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This is a video I have wanted to record for a long time. My love affair of the Mellotron started when I heard my first Genesis album as a young teenager. Expanding my musical tastes to Yes, Tangerine Dream, Steve Hackett, David Bowie and many others simply reinforced that love of this instrument. I have an older brother and in the early 80's some of his school friends formed a band. To my total joy and amazement the keyboard player, Andy, acquired a used Mellotron M400 - an instrument I literally salivated over! Seeing one in the flesh and being able to play some chords on it left me spellbound.
I had no idea of the Chamberlin's existence at that time, and later in my adult life the only photos I came across of a Chamberlin were of a heavy, wooden home keyboard, not the sleek looking Mellotron M400's I had known since a teenager. Spending time researching Harry Chamberlin has been an absolute joy. I think it is such a travesty that, at least on this side of the Atlantic, so many have heard of the Mellotron but not of Harry Chamberlin. This video is my own very small and humble attempt at putting that right, at least I feel happier for making it.
In an attempt to give legitimacy to the verbal information in this video, I have included numerous images but which I did not expressly obtain permission to reproduce. My hope is that the copyright owners will be accepting of the use here, which - as this video is of a documentary nature - is considered "fair use" under copyright law.
As to the information I have provided, I have gone to great lengths to research the information from available sources. However, it should be stated that the reliability of those sources is not always possible to determine and there will always be a chance that some inaccuracies exist. I therefore do not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided in this video.
I have come across a number of valuable resources during the research of this video and provide links to those resources below where possible. I have also included links of RU-vid videos that may be of interest to anyone who is keen on the Mellotron or Chamberlin instruments.
Useful links:
Home of the Mellotron M4000D: www.mellotron....
Home of the Streetly Mellotron M4000: www.mellotronic...
Wikipedia Mellotron: en.wikipedia.o...
Wikipedia Chamberlin: en.wikipedia.o...
Chamberlin Patents: www.till.com/ar...
Harry Chamberlin Interview: egrefin.free.fr...
Mellotron Archives: www.mellotron....
Planet Mellotron: www.planetmell...
Mellotron Demo: • Mellotron Demo
GForce Video: • The Great British Tron...
Chamerlin Resources: amplify.nmc.ca...
SOS On the Mellotron: www.soundonsou...
M4000: www.outofphase...
Mike Pinder, Moody Blues: www.mikepinder....
Chamberlin 1962 TV: • Ann Sothern on I've Go...
Chamberlin Jerry Lewis TV: • Jerry Lewis demonstrat...

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5 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 295

@kcreeves199 2 года назад

I've often heard the story that on one of the string tapes, you could hear the sound of a chair sliding across the floor. Is this true, and if so, has this sound been posted anywhere?

@TimShoebridge 2 года назад

I think the soundset in question is called "3 Violins" and it appeared on the MkII Mellotron. I've gone through every note and to be honest there's weird, feint noises on a lot of them. Strange scrapes and creaks, I'm not sure how much of that noise is as a result of the ageing tapes or the ambient noise at the time of recording. But there's definitely a resonant scrape on the high C# and something that sounds rather like a creaking chair or floorboard on the low A! I'll post a quick video.

@TimShoebridge 2 года назад

Here you go.... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oRLdqRcQbnA.html

@TangerineTux 2 года назад

I might be wrong but I think it’s the sound you can hear here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EhQpXD2Z9WQ.htmlm10s (at 16:10) and here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Q3IyWceyHrw.htmlm14s (3:14 onward).

@tommyflowers7098 2 года назад

Ya, there are a lot of background noises on some of the recordings. Adds to the character and sonic flavor!

@ChrisDamerst 2 года назад

I wish my father were still alive to tell his story but he did some of the male vocals on the Chamberlin in the late 60s.

@BarryWarne 2 года назад

Do you remember anything he mentioned?

@ChrisDamerst 2 года назад

Just that he was hired to sing some of the male vocal sounds in the studio. He said Chamberlin had invented the keyboard and that the Mellotron was based on it. Just the stuff we know. :) He was in living in Denver Colorado at the time, not sure if it was recorded at Jackson Sound in Denver or not but he produced recordings out of that studio.

@davedeanovic2908 2 года назад

@@ChrisDamerst wow! That’s cool. There’s a yearning to know more history like this ,Chris. Anything else at all would be welcome.

@ChrisDamerst 2 года назад

I really wished I knew more. It’s weird that when someone passes you lose all that knowledge too. I should listen to the Chamberlin sounds and see if I can spot his voice, it’s pretty specific sounding.

@kelvynification 2 года назад

Wow! Thanks for sharing. Kudos to your father.

@scooper283 2 года назад

In late 1978 I visited my family in Los Angeles and called up Harry Chamerblin (I got the number from a brochure or an ad in KYB Magazine ?)). He invited me out to his home (factory), where he showed me the instrument. I played around with it, and we discussed the various sound sets for it. He had an Ampex 8-track in an adjoining room and he was very friendly. It was priced around $4000. I was in a successful band at the time and considered buying one. It was quite a bit smaller than the Mellotron. I was excited about it because David Bowie had used it on LOW and I wanted that sound. I took a picture of Harry as I left (I still have it). I never did buy the instrument, but never will forget that visit.

@TimShoebridge 2 года назад

That's an amazing story, thanks a lot for sharing 👍

@scooper283 2 года назад

I would share the picture but I don't know how?

@TimShoebridge 2 года назад

@@scooper283 Ahh not possible with YT comments unfortunately 😒

@floyd101954 4 месяца назад

I just started looking into the Mellotron again recently. I have owned and been working with programming Synthesizers since my first introduction to the ARP 2500 and soon after owning the Original ARP 2600 and Mini Moog in 1972. Before that I built my first Synth, a Theremin Kit from Moog. I was a musician and a Recording Engineer throughout the 1970’s until the late 1980’s. I had the pleasure to meet and talk with Bob Moog on many occasions about his Synths and the Industry. I also met Tom Oberheim several times and actually showed him a prototype FM Synthesizer that Sony was developing in 1981, that I was hired to demonstrate at the New York AES Convention. I only share this with you so you know that I’ve been around and know so much of the history of the Synthesizer development and growth. I am extremely happy that you put this Historic Story out here for all to see. I knew a bit about the Mellotron but not to this historic extent. What you cover here could actually be made into a movie! Over the past 2 years I’ve built myself a Small (and growing) Music Production Room in our home. Thanks to Behringer and Roland I’ve been able to add some of the Vintage Synths I once owned. I never owned a Mellotron but did work with them. I had a musician friend who owned one and I’d get to play it from time to time. After seeing this video and all of the history that I never knew I did more research on what the Stockholm Mellotron Company is building. I watched your other videos as well and decided it was time I got my own Mellotron. I was only going to get the Micro but you convinced me that the one I want is the M4000D Mini because of the The Fatar keyboard with velocity sensitivity and mono aftertouch and the ability to use the Sound Cards (Albeit a bit pricey). My wife who is so supportive of my “Synthesizer Addiction’, lol, agrees, she said get the full size one, otherwise you won’t be happy. So I will be ordering mine today. Again I want to thank you for the outstanding historic overview of the Mellotron/Chamberlain.

@expandingknowledge8269 2 года назад

In the sixties, my friends and I frequented roller skating rinks where we lived, there were two. The one we went to most the time had a organ, or what I thought was an organ. The same man would play this keyboard instrument, between canned radio music. The instrument always sounded odd, like it was out of tune, or not working properly. After listening to the Chamberlin, or mellotron for years afterward, I believe that organ was indeed a tape based instrument like the mellotron, not sure. From my recollection of the sounds it made, I'm willing to bet that's what it really was. Man I miss those days, they were the best! 🎹 🎶 😎

@ingolf7411 2 года назад

Don´t forget the great opening of "Watchers of the Skies" by Genesis. The first time (and a long time ago) I recognised the Mellotron as a fantastic instrument. And again (as always) a great video and story of Tim Shoebridge. An actual artist using the Mellotron a lot is Lisa Bella Donna and she is integrating the Mellotron with Moog and Arp synthesizers in a lot of great pieces.

@Individual_two 2 года назад

I was the FOH sound guy, keyboard tech and synth programmer for a regional touring band in the mid-1970's. We had the Mellotron 400, which put through an overdriven Fender Twin Reverb would make your hair stand on end! I was vexed by the weight and the constant maintenance I had to do to keep it running, but I loved the sound of this beast.

@davedeanovic2908 2 года назад

Where did you tour?

@DoctorJezz 2 года назад

Great to hear! Tell us more ...

@garygimmestad4272 2 года назад

I heard the Moody Blues in 1971 (OMG - 50 years ago!) and I too fell in love with the Mellotron. But I never knew this story. You presented it beautifully. Thank you, again, for all you do!

@bensimpson873 2 года назад

Great video Tim. Harry Chamberlin definitely deserves more recognition for this outstanding contribution to music technology.

@stargate1555 2 месяца назад

I'm a drummer from the 60's. Percussionist from the 70's. Music theory, music literature, and music performance in the 80's. Fast forward to today. I play flute, guitar, and a bunch of keyboard instruments and the Mellotron M4000D is my go to instrument. I have 3 octaves to play and with the low mode I have 6 octaves. With the limited 37 key keyboard I've gotten very good at reverse chords. I can make the Mellotron sing and make angels cry with it's beautiful sounds. I got with Marcus and bought sound cards 02-03-04-05-06 and my musical super powers are now unlimited. This instrument is a gem. I'm going to try to get Marcus to make an 88 key Mellotron M4000D1. How awesome that would be. I wouldn't care how much it would cost.........it would be the bomb.

@PacificIslandDrive 2 года назад

I used to know one of the first tour-managers for the ‘Moody Blues’, and he told me stories about how they toured with one, and how difficult it was to transport, and maintain.

@crhkrebs 2 года назад

A wonderful and even handed telling of the Mellotron story. Your obvious love for the instrument and it’s distinctive and defining sounds comes through in the video.

@robingoergner725 2 года назад

Brilliant! I love the way Tim weaves the story of the Chamberlain/Mellotron together with his compositions. A real treat!

@thisisnev 2 года назад

The Mellotron was also notably used by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (e.g. Maid Of Orleans) and XTC (e.g. All You Pretty Girls). For me, the beauty of a Mellotron lies in its realtime imperfections - the hiss, pitch wobbles and tape wear combine to make organic sounds that just can't be synthesized accurately. Thanks for this recap, Tim.

@BarryWarne 2 года назад

Realtime imperfections are life

@utdgrant 2 года назад

Arturia's Mellotron V has a multitude of real-time processes which emulate all these physical imperfections, erm....perfectly!

@MonsieurC64 2 года назад

@@utdgrant Perfectly... not ! Arturia's Mellotron emulation is an improvement compared to other emulations, but it still lacks a bit of life. I think software companies have been a bit lazy on this, I'm sure the Mellotron could be emulated better. I don't want fancy synth/FX possibilities, I want more random glitches, especially on the attack and release of the sound.

@Alphonso_026 2 года назад

I like this ‘new’ storytelling format, thanks for all the work you put into it (and all your videos really). You should be on patreon or something, because your work deserves to be appreciated much more than just likes on YT. Cheers!

@thaJeztah 2 года назад

The songs in this video are superb, thank you!

@ElCapitánestudio 2 года назад

Im addicted to this channel! Thank you Tim :) Love listening to your synths thoughts

@drinovixmusic Год назад

i always love to get more educated about these amazing instruments, thank you for the great video

@synthsbythesea4091 2 года назад

What a fantastic story, and really well told. Thanks. You just brightened a very wet and dull Morning here in Perth (the Down Under One) :)

@justindpeak 2 года назад

Great video, New Beginning was a great track, really captured the sound of the mellotron!

@robguitarwizard 2 года назад

Love the sounds of the Mellotron. Nothing like it!

@ogasi1798 2 года назад

what a wicked video Tim thanks

@AndyKing1963 2 года назад

Tangerine Dream were one of the biggest users of the Tron - having four onstage during their 1975 tour (M400 x 3 + a double keyboard Mark V). In the end, Edgar Froese had two Mark Vs and about 50-60 tape sets. TD themselves even recorded their own sounds onto tape as well as getting Mellotron to produce SFX tapes for them. All of their albums from 1973 to the early eighties feature them, as do their solo albums of that period. They also bought the Birotron in 1978 but sadly it was a disaster and would chew up tapes every night, so it was relegated to Edgar Froese's studio where he used it with tape loops for infinite choir chords

@brhodes0 2 года назад

Music For Schools... some evocative sounds here and as usual an interesting subject with thoughtful presentation. Thanks 👍🏻.

@mallery7 2 года назад

Really dig your music pieces

@dr.beaulab Год назад

this is great info on the history of a revolutionary instrument. now sampling and synthesis is incorporated in so many instruments at a smaller size than the first machine.

@nickpritchard7130 2 года назад

A very interesting vid.. Great stuff Tim..Well done and Big Thanks for this one !!

@neilloughran4437 2 года назад

Nice Tangerine Dream stylings at 24.00. Takes me back to my teens and my Ricochet, Sorceror and Encore LPs. Can't believe it's almost 40 years ago now... can still recall putting the vinyl on and being immersed in it..

@neilloughran4437 2 года назад

I always liked the the Mellotron brass esp... so evocative!

@utdgrant 2 года назад

@@neilloughran4437 The Tangerine Dream brass sound was a tapeset called GC3. It was basically 3 overdubs of trombone played by British jazzer George Chisholm. Funny to think that a 'comedy trombonist' who appeared on Playschool could be the source of such an epic sound! Here's my tribute to the Encore sound: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-o_Wf0hSqJ-M.html

@neilloughran4437 2 года назад

@@utdgrant wonderful! I remember listening to a bootleg of them in Nottingham 1976 where a similar sequence opened the show.... but yeah Encore was kind of the end of a certain phase for TD... I recall listening to it for the first time in 1987 or so and fell in love with it!

@jon_gee 2 года назад

Tim. Dude. This is fabulous. Love the stories. Thanks for telling this one in such an eloquent way. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🎹🎶👏🏻👏🏻

@jon_gee 2 года назад

Btw all the tunes you produced for this video are awesome!!! I loved them all. Many thanks Tim!!!

@raycochrane3971 2 года назад

I have a Mel9 pedal - it's very good but requires a lot of time to get used to playing it cleanly. I've had .wav file samples of several banks of tapes for a decade or so...found them accidentally. Even now I use them in recordings...cut n paste into arrangements...full of the imperfections of the tapes when "sampled"...I love 'em.

@mrfuzztone 2 года назад

GForce M-Tron Pro still sounds good to me and I can afford it. A good story. A great instrument and inventor.

@BFBeast666 2 года назад

Oh man, the soundscape you put under the guessing game was just sublime. That morph into the choir gave me chills! (the good ones). Also, I guess you're hinting at the Mellotron. The Genesis hint nailed it for me.

@hooch8395 2 года назад

my fav instrument by far, good story tnks

@thegood9 2 года назад

Thanks!

@TimShoebridge 2 года назад

Thank you 👍👍👍

@johndavidpeer3107 2 года назад

Fascinating...I'm spellbound! About to watch the "liquidation" chapter. Now I want one.

@CGI.VR.Producer 2 года назад

One more band who used a Mellotron...Led Zeppelin. John Paul Jones played the Mellotron on The Rain Song, from Houses of the Holy. I saw that tour in '73, and JPJ played it live. I've read that Kashmir also includes Jones playing Mellotron.

@ZTAudio 2 года назад

Mellotron options abound. I find the IK Multimedia Sampletron to be excellent, as well as the Mellotron model in the current Akai MPC. We suffer from an “embarrassment of riches”.

@DavidRavenMoon 2 года назад

This is true. Logic Pro comes with great Mellotron samples too. I used to use Sampletron. It makes the price of these newer hardware Mellotrons seem outrageous.

@valley_robot 2 года назад

Before the MPC had the tron plugin , I had a sample pack of the sounds I got from somewhere online , I use it all the time in my music , it’s the imperfections that bring nostalgia

@platinummonster9755 2 года назад

Just picked up Sampletron II as one of my free picks in the IK Multimedia group buy. Certainly a larger library than the Mellotron samples in Kontakt, and a better interface to boot.

@ZTAudio 2 года назад

@@platinummonster9755 I especially like the included 360 Systems samples.

@davidcorraleslopez612 2 года назад

very nice song!

@JeffIrok 2 года назад

Excellent and enjoyable! Thank you!

@aceboo7541 2 года назад

Telling the history of iconic synths is very appreciated. This tron was something special and definitely gave to strawberry fields (among others) a unique color and sound. Legendary sound is still reasoning in my head and still sounds very fine from my POV. Nowadays it is kind of easy to get tron style, but not sure it will sound again as it did back in the days. Thank for this travel in time, great contents here

@LB-pp7pu 2 года назад

Tim Shoebridge your videos are really outstanding, every aspect of them is top quality

@bclare2544 2 года назад

Very interesting Tim.

@jasonkovac547 2 года назад

Excellent video! Thank you

@Estica-Music 2 года назад

Genius / Christoph Kemper > Acces Virus = Legend LE: i don't want to upset annyone&and i do agree with all that you said&mention in the video; i just felt like this guy needs some love&attention he is my personal Legend. and maby someone will focus on his synth, even if he stop development of it for like 10+years the acces virus is still actual and sounds amazing /& I do hope one day the guy behind Dreadbox synths will become a legend, really like his synths when it come to quality/sound/design&$ thanks for reading. have a nice day /all

@glabrouswashere8078 2 года назад

The sound of the Mellotron is wonderful and iconic. I’ve loved it for 50 years and this is a great tribute. However, pretty sure there’s no Mellotron on Atom Heart Mother - maybe early live performances. I think Rick Wright used one on Sisyphus on Ummagumma, so there may well be one in the AHM mix somewhere, but most is live orchestra and choir. Don’t forget King Crimson. They used it a lot, and often for much more delicate sounds than the more usual mass choirs and strings.

@AlexBallMusic 2 года назад

Enjoyable video Tim, nice one. 37 minutes flew by. I've played a couple of the Streetly Mellotrons and they're wonderfully weird. I actually quite like that they misbehave and that you have to be careful with the pressure on the tapes so as not to change the speed and tuning. But yes, like you, I couldn't imagine I'd ever practically owning a real one.

@TimShoebridge 2 года назад

Thanks a lot Alex, appreciate it. Yes the speeding up and down aspect must be a bit bizarre to master. Apparently Rick Wakeman got pretty good at it and that got him the gig to play mellotron on Bowie's Space Oddity..... www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/08/the-day-i-played-mellotron-for-david-bowie-space-oddity

@Jason-mk3nn 2 года назад

This is a wonderful story. This is the first video I have seen of Tim's, and I love the quality on all levels. From the music to the production quality to the clear passion in the subject matter, this was a reminder that in the vast seas of content these days, there are some truly remarkable storytellers out there. I look forward to diving into your other videos and losing myself into the storylines. Best wishes in all of your endeavors! -jason

@1966LADYBIRD 2 года назад

Wow. That was amazing. Always knew what the instrument was and who used it but never knew the rest. I won’t watch anything as interesting as that for a long time. Great research mate

@Chasing_Thoughts 2 года назад

Great videos seriously, genius.

@wiseoldfool 2 года назад

Really interesting story for me, I've always loved the sound of the Mellotron, but sadly I had never heard of the Chamberlin.

@samprock 2 года назад

Inspiring!

@njigyfd 2 года назад

Thank you for the education. Nice bit of documentary - very nice.

@johnchiappone2163 2 года назад

I love his one.

@thesrabbit 2 года назад

The Court of the Crimson King, not court of King Crimson. My personal KC fave featuring this instrument would be Starless. Chilling, emotional, beautiful.

@popsss2000 2 года назад

Okay I know the history of the mellotron great job on the video maybe I get one the small one you have keep up the good work and Thanks again.

@winesynths 2 года назад

Interesting story and cool, dreamy sounds! Thanks for that!

@jondis 2 года назад

I love the mellotron i had the micro as well but had to sell, im going to upgrade to the mini . The mellotron is so inspirational its awesome ✌😎

@Philandthesynths 2 года назад

I was not aware of the real history of this revolutionary instrument ! Thanks for putting it right 👍. As usual, a great video!

@PTguitars 2 года назад

Great documentary Tim, but there was also the Birotron instrument that was based on 8-track tape cartridges (mostly popular in the US). The Birotron was created by Dave Biro and the project was funded by Rick Wakeman. The instrument was used on the Yes albums "Going for the One" and "Tormato". The project tanked though, and the instrument never became widely known.

@emotionblur7214 2 года назад

Thank you for sharing this intriguing story! And the track at 23:40 is very beautiful.

@davedeanovic2908 2 года назад

Your delivery of storytelling is exceptional, calming and enthralling. So much fun to learn when presented well thanks to you, Tim. Very encapsulating.

@waggon321 2 года назад

Lovely musical bits

@thaexception3406 2 года назад

Goood insight of the journey

@robaire.b Год назад

Fascinating episode about such an iconic and innovative instrument and the man who created it

@moogboy010 2 года назад

Thanks' for posting,Tim!A fascinating story.I knew a bit,but you filled in the gaps'!Always wanted a 'Mellotron',back in the day.Could have never afforded one! Closest thing I have is a 'Mel9',which is nice and can be played by any keyboard,or guitar.

@erik_gerhard 2 года назад

Interesting. Never knew there was such a dramatic history behind the instrument!

@gneissguy4342 2 года назад

A great history lesson! I've always been fascinated by the operation of those instruments, thanks for posting!

@pedromanafaia 2 года назад

Fascinating, thank you for the excellent video. Also now a reliable source on the history of the Mellotron!

@douglasw.7864 2 года назад

One of the best I’ve ever seen on the Chamberlin / Mellotron story. Life long fan of the instrument here.

@elifan2523 2 года назад

Beautiful instrument

@tgiencke 2 года назад

Again, well done!

@TheEleventeen 2 года назад

Thank you Mr. Tim Shoebridge for this wonderful broadcast quality documentary !

@neutralearth1061 2 года назад

Thanks for the fascinating story! As longtime lovers of the sound of the Mellotron (Craig's 1st musical instrument was his M400) our philosophy is... "There is no such thing as too much Mellotron". We have the M400 (W/4 tape frames) an M4000D (the big one), and two Mellotron Micro's. We also used several Mellotron Apps on our 1st album. Long live the Mellotron! And thank you Harry Chamberlin for your amazing creation.

@RayyMusik Год назад

Thanks, Tim. You are such a pleasant narrator and gifted composer!

@watchaddicts1213 2 года назад

BRAVO!! And let us not forget GForce (joined at the hip with STREETLY) who have given us Wonderful AMAZING Mellotron software., not to mention--most recently--the OB-E (Oberheim 8 SIM Voices).

@TheDoomload 9 месяцев назад

I have been obsessed with the Mellotron probably ever since I heard the song "In the Court of the Crimson King" in my late teens. There is something haunting in those samples that is very unique, the only thing coming close would be the Optigan/Orchestron.

@JohnOShaughnessy 2 года назад

Wow, I really really enjoyed this. I was fascinated by this instrument back in the late 60's and 70's.... Especially the Moody Blues use of it and the Strawbs. Great video Tim!

@FrankyGun 2 года назад

This is definitely the best Tim Shoebridge video ever! This amazing story was a revelation to me, and listening to it - while having to run errands for our resort today with my pickup truck, feeling kind of stressed and worn out - really saved my day. Thanks so much for this, Tim and please do more storytelling videos like this one. I send you a huge virtual hug, love and light from Khao Lak, Thailand 🇹🇭 Thank you, Tim! 👍🙏❤️☀️🏖🌴🥥🐘🌈

@lukasgraesslin 2 года назад

That Interlude tracks sounds awesome! I think I've heard the Mellotron for the first time as a kid when my parents listened to The Moody Blues, Nights in White Satain in particular but of course I didn't know the instrument back then. The band that then really got me into the sound was actually Opeth. I think the first record they used it extensively was Damnation and even later on on their regular heavy albums it was used frequently. Now since they went more into prog rock it's there as well of course.

@MikkelGrumBovin 2 года назад

As always, great time spend in the company of mr. Shoebridge 😙

@har234908234 2 года назад

I remember as a young teenager in the pre-internet 90s reading "Mellotron" in the liner notes of some albums. Trips to libraries followed to find out what this mysterious instrument was! When listening to the recordings of the individual tapes you can't help but think that we'd now "fix" them... lots of little blemishes (before we start to talk about the tapes and degredation) that add to the character. They also seem to have been recorded at an optimum distance to sit well in all those tracks of the time. Nice job - an honest and measured telling of the story.

@troublesomecorsair 2 года назад

Great work! I think the Micro has the MkII Organ 1 which sounds fabulous through heavy distortion. Anyone looking for digital hardware trons, there's also Memotron and the GSi Gemini that works well if you have a midi controller that can transmit on two channels simultaneously. There's also the Korg Kronos which has looped (and unlooped) samples for those extra long chords. For more tron ish goodness, check out these tracks: Vardrirgar - Anglagard - Hybris) Principe Di Giorno - Celeste (Principe Di Giorno) When She Dreams She Dreams In Color - Discipline (To Shatter All Accord) Fly on a Windshield - Genesis (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) Three Piece Suite - England (Garden Shed) Hamburger Concerto - Focus (Hamburger Concerto) Depuis l'automne - Harmonium (Si On Avait Besoin D'Une Cinquieme Saison) Starless - King Crimson (Red) Modern Times - Matthew Parmenter (Astray) Late November - Pavlov's Dog (Pampered Menial) The Great Nothing - Spock's Beard (V) Clocks - Steve Hackett (Spectral Mornings) Damage Mode - The Watch (Vacuum) And since the end of October is here, watch a scary movie. For a plot concerning stealing a product and attempting to sell it as your own, put on Return of the Fly.

@MikkelGrumBovin 2 года назад

I Love Spectral Mornings !

@Alphonso_026 2 года назад

Bedankt

@TimShoebridge 2 года назад

Thank you 👍👍👍

@csohrab 2 года назад

Superb research and story, Tim. Thx for this insights, I never really understood before.

@orminfactory Год назад

Really enjoying your videos, especially this one, as I didn't know anything about the instrument's history. I live in Birmingham, have located the address of Streetly Electronics, so will one day go & explore the area for old times sake. Nice one Tim, your video's are brilliantly made. Hoping one day to see a review by you on the Syntrx 2 👍

@philiplane3533 2 года назад

Fascinating insight, I learnt a lot from that, thank you. I used to live near Streetly where the Mellotron was made when I was a teenager and frequently saw examples of it at Musical Exchanges on Snow Hill in Birmingham. I particularly remember a fire damaged example, which I think came from the original Musical Exchanges shop in Broad Street, when there were a strange number of businesses that caught fire, including the Bingley Hall, prior to the development of the NIA and Convention Centre. I've used the real thing many times over the years, but am now very happy with the Arturia software emulation, all the flexibility, none of the physical "issues". Wonderful sounding instruments and very evocative of the music I listened to growing up. Like you, memories and feelings flood back every time I hear one. In fact, ( a bit of shameless promotion here) we have a track on the new Fluance Featuring Duncan Mackay called "Contromin-19" coming out in the new year, which is almost entirely created with the Arturia Mellotron V.

@progwaver 2 года назад

Really nice Story Tim. I love Mellotron as well, for progressive rock music my favourite and what I am doing finally myself you cannot make without a Mellotron Sound. There are 5 types of keyboard sounds need to be inside ( classic ) prog rock, and thats the organ, the solina, the minimoog ( or as well an ARP ), some kind of piano and finally last but not least the MELLOTRON. And with the Mellotron sound your straight away in the prog rock feeling... Sure not only for that, its a very versatile instrument.... haha I have finally a software version for me... A real one is me bit to big ... But this Mellotron Micro were sure a great thing... Thomann has it hehe...

@espenboholm1112 2 года назад

i want one

@nsbd90now 2 года назад

I've loved the sound(s) of the Mellotron since I was a kid and still do. This was very interesting! Thanks!

@musicalSFCat 2 года назад

My love affair of the Mellotron started when first heard Strawberry Fields Forever from the Beatles & The Moody Blues music...as a very young child. Cool video of the history of the Mellotron, demo of the M4000D. Cheers.

@fritsvanzanten3573 2 года назад

Coincidently, today I saw this documentary on youtube, Paul McCartney - In The World Tonight, from 1997. At minute 18 he shows (and plays) the Mellotron in his studio (double keyboard). A little later he shows and plays a similar instrument.

@synkuk 2 года назад

Absolutely superb video .. good history lesson for a keyboard I have always fancied but have not yet managed to get ..

@philipTOMPSETT 2 года назад

Very thorough, interesting and educational as usual. Thanks Tim.

@fuzzpope 2 года назад

Wonderful upload, thank you, friend.

@tonverfall_studio 2 года назад

Great video, Tim! I too have a fondness for the Mellotron's sound via '70s Tangerine Dream. I never knew the story behind the instrument, and Chamberlin deserves to be remembered.

@ancient_history 2 года назад

Great story - thank you for having the time and passion to tell it!

@unclemick-synths 2 года назад

What I love is the length of sample. The length means that (apart from the absence of variation) the violins and cellos sound like the real thing unlike all the teeth-hurting ROMples I've had to endure over the years.

@pthelo 2 года назад

I'm surprised you didn't mention Ikutaro Kakehashi of Roland!

@lundsweden 2 года назад

Yeah, Moog and ARP were big in the 70s, but Korg and Roland owned the 80s and 90s! Dave Smith and Sequential Circuits also we're very important, innovating from the late 70s to the late 80s