I cant quite hear the radio in our lab at the moment, but I can hear enough to know it's Oasis playing. It must be there their new single...

There is this re-occurring string section in the song, which sounds awfully like a Mellotron to me. It's no big deal. There is, after all, no law against sh!t bands using such sacred instruments, but I'm wandering does anyone else have a 'prog radar' that instantly makes your ears prick up whenever you hear a Hammond, a Mellotron or an odd time signature somewhere in the mix of daytime radio...??

Or am I just obsessed??  I have just been asked why I've been playing with the volume controls of the radio when normally I just curse the damn thing. Trying to make my work colleagues understand the importance of the Mellotron in my life is a futile cause...

Bruce Dickinson uses Mellotrons on his cd's!

That was infact the first time i ever saw the name of that instrument...did not understand what it was at first and have never seen any non-prog cd's that has a own musician for playing mellotron

maidenrulez wrote: Bruce Dickinson uses Mellotrons on his cd's! That was infact the first time i ever saw the name of that instrument...did not understand what it was at first and have never seen any non-prog cd's that has a own musician for playing mellotron

Ah yes, but Bruce Dickinson is a prog fanatic, so I can imagine him playing a Mellotron just for the sheer pleasure and indulgence of it all, but OASIS??

Noel Gallagher is actually a huge Floyd fan and claims it was DSOTM that inspired him to go into music in the first place. However, in an interview he refuses to acknowledge Floyd as prog rock, and thinks the whole genre sucks!

Oasis have been known to use mellotrons - it is the Beatles connection with them.

I think quite a few "mainstream" bands have used them if a particular studio has one, rather than owning one themselves. Certainly Runrig have a credit for mellotron on "the Stamping Ground", but even these 'tron attuned ears are hard-pressed to pick it out!

Snow Dog wrote: Yes Blackie, i do it too! Sometimes...Yes!  I know what you mean!

Well, listen out for that Oasis track and let me know what you think..oh and dont forget to find out what model of Mellotron it is and tick it off in your prog spotters book. I have .....

Blacksword wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Yes Blackie, i do it too! Sometimes...Yes!  I know what you mean! Well, listen out for that Oasis track and let me know what you think..oh and dont forget to find out what model of Mellotron it is and tick it off in your prog spotters book. I have .....

Ah cool can you hear what kind of mellotron is it too? I cant really spot a mellotron when i hear one......i just know it sounds alot better than using synths

Of the five Oasis albums I have, the mellotron is mentioned explicitly twice - once as being played by a guest musician on "The Hindu Times" from "Heathen Chemistry" and as one of the instruments played by Noel Gallagher throughout "(What's the Story) Morning Glory."

maidenrulez wrote: Blacksword wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Yes Blackie, i do it too! Sometimes...Yes!  I know what you mean! Well, listen out for that Oasis track and let me know what you think..oh and dont forget to find out what model of Mellotron it is and tick it off in your prog spotters book. I have .....   Ah cool can you hear what kind of mellotron is it too? I cant really spot a mellotron when i hear one......i just know it sounds alot better than using synths

maiden:

No I cant!  If I could I'd probably worry myself! I'm sending up the geek element of it all. In the UK there are some people who like to stand on railway station platforms and record the numbers of trains in little note books. Why? I have no idea..each to their own I guess. But too often us proggers have been equated to 'trainspotters' for being knowledgable about music.. but appaling spellers, in my case..

But seriously, I love the sound of a Mellotron, and can usually spot them. They are very different to synths and produce a much different effect. They are, in effect, analogue samplers as they use real recorded sounds of instruments rather than synthesised sound. I can imagine a Mellotron, and indeed any instrument being overused..All good music should have a variety of sounds, moods etc.. IMO..

CandyAppleRed wrote: Of the five Oasis albums I have, the mellotron is mentioned explicitly twice - once as being played by a guest musician on "The Hindu Times" from "Heathen Chemistry" and as one of the instruments played by Noel Gallagher throughout "(What's the Story) Morning Glory."

mmm, I've got Morning Glory (not literally before anyone bothers to snigger at that) I'll give it a spin when I get home. I'll go Mellotron spotting..

Right, who can think of other NON PROG instances of Mellotron use???

Well I've just played Hindu Times, and apart from the first two seconds, which is obviously a scratchy old 'tron playing solo, it is difficult to discern throughout the rest of the track!

I too love the sound of the mellotron, but given the size and reliability of the things, I can see why they died out. I'm just glad that modern technology is making the sounds available again. As I have mentioned on other threads, I use G-Force's M-Tron software mellotron in my own work, and it is based on a set of original tapes from a (I think) Mark II. Some of the notes sound distinctly wobbly, but it still sounds great

CandyAppleRed wrote: Well I've just played Hindu Times, and apart from the first two seconds, which is obviously a scratchy old 'tron playing solo, it is difficult to discern throughout the rest of the track! I too love the sound of the mellotron, but given the size and reliability of the things, I can see why they died out. I'm just glad that modern technology is making the sounds available again. As I have mentioned on other threads, I use G-Force's M-Tron software mellotron in my own work, and it is based on a set of original tapes from a (I think) Mark II. Some of the notes sound distinctly wobbly, but it still sounds great

DIED OUT!!! Blasphemy!

You can still buy em new, and I would hope they dont break down as much as the old ones did. Tony Banks said the first one he bought - which I think was second hand off King Crimson - would be broken by the end of each gig. They had a specialist Mellotron roadie.

Sorry Blacksword - I was thinking of the likes of Camel etc ditching them for horrible plastic sounding string ensembles!

I believe that Genesis did get one of KC's cast offs, and called in th Black B*****d or somesuch as it never worked. I also love the fact that the Moody Blues bought their first 'tron from the Dunlop Tyre Company's Working Men's Club in Birmingham!

CandyAppleRed wrote: Sorry Blacksword - I was thinking of the likes of Camel etc ditching them for horrible plastic sounding string ensembles! I believe that Genesis did get one of KC's cast offs, and called in th Black B*****d or somesuch as it never worked. I also love the fact that the Moody Blues bought their first 'tron from the Dunlop Tyre Company's Working Men's Club in Birmingham!

..but made considerably better use of it!

chopper wrote: I've got a bit of a radar for odd time signatures, it must be my drummer/bassist background. I can spot a 7/4 from miles away.

I could spot an odd time signature, but I wouldn't know specifically what it is without concentrating and counting, unless it's 3/4 or 5/4; they're pretty obvious.

Alan, you've 'out-geeked' me! Well done!

Ben2112 wrote: The scratching of a Mellotron...it always seems to make me cry.

They make me weep uncontrollably, the moment I hear them. Mix it with a Hammond organ and you may as well call the men in white coats, I'm a dribbling wreck...

Blacksword wrote: chopper wrote: I've got a bit of a radar for odd time signatures, it must be my drummer/bassist background. I can spot a 7/4 from miles away. I could spot an odd time signature, but I wouldn't know specifically what it is without concentrating and counting, unless it's 3/4 or 5/4; they're pretty obvious. Alan, you've 'out-geeked' me! Well done!

That's not geeky, that's just my supreme talent as a musician. Well, that's what I like to think anyway.