The Mellotron Group

OK, the ring modulator trick is a very clever one.  If you feed a
signal into the x channel of a ring mod, and a static voltage into the
y, you get zero output.  If you have a changing voltage going through
the y, it passes audio.  you can use a ring modulator to shape the
volume of a sound using this trick - feed the audio through x, feed a
variable DC voltage through y, and when you turn the pot controlling
the level of the DC voltage, it kind of "bows" the sound, the qwhicker
you turn the pot, the more quickly the sound level rises.  Just
turning a pot is tricky, though, it's too small to get fine control,
attaching a knitting needle to the pot gives you a wider control arc
(?)  - easier to finely control the level and articulate it so it fits
with the track.

It's a very, very clever trick, Townshend's synth programming skills
are much underrated.

On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 11:57 PM, ceccles_ca <ecclesreinson@rogers.com> wrote:
> OK you experts.  The unusual string synth parts on Quadraphenia...
>  What is it?  1973 so it can't be Solina.  Maybe a Freeman?
>
>  The guys on the prosoundweb forum asked 'the man' himself.  See page
>  13 and 14 for PT's detailed reply:
>
>  http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/pdf.php?th=18558&0/
>
>  Four tracks with 6 violin sounds each.  Amazing.
>  I don't really understand what he did with the knitting needle.
>
>