King Crimson "Starless" Cover Vintage Mellotron M400S (Serial No.728) , Unstable pitch is appealing.

[@V.G.F.]

That classic King Crimson sound 👑

[@raymondo162]

wick rakeman ..................??

[@markcooper6042]

Ahh the sound of my childhood. A wonderful surprise, thank you.

[@marcanglin7127]

The Mellotron's flawed imperfections make it beautifully unique----and perfect. Thanks for the video.

The tapes are 3rd generation copy.

[@cloviskoba]

Agreed, like vinyl scratch noises

[@guitarstringman7403]

The Mellotron, such an awesome piece of mechanical tech. Very nice backing track. Well done!

[@repentnow1720]

The pinnacle of technology in 1968 !!!! Thanks for showing off the inner workings. 35 notes via 35 individual quarter-inch tape players! Oh, as for the "Unstable Pitch" being "Appealing" - it actually makes my brain hurt - but only a little bit... : )

[@pierre-olivierturmel1705]

Mellotron M400 didn't exist in 1968. The first one were made in 1970.One of the problem you had is that you had a CMC-10 motor card. It's the green card at the left-end of the keyboard assembly. That's the piece that regulate the motor speed of the capstan and CMC-10 had a bad reputation at doing the job correctly. You can upgrade to SMS-2 or SMS-4 with supposed are better for the job. Mine had the CMC-10 but it's apparently one of the rarest who is stable, according to an expert. And like the fellow below me, you had to do a job at the pinch-rollers, For degreasing a pinch roller, use sewer machine oil and put a little in the axe of the wheel and turn the pinch roller until it's free of rolling. And after that, adjusting the pinch rollers and keyboard pressure pad 35 times!

[@samtournesol]

don’t repair the mellotron. it sounds awesome and everyone complaining about it is being a hater ♡

[@birdzzzondayflu2489]

You need to take 3 on tour so you can rotate them out: one works, the other one kinda works, and the third is out of commission

[@yugatanokiri8726]

Sounds creepy yet mesmerising

[@Riso-Musik]

I always wanted one in the 70's but couldn't afford one. Great sound

[@marcanglin7127]

I was twice offered a Mellotron back in the '70's; each time for the measly sum of $400 USD. Heavy ? Yes. Temperamental ? Stupid was I to pass on each of them ? Yes.

[@andymylis461]

Всегда того что хочется нельзя себе позволить.

[@tommybrill9107]

I love these things. Not for persons who suffer from perfect pitch.

[@CharlottaALanga]

Coś wspaniałego! Wreszcie zobaczyłam, jak działa mellotron 😀

[@christopherlewis1847]

There is nothing quite like it. Its perfection comes from Its imperfection.

[@johnleeson6946]

Saw King Crimson in Chicagoland three times from '17-'21(?). Twice in Chicago proper and once at Ravinia. "Starless" played by Robert and the Boys was fantastic! Still have my album.

[@Utulintu]

Wonderful but terrifying but wonderful.

[@alanhaynes418]

When King Crimson sent one of their Mellotrons to Streetly Electronics in the mid '70's for refurbishment they took a 1/4 inch tape recording of each note before they did the work to show the improvement in it's sound after the work was finished. I got hold of a copy of this tape many years ago, and I am now using it to record my triple concept album in my home studio. It's going to be on Bandcamp once I have finished the first side, and then I will add tracks as I finish them. It will be under the name 'The Moss Collector'. I have the 35 notes for the string sound - I think that it may be the 16 violins, but I'm not sure, and the mixed brass. The notes fluctuate quite a bit in pitch, which sounds amazing on chords, but there are one of two where they become so far out that it becomes a bit too much for unison lines with other instruments. It's certainly a LOT more characterful than any of the other simulations which I have heard.

[@nx01craig]

Bravo! A Mellotron classic!

[@neutralearth1061]

Thanks for the fascinating demonstration and playing one of our favorite Mellotron songs! As longtime lovers of the sound of the Mellotron (Craig's 1st musical instrument was his M400, serial no. 489, acquired in 1976) 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 have also used several Mellotron Apps, including your amazing Manetron App on our albums. Long live the Mellotron!

[@jaustin753]

We recently added a 4000D to our studio. Nice seeing the real thing at work ❤

[@stargate1555]

Your M4000D can be tweaked to sound like the M400, Mark II, and Mark IV. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGWqeIyXYpyZi5o

[@rodrigoaquinoofficial]

Beautiful!

[@Blas-e9t]

La mejor cancion de King Crimson para mellotron, me encanta.

[@BSTY29]

Thanks for this video! I love King Crimson💜, this mellotron looks soo good

[@andymylis461]

Такими были первые сэмплеры. Звучали натурально.

[@goatuscrow4135]

Thanks! That is awesome…

[@earthlightsmusic2743]

When I bought Mellotron s/n 279 in 1979 I certainly went about giving it the much-needed TLC. Also, I had Sound Sales upgrade its electronics. No Prog-rock Tron player *wanted* his instrument sounding like this recording if they could help it.

[@rejtmand]

Muy bueno!

[@MarkAffeltranger]

Awesome 💯

[@herbertschmidt1719]

a little bit of tape delay and spring reverb would work miracles

[@fueledbylove]

Aint that the truth. In the studio the great Pinder never recorded a "dry" Melly he used many "tools" with multi-tracking being chief amongst them to give it a bigger lush orchestral realism on the Moody's records. But that being said there are a lot of excellent recordings where an un-doctored Mellotron fits better; that stark and somewhat sinister thinness of the Melly strings becomes the core of the music.

[@imwombat2306]

Great sound with that unstable mellotron but I think tron must to be repaired

[@tspit74]

The old, dirty tape sheds and builds up on the tape heads and gunks them up. This makes those notes sound dull. Clean the tape heads with McGuires Swirl Remover. It’s like a very light rubbing compound. It will clean the oxidation off the heads, polish the surface smooth and prevent any more tape gunking up the heads. Major improvement. Just a little advice from the owner of Mellotron #857.

[@vinzsaint]

amazing, this retro sound! i have tihis and other two apps (solina and hammond). It just would be great if there was a chance to select a midi channel.

[@har234908234]

Not having ever serviced one I wouldn't know whether the motor is being loaded with more fingers depressing, or some of those tapes are stretched... in any event relying on the fly wheel speed as it's running here might not be the most satisfying! I'd use a tuner... and probably ride the pitch all day!

[@banquefinancekft5580]

bravoooooo

[@hamstring6792]

That keyboard is way out of whack. The tape that doesn't return isn't because of the spring being weak. Just look at the pinch roller adjustment screw for that note. It's cranked almost all the way down, grinding the tape into the capstan. The rest of them are also cranked too far down. No wonder there's so much pitch instability. The pinch rollers are dragging the capstan speed down. I'll bet the keys are hard to press down. A properly adjusted keyboard should feel light and fast. With an M400, you should be able to play as fast as you can on a Hammond. Plus, if those are the original pinch rollers, they really need to be replaced. They are probably all dried out and making poor contact with the tape.

[@ManetronM400S]

I appreciate your advice, I think it is due to the pinchroller being degraded and hardened. I have many other unknowns on how to adjust the mellotron

[@thomasrose7713]

Nice cover. Maintenance parts are readily available. It is not being a hater to want to see such a special instrument maintained and sounding its best. They are all at this point museum pieces, and should be kept up all the parts and new tapes are available from Canada and The UK This admonishing advice brought to you by… The National Mellotronic Trust and Hammond Oil Purity Board Rhodes Tine Authority, And Organic Clav Hammer Tips LLC

[@deerfish3000]

I still have the Manetron app on an old Apple Ipad. Nice to see the real thing. Are those return springs something you could get at a hardware store, or are they a special type of spring?

[@fueledbylove]

Dunno but its not going to alter the tone by fixing the springs, it should be done cuz he is not getting a full 8 sec. of playback from the those tapes. To my ears the "wow" is not bad at all. There are a lot of much worse things that can happen to an old Melly.

[@paulchaplin73]

Sounds absolutely perfect! The mellotron was problematic, to say the least! Just makes it perfect for us purists!

[@stevesheaffer2521]

OMG! This is fantastic!!! Love MT. Please make more. What # is your M400?

[@ademozarslan]

🥳

[@ДмитрийЕвгеньевич-ф6ц]

Звук плывёт, думаю, нужно почистить прижимные ролики, тон-вал и направляющие колонки.

[@gary.solexa]

I have to say that despite its use of taped 'samples', the Mellotron as an instrument is pretty hopeless at sounding like woodwind, strings or voices. It is, however, excellent at sounding like a Mellotron. Yay!!!

[@growskull]

i find it emulates strings pretty well, the other 2 not so much lol

[@gary.solexa]

I hope I never hear one emulating strings so well that it ceases to sound like a Mellotron! 🙂@@growskull

[@growskull]

@@gary.solexa haha ofcourse

[@tommyrawlings3046]

Listen to album version of Exiles, Mellotron does pretty good Flute on that one!

[@gary.solexa]

@@tommyrawlings3046 Ah ok. Hope it hasn't completely lost its grainy, slightly scrapey, somewhat wobbly Mellotron character though!

[@TheGaetanomariadigio]

A bad old case

[@AlexandrTVOfficialChannel]

What setting do you have on the mellotron for this?

[@grahammiller9049]

No, unstable pitch is not appealing. It’s painful to listen to. Nothing wrong with your playing, but please get this machine to the tron hospital asap.

[@HardcoreZen]

I find the unstable pitch of a Mellotron very appealing. One of my frustrations with my digital Mellotron is that the pitch is always perfect and the same each time.

[@martinsmith1573]

That is a sad mellotron. Get it serviced and replace some vital parts. No 'tron should sound like that!

I heard Rick Wakeman say he lit his on fire and then regretted it because he found he couldn't find the same model after.

[@rogercormier5610]

I also read that Julian Cope toured with his Mellotron as to whichSir Rick replied “Very stupid” I love Rick but maybe Julian should’ve done something smart like burn it??🙄

[@KellBC1]

This comment is clearly somewhat fresh from a music academy... pop your cherry and explore sound, first glance doesn't always make sense

[@DronoTron]

Please don't keep it in that shape. 😢

[@janik7194]

Unstable pitch is disgusting sorry

[@enedenedubedene4811]

Furchtbar!! Hört sich an, wie ein Furz in einer Gießkanne.👎👎👎👎😰😰😰😰 Viele Grüsse aus Germany