Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Master No121
Up to three separate
recordings can be
stored on each tape.
The alignment of the
playback head
determines which one
will sound.
Individual section of
tape for each key
The Mellotron
The future of sampling may be digital, but with the
revival of the Mellotron, tape sampling is back.
Grant Bridgeman revisits an iconic instrument.
he original Mellotron
incorporated many of
the design principles
behind a similar
machine, the
Chamberlin, developed some
years previously in the USA. Its
design was essentially very
simple. Each key on the keyboard
would trigger playback from a
tape recorder, and on each tape
would be the recording of an
instrument playing a single note
that related to the keyboard pitch.
When the note was released, the
tape would rewind, ready for the
next keystroke.
On key
The Mellotron drew on these basic
operating principles but extended
the capabilities of the machine
indeed, the basic operation of the
Different Recordings
A+B B+C
Tape combo
Keyboard
Cycling System
Stores 8 Stations
Active Section
Of Tape
Collecting Bin
Key Press
- Playback
Note Released
- Fast Return
on
ed
n
An M4000 with its cover removed, showing the tapes, playback and cycling systems. An
The Mellotrons spring-loaded return mechanism pulls each section of tape back remarkably
In a utter
Variety, then, is an intrinsic part of
the Mellotrons character, and it
crops up elsewhere in the
While a key is held down, the tape passes across the playback head and collects in a
bin. The spring mechanism rewinds the tape when the key is released.
www.musictechmag.co.uk
Mellotron heaven
Part of the beauty of the individual
Mellotron instruments was that
although they may have utilised
the same samples, each
instrument sounded unique
something the digital predictability
of a plug-in cant replicate.
It was also the possibilities of
polyphony that gave the
original Mellotron some of its
appeal. Early synthesizers could
only offer monophonic sounds,
but the Mellotron could generate
some truly huge pad sounds that
would slice through a mix. It was
also the quality of the recordings
that helped the Mellotron gain its
revered status; even with the
arrival of digital sampling (early
samplers could not compete on
sound quality or note duration), the
Mellotron ute on Led Zeppelins
Stairway To Heaven and the start
Tech Terms
FURTHER INFO
Streetly Electronicss website,
original makers of the Mellotron:
www.mellotronics.com
M4000 co-developer Norman
Leetes anecdotes and pictures:
http://members.aol.com/tronpage
An electronic copy of an original
Mellotron handbook:
www.mellotron.com/bookfr.htm
Andy Thompsons website for all
things Mellotron:
www.planetmellotron.com
The original Mellotron demo:
www.youtube.com/
watch?v=yrXtmKGkSa4