The Mellotron Group

I cannot continue this discourse. You can call anything you want a  
Mellotron. But I must warn you...
I'm sending this guy to your house to explain it to you.
 

 
 
 
 
In a message dated 1/22/2011 5:29:05 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
charel196@yahoo.com writes:

 
 
 
On what stone tablets is it written that a Mellotron or Chamberlin HAVE to  
be tape replay instruments? The whole idea was to be able to playback  
instruments on a keyboard. Who can dictate with absolute authority that this  
has to be done exclusively on recording tape?
A bit like saying a car with  a computer can no longer be called a car 
because old cars didn't have  computers.

--- In _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) ,  lsf5275@... wrote:
>
> If you make a digital "violin" that plays  back violin samples is it a 
> violin? The very nature of what makes a  Mellotron a Mellotron is that it 
plays 
> tapes. Markus' machine has the  name Mellotron on it because he has the 
right 
> to put that name on  anything he so chooses. He could build a guitar and 
> put Mellotron on  the head stock and we would know it as a "Mellotron" 
Guitar. 
> In this  case, he has put the name "Mellotron" on a DIGITAL sample 
playback 
>  machine that shares nothing else in common with a real Mellotron except  
> wooden keys that are dimensionally similar and a shape that is  
reminiscent of 
> the top of a M400. I am not degrading Markus' machine,  I would love to 
> have one. I am merely pointing out that it is no more  a Mellotron than 
the 
> Memotron is.
> 
> If Harry  Chamberlin were alive today and made a digital sample playback 
>  machine that played his samples or any other samples and put his name on 
it we  
> would call it a Chamberlin "..." but it would not be the same thing.  
> "Mellotron" is not just a name owned by David Kean, it is a kind of  
thing. The 
> fact that Streetly makes such a machine that doesn't use  the name but is 
one 
> none the less supports this position. People look  at it and buy it and 
> play it and if you ask them what it is they'll  tell you it's a Mellotron
> 
> If I want to play any other sound  than those Markus sells for his 
digital 
> machine I can't unless I hack  the software or find some other way of 
> sneaking different sounds into  it. The nature of a Mellotron is such 
that there is 
> no limit to what  sounds I can put into it. If they can be put on tape, I 
> can play  them.
> 
> If I make a frame from scratch that substantially  duplicates the 
original, 
> duplicate the original keyboard, make a  preamp, line amp and controls 
like 
> a Mellotron and get a Mellotron  tape frame, then I put the whole mess in 
a 
> white cabinet shaped like  an M400, everyone who looks at it and hears it 
> will say, "that's a  Mellotron."
> 
> We could go on and on Charles, and while I  respect your opinion, we'll 
have 
> to disagree. I'm right and you're  wrong. Nyah! 
> 
> 
> In a message dated 1/22/2011 12:18:52  P.M. Eastern Standard Time, 
> charel196@... writes:
> 
>  The M4000D is a DIGITAL MELLOTRON
>