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2011-01-04 by djacques@csulb.edu
Now that we are on the subject of Mark II's and how many could be out there, I was wondering just how many of us actually has played one. I still need to get down to Frank's to play his. Are they a pain in the ass? I heard that very few people are daring to cycle them anymore. Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
2011-01-04 by Ken Leonard
On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 2:23 PM, <djacques@...> wrote: > Now that we are on the subject of Mark II's and how many could be out there, I was wondering just how many of us actually has played one. I still need to get down to Frank's to play his. Played several, including a restored Mark I. http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron - look at the get-togethers and MONEYPIT reports for what goes into a Mark I/II (including Frank's). > Are they a pain in the ass? I heard that very few people are daring to cycle them anymore. "Pain in the ass" for what? Playing? No, they're great. Cycling/mechanicals? A properly restored and adjusted machine will work just fine, including cycling. Mellotron Professor Jerry Korb does keep an eye on his when he cycles it, even though it cycles just fine. If the rollers start running up the frame, you have to hit the power off button immediately, or you're in a world of hurt with trashed tapes. That can happen if a tape is jammed, which could happen if, say, the tape's pinch roller or pressure pad is not adjusted properly, the tape is not cut correctly, if you had your hand on the keys when you pressed the cycling button, or if there's some other problem/fault. May a Mark I/II need maintenance and some work? Yes, from time to time, everything from the "usual stuff" (fixing wobblies) to correcting various faults (hopefully rare). These are fiddly boxes that are almost 50 years old but can behave well--it's not like they just fall apart. If anything does go wrong, you have to know what you are doing or bring it to someone who does. You can correct a wobbly yourself, and some people can probably work on the amps or other electronic bits. But anything more than that needs someone who's got the knowledge, especially for low noise modifications and cycling. ...kl...
2011-01-04 by lsf5275@aol.com
Ken, it's good to hear from you. Frank In a message dated 1/4/2011 6:20:24 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, ken@... writes: On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 2:23 PM, <_djacques@..._ (mailto:djacques@...) > wrote: > Now that we are on the subject of Mark II's and how many could be out there, I was wondering just how many of us actually has played one. I still need to get down to Frank's to play his. Played several, including a restored Mark I. _http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron_ (http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron) - look at the get-togethers and MONEYPIT reports for what goes into a Mark I/II (including Frank's). > Are they a pain in the ass? I heard that very few people are daring to cycle them anymore. "Pain in the ass" for what? Playing? No, they're great. Cycling/mechanicals? A properly restored and adjusted machine will work just fine, including cycling. Mellotron Professor Jerry Korb does keep an eye on his when he cycles it, even though it cycles just fine. If the rollers start running up the frame, you have to hit the power off button immediately, or you're in a world of hurt with trashed tapes. That can happen if a tape is jammed, which could happen if, say, the tape's pinch roller or pressure pad is not adjusted properly, the tape is not cut correctly, if you had your hand on the keys when you pressed the cycling button, or if there's some other problem/fault. May a Mark I/II need maintenance and some work? Yes, from time to time, everything from the "usual stuff" (fixing wobblies) to correcting various faults (hopefully rare). These are fiddly boxes that are almost 50 years old but can behave well--it's not like they just fall apart. If anything does go wrong, you have to know what you are doing or bring it to someone who does. You can correct a wobbly yourself, and some people can probably work on the amps or other electronic bits. But anything more than that needs someone who's got the knowledge, especially for low noise modifications and cycling. ...kl...
2011-01-05 by tron400
Other than the keyboard locking mechanism, what's the difference between a MkI and a MkII? Having played Jerry K's MkI with the MkII conversion, I can testify that the touch is more like a Hammond organ than an M400. Bernie --- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, Ken Leonard <ken@...> wrote:
> > On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 2:23 PM, <djacques@...> wrote: > > Now that we are on the subject of Mark II's and how many could be out there, I was wondering just how many of us actually has played one. I still need to get down to Frank's to play his. > > Played several, including a restored Mark I. > > http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron - look at the get-togethers and > MONEYPIT reports for what goes into a Mark I/II (including Frank's). > > > Are they a pain in the ass? I heard that very few people are daring to cycle them anymore. > > "Pain in the ass" for what? > > Playing? No, they're great. > > Cycling/mechanicals? A properly restored and adjusted machine will > work just fine, including cycling. Mellotron Professor Jerry Korb > does keep an eye on his when he cycles it, even though it cycles just > fine. If the rollers start running up the frame, you have to hit the > power off button immediately, or you're in a world of hurt with > trashed tapes. That can happen if a tape is jammed, which could > happen if, say, the tape's pinch roller or pressure pad is not > adjusted properly, the tape is not cut correctly, if you had your hand > on the keys when you pressed the cycling button, or if there's some > other problem/fault. > > May a Mark I/II need maintenance and some work? Yes, from time to > time, everything from the "usual stuff" (fixing wobblies) to > correcting various faults (hopefully rare). These are fiddly boxes > that are almost 50 years old but can behave well--it's not like they > just fall apart. If anything does go wrong, you have to know what you > are doing or bring it to someone who does. You can correct a wobbly > yourself, and some people can probably work on the amps or other > electronic bits. But anything more than that needs someone who's got > the knowledge, especially for low noise modifications and cycling. > > ...kl... >
2011-01-05 by lsf5275@aol.com
Mark I cycling used Macano chain for cycling, Mark II used rubber bands.... I mean a different chain; more like a standard bicycle chain. In a message dated 1/5/2011 3:45:13 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, kornowicz@... writes: Other than the keyboard locking mechanism, what's the difference between a MkI and a MkII?
2011-01-06 by Ken Leonard
Hi Bernie! The Mellotron Professor put together a comprehensive list of Mark I/II differences at one point, and I'll ping him to see if he still has it available. ...kl...
On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 3:45 PM, tron400 <kornowicz@...> wrote: > Other than the keyboard locking mechanism, what's the difference between a MkI and a MkII? > > Having played Jerry K's MkI with the MkII conversion, I can testify that the touch is more like a Hammond organ than an M400. > > Bernie > > --- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, Ken Leonard <ken@...> wrote: >> >> On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 2:23 PM, <djacques@...> wrote: >> > Now that we are on the subject of Mark II's and how many could be out there, I was wondering just how many of us actually has played one. I still need to get down to Frank's to play his. >> >> Played several, including a restored Mark I. >> >> http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron - look at the get-togethers and >> MONEYPIT reports for what goes into a Mark I/II (including Frank's). >> >> > Are they a pain in the ass? I heard that very few people are daring to cycle them anymore. >> >> "Pain in the ass" for what? >> >> Playing? No, they're great. >> >> Cycling/mechanicals? A properly restored and adjusted machine will >> work just fine, including cycling. Mellotron Professor Jerry Korb >> does keep an eye on his when he cycles it, even though it cycles just >> fine. If the rollers start running up the frame, you have to hit the >> power off button immediately, or you're in a world of hurt with >> trashed tapes. That can happen if a tape is jammed, which could >> happen if, say, the tape's pinch roller or pressure pad is not >> adjusted properly, the tape is not cut correctly, if you had your hand >> on the keys when you pressed the cycling button, or if there's some >> other problem/fault. >> >> May a Mark I/II need maintenance and some work? Yes, from time to >> time, everything from the "usual stuff" (fixing wobblies) to >> correcting various faults (hopefully rare). These are fiddly boxes >> that are almost 50 years old but can behave well--it's not like they >> just fall apart. If anything does go wrong, you have to know what you >> are doing or bring it to someone who does. You can correct a wobbly >> yourself, and some people can probably work on the amps or other >> electronic bits. But anything more than that needs someone who's got >> the knowledge, especially for low noise modifications and cycling. >> >> ...kl... >> > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
2011-01-07 by Ken Leonard
Jerry contributed the following: http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/mellotronia/MarkIvsMarkII.htm In addition to that list, there is at least one ground wire difference (mentioned on another page on my site). ...kl...
On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 8:22 PM, Ken Leonard <ken@...> wrote: > Hi Bernie! > > The Mellotron Professor put together a comprehensive list of Mark I/II > differences at one point, and I'll ping him to see if he still has it > available. > > ...kl... > > On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 3:45 PM, tron400 <kornowicz@...> wrote: >> Other than the keyboard locking mechanism, what's the difference between a MkI and a MkII? >> >> Having played Jerry K's MkI with the MkII conversion, I can testify that the touch is more like a Hammond organ than an M400. >> >> Bernie >> >> --- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, Ken Leonard <ken@...> wrote: >>> >>> On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 2:23 PM, <djacques@...> wrote: >>> > Now that we are on the subject of Mark II's and how many could be out there, I was wondering just how many of us actually has played one. I still need to get down to Frank's to play his. >>> >>> Played several, including a restored Mark I. >>> >>> http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron - look at the get-togethers and >>> MONEYPIT reports for what goes into a Mark I/II (including Frank's). >>> >>> > Are they a pain in the ass? I heard that very few people are daring to cycle them anymore. >>> >>> "Pain in the ass" for what? >>> >>> Playing? No, they're great. >>> >>> Cycling/mechanicals? A properly restored and adjusted machine will >>> work just fine, including cycling. Mellotron Professor Jerry Korb >>> does keep an eye on his when he cycles it, even though it cycles just >>> fine. If the rollers start running up the frame, you have to hit the >>> power off button immediately, or you're in a world of hurt with >>> trashed tapes. That can happen if a tape is jammed, which could >>> happen if, say, the tape's pinch roller or pressure pad is not >>> adjusted properly, the tape is not cut correctly, if you had your hand >>> on the keys when you pressed the cycling button, or if there's some >>> other problem/fault. >>> >>> May a Mark I/II need maintenance and some work? Yes, from time to >>> time, everything from the "usual stuff" (fixing wobblies) to >>> correcting various faults (hopefully rare). These are fiddly boxes >>> that are almost 50 years old but can behave well--it's not like they >>> just fall apart. If anything does go wrong, you have to know what you >>> are doing or bring it to someone who does. You can correct a wobbly >>> yourself, and some people can probably work on the amps or other >>> electronic bits. But anything more than that needs someone who's got >>> the knowledge, especially for low noise modifications and cycling. >>> >>> ...kl... >>> >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------ >> >> Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> >> >