The Mellotron Group

Its true! I learned on a Hammond split  and am most comfortable with 49 note keyboard controllers or those nice little 35 note ones!!
On Jul 21, 2011, at 1:33 PM, Gary Brumm wrote:

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> Hi Tom,
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> Yeah but those short keyboards bother me…..although as a Mellotron owner you probably don’t notice J
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> Cheers!
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> Gary
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> From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Tom Doncourt
> Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 10:00 AM
> To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: M4000D nice review with photos
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> Hail the M3!! My 55 sounds as good to me as anything
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> On Jul 21, 2011, at 12:47 PM, Gary Brumm wrote:
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> Hi Bernie,
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> The older Hammond cloned used long samples…I think the XK series uses “VASE”  tonewheel generator modeling….I could be wrong. 
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> The real difference is the XK series doesn’t have the 9 bar contacts in the keyboard…the “New B3” does.  The XK series is a much better deal $ wise. 
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> I had the XK-3 and now have an XK-3c.  I have had several of the Motion Sound products and they never sounded right.  Try one through
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> a Ventilator and you will get rid of the MS stuff.  I built an interface cable for the 11 pin Leslie output so I have control through the keyboard. 
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> The Ventilator will make your XK-3 sound great and give you an overdrive sound much better than the internal tube preamp.  For $500 US it
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> is a 122 Leslie in a stomp box package.  It will give a B3/122 a run for the money.  My only real complaint about the XK is the Vibrato/Chorus
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> is not quite right…it is improved in the “c” model but still not quite there.  I’ve owned and traveled with several C3/B3 122 combos but those
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> days are over.  I still have an M3 in my living room though…. J. 
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> Cheers,
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> Gary
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> From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of tron400
> Sent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 3:49 AM
> To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [newmellotrongroup] Re: M4000D nice review with photos
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> Hammond uses modeling? I thought they just used long samples. I do like the sound of my XK3 (not C) through my Motion Sound Pro-145. Still, not quite the same as my old B3/122.
> 
> Bernie
> 
> --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, Gary Brumm <gabru@...> wrote:
> >
> > No tonewheels this time….sample/modeling just like the XK models…….
> > I think it would cost a lot more to tool up for tonewheels….heck its already like 20k for the “new B3”…….
> > …Although through a 122 Leslie it sounds pretty damn good!
> > 
> > g
> > 
> > 
> > From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of John Wright
> > Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 11:51 AM
> > To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: RE: [newmellotrongroup] Re: M4000D nice review with photos
> > 
> > 
> > Hi Gary,
> > 
> > Hammond Suzuki is making the B3 again.
> > 
> > http://www.hammondorganco.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=119
> > 
> > But, it doesn’t sound like the original!
> > 
> > 8-)
> > 
> > John
> > #911
> > 
> > From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com]<mailto:[mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com]> On Behalf Of Gary Brumm
> > Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 2:07 PM
> > To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: RE: [newmellotrongroup] Re: M4000D nice review with photos
> > 
> > 
> > I think it can possibly be compared to the old exotic sports car. You can buy a new car today that performs not only better but
> > is reliable as well…..however the driving experience is not duplicated…the smell of burning oil, the sound of the engine, etc.
> > I really enjoyed driving the old Ferraris but if I was looking for the ultimate performance as well as something I could drive
> > everyday it would not be my choice. I think Tony would understand this as he is both a Mellotron and Exotic car guy. What
> > makes one “better” than the other is subjective but in a mix after processing in the recording process I thing 99.9% of listeners
> > would be unable to tell the difference. Some of those that might be able to tell are on this list but even they would probably
> > be guessing to some extent. There is still enough of a market to support two Mellotron manufacturers although the price is
> > high and I would venture to guess the number sold is low. In low numbers the price is necessarily high….Imagine if someone
> > tried to manufacture B3s today….I am sure some could be sold but the price would be staggering. …..my 2 cents….fire away!
> > 
> > ☺
> > 
> > Gary
> > 
> > 
> > From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com]<mailto:[mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com]> On Behalf Of lsf5275@...<mailto:lsf5275@...>
> > Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 10:37 AM
> > To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: M4000D nice review with photos
> > 
> > 
> > That's hardly the point. I'm not saying that samplers (ROMplers) have no place, I'm saying that they lack the character that a real Mellotron has. The real thing is far more organic. I like my records, tapes and CDs. I have perhaps a thousand or more recorded live performances. I enjoy them too. but once recorded, they sound the same every time I play them. Playing a CD has nothing to do with making music. Playing an instrument does, whether it is a M4000d or a M4000 or an M400. I prefer the latter.
> > 
> > In a message dated 7/20/2011 12:30:18 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, feline1@...<mailto:feline1@...> writes:
> > 
> > 
> > Yeah,
> > and I bet you never buy records or CDs,
> > cos they sound the same every time you play them -
> > it's kinda lacking in soul compared to going to a gig.
> > 
> > --- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>, lsf5275@ wrote:
> > >
> > > You can take the M4000D and manipulate it to be idiosyncratic in certain
> > > ways. But those idiosyncrasies will be the same to every sound. The
> > > character of a Mellotron is derived from how it plays its tapes, variances from
> > > frame to frame, tape age, keyboard adjustment, etc. It makes each one unique.
> > > Every M4000D will be exactly like every other one. Not a bad thing really,
> > > but a little soulless. When I think of a Mellotron, I think of a tape
> > > replay machine. The Mellotron sounds that come out of an iPad are no different
> > > except the way they are accessed. The sampling rate may be different but the
> > > concept is the same.The iPad delivers the sounds but imparts no character
> > > to them.
> > >
> > >
> > > In a message dated 7/19/2011 8:37:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> > > tron400@ writes:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Looks like my last reply didn't make it.
> > >
> > > The last frame I bought has tuned Cello/M400 Violins/Flute. Sure, the
> > > Violins are MkII Violins EQ'd for the M400, but the EQ, as well as the tuning,
> > > was done by Streetly, so there's a degree of authenticity there (like 100%).
> > >
> > > I'd love to play around with an M4000D for a few days. It seems to be a
> > > practical machine for those who don't want to own a tape replay machine and a
> > > good supplement to an M400. But I don't think electronics can ever
> > > accurately imitate the electromechanical idiosyncracies of a Mellotron.
> > >
> > > Bernie
> > >
> > > --- In _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:_newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>_
> > > (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>) , "Charles" <charel196@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > so if you bought a new tape rack and played an E Major chord and the
> > > fifth was recorded out of tune, you'd prefer that over buying a digital unit
> > > with all the notes properly tuned and de-noised?
> > > > Even your Mellotron library was recorded and EQ'd with someone else's
> > > idea of how it should sound.
> > > > I just don't get it, I guess.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > --- In _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:_newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>_
> > > (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>) , "tron400" <tron400@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > It's one thing to alter the sound of your Mellotron or samples, but
> > > it's another thing to have someone else decide for you how it should
> > > fundamentally sound.
> > > > >
> > > > > Bernie
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In _newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:_newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>_
> > > (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com<mailto:newmellotrongroup%40yahoogroups.com>) , "Charles" <charel196@> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > do you think Mike Pinder never did any "tampering" to make his units
> > > sound "better"? Geeezus....to me the M4000D is the outgrowth of all the
> > > years of addressing the complaints about exactly what was wrong with the tape
> > > system by all the major artists (tuning, noise, etc.)
> > > > > > Do you think if Harry Chamberlin had this technology at his disposal
> > > he would have used tapes?
> > > > > > It may not be a "real Mellotron/Chamberlin" in the eyes of the
> > > hardcore obsessives but for me it's a completely normal development in the
> > > lineage and deserves the name.
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
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