Mellotronists

Well Boys, #340 arrived this morning very safe and secure from its
trans-continental journey. Craters and Freighters did an excellent job
packing and crating it. Not a bit of damage (Shrink wrap, major foam
everywhere, and the crate built around it). However, the folks at Yellow
Freight do leave a bit to be desired. They had some yahoo company
deliver it to my house in, believe it or not, an open back chicken
truck! I am not kidding, they had to remove the fence to slide the
palette off the back of the truck... It looked like it came from Green
Acres...
 
Some very interesting observations from what I discovered when I
unpacked it.
 
First, it was filthy... But after wiping it with a damp rag and a bit of
ammonia it cleaned up pretty well. Yes its discolored from age, but most
of it cleaned up. Except for a big scratch on the back, it looks fine.
They keyboard cleaned up well too.
 
Upon inspecting all the original paperwork (and there is tons of it), it
looks as if #340 spent most of its life in a recording studio in Texas.
The invoice is for March 14, 1975, and made out to Mr.. Curtis Kirk,
Custom Recording Studio, Tyler, Texas. He also bought 1 set of standard
Mellotron tapes.
 
In 1981 Mr.. Kirk purchased 1 set of "special tapes" (1 track special).
I have those on red spools and am waiting to see what they are. Along
with the red spools is one master on a large wheel. hmmmmm.... Maybe
it's John Lennon's secret tapes... 
 
The best news (I think), is that in 1978 he purchased and installed the
SMS 3 kit.
 
So I could not resist. I plugged it in, hooked it up to an amp, and
tested her.....  She WORKS!!!!  All keys and tapes work and rewind. The
installed tapes have choir, cello, and three violins. WOW!!!!!!
 
OK, some major wobblies on certain notes as I am sure the heads need
cleaning and the keyboard needs some adjustment, but what a thrill!
Maybe its in better shape than I expected... The foot pedal has some
noise in it, but what do you expect? Also, the track selector switch is
a bit funky as it overshoots the stops, but that is probably a simple
adjustment. I will check that out this week.
 
So now I am officially a Mellotroniac! 
 
David Jacques
M400 #340......
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Korb [mailto:jkorb@...] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 12:11 PM
To: David Jacques
Subject: Re: M400 #340 about to arrive very soon


  

David Jacques wrote: 


 Wow, that must have been some job!  
_______________________________________________________________ 

Hi David, Yep,  it was. I borrowed technology for repairing fiberglass
hulls 
on pleasure boats. Made a compound of 2-part epoxy and sawdust to 
fill chunks of broken particle-board on the bottom. After sanding and 
veneering,looked fine. 
_______________________________________________________________ 
 So you had your M400 since new. Nice....  
________________________________________________________________________



July 1973 it arrived. This month it's been exactly 30 years since I've 
owned it. Cost $1760 plus $200 air cargo at that time.  Arrived directly

from Mellotronics in London.  I was only age 19 then,and worked two 
full summers in warehouse to afford it. 
_______________________________________________________________ 
 Jamie and I are discussing which motor controller to purchase. Is the
Streetly easy to install? I am not as handy as someone like you, but can
handle simple jobs with tools.  
________________________________________________________________________



Very simple. You must have a basic understanding of electronics and some

soldering skills. Everything's marked/detailed with typed instructions. 
John Bradley and I went thru the procedure in 1997 to make it
"idiot-proof." 
_______________________________________________________________ 
 I am also interested in how this extra set of tapes sound. I don't even
know what is on them. Is there a simple way of stringing them onto a
frame? I read about the method of splicing the beginning of the new tape
onto the end of the old tape and pulling it through the mechanism. Is
this the best way?David 
________________________________________________________________________



Easy. Each tape will have a dash line which is placed directly over the 
corresponding tape-head. Numbered 1 to 35 (Low-G to High F) . 
If the machine has an extra tape frame,you're all set. If not, you can
"test" 
to see what sounds are on the spools. I can explain this to you more
easily 
when the machine is in front of you, and ready to check out. 


One tape from tape frame can be removed and secured with masking tape. 
This leaves a tape head open. Thread a section of tape from the spool 
and secure it to the rear of machine (loosen two tape screws first). 
Then play a note,letting the spool unwind holding with pencil. Then
retract 
the spool/tape by hand to try again. As mentioned,this will sound
crystal-clear 
when the M400 is in front of you. 


Regards, Jerry Korb