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Topic ClosedA big hand for the MELLOTRON !!
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Rando View Drop Down
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Points: 472 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 11 2006 at 19:29
Originally posted by erik neuteboom erik neuteboom wrote:

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
Some nice Tron pics, btw.
 
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.
 
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Edited by Rando - August 11 2006 at 19:30
- Music is Life, that's why our hearts have beats -
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:10

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 Clap !

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Points: 600 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:35
Originally posted by erik neuteboom erik neuteboom wrote:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrXtmKGkSa4&mode=related&search=mellotron

Just watch this, AMAZING!
 
Thanks for your enthousiastic reaction DarioIndjic Thumbs Up !
By the way, where are your from, I visited Yugoslavia (before the 'civil war'), Optajia, Plitvice, Bled, great!
 
Thanks ErikWink
 
I was born in Sarajevo but currently i live in Belgrade,so you visited Adriatic coast and Slovenia,very beautiful i agreeSmile.Well,if you ever dare(LOL)to come again to this corner of Europe,you are more than welcome!Wink Back 10 years ago i was in Amsterdam(only in airport LOL)i would like to visit Holland someday,i like Holland beer,Van Gogh and Johan Cruyff(very respected football player out here). Big smile
Ars longa , vita brevis
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DarioIndjic View Drop Down
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Points: 600 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:38
Originally posted by Eetu Pellonpää Eetu Pellonpää wrote:

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
 
Great list Clap
Ars longa , vita brevis
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 12 2006 at 04:56
Well, DarioIndjic, who knows, my wife is positive about Yugoslavia, unfortunately not about prog Wink ...
 
Eetu, I didn't know that Budgie and Badger had some Mellotronin their music, worth to check out!
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Points: 83 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 20 2006 at 09:03
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. Smile

My favourite mellotron moments are by Ian McDonald.




Edited by Off Centre - August 20 2006 at 09:04
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 20 2006 at 14:30

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 LOL !
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Points: 8844 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:16
^ 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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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:25
Sad story, indeed Cry, here it is:
 
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Points: 4252 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 20 2006 at 16:33
...on the subject of mellotrons.............. can i plug my mellotron list..?
it's a bit lonely out there in Tech Talk land!LOL
 
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post 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!
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Points: 17188 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: August 24 2006 at 01:14
Originally posted by erik neuteboom erik neuteboom wrote:

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 LOL !


Perhaps your solos were perceived as "edgy" and "unorthodox" because the perfomer added "rests" every bar-and-a-half!
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post 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 .. Unhappy
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Points: 5851 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 13 2006 at 03:44
The PREMIATA FORNERIA MARCONI was THE FIRST GROUP IN ITALY to use: MELLOTRON, MOOG and MINIMOOG
(see: www.pfmpfm.it)
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Points: 115 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 13 2006 at 15:38
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.
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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 13 2006 at 16:00
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.


Edited by erik neuteboom - November 13 2006 at 16:00
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pierreolivier View Drop Down
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Points: 222 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 13 2006 at 17:34

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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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 13 2006 at 17:47
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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pierreolivier View Drop Down
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Points: 222 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 13 2006 at 18:02
Originally posted by erik neuteboom erik neuteboom wrote:

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.
 
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
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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erik neuteboom View Drop Down
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Points: 7659 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: November 13 2006 at 18:08
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 Thumbs Up
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