The Mellotron In Action

Today we demonstrate the original vintage Mellotron M400, the first tape based "sampler" ever built!
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[@greganderson5972]

Mellotron was at the core of a lot of great Prog.

[@madmanmoon4038]

Greg Anderson Prog and Fusion both. I love both genres and absolutely love the mellotron! I’d love to own one - alas, I don’t have the money to spend for it. Haha

[@mikereiss4216]

@@madmanmoon4038 Not much mellotron in fusion that I'm aware of.

[@DaveDzRochNY]

Babe Ruth.

[@creamydistortion]

Rush, Genesis, etc... Yes, GREAT music.

[@dylanarthur5526]

Absolutely love the Mellotron in I Talk to the Wind from King Crimson.

[@grendelum]

It’s the wow and flutter that changes every time you play a note that makes it such an ethereal instrument...

[@galleryofrogues]

Exactly. The imperfections make it sound beautiful.

[@beyondinfinity3876]

reminds me of old disney cartoon music.

[@tapediskmagic]

Actually they used the American version of this called the Chamberlin.

[@pasqualevaccaro5506]

King Crimson.

[@mythbusta52]

In the court of the crimson kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing

[@pasqualevaccaro5506]

mythbusta5 So much feelings

[@runner3033]

And Moody Blues... IIRC Mike Pinder was a Mellotron service tech prior to his career in that band. It was not an unusual thing for one to blow it's tape magazine in the middle of a gig, and he would tear it down and fix it right then and there!

[@alexisfiligree9116]

Moody Blues too. Edit - oops, didn't see that +Jamie Pomfret had already covered that.

[@Deluxeta]

Genesis also

[@MacStoker]

i love the mellotron, incredible when you realise how many times you heard it before without knowing it was that playing.

[@axnyslie]

To me it will always be the Moody Blues keyboard.

[@rick420buzz]

Yep, the flutes on "Nights in White Satin".

[@gareebee]

For me, it was the other-worldly intro to the Moodies "Watching And Waiting". Sublime! Inspired me to play keyboards. Had a Mellotron back in 1975. Loved it when it worked or when I didn't have to move it!

[@markc7175]

Well,it was manufactured in a modest workshop in Streetly,near Walsall,West Midlands! I grew up 10 minutes walk away.

[@timjones7547]

Mike Pinder's on the Mellotron. He worked for Mellotron in his youth. Mike will always be Mr. Mellotron!

[@BP-kx2ig]

@@rick420buzzThe flutes in Nights in White Satin were flutes.

[@Dad.................]

Ahh, that flute sound brings me back. That's one of the sounds of my childhood. Almost 30 years ago, my uncle gave me a box full of audio cassettes of fairy tales and stories and so forth. They all had little jingles and themes played with that flute sound. I'd recognize it anywhere. Love it.

[@al35mm]

You've also heard it at the start of Strawbery Fields :)

[@TheDominationNetwork]

This is how all 60s tv shows were scored back in the day.

[@musicom67]

ALL of them, eh?

[@tymime]

actually none of them

[@TheImperfectDrummer]

That flute takes me right back to my childhood. I think every Disney nature film made in the 60s used this lol!

[@prairiebrewer6630]

Strawberry Fields Forever.

[@Doctormix]

watch our next video ;)

[@tapediskmagic]

Here's a note for note Mellotron performance of Strawberry Fields. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qp2lg4R8hLeigqc

[@bloodybungalow7316]

PrairieBrewer no

[@julianrodriguez1986]

King Crimson

[@fernblickradio5971]

My first thought, too. :)

[@Zer0Spinn]

I've allways loved the sound of this thing. I just hope I can play one someday

[@mejsmith1]

A lot of classic Yes, King Crimson and The Moody Blues used this classic instrument. Love it!

[@waltertomaszewski1083]

I've loved the sound of a Mellotron ever since I heard Elton John play Mellotrons on his albums -- back in the 1970's!

[@Doctormix]

yesssss

[@CatoMinor]

Mellotron signed the sound of an era: King Crimson, Genesis, David Bowie, Beatles, Pink Floyd, PFM and Banco in Italy and many others. It was a very expensive instrument, not available for all.

[@benb3316]

My Mellotron memory is "In the Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson. Congrads on getting such a piece of music history. Today's computers and workstation keyboards can do better, but it's so nice you have the love to obtain, maintain and restore such a device! Gonna be playing with the "Tape Flute" program on mine later tonight;-)

[@dykodesigns]

This was one of the favorite instruments of the progressive rock bands such as Genesis. They used a lot on their early albums when Peter Gabriel was still the singer of the band. Those strings remind me of their “Watcher in the Skies” song from the Foxtrot album. The sound is very Strawberry fields forever like. Basically the Mellotron is a 1960’s Fairlight CMI avant-a-lettre.

[@RobertoGinsburg]

Good comentary. Mellotron is the analog dad of Fairlight CMI. Can be listened on "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles, "2000 light years from home" by The Rolling Stones, "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues , "In The Court of the Crimson King" by King Crimson, etc.

[@marvingonzalez6891]

WTF?? Tape? Really? Awesome

[@pinkraven4402]

It sounds like pure 60's and 70's. I LOVE IT

[@AlexBallMusic]

Such a simple idea, but so effective! So cool to see it opened up. I used a Mellotron many years ago and loved that the tapes took a few seconds to clunk into place when I switched sounds. And those flutes will always be genius. There were also a number of music loops that were on the Mellotron that are now very famous. Kelis "Trick me" is a good example, the main riff is a Mellotron rhythm. Anyway, fun video as ever! Always enjoy your presentations.

[@Coruphius]

I love hearing the warble from the tape, just gives it that slightly eeire sound.

[@dglcomputers1498]

It was an American invention by Harold Chamberlin, one of his employees went to Bradmatic (later Streetly Electronics) in the UK to see if they could manufacture tape heads for them, this employee ended up claiming it was his invention/had permission to sell it. When Bradmatic found out about this they did the British thing of contacting Harold Chamberlin and settling with him. I believe Harold then used the Mellotron design but sold as the Chamberlin in the US and as the Mellotron in the UK. Later (80's) Mellotrons were re-named Novatrons after Streetly Electronics lost the rights to the mellotron name. Other notable users were OMD who brought one of the last new Novatrons and featured it on Architecture and Morality and Dazzle Ships and used on the Architecture and Morality Tour, video of which it on youtube.

[@347Jimmy]

A lot of people do forget that the Tron wasn't the first of its kind 👍

[@-The-Darkside]

That mechanism is crazy

[@aseomg]

So many songs, tv shows & films that I grew up on, that used this instrument/sampler..amazing.

[@yorganyog]

Most incredible thing is how he can play with all those rings!!! Now seriously, very well explained. Thank you!!!!

[@miladbarikani3591]

old gear's sounds always makes me feel so high

[@AugustorLazzers]

I really love that they are a music making/mastering channel and "is coming up" bit is him doing SFX with his mouth. One of the best channels in the platform!

[@mutinyonthekitkat]

Limelight: Man of Colours... Every chord brings some old familiar record back to mind, amazing.

[@VidaNotFound]

This noises remember vintages films

[@claudio2874]

Doctor Mix Fields forever !

[@ronniefarnsworth6465]

Genesis - "Watcher of the Skies" 1972' !!!! : D

[@Novalarke]

1. It was not a British invention. It was developed by a guy named Chamberlin in California in the 1950s. One of his sales people went to Europe with a few Chamberlins and when he was in the UK he contacted Streetly Electronics to duplicate it. They did and he came up with the idea of the Mellotron as a brand. Chamberlin sued him and they negotiated a settlement. 2. You are correct in that it anticipated the sampler. 3. On a conceptual level it is one of the most important devices of the 20th century. It was the first instrument to have no voice of its own. While a synthesizer can change its voice, its sounds are inherent to it manufacture. The Mellotron? Nope. It sounds like whatever tapes are put into it, and - you could make your own. Famous composers wrote specifically for the Theremin and the Ondes Martenot. Composers wrote for analogue synthesisers. The Mellotron? Was banned. Musicians Unions would strike against Moody Blues concerts. The Mellotron never found a home. Yet it dominated so much of the music in the early 1970s, and its progeny (the sampler) dominates music to this day.

[@kensmechanicalaffair]

Wow

[@bluebook2681]

Let me do the honours and chuck that great Robert Fripp quote into the comments section: "Tuning a Mellotron doesn't".

[@troloquimicoxd69]

doesnt what

[@MadScientist267]

@@troloquimicoxd69 lol referring to the idea you can't

[@troloquimicoxd69]

@@MadScientist267 genius

[@MadScientist267]

@@troloquimicoxd69 The tape segments have to be in tune with each other at assembly time... After that, you can modify them as a group (pitch) but can't change their relationship with one another (without replacing tape of course)

[@zachhaywood1564]

Claudio, your enthusiasm for all things keyboard and synth is so tangible, and I am living for it as an aspiring amateur electronic musician myself

[@kj4ilk]

Did the Beatles use this in one of their songs

[@jonasapeland2701]

Yes, most famously on "strawberry fields for ever"

[@jaggass]

Several of them.

[@tapediskmagic]

They used Mellotron on tons of songs but people aren't aware of it. Back In The USSR for example has Mellotron sound effects for the airplane. Bunaglow Bill has Mellotron (spanish guitar intro, mandolin, trombone outro).

[@jaggass]

Oasis used it on Wonderwall.

[@tapediskmagic]

And they used the cello sound which was recorded by the Beatles cellist on Eleanor Rigby / Glass Onion / I Am The Walrus etc.

[@MarcosMarcos-ob2ik]

Awesome mecanics.

[@witorudo1086]

This video is amazing and the mellotron sounds brilliant!!

[@neutralearth1061]

We love our Mellotron M400 and use it quite often!

[@3ggshe11s]

The first sampling keyboard. I've been listening to prog-rock for over 30 years, so this is a sound I know very well, from Yes, King Crimson, and others. Nice to see it's being rediscovered and getting a positive critical reassessment. It's a temperamental but amazing little instrument, with a sound like nothing else. If I had money to blow, I'd snap one up in a heartbeat. The digital emulations just can't capture the warmth of the original, or the wow and flutter that slightly change how each playback sounds. I love how it was originally intended to be a way to add strings or a choir without having to hire in musicians for a session, but then it took on a life of its own, sought out for its unique sound. Kind of the same way the Dobro was developed to cut through an orchestra in the days before amplification, but the sound was so original and unusual that people kept playing them for the sound they made.

[@sharpskilz]

1970's british soft porn films.

[@musicstripper5037]

Steve Sharp Hahaha ! 😂

[@percyvolnar8010]

What people also forget about this instrument is that it is truly analog and must be heard in person to be believed. There was a tapehead mod for theses back in the 70's that ran at 15ips and were truly audiophile. I'm not certain, but it was either Tony Banks from genesis or Dave Stewart from National Health who used it.

[@carlosalbertorosado2102]

Justice used this melotron in the album Audio,Video,Disco.

[@tapediskmagic]

Yes, and the digital one does not play the same dynamics as the analog original one. You can tell if you know what to listen for.

[@kevindigo22]

Thanks, this was very fascinating!! I always wondered how the Mellotron worked, and this the first time I have seen it with my own eyes.

[@krats8212]

The flute sound is iconic

[@terrylight2863]

Watcher of the skies

[@juanmanuelroman8377]

I love that mess of tape. I love that sound. I love it.

[@Lichfeldian--Suttonian]

The book _The Synthesizer and Keyboard Handbook_ by David Crombie (that which I discovered Tangerine Dream) says that the Mellotron was made by Streetly Electronics, and I thought, ‘I know a Streetly, in Walsall in the UK, what the...’, and it turns out that the factory was at 338, Aldridge Road, Walsall, UK. I originate from Sutton Coldfield next door, and I had passed the factory so many times as a kid without even knowing the iconic manufacturer and its iconic instrument, that used by many a progressive rock band and those iconic electronic music composers like Jean-Michel Jarre and Tangerine Dream/Edgar Froese to name just a few! The Mellotron, one of those classic instruments of history that is never to be forgotten!

[@DrummClem]

It sounds awesome... even today ! New VST plugins still struggle to make some of these sounds right,

[@347Jimmy]

The best VST Mellotrons are outright sample banks of real ones Which is kinda full circle

[@rosalindannwebb685]

Genesis supergroup sounds cool well demonstrated .

[@rosegold-beats]

That flute so fire

[@ВадимМінка-п6б]

nice machine,so nostalgic sound and our story😊,thanks your chanel best !!!💞

[@donniecatalano]

when I started in music, around 1991, there was no internet of course...and all we knew were myths and tales about instruments like these. good times

[@nx01craig]

My first musical instrument was an M400 Mellotron. Still have it and use it on our Neutral Earth recordings. They can be found on KZbin. A truly iconic instrument with a unique sound.

[@lorenzosala9289]

Love that brass sound! 😍

[@jaggass]

You still hear it today on people YT' channels with funky beats thrown in.

[@matthieupaire3853]

Woooo! This thing is incredible !

[@Steedonline]

My fav keyboard of all time!

[@wellylhakim3619]

the tapes are very strong 👍👍👍

[@freakyears956]

My piano forever!

[@panicraptor2837]

Awesome, next show us the mother of all synths, the Ondioline! There aren't many good videos of this versatile and obscure synthesizer. Maybe ask Gotye if you can play his unit.

[@danceattaxx]

Lovely - as usual! And so interesting you opened the Mellotron body. Thank you.

[@wezzlyn]

sooooo many famous recordings were made on this bad boy

[@airwolf1337]

Thx for sharing! The flute reminds me of old Children Movies and fairy tales!

[@discern7544]

Love the Mellotron.

[@chrislynch8128]

Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues loved this and used it on much of the earlier MB music. Such a cool instrument

[@dotChrollo]

Recently took an oddly specific interest in the Mellotron, and goddamn I'm glad this video exists. I've wanted to see under the hood of one pretty bad

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

What a fantastic video of a revolutionary machine. I feel humbled seeing such a primitive vintage classic. 👍👍

[@ds99]

It’s amazing that there are so many tapes and tape heads in this machine playing back audio that was recorded in the 60s. Was the flute used for Strawberry Fields?

[@347Jimmy]

It was indeed Mellotron flute in Strawberry Fields 👍

[@KazBodnar]

In the wake of poseidon is my favorite mellotron song!

[@allfasten]

Cool! Always wondered about how it worked.

[@lunamisynth6051]

Wow! I am a big fan of the mellotron! Thanks for the awesome video guys!

[@oliverpapke8706]

Sounds Very Nice ....

[@98von48]

this video made me happy, thanks bro

[@Ishkur23]

"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to.... Strawberry Fields...."

[@tapediskmagic]

Here's a live note for note Mellotron performance of that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qp2lg4R8hLeigqc

[@hisdudeness4321]

...Nothing is real...

[@Fourth4Element]

Legendary instrument

[@anzipex]

Wow! Never seen this before. Such a great sampler

[@DaveMcGarry]

Strawberry Fields and early Tangerine Dream... And that would be enough for most instruments but its done so much more...

[@roccox9510]

oh

[@Mistralincessant]

Tupac‘s Old school song came to my mind instantly.

[@JohnWDisco]

Hmm interesting mechanisms on that. I would love to buy one just to sample every note and turn it into a Ableton instrument. So like a year of work but way worth it.

[@dalecsaunders]

You are able to straddle or overlap the edges of the different tracks to combine timbres, so flutes and strings, or strings and choir

[@agenttrumprussiancancer7714]

such a cool instrument and must have been looked at as space age technology when it first came out, to see how it works and what it does is so impressive, what a crazy device that is

[@Sean-me4fv]

It just sounds sooooo 60s!!

[@Atzensindkacke]

This thing is cray cray

[@elmortobeats5919]

lofi loop maker deluxe! so dope

[@rick420buzz]

Now you have to get your hands on an Optigan.

[@CaptainKirk007]

Reminds me of I love Lucy. Prestigious piece of history you got here. Well done as usual!

[@aat3345]

I absolutely love the Mellotron! Keep up the good work.

[@ulizesc8047]

Sounds exactly the same in Omnisphere, great sound 🔊🔊

[@dosgos]

That was a great summary! Clear, concise, and informative.

[@gbrl_ht01]

I love it😍😍😍 Quite simple mechanism but very ingenious and gorgeous!

[@Demontage_Montage]

Very interested instrument!

[@RobertoGinsburg]

Yes. The Analog Dad of Fairlight CMI.. and from England. *Used by The Beatles ("Strawberry Fields"), The Moody Blues, King Crimson ("On the Court of the Crimson King "), etc* .

[@hhlohmann3881]

Would like to hear a full Rammstein set with Flake on Mellotron. Would it sound as peaceful as I expect? Or may it come out that guys like Ramnstein are a modern Genesis with Till a contemporary version of Peter Gabriel's masquerades? Yeah, Mellotron pushes mellow fantasies.

[@souityjoli1856]

Thanks Dr Mix. I like that kind of initrument. Vangelis used it in It's Five O'Clock, and the Moody Blues in Nights in White Satin, the violons. But the problem was the fact that it was extremely fragile.

[@danielallan5058]

These sound amazing!.I wish I had one...I might make one!

[@bigtizzo]

Awesomeness

[@rhythmista7707]

David Bowie's songs Space Oddity and his 80s hit Ashes to Ashes, has the strings sound, and it sounds great..

[@MrRoskoPeko]

Amazing.

[@boomerhgt]

Doctor Mix is awesome a very talented guy love his videos

[@hellbilly_fpv6692]

Very cool! Wish I could’ve heard you play it more !

[@KNHSynths]

The first "hardware sampler" :-) Fortunately it is easy to get good sample libraries of the Mellotron !

[@theHiddenStone]

Would love to hear what it sounds like with some added effects - reverb, delay etc!

[@queenielouweekly3160]

I have an Alesis V49 MIDI controller. You have to press quite deeply into the keys to get a good MIDI response from the computer. It also have many controls on it; it is similar to a mellotron in that sense.