Mellotronists

Tape Op, "The Creative Music Recording Magazine", features an
interview with producer/engineer Ken Scott in their most
recent issue (# 52: mar/apr)

The article opens with a photo of Mr. Scott, with a mellotron
in the immediate foreground.  I'm guessing that it is a Mk
II, since it has 2 manuals.  Unfortunately, the interview
doesn't mention the mellotron.

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Gosh John, there's some useful information.   Is there a URL for  this?

Sorry, I'm a bit under the weather today - after an entire
days' rehearsal (and a gig last night) I'm a bit out of
sorts.

TapeOp is available, for free.  Their website,

http://www.tapeop.com/

doesn't contain any information about the current issue.

Ken Scott was a 2nd engineer at Abbey Road for the White
Album.  The interview covers some questions about various
artists he worked with, the Beatles, Supertramp, Missing
Persons, Elton John, David Bowie.  Pretty impressive that one
person worked with so many popular music icons (love 'em or
hate 'em)

I'm assuming that the mellotron is his is own personal
instrument (and not the property of a studio).  There's a
synth on top of the mellotron, synergy.  Never heard of that
synth, I only know of the prog band of the same name.

The mellotron is white.  Has the following controls, above
the keyboard, from the left: a 1/4" jack, 3 buttons marked
ABC (i'm guessing, each letter cooresponds to a sound on a
tape rack)  a set of 6 buttons marked 1-6 (tape banks?), a
set of 5 buttons, alternating white/black/white/black/white -
can't tell what the black ones are marked, though the white
ones are marked ABC.  The center of the instrument has two
knobs, one marked rhythm and the other I can't make out (3
letters, starts with F).  Over the right manual, from the
left, a large black knob, two smaller knobs (reverb and
volume) and another set of 6 buttons (though I can't see the
6th).

There is a video interview with him, at Abbey Road Studios,
at the following URL:

http://www.recordproduction.com/ken-scott.html

I think this video is a couple years old - he was working
with George Harrison at the time.

-jh

  

--- lsf5275@... wrote:

> Gosh John, there's some useful information.   Is there a
> URL for  this?
> 


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The Synergy synth was a real powerhouse back in the day, digital synthesis 
and direct connectivity to Apple II, I believe.  Had floating splits, poly 
portamento, lots of real striking FM type sounds.  Was a direct descendant 
of the monster digital synth, the Crumar GDS, that Wendy Carlos made a lot 
of use of on the "Tron" soundtrack, as fate would have it.

And the white one is an M400.

Scratch that M400 remark - that does sound like the front of a Mark II. 
Sort of a dove grey, perhaps?  Were there any white Mark IIs?  Aren't the FX 
Consoles light grey?

At 12:06 AM 4/23/2006, jonesalley wrote:
>Scratch that M400 remark - that does sound like the front of a Mark II.
>Sort of a dove grey, perhaps?  Were there any white Mark IIs?  Aren't the FX
>Consoles light grey?

The FX Consoles for the BBC were gray, but Jimmy's was originally a dull 
black, refinished to a nice black:

http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/vt0405/fx6u2.htm
http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/vt0405/images/mp0504-28.jpg

You can see some gray guys here in Ryso Sekine's Mellotron Room:

http://www.geocities.jp/mellotronics/ryosekine.html

Note that there was an M400 based FX Console as well.

>The mellotron is white.  Has the following controls, above
>the keyboard, from the left: a 1/4" jack, 3 buttons marked
>ABC (i'm guessing, each letter cooresponds to a sound on a
>tape rack)  a set of 6 buttons marked 1-6 (tape banks?), a
>set of 5 buttons, alternating white/black/white/black/white -
>can't tell what the black ones are marked, though the white
>ones are marked ABC.  The center of the instrument has two
>knobs, one marked rhythm and the other I can't make out (3
>letters, starts with F).  Over the right manual, from the
>left, a large black knob, two smaller knobs (reverb and
>volume) and another set of 6 buttons (though I can't see the
>6th).

It sounds like a Mark II, although the 1/4" jack is unusual, unless it was 
custom (although you may be mistaking the keyswitch on the left for a 1/4" 
jack...the FX Console has a 1/4" jack on the right).  If it's white, that's 
unusual as well.  I don't know if any came from the factory like that or if 
it has been refinished that way (Streetly refurbished units are sometimes 
painted if the original finish is toast).

Mark II:

http://www.kleonard.com/mellotron/vt0304/pindertron3.htm

The six white buttons are the station select buttons---what causes the 
tapes to shuttle back and forth between sound banks.  The ABC (white) and 
A/MIX/B/MIX/C buttons (white and black) are track select.

Note that the FX Console's switches and knobs are different from the Mark 
II's.  The FX has four sets of ABC track select switches (instead of one 
ABC and two A/AB/B/BC/C switches as in the Mark II), four faders, a master 
fader, and pitch--no reverb.  The FX Console has two split head blocks 
designed to play one track at a time (no mixing adjacent tracks), which is 
why they're all ABC.  The Mark II's left side has a split head block---ABC 
only for the rhythm (you wouldn't normally mix two rhythm tracks), with 
track mixing capability for the 2nd half of the split head block (fills) 
and the whole right keyboard (lead sounds, one head block).  Both the FX 
Console and the Mark II have six stations.

...kl...
M400 #805 - one head block
M400 #1037 - one station


** Ken Leonard - Web Table of Contents:  http://www.kleonard.com
 >> CD available! "Improvised Waves: Mellotron/synth improvisations"
** Get Outdoors New England:  http://www.GONewEngland.org