Mellotron 4000D Mini First Look

[@bennybenwa1908]

I grew up to music that used Mellotrons and I've never heard anything a synth could make, that came close to the Mellotron. The strings just take you into space. Maybe kids don't think the sounds very special because they didn't grow up with the sound and have so many memories with it, so many memories triggered by the sounds it makes, that synths don't have. Atmospherics and his from tapes in old recordings. I've been dying to get one for 40 years.

[@galena7474]

i grew up only having heard snippets from a few beatles songs and the mellotron destroys me

[@TheOrganiston9th]

I've had the 4000D Mini for about 2 months... it is fantastic! I play a Nord C1 organ w/a Vent and have been very satisfied with it for 8 years, so I was thinking pretty strongly about the Electro 3, then the 4... the Mellotron patches are brilliant. But considering the M strings sounds were what I really wanted, when I saw Mellotron had an affordable (Ha! God, I don't like that word) version that featured the majority of the great sounds, I got it. As I've never played a Mellotron before this, I had to teach myself new hand approaches et al; but it's such a pleasure to play it. If you're wondering about getting one, what's been said before is true: if you find an app or any other means of attaining Mellotron sounds that sound right to you, other then plonking down what's being asked for the digital version - it would be a good idea. I'd wanted one since I was 16 - I plunged... but I'm very happy with it!

[@DaleHauskins]

I'm a lifelong Los Angeles guitarist,was blessed to be in a well-known Swiss progressive rock band Flame Dream that did five albums on Vertigo Records.Flame Dream used to two very heavy Mellotrons on our LPs and tours in Europe that our 18 roadies trucked around;and was often compared to early Genesis,King Crimson,Gentle Giant;and Yes.We recorded our albums at Yes/Moody Blues Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz's Aquarius Studios;that were produced by the late great British engineer John Acock (Steve Hackett).

[@Islander2112]

I just got one, and it is AWESOME; AMAZING!!! To be able to play these sounds is a dream come true. I don't get the hate in the comments.

[@davidwatkins204]

For melotron string sound take a string sample from any cheap digital synth, line out LR to a cheap cassette deck, in play/rec mode, with pause engaged ,line out of that to mixer then to multi track, and there you have it, tape rolling across a play head, sounds absolutely authentic. But here's the kicker, it'll cost you zilch.

[@Flibbybibby]

David Watkins Not quite, but nice try. Maybe one day you’ll be able to yank your noggin from your ass and hear clearly. 😉

[@lfradkin]

David Watkins Your commentary is so off track.

[@davidwatkins204]

@@lfradkin yes Les, you are quite correct, my comment being so off track. The point I was trying to make however, this is how you get that classic Mellotron string sound in the studio when you don't have one and can't rent one, by combining the same elements, tapes and play heads, maybe a little micro de_tuning, some reverb. I do apologise most sincerely if my comment offended you in some way. Regards Guitar Dave.

[@AriannaCunningham]

Hi Keyboard Instrument Chops and Gear I heard a little bit of the Arpeggio Violins Yes at the end of the last note at 0:39! Can you please do a demonstration video of the Arpeggio Violins Yes from the M4000D?

[@CZghost]

I know that Daniel Rosenfeld (alias C418) uses a lot of old equipment in his musical pieces. Notably Mellotron and Optigan. At least the samples from these libraries actually.

[@juliangod-slayer3977]

looks and sounds very cool

[@amphitheatre]

4:10 nice sound! What patch is that i wonder

[@gustavosanthiago]

That 4:53 organ sound is the one used on Chris Squire's song "Hold Out Your Hand"??? Or was it a real organ?

[@analogsynthplayer]

Gustavo Santhiago Was a hammond C3 played by patrick moraz. Video possibly on youtube of patrick playing it

[@Czyszy]

Holy shit! Yes! That's the organ track from that song. I have no clue how the Mellotron guys got hold of that.

[@lfradkin]

Gustavo Santhiago Yes and, in particular, Patrick Moraz had custom tapes made of a variety of phrases from his recordings to make live performances easier, and in some cases, even possible. That is one example.

[@marcuswilespage]

Just get a Nord. You get all of these sounds plus Chamberlin... and everything else that a Nord offers

[@blave549]

+Marcus Wiles and others: I didn't want a Nord. I wanted a Mellotron. Now I have one (Mini). It's wonderful. If you're fine with the Nord or other rompler, then fine -- but there's no need to bash this instrument. I like having the dedicated classic Mellotron-like user interface, but with the added ability to play any two sounds at the same time (vs. whatever was "next to each other" on the original mechanical Mellotron's three voice tape banks). The build quality on the Mini is very high, and IMO justifies the price point... and the samples are from the original tapes, not 4 or 5 generations removed as were at least some of the M tape banks. Oh, I forgot to mention - the Mellotron logo lights up. ;^)

[@blave549]

One more thing: some of the sounds played here -- e.g. the rhythm section ones -- are not part of the base 100 sound set that comes with the 4000D. Add-on cards are $500 for 100 more sounds; currently there are two offered.

[@marcuswilespage]

I didn't bash anything in my comment. I simply praised the Nord. I do think it worth mentioning though that what makes the Nord different to other brands in this instance is that Clavia (who make Nords) has exclusive 3rd party rights the original tapes for sampling. As both this and the Nord are sample-based, it's actually exactly the same thing. Except that recently Nord released the rhythm section tapes, and the original master tapes that were used to produce the first tapes, as well as previously unreleased official Mellotron tapes... for free. You can also layer and split them 2 voices. I will give to you though, the LED Mellotron logo is sexy. www.nordkeyboards.com/sound-libraries/nord-sample-library-20/sound-collections/mellotron-master-tapes

[@blave549]

+Marcus Wiles Sorry about my "bash" comment; it's the overall tone of the responses here and I was kinda irritated by it ;^) . Yeah the add-on sounds for the 4000D are most definitely not free. BTW this is a subtle effect that's only apparent in a darkened room, but the D's keyboard is lit with red LEDs that I presume are on the motherboard. Kind of cool.

[@rainerwinkler1026]

Marcus Wiles praise the Nord lol

[@tomcatjavanet]

But it looks so retro and cool, everyone has a midi and a computer?

[@robertpearson8146]

how do I save sounds to a playlist?! I have a gig tomorrow and last rehearsal today and I cant find anything on this

[@danieltrakell]

You talked me into it

[@nicholasshapiro8439]

Hey man, which sound card did you get for the sound at 6:14? Is it sound 2, 3,4?

[@nicholasshapiro8439]

Also was curious about the sample at 6:32. Was this on the same sound card? Or different?

[@sunsilab2655]

helpufull vídeo, thnks a lot!

[@louderthanlove_music]

Hi, Ive just managed to get my hands on this exact model Mellotron and am very pleased with it. Im still waiting for the PDF user manual to be email directly from Mellotron and was wandering if you could quickly explain how I can achieve the sampled arpeggios etc that you start triggering from 4.31 in this video. Any help would be greatly appreciated : )

[@Charlyaraya]

It seems it is part of the expansion card

[@orbpulsargd2608]

4:31 A Really Good Time?

[@sonofkrypton-b5n]

I loved the original mellotrons but to be honest for me i don't see the point of this instrument apart from nostalga. For those interested check out the Hammond Novachord, what an amazing instrument that was!

[@joeboonmusic4004]

How is it possible to not see the point of this instrument? Touring musicians who want proper Mellotron sounds without having to lug around a huge, temperamental and expensive instrument. I've seen countless pro keys players using these.

[@Charlyaraya]

Is the price really worth it ? i would really like to have this machine but what does it offer aside the mellotron logo? addign that most of the patches here can be found only in the expansion card $500 each

[@lfradkin]

1carloasis Then buy the Mellotron Micro. More affordable ($1000), smaller and same 100 sound library. I use one and it’s quite remarkable.

[@lfradkin]

1carloasis It responds, as the original machines did.

[@lfradkin]

1carloasis Name me one professional famous Mellotron player who would play a Nord to get that sound.

[@eyeball226]

@@lfradkin Holy shit, three replies in a row to this poor guy. You're obsessed!

[@orgue2999]

@@eyeball226 wtf

[@icu12cme]

GForce M-Tron Pro £140, add-on tape bank sounds extra (the Chambertron is great) - this is ‎€1,925. Enough said.

[@joeboonmusic4004]

Forza Horizon video game is £30, buy a PC, maybe £1000, real car is £10,000. Enough said. You can't compare these things. There's a reason every gigging/touring musician I've seen uses one of these instead of a real mellotron or a computer with samples. PRACTICALITY, and the thing sounds beautiful.

[@lfradkin]

Ian Craig I have both the GForce MTron Pro setup and a Mellotron Micro. From a strict standpoint of reliability, the hardware will always win over a laptop on stage. That said, image counts as well and that would also explain the appeal of this hardware.

[@rickfowler3710]

Anyone know how to save a playlist? I don't know why they dont just give you a manual or post it online.

[@ferabra8939]

Cool, but way too expensive for a sample player. It's like a 600$ instrument and you pay 2000$ plus because of the "Mellotron" logo is on it. And this is the mini. The big one is more expensive.

[@bennybenwa1908]

You cant put a price on memories triggered by the sound of this instrument. Growing up to music that this was a part of, I cannot be objective and look at it as just another instrument.

[@chieftp]

you can absolutely put a price on memories (AKA "nostalgia.") that's why people will pay big bucks for some junky old car from the 50s or 60s.

[@lfradkin]

Fer Abra The Mellotron is, by definition, a “Sample Player”.

[@ferabra8939]

@@lfradkin That's not the whole story. The original Mellotron from the 60s is a TAPE sample player, which gives it is character. I do have digital samples of mellotron tapes and play them in my DAW's plug in sampler for a fraction of the price. This is basically what they are selling, not a Mellotron.

[@lfradkin]

Fer Abra Understood. But I owned two original Mellotron units- a MkII and an M400 so you’re preaching to the choir.

[@eyeball226]

If this actually used tapes I could see the price being justified, but it's just a ROMpler! There's nothing particularly unique about the hardware in this.

[@lfradkin]

Have you actually ever owned or maintained an original Mellotron on a daily basis? Because if you had, you would welcome this as more portable, and almost maintenance free. And it’s less than half the price of an original M400.

[@lfradkin]

Further, the Mellotron was always a “Sample Player” so your criticism doesn’t hold water.

[@eyeball226]

@@lfradkin Hey, great job missing my point twice!

[@nx01craig]

@@lfradkin, Also, to get all the Mellotron and Chamberlin sounds that are in the digital Mellotrons as tapes and racks for a M400 it would cost about $20,000 (without cases to store them). That makes the digital Mellotrons worth every penny. That and they're well built and fun to play! And those that dismiss the digital Mellotrons as just sample players seem to forget the original Chamberlins and Mellotron are analog tape sample players. Some of the pure magic of these instruments is the quality and variety of the original recordings made by Chamberlin and Mellotron.

[@life-is-inspiring3953]

Sample recorded on Tape vs on Rom; the new one is maintenance free

[@Biophob]

So, this is basically sampler/rompler. Sampler/rompler for $2.800. Yeah, case is nice and all, but you pay $2.800 for sample player. Wow.

[@MrTartlet]

17.5kg! A 20 kilo ROMpler for 3k that does just one thing. Kinda hard to pick this over a Nord. It's like that Vintage Vibe company that does copies of Rhodes Pianos and Hohner Clavinets for more money than buying an actual vintage instrument would cost you...

[@jimkost2002]

Biophob Um no it’s NOT the same If you haven’t played a real Mellotron or Chamberlin or at least STUDIED and learned these classic parts from the iconic tracks you don’t know what the f you are talking about

[@jimkost2002]

AnalRectum No no no no Incorrect

[@joeboonmusic4004]

I'm guessing you haven't played one.

[@themountainradio]

The price is ridiculous. It's a rompler FFS!

[@Cochese]

not worth the money...