The Mellotron Group

People spend a fortune buying a beat up a vintage car and spend buckets to fix it and it's not seen as crazy. I paid 2 grand for my mellotron with 2 sets of tapes. I bought an additional set of tapes as well for $800. I've never regretted the purchase or the hours I've put in maintaining it. It's something I had dreamed about owning for years. It has a mojo that most gear can't match. I spent close to the same on a u87 and scratch my head now on the price and the hype. It's a great mic but it's no fuckin' mellotron. Apple and oranges, but gear is gear. My original Groove Tubes tube mics models 1 and 2 have the mojo the Tron has in terms of "sound" and they were a fraction of the Neumann in terms of cost. Mojo is what makes the ears dick hard. Playing a real mellotron is playing a piece of living history. 

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> On Jun 30, 2014, at 8:17 PM, "Tom Doncourt tomdcour@amnh.org [newmellotrongroup]" <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Otis ,welcome to the group. This is a great time to be playing the mellotron, there are parts available, people who know how to fix them, new tapes and a new cycling machine available! In the 80's I was always worried that something would go wrong and I wouldn't be able to fix it. The M4000d is a fine machine and I would certainly gig with one but I doubt I would ever get the real enjoyment in the studio that I get with a real tape replay machine.  Tom
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> From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com]
> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2014 3:04 PM
> To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Mellotron, shmellotron
> 
>  
> Hello everyone, My name is Otis and I'm new to this forum. Since last week I own a Mellotron m4000d and I'm completely over the moon with it. It will be nice to learn more about Mellotrons. I hope that I can get a real one in the future. 
> Right away I see there's some heated discussion, but I never understood why people think a real Mellotron is too expensive for what is, or why it would be ridiculous to own one, or buy one for a lot of money. People easily pay more for a new kitchen or a car and somehow, in situations like that, I never hear people freak out about it (i would).
> In the end it is just about what you like to do and what makes you happy. I like instruments and dislike computers somewhat. As a guitar player I don't feel like sitting behind my pc and play music that way. Old-fashioned point of view for a 31-one-year-old I guess haha. 
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> On 30 jun. 2014, at 20:51, markprin gnz <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> 
>>  
>> I'm surprised that the samples, digital vs electromechanical issue can still generate such interest and emotion. I think they all have their uses and depend on pretty much on how much time and money one has and what sort of sound one is after.
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>> There is something different in playing a mellotron as opposed to playing samples if nothing else the feel of the keyboard is unique! I do understand now why people want the real thing.
>> 
>> On a piece I was recording recently I couldn't be bothered setting up my mellotron, I just wanted a few bars of the 8 choir for a little musical idea, I went to M-Tron pro and the Streetly expansion pack but the sound was out of tune in a way which didn't work for me. I started up Redtron and that was the sound I wanted that time.
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>> Please don't think that I don't like the Streetly expansion pack, I am very happy with it but I don't think the samples are tuned which makes it sound authentic but that isn't always what I want. One of my favourite mellotron sounds at the moment is the string tape sound of my MicroKorg xl+ and I'm not sure how close those samples are to any mellotron.
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>> I'm not sure why anyone would want to leave the group over this, the original post does sound a bit like trolling although he had been a member for a while. Possibly his mellotron had been playing up, like mine it probably needs a rebuild,  I can understand that kind of frustration!
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>> Mark
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