Mellotron at NAMM 2009 part 1

The classic Mellotron revised and reworked - seems a little bit DIY still though.

And is it really worth having all those tape loops when you can use a sampler?

Category:

Music

Tags:

• NAMM
• 2009
• January
• Anaheim
• COnvention
• centre
• California
• USA
• music
• rock
• pop
• prog
• bass
• Mellotron

[paulj0557]

Music is zen for so so many. Some of us need to shred our own cheese even though it comes in bags and ready to use. The attraction to the past is a hard one to fight because a ton of great music was created with big bulky equipment. I love how Kieth Emerson plays with his 300 pound Hammond and throws it around in those live shows in the early 70's. He showed us that we do bleed for our art. Most mechanical repairs require no new parts, just adjustments. A good player can fix his instrument fast.

[geffel]

@paulj0557

Well said. Sometimes we cling on to the past out of nostalgia rather than practicality, though. I love the Jaguar E Type, but by modern Jag was a world better.

Also I recommend the i-phone mellotron - very authentic.

[Voltor07]

Let me ask you this. If digital is so great, why does it try to be analog?

[geffel]

Because it's compact, portable and practical. I can't get a symphony orchestra in my room, but I can get lots of digital gear in.

My point was more about lugging this bastard thing around on tour and maintaining it. When does tape start deteriorating? Oh yeah - immediately. I had a good look at the construction of this thing - it's not well made, and a couple of knocks are going to break it. Mellotrons were notoriously unreliable devices back in the day. Weight is down but the build isn't good.

[geffel]

And BTW you can hear me talking about how good it sounds in the audio of this video - the English accent is me.

[GregERobertson]

@Voltor07 Because digital is a REPRESENTATION of the sound where analog is a REPRODUCTION of the sound. Neil Young compares it to an orange and a polaroid of an orange. . .lol .. with analog you get the actual sound reproduced rather than the translation into and then back out of digital.

[i8246i]

Sometimes, though, the remakes/emulators of the larger, bulkier instruments don't get it right. And you can tell, and your audience can tell, and...

However, mellotrons really don't need to exist anymore. What they do can be done with computers, with greater reliability and sound quality.

[gtrslinger]

well selling rapists in a video game is a very hard sell.

[phlizmo]

yah but once you have owned the real deal and lugged it around and had to change out tape frames, you LOVE having it all in one tiny plugin.

[i8246i]

@gtrslinger

Well, more of the issue with owning the original game rather than playing a ROM is using the original hardware, which provides an authentic experience. Some sound bytes/bgms, the original controller feel, and even certain quirks won't be present in an emulator/ROM experience.

It gets particularly irritating when a game like Punch Out is re-released as a legal ROM, and certain characters/names (like Mike Tyson) have been removed due to legal issues.

[danpage79]

How heavy is the hardware? Will it be easier now to transport.Hope they give up Korg Oasis for a true mellotron.(Tony Banks)

[AbrahamMegchun]

"Exit Music from Radiohead"

[Voltor07]

So they haven't fixed the reliability issues? Interesting. BTW...I've got tape from 1967 that still plays like new...and it's acetate which wears out much faster than the new stuff. Still, I'd buy one of these if I could afford it. ^_^