Return of the Mellotron - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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erik neuteboom View Drop Down

Prog Reviewer

Joined: July 27 2005
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Topic: Return of the Mellotron
Posted: July 27 2006 at 02:26

Check out Willowglass, wonderful new Mellotron drenched symphonic rock!

pierreolivier View Drop Down

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Posted: July 26 2006 at 22:38

Sorry,I couldn't post on the previous post but there's a photo of a Chamberlin M1:

http://www.audities.org/audities/collection/chamberlin_m1.html

pierreolivier View Drop Down

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Posted: July 26 2006 at 22:21

Jay440 wrote:

PROGMAN wrote:

I think U2 used the Mellotron for the intro to "It's a Beautiful Day".

Unusual for a Pop Rock song ........is it?

Fiona Apple's "Shadowboxer" has either a Mellotron or Birotron on it. Sounds really pretty, too!

Fiona Apple actually use a Chamberlin M1 on her albums,wich is Mellotron direct ancestors.The earliest models of Chamberlins were actually patented in the 50's and predates the Mellotron for almost ten years.The Mellotron developpers had to actually pay a patent to Mr.Chamberlin for using his mechanism wich is the same as early mellotrons Mark II.The M1 is a latter model available in the 70's -80's.What confuse the people is that the Chamberlin use the same recordings for their most popular sound, the classic 3 violins.David Bowie own one that he brought in the U.S in the 70's and use it a lot on his "Berlin Trilogy" with album like "Low" and "Lodger".Chamberlins M1 had more tracks,8 for the Chamberlins M1 compared to 3 on a regular M400.The swedish band Anekdoten uses Chamberlin sound played with their mellotron M400 on their album "Gravity",they use the Chamberlin female choir on the song "Gravity".This sound is quite good and very spooky.

For U2 on the song "It's a beautiful day,I read an interview on a magazine where they said that the Mellotron is actually sampled.

Jay440

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Posted: July 26 2006 at 20:30

PROGMAN wrote:

I think U2 used the Mellotron for the intro to "It's a Beautiful Day".

Unusual for a Pop Rock song ........is it?

Fiona Apple's "Shadowboxer" has either a Mellotron or Birotron on it. Sounds really pretty, too!

Borealis

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Joined: May 06 2005
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Posted: May 20 2005 at 18:05

Tony wrote:

Is it going to be used on more and more diverse albums with time? And were there any other example of its recent use? Will we see the return of the ARP, or the Moog or the Hammond organ soon?

Check out Glass Hammer. That new american band is using a lot of different keyboards. Maybe you'll find what you are looking for.

Guests

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Posted: May 10 2005 at 12:03

Yams wrote:

Are they using actual Mellotrons or samples of Mellotron sounds?

good question.
recently acquired g-media's m-tron vst...sounds just like the real thing to me

.
of course, since i don't own one i can't compare an actual unit to "sounds"

radiognome3 View Drop Down

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Joined: March 26 2005
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Posted: May 10 2005 at 06:57

Modest Mouse uses a mellotron on at least one of their albums. My favorite songs with a mellotron are King Crimson's 'The Devil's Triangle', from In The Wake Of Poseidon, and Tangerine Dream's 'Mysterious Semblence at the Strand of Nightmares' from Phaedra.

Vive Gong!

Borealis

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Posted: May 09 2005 at 19:19

Riverside (progmetal) are using Mellotron, and that's actually the main reason why their music is good.

Edited by Borealis

Guests

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Posted: May 09 2005 at 18:56

Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

uses Mellotron strings in the verse right before the guitar solos. I love that part man!!

alan_pfeifer View Drop Down

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Posted: May 09 2005 at 16:05

TMV doesn't use a Mellotron, I think that's actually a Clavinet.

Dennis

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Posted: May 09 2005 at 14:55

Hi Everyone,

All I can say is me too! Mellotron is my favorite prog-rock instrument. After first hearing it in the 60's with the Moody Blues and the Beatles, and then hearing it on King Crimson's ITCOTCK, I knew a new era (Symphonic Rock) in Rock music was emerging. There is something dark and spooky about its sound. The way the tape loops drag and sometimes slow down gives it a gloomy and gothic type sound which seems perfect for the darker side of prog-rock. It's frightening power worked wonders for Crimson, the early Genesis etc., and it's come back in the 90's and the present is certainly welcomed by me. Two very good newer groups that use it well and not mentioned in previous posts are the prog groups Guapo, from England, and Paatos from Sweden. Look out for a new debut album soon from Norwegian group Wobbler. Two complete free demos are on their web site and are drenched with loads of sweet tron. Their keyboardist is also in White Willow, and their sound is dark and similar to Anglagard. http://www.wobblermusic.com/ A good web site for tron fanatics is also at: http://freespace.virgin.net/andy.thompson/index.htm called The Ultimate Mellotron Recordings. Last update was in February, and lists just about every commercially recorded album ever recorded using the Mellotron. Some reviews on this site too. Hey out there! Any more good newer prog band out their you could suggest that I may not know about? Please enlighten me! I will always have in insatiable appetite for the beloved Mellotron. Thanks!

"Day dawns dark, it now numbers infinity"

Jim Garten View Drop Down

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Posted: April 25 2005 at 03:41

Oh, yes, and before I forget - there was a new band called Razorlight (OK, I guess, but they don't light my candle) on Top Of The Pops last week, playing live, with a Mellotron player.

There is hope....

Jon Lord 1941 - 2012

Jim Garten View Drop Down

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Posted: April 25 2005 at 03:39

Tony wrote:

Yams wrote:

Are they using actual Mellotrons or samples of Mellotron sounds?

Well for Opeth and Porcupine Tree I know for a fact that it was
samples. Anglagard used a real one (two in fact) and I believe Spock's
Beard has a real one too.

That was a bit of a blow... I got Opeth's 'Lamentations' DVD expecting to see a Mellotron used in the studio during the 'making of' documentary, but Steve Wilson played it all on a synth!

Bad show - especially as he is credited as playing Mellotron, Fender Rhodes & grand piano on the 'Damnation' album; a little honesty, please Mr Wilson

Jon Lord 1941 - 2012

Will Veda

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Posted: April 25 2005 at 01:23

chorus of one wrote:

PROGMAN wrote:

I think U2 used the Mellotron for the intro to "It's a Beautiful Day".

Unusual for a Pop Rock song ........is it?

Not sure about that one, but you'd be surprised at the variety of bands/artists who have used the mellotron. Check out the site James Lee posted above, excellent resource.

That is in fact a Mellotron at the beginning of "It's a Beautiful Day." I can pick a Mellotron out of virtually any song because of owning one for nearly 25 years. Absolutely no synth or sampler can reproduce the warm sound that the tapes make going over the tape heads. Ikey Owens from The Mars Volta is one of the most recent keyboardists to use one. My all time favorite usage of the Mellotron was Genesis' Tony Banks' bending the pitch wheel with the choir sound during the live version of "The Waiting Room" from "The Lamb Lies Down" tour. I use to do the same thing, but I would also incorporate a Space Echo and Leslie in with this technique. Chilling, I tell ya.

sigod

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Posted: April 21 2005 at 07:23

Mellotrons are wonderful machines indeed but what about the other great prog instruments that we all know and love, the superb Technical Jars!

For all those who don't know what I'm talking about please click HERE.

I must remind the right honourable gentleman that a monologue is not a decision.
- Clement Atlee, on Winston Churchill

chorus of one View Drop Down

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Posted: April 21 2005 at 05:54

PROGMAN wrote:

I think U2 used the Mellotron for the intro to "It's a Beautiful Day".

Unusual for a Pop Rock song ........is it?

Not sure about that one, but you'd be surprised at the variety of bands/artists who have used the mellotron. Check out the site James Lee posted above, excellent resource.

PROGMAN

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Posted: April 21 2005 at 05:35

I think U2 used the Mellotron for the intro to "It's a Beautiful Day".

Unusual for a Pop Rock song ........is it?

CYMRU AM BYTH

Matti

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Posted: April 21 2005 at 04:21

Mellotron is great! Here's few superb Mellotronic songs that first come to my mind:

Genesis: Watcher of the Skies ; King Crimson: Epitaph, In the Wake of Poseidon ; Moody Blues: Legend of Mind, My Song ; the whole album by SPRING ; Barclay James Harvest: She Said.

Discipline uses Mellotron, do I remember right?

Rob The Good View Drop Down

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Posted: April 21 2005 at 03:44

Mellotrons! The Moody Blues are one of my favourite bands, so as you can probably imagine, I like Mellotrons......a lot.

And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..."
Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster.

Ankaret

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Posted: April 21 2005 at 00:20

Well, it certainly is a great sounding instrument, especially in the prog community. I have certainly started using a plugin for one on my stuff recently, so yes, I think whether it's nostalgia or something else, there is somewhat of a small future for this awesome instrument.

Links to musical projects coming soon!!!