Mellotronists

I won't say the M300 was a transitional design, it was just a cut-
down MKII. They didn't know they were heading towards the M400 
idea at the time they designed the M300. Mine looks like a better 
build quality than the MkII on the inside. The first 6-10 or so M300's 
were fitted with yellow roller style turnbuckles left over from SFX 
console/MkII production and worked well I think. The problems 
started when these ran out and were replaced by M400 style ones 
but with Fluon tape-contact surfaces. Then of course there was the 
strange idea that fixed speed ac motors and no pitch control would 
be better as fitted to the last 30 or so in the run.
Who exactly was in charge of Mellotronics in Londinium? I didn't 
realise Streetly and Mellotronics were so independent.
John
m300#005


Certainly the M300 was a transitional design, but I can just 
imagine 
a little staff meeting at the factory after the initial run of 
Mk2's. Someone of hierarchy saying "Okay, gang--these 
pricey 
monstrosities are a bit too much to manufacture--the 
mechanics, the 
cabinetry...the delicate inner workings, everything...and they 
aren't selling too hot, so we need to scale these things 
down and 
simplify them a bit & keep 'em unique at the same time."



Actually it was a lot more sluggish than that. Painfully slow in fact 
because it took them until 1971 to realise the potential of a 
compact mellotron for the rock and pop industry despite the 
Beatles, Manfred Mann and all having shown them the way for the 
last 5 years. There were all these classic singles and albums 
coming out around 1967 loaded with 'tron and what did Mellotronics 
Manufacturing, Londinium decide upon? Let's make another 
domestic cycling 'tron using 1/4" tape. Wrong design, wrong 
format. It beggars belief. The boys at the top had all the marketing 
skills of the Baghdad Pork Scratching Company. Once the penny 
dropped it took Les and his brothers very little time to come up with 
the M400, probably only a few weeks to pin down the whole design 
if I remember Les's words correctly. Streetly were enterprising but 
Mellotronics were staid, the result being a difficult relationship a lot 
of the time.

Martin

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