Mellotronists

<<Is that a 'tron mixed in with everything else in the twiddly bits of 
Zepplin's "Kashmir"?>>

I tried to find out a bit about this machine a few years back- the drummer of 
the band I played bass in was married to jpj's daughter... his huge kit 
included the gong that's visible on the back of "ummagumma", but he was 
unable to shed any light on the disposition of the 400 that's in plain view 
in much of the later footage of zeppelin. I think jpj went off them too... 
didn't mr page get custody after jpj got his big yamaha?

roadies, from what I have gathered over the years, had a good deal less 
respect for gear back then, and the 400 particularly occupied an unfortunate 
position in the hierarchy... it was as awkward a lift as anything y'r average 
roadie would encounter, and yet weighed about the same as an ampeg svt bass 
amp. the precise alignment of it's internal workings (which, as we all now 
know, is the very root of it's success or failure) weren't as obviously 
important as, say, the setup of a guitar, when if they had been, perhaps 
players like jpj and rick wakeman might not have gone on record badmouthing 
the thing. so they got knocked about a bit, in a way that the nearest 
technical equivalent (a 1/4" machine- a revox, say) wouldn't have. dave 
greenslade's roadies (one of whom works at mtv now) used to take the frames 
out after every show and would sometimes "forget" to put them back if the 
machine was misbehaving.

has anyone ever attached handles to the ends of a 400, or machined some 
picky-uppy slots (such as one might find in the back of a wooden chair) into 
the ends? some decent handles might've been the saving of a few 400's.

d/400nr1098- bloodied but unbowed.