Mellotronists

Ken Leonard wrote:

>
>
> Nope, not sour grapes, but, yep, reality - take it from someone who picked
> up such an item knowing it would take some work and wound up replacing the
> motor in addition to the usual stuff.  Nowadays with the US$ exchange rate
> it can add up quickly.
>
> But even with the extra dosh thrown in for the motor, it was still
> cost-effective (relatively speaking), considering I can do much of the work
> myself.  But I don't have a spiffy new machine with a warranty, of course,
> and it plays like an old Mellotron.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings Gang,      Gotta write my two-cents' worth on the eBay Tron topic.
To buy old or new.    1) Finances ,    2) Skills  ,     3)  Preservation  .

These three among others come to mind while pondering a Tron on eBay.
M400 #319 sold for $1850 thereabouts. For comparison, when deciding
to undertake the JKMK6 project in 1997, my two core M400 Trons were
$1000 and  $890 each, the latter was the "mousy" one.  This was just before
the  resurgence of Internet Tron interest and especially before eBay became
a major factor in all things collectible .

Some pad/roller replacement, the usual cleaning/polishing, new tapes ,
motor, controller ,etc, I had two original units ready to go inside the custom
cabinet
and custom electronics.   To keep all things Mellotronic, NOTHING was
permanently altered/destroyed to produce the JKMK6 . So those three
basic tenets above were strictly adhered-to.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>
> Basically these things ARE fixable if you have enough good stuff
> there.  Many times it's replacing the CMC-10 and a few rollers.  If you
> wind up with an EMI or a badly-treated unit, it could get a bit more
> costly.  If it's a Mark II...well, I wouldn't tackle one myself.  I'd bring
> it to Vermont.  :-)     ...kl...

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

If enough questions are asked,photos exchanged before eBay transaction,
one should be about 90% confident of the Tron's condition, regardless if it
was/wasn't  turned-on, played,stored,  used/abused, etc.

Both Streetly and Markus have provided cost estimates for rollers,tapes,
motors and the like. This way, a potential bidder knows pretty much
in advance what he(she) needs to budget for restoration.  ..Be Proactive.....

However ,with Mark-II or any  cycling Mellotron, anything can/will  occur .
A) Bent frames, B) Warped capstan ,   C) Cooked/tired cycling motors,
D) Cooked/tired electronics,  E) Weakened/wormy/ruined cabinets ,
F) Slipshod  mods/changes , G) Intermittent wiring at connectors/solder points.

H) Missing vital parts/assemblies, and of course H) Spaghettification by the
mile !
These are the eight which immed. come to mind, there are many more
permutations.

Hope this insight helps everyone to make a prudent purchase choice.
.....Old or new........

Cheers, JK    (...seen lotsa rot,rust,toast,smell,pretzels,& black-rice in last
8 yrs. )