All,
Bear in mind that the result will not sound even remotely like the
"classic" Mellotron sound, as that sound is usually considered violins, and
to a lesser extent, choir. By comparison, the Mellotron flute sound is
something of a rarity on recorded music.
Also, I fully agree with Leo's points on the Beatles' use of the
Mellotron. The Beatles were nothing if not experimental, especially with
tape recorders. They also seemed to take a "let's just try it" approach to
new instruments, rather than emulating other artists. If you doubt that
statement, listen to the Moog use on "Here Comes the Sun": It's
interesting, and it seems to fit the bill, but it's far from what one would
arrive at by listening to Walter Carlos or Keith Emerson for an
afternoon. Beatle Mellotron use follows the same path. The recipe that I
provided was a way to arrive at an approximation of a studio-quality
Mellotron II, similar to the ones used by King Crimson and the Moody
Blues. How close it approximates the Beatles' variation is subject to debate.
Another thing that changes the sound is that the Strawberry Fields we all
know is actually a medley of two different takes in two very different
keys. Ultimately, one (or both) of them was transposed by changing tape
speed, which is the reason why John Lennon's signature vocals are not
instantly apparent. Perhaps this could have affected the Mellotron
timbres, too.
At 09:32 a 03/12/2001 -0600, you wrote:
>this is fascinating!
>
>could someone actually give this a try and post the results? there is
>currently a "mellotron" patch in one of the patch banks, but not a very
>convincing one. and it would be interesting to follow bruce's instructions
>and then hear the results.
>
>cheers,
>
>chris
>
>At 10:41 PM 3/11/01 -0500, you wrote:
> >Jim,
> >
> >>I thought the old synth the Beatles used on the intro to "Strawberry
> >>fields" is interesting, how would you go about getting that sound? (was it
> >>a mellotron, or even older synth?..I think I've seen pictures of it)
> >>
> >>I would love to hear the thought process you would go through to get in
> >>the ballpark and how you would plan to get that sound.
> >
> >Boy, you could have found an easier first attempt! :^) This is a
> >deceptive sound, appearing easy to duplicate, but actually possessing a lot
> >of subtleties.
> >
> >The sound on the intro to "Strawberry Fields" is a Mellotron Mark II, using
> >the flute recording that was part of the standard tape set. What makes
> >this simulation difficult is the fact that the Mellotron is a sort of
> >sampling synthesizer, so you are trying to simulate a synth with another
> >synth. Also, the Mellotron had its own dominant timbre which permeated
> >every sound, from violins to choirs to flutes. And finally, the Mellotron
> >was not a chromatically-tuned instrument; the recordings were
> >just-intonated, mostly in the key of A major. In any other key, they tend
> >to sound a little off key on one or more of the notes. The following is
> >the way I would approach the sound on ANY synth, AN1x or otherwise --
> >
> >I would start off by trying to simulate a flute sound, which is mostly a
> >sine wave, except for the initial attack, which has a lot of high harmonic
> >content, both tonal and atonal in nature. Start with a 50% duty pulse with
> >the Edge at about 115, and set the FEG to a fast attack, fast decay, and a
> >relatively low sustain level -- low enough to filter out most of the
> >harmonics, but not so low as to mute the sound. Set the AEG to a similar
> >shape, but set the sustain very high, maybe 118 or so. After some tweaking
> >by ear, you should have a flute timbre that sounds good for mellow solos --
> >think soft jazz, not Jethro Tull. You may find that adding a little noise
> >to the mix improves the illusion, but use it sparingly. One VCO may be
> >enough to create the sound; if you want to use the second one, set it to
> >the same waveform, make it an octave above the first, about 25% of the
> >original volume, with only a very slight fine pitch detune.
> >
> >Now, you need to "Mellotron-ize" the sound. First, as you already noted,
> >the attack on the Mellotron was never very quick, owing to the nature of
> >the tape system used in the instrument. Back the attack of both the FEG
> >and AEG until you have a more calliope-like sound. If you want a good
> >example -- Strawberry Fields is not the best one I can think of -- use the
> >Dance of the Puppets section of King Crimson's "The Court of the Crimson
> >King," which is actually the same sound on the same instrument. After
> >that, you need to EQ the result to give it that hollow sound that the
> >Mellotron was famous for -- add a little boost at 125Hz and 3.8kHz, and
> >drop the 1kHz a little. The effect you're looking for is that of an old
> >movie soundtrack. Then add a little slow flange to the mix, and a little
> >PMOD using the same LFO speed, to simulate the wow and flutter that the
> >tape drive caused. Use the pitch modulation sparingly, as the detuning was
> >not all that noticeable.
> >
> >Finally, a little (mis-)tuning simulation is probably in order. Use one of
> >the matrix controls to add a little fine pitch decrease based on key
> >tracking, and if the end result causes the whole patch to go flat,
> >compensate with the fine pitch controls on the VCOs.
> >
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >-BW
> >
> >--
> >Bruce Wahler
> >Design Consultant
> >Ashby Solutions"
> >www.ashbysolutions.com
> >CloneWheel Support Group moderator
> >978.386.7389 voice
> >978.776.0096 fax
> >bruce@...
> >
> >
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Regards,
-BW
--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions"
www.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group moderator
978.386.7389 voice
978.776.0096 fax
bruce@...