Mellotronists

hello!! i am a new member, i was redirected here from progressivears 
forum, they say that here i can find "the most knowledgeable people 
on the planet" (on trons matters) so here it goes...

i will have to record some mellotron parts soon, a collector will 
borrow me the trons, but i have no idea what is the best way of 
recording their sound, never having played a real one before. and 
since he have MANY of them, it is impossible to me experimenting with 
sounds AND recording in one day. 
so, anyone knows what are the classic effects that goes along with 
the classic tron tapes? 
moreover, what is better, to record the tron output directly or to 
pass it through some amp, or pre amp, valve, leslie, what? 

i already collected some advices and i already visited these links...

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_capturing_keyboards/ 
http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/tronto0901/recording.htm 

so...am i missing something? many ppl told me to experiment, but i 
will just have one day, probably, and my idea is to record the same 
parts on many trons, different tapes and different models, so that we 
can choose afterwards what's better. but i would really like some 
advices on HOW to record it, in order to have something to start with.

thanks so much in advance 
PAolo:)

On Apr 29, 2005, at 10:34 AM, mamma_superiore wrote:

> hello!! i am a new member, i was redirected here from progressivears
> forum, they say that here i can find "the most knowledgeable people
> on the planet" (on trons matters) so here it goes...
>
> i will have to record some mellotron parts soon, a collector will
> borrow me the trons, but i have no idea what is the best way of
> recording their sound, never having played a real one before. and
> since he have MANY of them, it is impossible to me experimenting with
> sounds AND recording in one day.
> so, anyone knows what are the classic effects that goes along with
> the classic tron tapes?
> moreover, what is better, to record the tron output directly or to
> pass it through some amp, or pre amp, valve, leslie, what?
>
> i already collected some advices and i already visited these links...
>
> http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_capturing_keyboards/
> http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/tronto0901/recording.htm
>
> so...am i missing something? many ppl told me to experiment, but i
> will just have one day, probably, and my idea is to record the same
> parts on many trons, different tapes and different models, so that we
> can choose afterwards what's better. but i would really like some
> advices on HOW to record it, in order to have something to start with.
>
> thanks so much in advance
> PAolo:)
>
Paolo,

Welcome! Please allow me to introduce you to FritZ Doddy. FritZ, meet 
Paolo. Paolo, our Mr. Doddy (among several others on the list) know A 
LOT about recording mellotrons (and recording in general). I'm sure 
they can all tell you a lot. The only reason I mention FriTz over the 
others is that he has a CD assembled that has various examples of 
different recording techniques.

Rick

On Fri, 29 Apr 2005, mamma_superiore wrote:

> hello!! i am a new member, i was redirected here from progressivears 
> forum, they say that here i can find "the most knowledgeable people 
> on the planet" (on trons matters) so here it goes...
> 
> i will have to record some mellotron parts soon, a collector will 
> borrow me the trons, but i have no idea what is the best way of 
> recording their sound, never having played a real one before. and 
> since he have MANY of them, it is impossible to me experimenting with 
> sounds AND recording in one day. 
> so, anyone knows what are the classic effects that goes along with 
> the classic tron tapes? 
> moreover, what is better, to record the tron output directly or to 
> pass it through some amp, or pre amp, valve, leslie, what? 
> 
> i already collected some advices and i already visited these links...
> 
> http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_capturing_keyboards/ 
> http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/tronto0901/recording.htm 



the techniques on ken's page should be followed and will produce
wondrous results. a tube [valve in the UK] front end to a digital
recording system would be best if you are working on protools or
some other digital hard disc system.

there are too many [highly subjective] options/techniques for you
to mess with in a single day, so do what sounds best to you - use
your ears!

...jeff

> so...am i missing something? many ppl told me to experiment, but i 
> will just have one day, probably, and my idea is to record the same 
> parts on many trons, different tapes and different models, so that we 
> can choose afterwards what's better. but i would really like some 
> advices on HOW to record it, in order to have something to start with.
> 
> thanks so much in advance 
> PAolo:)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
>

-----Original Message-----

From: Rick Blechta <rick@...>
To: Mellotronist's List List <Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 10:49:42 -0400
Subject: Re: [Mellotronists] the best way to record a mellotron

   On Apr 29, 2005, at 10:34 AM, mamma_superiore wrote:

> hello!! i am a new member, i was redirected here from progressivears
> forum, they say that here i can find "the most knowledgeable people
> on the planet" (on trons matters) so here it goes...
>
> i will have to record some mellotron parts soon, a collector will
> borrow me the trons, but i have no idea what is the best way of
> recording their sound, never having played a real one before. and
> since he have MANY of them, it is impossible to me experimenting with
> sounds AND recording in one day.
> so, anyone knows what are the classic effects that goes along with
> the classic tron tapes?
> moreover, what is better, to record the tron output directly or to
> pass it through some amp, or pre amp, valve, leslie, what?
>
> i already collected some advices and i already visited these links...
>
> http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_capturing_keyboards/
> http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/tronto0901/recording.htm
>
> so...am i missing something? many ppl told me to experiment, but i
> will just have one day, probably, and my idea is to record the same
> parts on many trons, different tapes and different models, so that we
> can choose afterwards what's better. but i would really like some
> advices on HOW to record it, in order to have something to start with.
>
> thanks so much in advance
> PAolo:)
>
Paolo,

Welcome! Please allow me to introduce you to FritZ Doddy. FritZ, meet
Paolo. Paolo, our Mr. Doddy (among several others on the list) know A
LOT about recording mellotrons (and recording in general). I'm sure
they can all tell you a lot. The only reason I mention FriTz over the
others is that he has a CD assembled that has various examples of
different recording techniques.

Rick



paolo et al,

  You went to ken's site and looked at the basic document. I'm not sure 
what you mean by "how to record" a tron. At it's simplest, Record your 
tron with no effects or with effects printed to another track. Unless 
you plan to automate volumes, record your tron with a volume pedal for 
any dynamics. If you mean by "how" the medium by which you record onto, 
that's dictated by your preference for tape or digital or it is already 
dictated by the project you're working on. Please explain your 
question. Thanks


Fritz

> Paolo,
> 
> Welcome! Please allow me to introduce you to FritZ Doddy. FritZ, 
meet
> Paolo. Paolo, our Mr. Doddy (among several others on the list) know 
A
> LOT about recording mellotrons (and recording in general). I'm sure
> they can all tell you a lot. The only reason I mention FriTz over 
the
> others is that he has a CD assembled that has various examples of
> different recording techniques.
> 
> Rick
> 
> 
> 
> paolo et al,
> 
>   You went to ken's site and looked at the basic document. I'm not 
sure 
> what you mean by "how to record" a tron. At it's simplest, Record 
your 
> tron with no effects or with effects printed to another track. 
Unless 
> you plan to automate volumes, record your tron with a volume pedal 
for 
> any dynamics. If you mean by "how" the medium by which you record 
onto, 
> that's dictated by your preference for tape or digital or it is 
already 
> dictated by the project you're working on. Please explain your 
> question. Thanks
> 
> 
> Fritz


humm it seems my reply wasn't posted...
anyways i wanted to thank you guys for helping me.
we will record with a yamaha digital recorder, plus maybe this 
Behringer 2496...
my question was mainly about any general thing i should pay attention 
with, as i never had to deal with babies like these and it's possible 
that i make some common-beginner mistake. so...is there something i 
SHOULDN'T do?
many recomended me to use some valve/tube/amp----any specific 
recomendation on which one to use or which one to absolutely avoid?

thanks again!!
ciao
PAolo:)