Mellotron

The Mellotron uses the same concept as a sampler, but generates its sound using analogue recordings on audio tape. When a key is pressed, a tape connected to it is pushed against a playback head, as in a tape deck. While the key remains depressed, the tape is drawn over the head, and a sound is played. When the key is released, a spring pulls the tape back to its original position. A variety of sounds are available on the instrument. On earlier models, the instrument is split into "lead" and "rhythm" sections. There is a choice of six "stations" of rhythm sounds, each containing three rhythm tracks and three fill tracks. The fill tracks can also be mixed together. Similarly, there is a choice of six lead stations, each containing three lead instruments which can be mixed. In the centre of the Mellotron, there is a tuning button that allows a variation in pitch (tempo, in the case of the rhythm tracks). Dave Kean, an expert Mellotron repairer, recommends that older Mellotrons should not be immediately used after a period of inactivity, as the tape heads can become magnetised in storage and destroy the recordings on them if played. ==History==

Although tape samplers had been explored in research studios, the first commercially available keyboard-driven tape instruments were built and sold by California-based Harry Chamberlin. The concept of the Mellotron originated when Chamberlin's sales agent, Bill Fransen, brought two of Chamberlin's Musicmaster 600 instruments to England in 1962 to search for someone who could manufacture 70 matching tape heads for future Chamberlins. He met Frank, Norman, and Les Bradley of tape engineering company Bradmatic Ltd, who said they could improve on the original design. The Bradleys subsequently met bandleader Eric Robinson, who agreed to help finance the recording of the necessary instruments and sounds. Together with the Bradleys and television celebrity David Nixon (Robinson's son-in-law), they formed a company, Mellotronics, in order to market the instrument. Robinson was particularly enthusiastic about the Mellotron because he felt it would revitalise his career, which was then on the wane. He arranged the recording sessions at IBC Studios in London, which he co-owned with George Clouston. The first model to be commercially manufactured was the Mk I in 1963. An updated version, the Mk II, was released the following year and featured the full set of sounds selectable by banks and stations. Streetly-manufactured instruments after 1976 were sold under the name Novatron. The American Mellotron distributor, Sound Sales, produced their own Mellotron model, the 4-Track, in the early 1980s. At the same time Streetly Electronics produced a road-cased version of the 400 – the T550 Novatron. By the mid-1980s, both Sound Sales and Streetly Electronics suffered severe financial setbacks, losing their market to synthesizers and solid-state electronic samplers, which rendered the Mellotron essentially obsolete. The company folded in 1986, and Les Bradley threw most of the manufacturing equipment into a skip. From 1963 until Streetly's closure, around 2,500 units had been built. Streetly Electronics was subsequently reactivated by Les Bradley's son John and Martin Smith. After Les Bradley's death in 1997, they decided to resume full-time operation as a support and refurbishment business. By 2007, the stock of available instruments to repair and restore was diminishing, so they decided to build a new model, which became the M4000. The instrument combined the features of several previous models, and featured the layout and chassis of an M400 but with a digital bank selector that emulated the mechanical original in the Mk II. ==Notable users==

(pictured in 1970) made significant use of the Mellotron in the 1960s and 1970s, played by Mike Pinder (left) The first notable musician to use the Mellotron was variety pianist Geoff Unwin, who was specifically hired by Robinson in 1962 to promote the use of the instrument. He toured with a Mk II Mellotron and made numerous appearances on television and radio. Unwin claimed that the automatic backing tracks on the Mk II's left-hand keyboard allowed him to provide more accomplished performances than his own basic skills on the piano could provide. The earlier 1960s Mk II units were made for the home and the characteristics of the instrument attracted a number of celebrities. Among the early Mellotron owners were Princess Margaret, Peter Sellers, King Hussein of Jordan and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard (whose Mellotron was installed in the Church of Scientology's head UK office at Saint Hill Manor). According to Robin Douglas-Home, Princess Margaret "adored it; (Lord Snowdon) positively loathed it". Author Mark Cunningham describes the part in "Strawberry Fields Forever" as "probably the most famous Mellotron figure of all-time". Although producer George Martin was unconvinced by the instrument, describing it "as if a Neanderthal piano had impregnated a primitive electronic keyboard", they continued to compose and record with various Mellotrons for the albums Magical Mystery Tour (1967) and The Beatles (1968, also known as "the White Album"). McCartney went on to use the Mellotron sporadically in his solo career. The instrument became increasingly popular among rock and pop bands during the psychedelic era, adding what author Thom Holmes terms "an eerie, unearthly sound" to their recordings. Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones played a Mellotron on several of his band's songs over 1967–68. These include "We Love You", where he used the instrument to create a Moroccan-sounding horn section, "She's a Rainbow", "2000 Light Years from Home" and "Jigsaw Puzzle". played the Mellotron on several King Crimson albums, and said that "Tuning a Mellotron doesn't [tune it]" They were aware of Pinder's contributions to the Moody Blues and did not want to sound similar, but concluded there was no other way of generating the orchestral sound. The instrument was originally played by Ian McDonald, and subsequently by Robert Fripp upon McDonald's departure. Later member David Cross recalled he did not particularly want to play the Mellotron, but felt that it was simply what he needed to do as a member of the band. Tony Banks bought a Mellotron from Fripp in 1971, which he claimed was previously used by King Crimson, to use with Genesis. He decided to not use the instrument as though it were an orchestra, instead using block chords. He went on to explain that he used it in the same manner as a synth pad on later albums. His unaccompanied introduction to "Watcher of the Skies" on the album Foxtrot (1972), played on a Mk II with combined strings and brass, became significant enough that Streetly Electronics provided a "Watcher Mix" sound with the M4000. The Mellotron was used extensively by German electronic band Tangerine Dream through the 1970s, on albums such as Atem (1973), Phaedra (1974), Rubycon (1975), Stratosfear (1976), and Encore (1977). In the late 1970s, French duo Space Art used a Mellotron during the recording of their second album, Trip in the Centre Head. In 1983, the band's Christopher Franke asked Mellotronics if they could produce a digital model, as the group migrated towards using samplers. Although the Mellotron was not extensively used in the 1980s, a number of bands featured it as a prominent instrument. One of the few UK post-punk bands to do so was Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who featured it heavily on their platinum-selling 1981 album Architecture & Morality. Andy McCluskey has stated they used the Mellotron because they were starting to run into the limitations of the cheap monophonic synthesizers they had used up to that point. He bought a second-hand M400 and was immediately impressed with the strings and choir sounds. XTC's Dave Gregory recalls seeing bands using Mellotrons when growing up in the 1970s, and thought it would be an interesting addition to the group's sound. He bought a second-hand model in 1982 for £165, and first used it on the album Mummer (1983). IQ's Martin Orford bought a second-hand M400 and used it primarily for visual appeal rather than musical quality or convenience. The Mellotron resurfaced in 1995 on Oasis' album ''(What's the Story) Morning Glory? The instrument was played by both Noel Gallagher and Paul Arthurs on several tracks, but a particularly prominent use was the cello sound on the hit single "Wonderwall", played by Arthurs. It also notably appears on their 2000 single "Go Let It Out". Radiohead asked Streetly Electronics to restore and repair a model for them in 1997, and recorded with it on several tracks for their album OK Computer (1997). The French electronic duo Air extensively used a M400 on their two first albums Moon Safari in 1998 and The Virgin Suicides'' in 1999. Spock's Beard's Ryo Okumoto is a fan of the Mellotron, saying it characterises the sound of the band. Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson has acquired one of King Crimson's old Mellotrons and, in 2013, gave a demonstration of the instrument in celebration of its 50th anniversary. ==Competitors==

Alternatives to the Mellotron were manufactured by competitors in the early to late 1970s. The Mattel Optigan was a toy keyboard designed to be used in the home, which played back sounds using optical discs. This was followed by the Vako Orchestron in 1975, which used a more professional-sounding version of the same technology. It was used by Patrick Moraz. The Birotron was a similar concept based around 8-track cartridges, used by Wakeman. ==List of models==

• Mk I (1963) – double manual (35 notes on each). Very similar to the Chamberlin Music Master 600. About 10 were made. • Mk II (1964) – double manual. 35 sounds on each manual. Organ-style cabinet, two 12-inch internal speakers and amp. Weight 160 kg. • Mark V (1975) – double-manual Mellotron, with the internals of two M400s plus additional tone and control features. • Skellotron (2005) – an M400 in a transparent glass case. Only one was made. Related products • M4000D (2010) – a single-manual digital product that does not feature tapes. Made at the Mellotron factory in Stockholm. • Electro-Harmonix MEL9 Tape Replay Machine (2016) – simulator pedal ==See also==