Got the Mellotron!

[Debby and Gene Stopp]

Great catch, man! I can tell you what experiences I've had picking up old
Mellotrons....

Each one of the three that I have had the same problem upon initial
power-up. The tapes were playing at a very high speed, perhaps double or
triple the normal speed. The tape play duration was just a couple seconds,
and the sound was like fingernails on a chalkboard. This confused me the
first time. My personal approach to anything like this is to take it all
apart and look for something gone bad (as opposed to the textbook approach
of using a scope or some other common-sense engineering approach). Anyway I
took it all apart, everything looked OK, and when I put it all back together
it was working properly. It turns out that the connector on the motor
control PCB going to the motor shaft speed sensor (a tape head mounted near
a gear on the motor shaft, much like a Hammond tone wheel) was dirty and so
the speed controller was driving the motor at full speed, since it had
though that the motor was stalled.

The next two machines had the same problem, which leads me to believe that
it is very common. Of course on those machines I went straight to the
problem and fixed them. It is fortunate in a way, because the sellers of the
machine think that they are seriously broken and so the price becomes quite
reasonable (I've spent as little as $100). Of course you didn't have to
worry about anything like that :)

Other than that, look out for dirty pots on the control panel, and make sure
that there's an aluminum plate that covers the tape take-up box (the box
where the tapes fall into as they're being played). If that cover is
missing, the tapes have a tendency to fall out of the take-up box and wrap
around the capstan. If it is missing, you can make one out of cardboard or
some other non-ferrous material.

I believe that Dave Kean is still in the business of selling Mellotron parts
and tapes, although Audities has been closed for some time. You can do a web
search to find him if you need new tapes.

If you want to get creative, you can make 1/4" tapes of your own. I did
this, and I used the normal 3/8" tape guides. All you have to do is record
the same program material on all four (or both, for 2-track) tracks of the
tape and set the track selector on the Mellotron to the center track.

- Gene

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeroen Bruintjes <brun at bart.nl>
To: synth-diy at mailhost.bpa.nl <synth-diy at mailhost.bpa.nl>
Date: Sunday, April 11, 1999 10:46 AM
Subject: Got the Mellotron!


Well, I finally got the *free* Mellotron I told you about. It's here now,
wit a *lot* of thanks to Guido for helping me out in hoisting the
machine up the stairs. It's f*****g heavy!

It seems to be in good shape, although the exterior definately
needs a paint job. This Mellotron has been used extensively in the
Dutch band Earth & Fire, the former owner was the keyboard
player of that band, Gerard Koerts. I'm sure the few Dutchies on
this list are familiar with those names. It's a model 400, painted
black.

I'm going to clean out all the dust now, and I will try to find a power
cord that matches the connector on the back. Maybe I can put the
story and some pictures on my website. I was just thinking: before
I turn it on (it was on an attick for over fifteen years!), what should I
keep in mind? Will the tapes break after so much years, for
example?

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Bye,

Jeroen




--> Brun, met een dakje op de u.

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