Mellotronists

while searching through lists of tangerine dream bootlegs, i came across:

http://www.rutka.de/td/mellotron_cd.html

anyone have a copy of this CD?
[will swap - contact me off-list if you want to...]

neat concept in that some sounds repeat to allow a continuous sound.
were any other tape sets contructed like this?
[other than, obviously, the repeated notes on the 8-voice choir set?]

did duncan end up with this rack/tape set?

just curious...

speaking of duncan, i think it's been a while since we heard from him?
[i hope that's because RMI is busy recording and playing shows.]

...jeff

[fresh from finishing repairs on M400 1189 [i think?].
some idiot using our studio tried to tap into the signal directly
in the control panel by cutting the wires from the headblock and
tapping the signal from there. needless to say, the next person
to use the tron had some difficulties.
said idiot is banned from our studio permanently.
it's all fixed now, and a fresh neyboard adjustment has the M400
sounding, according to our staff engineer, better than ever.

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

From: <jeffc@...>
To: <Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 7:20 AM
Subject: [Mellotronists] tangerine dream 1975 sound effects CD/tape set.




> were any other tape sets contructed like this?
> [other than, obviously, the repeated notes on the 8-voice choir set?]

Although, of course, that's merely a serendipitous side-effect of the tenors
not being able to sing high enough, rather than a deliberate policy.  :-)
I utilised this 'feature' on the album we did last year, playing a single
choir note for over two mins, with only the octave shift of the female
voices giving the game away.

> [fresh from finishing repairs on M400 1189 [i think?].
> some idiot using our studio tried to tap into the signal directly
> in the control panel by cutting the wires from the headblock and
> tapping the signal from there. needless to say, the next person
> to use the tron had some difficulties.
> said idiot is banned from our studio permanently.
> it's all fixed now, and a fresh keyboard adjustment has the M400
> sounding, according to our staff engineer, better than ever.

He did WHAT, Jeff? And said what when it was pointed out to him that he's a
****? Is this character in the habit of opening vintage instruments up and
amending their interiors?

Andy T.
M400 #1145, probably ex-Gryphon, though Richard Harvey hasn't replied to my
polite e-mail on the subject, and probably won't.

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005, Andy Thompson wrote:

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <jeffc@...>
> To: <Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 7:20 AM
> Subject: [Mellotronists] tangerine dream 1975 sound effects CD/tape set.
>
> > were any other tape sets contructed like this?
> > [other than, obviously, the repeated notes on the 8-voice choir set?]
>
> Although, of course, that's merely a serendipitous side-effect of the tenors
> not being able to sing high enough, rather than a deliberate policy.  :-)


aaah.
that explains it ;0)


> I utilised this 'feature' on the album we did last year, playing a single
> choir note for over two mins, with only the octave shift of the female
> voices giving the game away.


sweet!
it's a cool effect, and sure to start arguments over the authenticity of
the source.


> > [fresh from finishing repairs on M400 1189 [i think?].
> > some idiot using our studio tried to tap into the signal directly
> > in the control panel by cutting the wires from the headblock and
> > tapping the signal from there. needless to say, the next person
> > to use the tron had some difficulties.
> > said idiot is banned from our studio permanently.
> > it's all fixed now, and a fresh keyboard adjustment has the M400
> > sounding, according to our staff engineer, better than ever.
>
> He did WHAT, Jeff? And said what when it was pointed out to him that he's a
> ****? Is this character in the habit of opening vintage instruments up and
> amending their interiors?


he's actually a very gifted guitarist and producer, but was desperate
to get the sound of the tron on a record. he DOES have a habit of
doing strange things to electric pianos and hammonds. [far more common
instruments and easier to find replacement parts etc for...]

i am not even sure what the initial problem was that he could not use
the tron for. they now know to call me at the first sign of an issue.

he is no longer based in philadelphia, so we'll probably never know why
he did what he did. warning to any LA tron owners: don't let barry mess
with your machine - he knows not what he does! [last name withheld]

...jeff

> Andy T.
> M400 #1145, probably ex-Gryphon, though Richard Harvey hasn't replied to my
> polite e-mail on the subject, and probably won't.
>
>
>
>
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>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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>

> > > were any other tape sets contructed like this?
> > > [other than, obviously, the repeated notes on the 8-voice choir set?]

Well I have one tape set that used to belong to Edgar Froese that has Church
organ / Choir / and I think Moog Modular sounds/chords.

I've never had the whole set on a rack. I only tried the first note to see
what was on there. TD once said in an interview that they had 50 or 60 sets
of tapes. If accurate, there must be a LOT of TDream sets out there
somewhere.

Regarding lasers - When I was a teenager I bought a helium neon laser from a
friend.

I decided to use it in our own garage band concerts. My friends' parents
went away for a long weekend so we jammed almost non stop for 3 days! I
bought a styrofoam cone and mounted it in on the spindle of an old record
player and forced it down so it would rotate. We then went to the living
room and removed a round chandelier crystal to place on top of the cone and
aimed the laser into it as it spun.
Presto - instant light show!. We also rented a fog machine as well. This was
way before I performed with a mellotron.

Needless to say the neighbours weren't happy!