Mellotronists

OK, I've been waiting for a good time to show everyone something I found on 
the internet, so here it is.  It's a demonstration of the operation of a single 
note of a mellotron, complete with moving graphics and sound.  And it's 
interactive.  Just click on the mellotron key to play the note, and you'll see what 
happens mechanically inside a mellotron to make the sound play.  Here's the 
link:

<A HREF="http://www.keyboardmuseum.org/v_teach/mellotron.html">http://www.keyboardmuseum.org/v_teach/mellotron.html</A>

Most of you probably know how this works, but it is a good visual.

And, in case someone asks what's to gain by "rounding" the edges of your 
pinch rollers, this will help show you.  By rounding the edges, the rollers tend 
to drive the tape in a straighter path, reducing the chance that it will go off 
to the side and wrap around the roller, as happened to Rick's SFX machine at 
'Tronto II (hi Frank ;-).  This is usually only done on pinch rollers that 
have gone hard and are somewhat concave, causing the problem.  If yours are like 
that, or if you've had trouble with tape wrapping around the pinch rollers, 
rounding the edges could be a solution.

The "virtual mellotron" demo is courtesy of Joseph Rivers, who runs a 
keyboard museum in Orlando (but no mellotron, last time I checked).  He's given me 
the complete tour, and it's quite a place.

Ken M.