock" it broke free and flooded my brains and soul", it's incredible how strongly the Mellotron can evokes warm and pleasant feelings to me, especially the choir-section is so impressive.
Some nice non-prog Mellotron pieces: Seasons Of The Sun by Terry Jacks and Halo Of Flies by Alice Cooper and did you know that the bag pipes on Mull Of Kintyre by Paul McCartney and the starting motor on the intro of Love Is The Drug by Roxy Music are also produced by the Mellotron
?! THE MIGHTY TRON IS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!
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Posted By: pirkka
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 03:55
Great album this Harmonium. I made a trip to europe this summer in my car and had this among a couple of other CD's with me and played it a couple of times. Beautiful music! And about the book of tron, I'll got to buy it. Thanks for advise, again.
I'm sorry but I must correct
 Actually it is Frank Samagato not Samagaio... But found it in Amazon and ordered it, about £10.Pirkka
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Posted By: Terra Australis
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 04:18
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Once in the 80s I was in a music shop in Melbourne with my band mates and there was a Mellotron MK II there. We had a play on it. What doesn't generally come out on recordings is the volume of it. The shop almost shook and the power of it amazed us! ------------- Allomerus. Music with progressive intent. http://allomerus.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow - http://allomerus.bandcamp.com |
Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 04:52
Hi pirkka
 ,sorry to contradict once more by my copy said Frank Samagaio as the author.I know Frank by reputation because he his a regular writer at the Mellotron forum,wich i am also a member.Anyway,you will had the truth when your copy will be shipped.There's will be another Mellotron Book due this fall with apparently more photos but Frank's book is full of useful and interesting infos for Mellotron fans.
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Posted By: pirkka
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 05:02
Actually I believe you more than Amazon. The book is listed there under Samagato name.
I was just joking anyway
 .Pirkka
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 05:21
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Of course, as a Tron-maniac, I own this wonderful book, loaded with interesting facts and plesant stories by its owners and users, a wide range of musicians, especially Rick Wakeman is fun to read !
There are also some intereresting sites about Mellotrons for example with all singles and albums featuring The Mighty Tron and misunderstandings about the Mellotron. When I am back at home (I am on my work now
), I will give you more details or in the meantime perhaps others will do, a certain Pierreoliver seem to know a bit more about the Mighty Tron than the usual visitor here ... ! |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 06:01
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I think someone has recently started to manufacture Mellotrons again,
real ones, not copies. I don't have any website address though, but I
can try to look if you're interested. |
Posted By: pirkka
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 07:16
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Just listenet to The Enid and their epic Song of Fand (live at the Hammersmith Odeon 1979). This sounds to me like a Concerto for mellotron but there is no tron mentioned in the credits. As you guys seem to know all, tell me, is there a tron in this performance or not?
Pirkka
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Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 07:20
That's correct, but they're not to be called mellotrons any more (Streetley Electronics lost the right to use the name, apparently), I did know what they're called now... but I've forgotten 
In addition to these, a German company is making a digital version called the Memotron: 
Much smaller, much lighter, much more reliable & apparently contains samples of all the original tapes... but will it sound the same, eh? 
Personal favorite Mellotron track? Seven Stones by Genesis - the deceptively simple understated closing section is guaranteed to melt me into a drooling puddle every time - Lovely! ------------- 
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 07:31
I know the Memotron, but I saw a pic from the NAMM show this year, where some guy presented a newly manufactured Mellotron, with the right name and everything. I'll try to find it again. |
Posted By: Joolz
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 08:07
Mellotron Mk VI  The Mellotron Mk VII  Website is http://www.mellotron.com/ - HERE |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 08:15
Thank you Joolz!  It was exactly the site I was referring to!
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Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 10:51
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Excellent, Joolz -
I WANT ONE! -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: A B Negative
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 11:27
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Fans of the 'tron sound should have a listen to Mellotropica by Syn (not to be confused with The Syn who feature Chris Squire).
It's very much in the style of 70s Berlin-school electronica (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze etc) and appears on his album Skyline.
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 13:11
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In The Court Of The Crimson King Mellotron Mark II:
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 17:08
Thanks for the compliment Erik!
You know a lot about it too.Yes,Mellotrons were used a lot not only in prog field but in pop songs as well.Elton John used it in a lot of his 70's albums(the song "Daniel" with mellotron flute come to mind),Abba used it alot too before Benny Andersonn got his hand on a GX-1.David Bowie used it a lot on early recordings(Space Odditty)and use a Chamberlin on his "Low"album and others songs like "Ashes to Ashes"
The Brit-pop scene of the 90's bring back the Mellotron to it's glory.Bands like Oasis,Ocean Colour Scene,Mansun,Paul Weller,Pulp and The Charlatans used it a lot on theirs albums.Paul Weller actually own the old Steve Hackett black Novatron M400 and Noel Gallagher of Oasis own 2 machines,a Mark II SFX with musical tapes and a Mark VI.
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 17:28
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Indeed, Pierreolivier, the return of the giant Mellotron in the Nineties, I also read that The Red Hot Chili Peppers used it too
 ! About David Bowie: in my opinion there are two versions of Space Oddity, one with organ and one with Mellotron.
By the way, I own a bootleg DVD on which David Bowie himself plays on the Chamberlin.
About my photos from the Mellotron M400 I made: Tony R will help me to publish these photos, I hope you will be able to see it Sunday evening or Monday.
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Posted By: blazko
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 17:55
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Great instrument isn't it ? :):) DJs should learn from giants like Emerson... Just a piece of tape and eight seconds of a sample could make a sound unforgetable... We'll never forget you... mellotron...:):) ------------- -=B=- |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 18:02
Emerson hated the Mellotron (because it caused unemployement for classical musicians) but recently I noticed a picture from early ELP with a Mellotron M400 on stage .. .. did he ever use it while being in ELP (he did in The Nice)?
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 18:15
Yes,ELP used it for 2 or 3 shows during the Trilogy tour in 1972.It was played by Greg Lake and was used for some sounds on "Abbandon's Bolero".The Greg Lake website use to have a photo of these shows where you clearly see the M400 in the background but they removed it.
Apparently, the M400 caught fire after a couple shows and they deicided to remove it. |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 18:23
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The Mellotron caught fire ... incredible story, it reminds me of the early Genesis Mellotron that stopped just before a show. Tony Banks was desperate but finally a roadie removed the motor from of a dust cleaner to the Mellotron and ... end good, all good, the Mellotron worked again !
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 18:56
hahahha.... roadies... the unappreciated powers behind the thrones... ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: ldlanberg
Date Posted: July 28 2006 at 23:29
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It gets a big hand from me! Apparently the mellotron was conceived to mimick, perfectly, the sounds of an orchestra playing. That was the intention. But it couldn't simulate a real orchestra, perfectly.
Instead, it put out sounds quite different from a 'real' orchestra. Creative rock musicians capitalized on this difference.
Now, I'm not the biggest Tony Banks fan in the world. But Banks (Genesis) knew how to make the mellotron sound like something really big. Reference: Intro to "Watcher of the Skies" and, especially, many sections of A Trick of the Tail.
Compared to other mellotron players of the day, Banks' stuff did not simply sound like a person playing keys of the instrument -- it actually sounded like the entire sky crashing to the earth, then reforming again. That's what music is all about.
I'm surprised Tony's name is not as synonymous with the mellotron as, say, The Moody Blues' name is. ------------- LDL |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 04:30
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A few years ago I read an article in a keyboard magazine, it told about Tony Banks his technique. The author was very positive about Tony Banks, he said Tony is not so omnipresent and self-indulgent like Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman but the way he plays both Hammond and Mellotron was on a very high level in the Gabriel-Genesis-era, that is a huge compliment
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Posted By: Joolz
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 08:21
Yeah, and he's not on the Tron all the time like Mike Pinder - this means it has much more impact when it does come in - eg its appearances during Dancing Out With The Moonlit Knight are real goosebump moments |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 10:05
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That's a dilemma, Joolz: as a Tronmaniac I want to hear floods of Trons but too much Tron drenched (like Druid on their second album) does harm the quality of the composition. In my opinion The Strawbs and Barclay James Harvest were masters in fllooding with Trons but without harming the quality of the compositions !
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Posted By: Joolz
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 11:23
Absolutely agree, no argument there. One of my all-time favourite records is BJH Live (1974), due in large part to being smothered in Tron [even though some of it had to be overdubbed because the Tron had a sterminated]. My point was with Banks, there is that extra dimension of anticipation which you don't have if it's there all the time. |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 12:02
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I love short drops of choir-Mellotron, so impressive and it lifts the music to an extra dimension like Greenslade on Tide or The Strawbs on Down By The Sea !
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Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 13:10
| If their music is tron-drenched, that's another good reason for me to go discover BJH as soon as possible... What album should I start with? |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 13:33
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I love their live albums more than any of their studio-albums, in my opinion these sound more powerful and more Tron drenched. I prefer BJH Live (1974) but Live Tapes (1978) is almost at the same level.
Personal advise: send fellow collaborator Andrea Cortese a PM with your question, I am sure he will please you with his reaction
! |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 15:40
| I WISH for the day that I will have an opportunity to play a real mellotron. Sounds like a super exciting experience! Congrats! |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 15:42
Thanks for the suggestions! I will try to find them. |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 31 2006 at 03:58
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In the late Nineties I made an article about vintage keyboards in progressive rock for a Dutch progrock magazine and interviewed known and less know Dutch keyboard players, here are some quotes about the ubiquitous Mellotron:
Eril De Vroomen (Coda): "When I only look at the Mellotron, my heart starts to beat stronger!"
Cleem Determeijer (Finch, Veralin, Ayreon): "The Mellotron on the first two Finch albums was borrowed, an old, brown piece of furniture delivering trics like applause. It made a lot of 'side-sounds', the tapes sounded sometimes un-pitched or even stopped but the sound remains so nostalgic."
Rene De Haan (Pythagoras): "I borrowed the Mellotron from the Dutch symphonic rock group Plackband. In fact it was a ridiculous instrument: it required a lot of maintenance and it was expensive. I often used the violin - and choir-section and at some moments the church organ sound."
Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak, Camel): "The Mellotron is both my highest as lowest point, it's an instrument with obstacles! On stage singer Max Werner used it and in the studio we both played on it. It has a wonderful sound, a bit dusty and melancholic, very massive. But technically it was a disaster, it unpitched very easily and quickly. If you used one key, it was OK but pressing two or more keys you often didn't get any sound and you had to watch out at windy stages! And on parties with an aggregate it was a misery with the Mellotron .. but on the other hand it is a memorable and emotional instrument, also because of its imperfects. It also had an impact on writing, I used it as an orchestra, a band like Earth & Fire build entire songs around the Mellotron.
Thijs Van Leer (Focus): I only used the Mellotron on studio recordings like Eruption. I love the violin section with the string sound, very special. In fact it was the forerunner of the synthesizer. But of course it had many failures, it was almost every time broken. But these imperfections had its charm, the Mellotron has something obsolete, something archaic and timeless."
Rick Van Der Linden (Ekseption, Trace): "The Mellotron is a very beautiful instrument but very vulnerable. I carried a lot of reserve parts with me including frames. I had to keep these in huge suitcases! Playing on a Mellotron, your classically trained piano skills are useless, you have to learn playing on it again by excersing a lot and learning the trics like very quickly lifting the key in order to use it again. I succeeded to play on it for 9 seconds instead of 8 by some technical changes in the instrument! The sound is often bad with a lot of noise and you frequently have to use the pitch button. I let build the technician a 'fine control' for the pitching and a stabilisator for the synchrone-moter in order to let it sound more stable. I loved to use the violin section, the choirs and the flute traverse, these sounds are mighty close to the real sound."
Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon): "The Mellotron has a wonderful sound but in use it's a disaster, for example because of the breaking of the tapes. It's an easy instrument to sample so I have made a lot of samples."
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Posted By: Prog-jester
Date Posted: July 31 2006 at 08:39
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Erik,you're lucky!!!I'm jealous!!!
Can someone give me a link to mellotron samples' sites?I remember I asked it before,but those files were way too big to download... |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 31 2006 at 11:09
| http://www.mellotron.com - www.mellotron.com (products) has an amazing amount of Mellotron sounds! |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: July 31 2006 at 16:43
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And from Frank Samagaio his book about the Mellotron:
http://www.tronsounds.com - www.tronsounds.com
http://blackcat.demon.co.uk/tron/samples.htm - http://blackcat.demon.co.uk/tron/samples.htm
http://h002078cbccbd.nemediaone.net/tronsounds - http://h002078cbccbd.nemediaone.net/tronsounds
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Posted By: patomtz
Date Posted: July 31 2006 at 20:59
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sorry because of my ignorance, but what is exactly a Mellotron??
it is the one that use Steve Howe in a few songs? like a keyboard? or something like that? ------------- I still can't get how Dream Theater music is created by humans Dream Theater in Monterrey, Mexico 03.03.06 Unforgettable 
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Posted By: Prog-jester
Date Posted: August 01 2006 at 04:29
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Erik,thanks a lot!
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Posted By: Phil
Date Posted: August 01 2006 at 04:44
There's been a lot on this site about the mellotron, including some very technical discussions I seem to recall, so worth searching here if you want to find out more.
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 01 2006 at 05:01
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Steve Hackett used a Mellotron but also an Optigan: "An organ with optical disc recordings of backing tracks. The light source is just a miniature (domestic) incandescent tube, picked up by optical sensors on the other side of the disc. One problem is that these disc are very susceptible to scratches, which appear as surface noise" (from the book The A-Z of Analogue Synthesizers - Peter Forrest - also see Wikipedia).
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Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: August 02 2006 at 15:57
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Some droolsome Mellotron pics now in place in Erik's original post at the beginning of this thread.
However for the fanatics among you I will reproduce them here
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Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: August 02 2006 at 16:37
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Great pics here!
...hmmm, this little machine is what made our music so great!
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 02 2006 at 16:56
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Only because of the wonderful, very melancholic violin-Mellotron drops in Rush their ballad Tears, Tony R was willing to publish my Mellotron pictures ...
By the way, Andrea, incredible that this odd white piece of furniture is responsible for so many emotional moments in the progrock history, The Strawbs were part of it, I love Down By The Sea, great choir-Mellotron waves
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Posted By: Joolz
Date Posted: August 02 2006 at 18:45
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Nice pics ...... so much more character than modern electronic instruments. Just look at that patina ..... Despite adoring Mellotrons for nearly 40 years, I have never got my hands on a real one. I always wanted one but the cost was prohibitive, as well as maintenance etc. I do recall my delight when I finally got hold of some decent Mellotron samples in the early-ish 90s - the first Emu Vintage Keys rack module - obviously not as good as the real thing but I could at last pretend with my trusty Roland keyboard ...... |
Posted By: Andrea Cortese
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 00:46
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Have to check out what kinds of keyboards my father owns. Ok, he doesn't own a mellotron but he put his fingers usually above two keyboards and an electronic piano/organ/harpsichord.
BTW, the sound of the mellotron was an incredible improvement in rock music's history. Maybe it was as the discovery of wheel for us prog lovers.
Erik, Down by the Sea is an incredible piece. Generally the album Bursting at the Seams is an excellent one, even if many people underestimate it. I know you were referring not to the album version but to the live version in Grave New World/Live in Tokyo 1975. Isn't it?
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Posted By: RUM26
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 00:58
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go to idiana jones thread NOW! ------------- SHEP get with the program |
Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 03:11
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Ooooohhh, Erik - my jealousy knows no bounds... Lovely 'tron!
As a Hammond owner, though I must just ask - which model of Hammond is that on the right? It's not a full console, is it - L or M series? -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 11:30
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Jim Garten: I will ask about the Hammond model (I thought a M100)
Pierreolivier: I will ask about the serial number of the mellotron and about the owner
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Posted By: pirkka
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 14:41
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Hi Erik,
Just litening to Lift: The Moment of Hearing. Great Mellotron prog fro USA. But this you know
already! Just wanted to mention it. Probably best prog from USA I've ever heard.I asked earlier about The Enid if they use Mellotron in the Fand live version 79 included in the Something wicked this way comes album. Now I have the Aerie Faerie album and the Fand is there over 30 min long new version (84-87). Again no mention of the keyboard types used. Do you or somebody know?
They probably used Tron in In the Region of the Summer Stars in 76.
Pirkka
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 14:44
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The Enid used a Mellotron on their first album but the remastered version is different (new recordings), without a Mellotron in my opinion, I hope Pierrreolivier will reveal this. By the way, I the early Eighties I bought all their early albums, I still love these, a friend has put some on CD. |
Posted By: pirkka
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 15:33
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Wow!
I just orderd In the Region of the Summer Stars and a new one White Goddess from Amazon (Caiman).
Great stuff!
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Posted By: Eetu Pellonpaa
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 16:05
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My favourite mellotron tunes:
KING CRIMSON: "Epitaph", "In The Wake of Poseidon", Amsterdam 1973 concert
The MOODY BLUES: "Nights in White Satin"
GREENSLADE: "Feathered Friends"
ANEKDOTEN: "Sad Rain", "Hole"
MORTE MACABRE: "Symphonic Holocaust", "Quiet Drops"
PINK FLOYD: "Julia Dream"
BUDGIE: "Young Is The World"'
YES: And You And I", 1st of 4 on "Tales from Topographic Oceans"
BADGER: "Wheel of Fortune" + other from the same live
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 16:20
Nice pics,Erik!
It's a beautiful M400,a little worn by the years but they are machines that have lived!
Just a little clarification,just for the record (I don't want to be considered a "big head" or a "fresh",sorry
) but judging by the photos,your friend M400 is equipped with CMC-10 motor card.I also had that motor card on my M400 and never got problem with it but mellotrons specialists said that it must be replaced as soon as possible with a new SMS-4 or SMS-5.When you tried it,Erik does it have a drop of pitch when you pressed 4-5 notes together?Another point,personnally I will never had put stickers on the keys or in front of it but maybe they were already there when your friend brought the M400.But that's cosmetic and maybe they were put to hide some scratchs.Otherwise,it's a nice M400,above the majority of severals I saw for sale on Ebay.
Sorry Erik, yesterday I wanted to replied to your personnal message and even posted something here regarding of your pics but can't yesterday.You've done excellent pics of that Mellotron.
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 16:28
Thanks, Pierreolivier, you are a 'Mellotron-snob' but I love you  .. !
That sticker was put on it before he got it, the 'VARA' is the Radio TV Broadcasting Company For Labors (free translation) ... but I don't think they would have accepted Tony Blair
 !I will ask about the CMC-10 motor card (and Mellotron serial number and Hammond L or 100), I see my Mellotron friend this Saturday.
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 16:50
Thanks Erik!
Yes, i'm a bit of "mellotron snob",I know.But you guys are a lot sympathic and cool and I appreciated that!
For the CMC-10,It's sure that your friend M400 got it(it's the big screw on the middle left and got a big green plastic plate).I recognized it because I have the same on my M400 and it's very apparent on the pic you posted with the lid removed.I just want to know if it got a pitch-drop when you pressed 4-5 notes when you've tried it.For the serial number,I want to know if they were made around the same time as mine and I will be able to speculate a date of the time it was made.Mine is S/N 719 and was made in April or May(Spring) 1973.Thanks for asking your "Mellotron friend" the next time you will see him,Erik.Tell him he got a nice machine,like I said a lot nicer that the majority I saw on Ebay for sale and was sold for a lot of money.
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Posted By: Jim Garten
Date Posted: August 04 2006 at 03:04
very close, Erik, it's an M101 (one of the nicest spinet models they made) -------------
Jon Lord 1941 - 2012 |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 04 2006 at 06:36
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Yesterday I watched the Earth & Fire DVD (see my review), exciting bonus track Song Of The Marching Children, Mellotron drenched, great view on the M400, highly recommend to the visitors of this thread !
Andrea C, I pointed at the Down By The Sea version on BBC Live 73/74 and the Live In Tokyo DVD.
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date Posted: August 04 2006 at 15:43
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Yesterday, I discovered that video:
http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=1067206735278755593&q=progressive+rock - http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=1067206735278755593&q=progressive+rock
It's a piece by the group Beggar's Opera,from the german early 70's TV program Beat Club.They played a piece wich is kind of adaption of severals classical themes,a bit like the Nice did in the late 60's.The guy who play the Hammond is very good but they also had a women who play the Mellotron Mark II.That women is probably the first women mellotronist I encountered,long before Anna Sofi Dahlberg of Anekdoten or Anna Holgrem from Anglagard.Take a look, that worth the trip.
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 04 2006 at 15:48
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Great, Pierreolivier, that song is from their excellent Hammond driven first album, my favorite Beggars Opera record !
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 04 2006 at 18:27
| Tomorrow I will meet the Mellotron man, I will show him this thread! |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 11 2006 at 08:55
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Good to notice that more and more progheads show their appreciation in other threads about the unsurpassed and ubiquitous Mellotron !
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Posted By: DarioIndjic
Date Posted: August 11 2006 at 16:58
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Ahh,what an amazing thread !
I just looked at the pictures while playing bands featuring mellotron(Akasha and Sandrose two albums to be more precise) and i imagined myself playing it ,if i only could !
Mellotron is my fav instrument so far.I fell in love with it while listening to Epitaph for the first time.
And i love it ,and i always will...
The mellotron has the most mesmerizing sound i have ever heard ,i will try to describe it .
To me the mellotron sound is like waves of calm sea, gently whispering to the coast of earth a dream of otherworldly,unhuman happiness . ------------- Ars longa , vita brevis |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 11 2006 at 17:12
Thanks for your enthousiastic reaction DarioIndjic
 ! By the way, where are your from, I visited Yugoslavia (before the 'civil war'), Optajia, Plitvice, Bled, great!
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: August 11 2006 at 17:20
excellent... a Mellotron.. a Hammond a Strat and a Ricky.... it doesn't get better than that... ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Rando
Date Posted: August 11 2006 at 19:29
Yeah, I've also played them. The 400M model, I wish I could get my hands on some of the earlier models like the Mk ll! Yes, I agree, they're unlike any other keyboard and the model I played had the last two keys (or heads) not working. They're still in production and Mellotron has made some major improvements on them. And if you can't afford one Mellotron puts out a CD-ROM disk with all the classic Tron sounds. Note, it's not an "audio" disk and requires a real sampler keyboard. (Oopsie! I hope I don't get deleted here, as I'm not trying to sell anything...really!)
My favorite groups or recordings using the Mellotron, All of the early The Moody Blues albums(Especially To Our Children's Children Children...)
Just about anything Tony Banks played on it. Especially Watcher Of The Skies. (The first Genesis Live album version of "Watcher" really kicks ass, sort of their grunge version!) Also Can-Utility & The Coastliners, The Fountain Of Salmacis, Entangled, Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats, to name some.
King Crimson's Lizard. And all of the early Tangerine Dream albums.
------------- - Music is Life, that's why our hearts have beats - |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:10
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Well, Rando, just watch the DVD Isle Of Wight Festival during Nights In White Satin by The Moody Blues, great shots on Mike Pinder while playing the Mark II |
Posted By: DarioIndjic
Date Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:35
Thanks Erik
I was born in Sarajevo but currently i live in Belgrade,so you visited Adriatic coast and Slovenia,very beautiful i agree .Well,if you ever dare()to come again to this corner of Europe,you are more than welcome! Back 10 years ago i was in Amsterdam(only in airport )i would like to visit Holland someday,i like Holland beer,Van Gogh and Johan Cruyff(very respected football player out here).  ------------- Ars longa , vita brevis |
Posted By: DarioIndjic
Date Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:38
Great list ------------- Ars longa , vita brevis |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:56
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Well, DarioIndjic, who knows, my wife is positive about Yugoslavia, unfortunately not about prog ...
Eetu, I didn't know that Budgie and Badger had some Mellotronin their music, worth to check out!
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Posted By: Off Centre
Date 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. |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date 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 |
Posted By: rileydog22
Date 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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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:25
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Sad story, indeed
, here it is: |
Posted By: mystic fred
Date 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!
http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=27457 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=27457 -------------  Prog Archives Tour Van 
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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:43
| 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! |
Posted By: verslibre
Date 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! ------------- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ipg=50&_sop=1&_rdc=1&_ssn=musicosm" rel="nofollow - eBay |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date Posted: November 12 2006 at 18:08
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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Posted By: Mandrakeroot
Date 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: http://www.pfmpfm.it - www.pfmpfm.it ) ------------- 
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Posted By: lobster41
Date 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. ------------- The beatings will continue until morale improves. |
Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date 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.
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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date 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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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date 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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Posted By: pierreolivier
Date 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 - 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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Posted By: erik neuteboom
Date 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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