Mellotron inside

[marginallymental]

OMyGosh......Radiohead's "Exit Music (For a Film)..! Oh, what an ignorant fool I was, sixteen seconds ago. Jonny Greenwood! Mellotron!

[marginallymental]

Fantastic vid, and the thing's guts really demonstrated the 8-second rule. But I have so many questions! The tape actions..did they come only in string-sounds? Did an instrument come with an assembly of string loops, for instance, and other assemblies could be bought (pipes/woodwind...Strawberry Fds, for instance)? I'm freaking and reevaluating my entire childhood Romance With ProgRock...just how few human instruments was I listening to? Plus, they kind of frighten me: the Ondes Martenot.

[srv1959]

They used a Mellotron on Stairway to Heaven. Duh.

[eugeene42]

sounds awesome... Admire those old pharoahs...

[worldofjimjim]

Hail Mike Pinder formerly of The Moody Blues, the undisputed king of the Mellotron. As a young man in the early 60s he even worked as a tec in the factory that produced them in Birmingham, England. Good story at Mike Pinder.com

[2ndAsstJizzMopper]

this video rules. had never seen the tapes cycling like that at the end. thanks. explains the peculiar detached style in so many classic mellotron songs. remember it being talked about, but doesn't compare to seeing it.

[echo680]

excellent. mellotrons rock

[CayleyBeiseker]

I bet some fucking muslim claims mohammad invented it.

[CayleyBeiseker]

ESL anyone?

[MoveOverCasanova]

the final chords of watcher of the skies in the end --- yes, to show a mellotron in full flight it is still best to play genesis!!!

[alldaytubin]

Why no audio?

[daasvand]

What a SPLENDID invention!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­

[Maravalmusic]

I think that Entangled, by Genesis, is one of the best mellotron sounds... do you agree?

Reaaly a masterpiece of human kind! (a pity, the same Man does such hauful things...)...

[jazzzzdude]

Herbie Hancock played one on this track Vein Melter from Headhunters

[micheljch]

@jazzzzdude also all over the previous 2 HH sextet LPs . . . or did you miss them?

[sonick808]

gorgeous

[dhhs91]

Breaking the Girl FTW

[ROBOTkw1]

OMG! Naked SYNTH!

[mouse264]

Kind of creepy to see the inside...

These things always freak me out. The insides of pianos, too...

[STRAWBERRYSTUDIO2]

The mellotron is the precursor of the strings sampler. John Lennon (and the Beatles) was the first that utilized the mellotron in a pop recording song, the 24 november 1966: "Strawberry Fields Forever" tape 1. (from the book "8 years at Abbey Road" by Mark Lewisohn) You can listen this record on Anthology album. Album 2 - CD 2 - track 2. Bye bye!

[1olrocker]

@STRAWBERRYSTUDIO2 You are correct..... 10 bucks says no one on earth would know what the heck a mellotron is had Strawberry Fields Forever never been made.

[ciolamorta]

So romantic...

[BadChizzle]

Amazing!

[samplesmasher]

what happens, if you press a key too long? Does it stop?

[dwemmy]

@samplesmasher yes the tape runs its course and has to do the fast rewind before you can hit that very same note again.

[x46andtwo]

Interesting. I'd want one if not for having a keyboard and Reason.

[ChrisGuerre]

@x46andtwo You can talk up digital sounds all you want, they still have yet to be able to capture the warmth and all around awesomeness of true analog instruments.

[grapeman56]

the scratching of a mellotron always seemed to make her cry

[CoolStrat62]

The Mellotron is such a unique and beautiful sounding instrument , I love the way it sounds lonely , haunting and ghost like ....

[Airboy15]

It sounds creepy.

[ONEyeMarco]

wo wo wooo, so analog means it runs on tape!!!

omg i tottally did not know that, but how do u change the sound then?

[odenskrigare]

analog means works in terms of continuous values

[wado1942]

Analogue can be on any kind of medium, tape, disk, wire, whatever. Same thing with digital. Digital just means the signal is numeric.

Each tape has multiple tracks on it so changing sounds just means switching to adjacent track. I believe Mellotrons have 3 tracks across 3/8" tapes.

[videoeer]

Ancient? Indeed, yes. I understand that some of the Egyptian pharoahs were buried with their mellotrons, though usually these with the first things stolen when their tombs were looted.

[schwixol]

lmfao

[rickfreslanta]

Dude, that is funny! Great comment.

You're right. It was not all that long ago that the Mellotron was state of the art technology.

[americanXXXlove]

HAHAHAH. word.

[Keijz74]

@videoeer A gift of the gods Mell'Oh and Thro'Nh.

[767fife]

@videoeer The Mellotron itself though was invented in the Akkadian Empire under the reign of Sargon the Great.

From there it went to the Egyptians, who introduced it to the Greeks,

and then the Romans,

who introduced it to Tony Banks

[SUSANOSSS]

Fascination sound of mellotron ....

[matt9741399]

What happens if you hold a key down too long? Does the mechanism somehow disengage the tape feed, or does it rip the tape to shreds?

[Keysmusic]

The tape is over from a start in 7-8 seconds. Therefore, the sound stops suddenly on the way. A spring sticks to each tape, and the tape is rewound at the top position by about 0.5 seconds when release a key.

[wado1942]

Neither really. It just sort of glitches on the last tiny segment of the sound as the tape slips & grabs on the rollers.

[OFR]

@wado1942

No it doesn't! It just goes silent as the note stops.

[irondaddymac]

that's part of what makes it cool

[m134mr]

amazing, jsut made up of strips of tape, very clever invention!

[CassetteMaster]

Amazing...

[coffeehigh420]

i know isnt it? looks like 1/4 inch open reel tape for each note on the keyboard that plays at about 3 inches per second.

by the way, YOU have an amazing gift for fixing and working with the many recorders you have. nice job :)

[olijack57]

magnific !

[TeamNES1]

I can't afford such a massive instrument. That's why I've turned to the EXS (Extreme Sampler) system. If you use GarageBand or Logic (both by Apple Computer), then you already have access to an EXS sampler system.

[kn1ghtstemplar]

f******g amazing what a fantastic creation

[scott93257]

I have always been fascinated with Mellotrons.. I got the opportunity to play one one time and it was totally awesome.. A legendary piece of equipment for sure

[harrifripp]

One of the more hauntingly beautiful 'tron pieces is " The Sailors Tale" by King Crimson.After the initial opening interplay between Fripp and Collins sax, the mellotron drones over bass and drums waiting for Fripp's incedible guitar part . It brings chills up my spine thinking about it.The piece ends with 'tron overdubs grinding away in typical Crimson fashion.A plus stuff for fans of this relic instument ,now making a comeback. Tom in Chicago

[Aspartamebraintumor]

Check out Harmonium - "L'exil" off of their live album "en tournée" you might appreciate it.

[absoluteauthority08]

Mike Pinder, a founding member of the Moody Blues, was a quality tester at the Mellotron factory in its earliest days. He used the 'tron on all 8 of the core MB albums and his solo work to date. He is responsible for the Beatles use of the instrument. Others followed. Mike is very important to 'tron history. He's also responsible for developing his own improvements and modifications to it, which he sold back to his former employer, Mellotronics LTD while he was part of the Moody Blues.

[hootinouts]

The Moody Blues made good use of this instrument on their Days of Future Past album

[urbania70]

What a piece of vintage technology. It's incredible that such a thing could work. Respect to the ancestor of all samplers.

[simpsonizer]

thank you.... this vid says it all! I see that pinch rollers are on the lever side of the keys, so when pushed they pinch the tape to the spinning rod and then the tape plays. They are spring loaded and return really fast! To get diff sounds the head plate is moved left or right above the tape lines with the voice selector swich! cool.... For the longest time i thought they were loops lol!

[pontesanmarco]

The thing is nothin digital can sound so sinister as was needed by king crimson, genesis, moody blues, bjh, strawbs and a good few more. It is a unique instrument that changed rock music forever and I would love to own one.

[ohstanmoore]

There's a set of samples "Michael Pinder Presents..." (see absoluteauthority08's post about him) that are pitch-and-patch specific - e.g. F#2ORGAN, D#3ORGAN, A3 8VOICE CH, etc.

I love the Mellotron sound but I'll never own a physicial one; I'll have to settle for Michael's samples and my XV-5080s.

[Fairlight60]

Have you ever checked G-Media's M-Tron VSTi?

[mooghammondb3]

Very recognisable sound.  Good video!

[alfons00p]

what the hell is that???

sounds good but wtf..

[MeisterLampe123]

Parts of it sound like Watcher of the Skies by Genesis

[birrachockinbrest]

Thats because the intro was recorded on a Mellotron ( that was bought from King Crimson and was the same one used on in the Court of the Crimson king ) how about that for a prog-link

[mbrownkcmo]

Do you think you'd be able to help it? I wouldn't!

[tyronix]

look at all the wheels i want it :D .one day it will be mine! oh yes it will be mine!

[PeeBee40]

I spoke to a guy at a music fair I was working at and he had one needing restored for sale, his price made my hair go grey instantly! that was ten years ago and I still haven't bought one, not sure what that says about them and how much a decent one will cost but hope you do indeed get one:-) I'm happy using the one on the Reason Sampler just now, until I win the lottery...

[franciscobantoni]

Great, I have one simulator of it in my PC. Classic stuff!

[Keijz74]

Enjoy! Those beasts have a particular sound of their own. Joe Meek must have loved them and used them to shreds.

[hearNyou]

Hmm...I have the impression that JM's sonics pre-date the existance of the mello....could be wrong though...

[Keijz74]

Hmm Wikipedia says the Chamberlin was introduced in 1956 and the Mellotron, which was sort of a clone was introduced in the early sixties. But thinking of it now I think Joe Meek was more of a tape recorder / effects tinkerer, who wouldn't feel the need for a mellotron because he could do lots of stuff with editing studio musician recordings.

[Patrickillian]

very good :D

[Mooseboy]

Incredibly cool! I've understood the mechanism of the Mellotron since they first came out (yeah, I'm old!) and have explained it to people countless times, but have never actually seen the guts of one. Many thanks!

[gothec77]

another nice old tech demo.

keep rolling, you're doing a great job!

[mootbooxle]

Thanks for showing the world at large the Mellotron 400. I've always wanted to do this, but the 400 that my friend has is not in good nick. Very cool!