Mellotron Comparison: The Modern Mellotron M4000D vs iPad Apps SampleTron 2 and Mellowsound (AUv3)

[@MaestroAki]

I enjoyed this comparison video and I've learned so much from your channel. You might not upload content too often but when you do, it's succinctly perfect!

[@synthblock]

Thank you for the kind comments. I’m glad you find the videos helpful!

[@matprokowski]

Thank you Jonathan, this helped me a lot, always priceless to hear a direct comparison before making a decision!

[@synthblock]

Glad it was helpful! You can’t go wrong with any of these.

[@stevehofer3482]

Nice comparison, thanks

[@synthblock]

Thanks for watching!

[@WCSkills]

Thanks for your video. I was thinking of buying SampleTron 2 as an upgrade to Mellowsound but I don’t like how SampleTron sounds. Really imitation-like. MellowSound to me sounds like the real deal.

[@synthblock]

@@WCSkills I still think SampleTron sounds are a little too shrill. Mellowsound is great! Thanks for watching!

[@JohnLRice]

Nice comparison! :-) The are all different and I kind of like them all, but I'm a fan of the Mellotron sound as you know! ;-)

[@synthblock]

I’m with you John. People can complain about the cost, but you can’t beat the sounds. Thanks!

[@JohnLRice]

@@synthblock Agreed! :-)

[@n8goulet]

I think the best alternative to the M4000D is the M-Tron Pro VST. It's been around far longer than the digital keyboard, and I'm amazed how good the software sounds. It's been updated a few times over the years and they offer tons of Mellotron and similar tapes. I found the attack settings on the first iPad App to be set different than the keyboard, but not to say they couldn't be adjusted. M-Tron Pro is under $200 and as probably the best software Mellotron on the market (and the first one), there really should be a side by side demo of it with the M4000D as you've done with the iPad ones. M-Tron (now M-Tron Pro) came out over 20 years ago. It's been used by the biggest Genesis tribute bands (and I think Steve Hackett's band) and many others. A lot of other software alternatives have come around, but I still think M-Tron Pro sounds the best of them. The Mellotron only had a few real time controls, so assigning them to knobs on your MIDI controller keyboard is no big deal. The M4000D does look really cool providing the look of the Mellotron. Choosing hardware vs software sometimes comes at a gigantic price difference to do more or less the same thing. I also prefer the portability of a laptop to take to gigs and band practice.

[@synthblock]

The M-Tron Pro sounds great. I ditched a laptop and went iPad only but it’s definitely full of compromises. The M4000D is not the most economical way to get Tron sounds and they’re still samples that’s for sure. Thanks for watching!

[@n8goulet]

@@synthblockI'm just curious how the M-Tron Pro VST stacks up in A/B tests against the M4000D. I would imagine it would do very well, but I'm not sure if the M4000D would offer any improvements or not. The only one I can think of maybe would be supporting the poly aftertouch keyboard (I think). Support could have been added for that to M-Tron Pro too.

[@synthblock]

⁠@@n8gouletDefinitely a huge price difference!

[@alaincelos476]

Anything built by streetly mellotronics in birmingham is a MELLOTRON anything built with only electronics ISN'T a mellotron ,these are copies ,ne er fetched the real sound .