Synth-DIY Yahoo! Groups Archives

FW: Mellotron

2002-03-12 by Andy Thompson

Chaps

Just been sent this - any ideas, anyone?

Andy T.
M400 #1145

http://freespace.virgin.net/andy.thompson/

-----Original Message-----
From: Ellitel [mailto:aopf90@...]
Sent: 12 March 2002 12:42
To: andy.thompson@...
Subject: Mellotron

Hello Andy

In the early nineties I worked at Thames Tv Teddington. In the old tape library there was a Mellotron. It was loaded with sound effects and it worked albeit in need of a service. One day my boss Brian Harper said if you want that Mellotron take it now or I\u2019ll skip it. There was no way I could get it home and even if I could I had no room. I rang a dealer in Charing Cross who collected it straight away and gave me £800! Now I know from his keenness and the amount he gave me it was worth a tad more.

I regret that I had not taken it home but I tell myself that at least it might be restored and looked after. I would love to know where it ended up. I don\u2019t recall the dealers name \u2013 it may have been Macari\u2019 s but I am not sure. If you can help I would love to know who owns it \u2013 It was almost certainly destined for restoration.

At least I saved it from the tip!

Simon Ellis

Re: [Mellotronists] FW: Mellotron

2002-03-13 by ferrograph@aol.com

>>In the early nineties I worked at Thames Tv Teddington. In the old tape

library there was a Mellotron. It was loaded with sound effects and it

worked albeit in need of a service...... I would love to know where it ended 
up.

I don’t recall the dealers name – it may have been Macari’ s but I am not

sure. If you can help I would love to know who owns it – It was almost

certainly destined for restoration.<<

this guy (not andy) told me the same story exactly about three years ago 
while I was on a pinnacle video server training course. he was working for 
pearsons (now rtl) as a video engineer, and we got into this conversation via 
a familiar route- engineers discussing analogue vs digital>>quad video 
tape/tube cameras>>other amazing and quirky feats of engineering. I bade him 
stop (when he got to the part about almost giving the thing away for nowt to 
a west-end musical instrument dealer) or I'd have to hurt him. it doesn't 
help us much that he can't remember what model it was either, but I recall 
him mentioning that it played some part in "the tomorrow people" and one or 
two other sci-fi shows they made there. 
there's worse though- thames had one at euston road too, and that one was 
dumped in a skip, to my certain knowledge. a guy I've been working with for 
nine years and who's seen my 400, saw it happen- "no, it was bigger than 
that, and brown....."

duncan/m400 nr 1098 staying away from telly.