Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Mellotronists

Greetings to all in Mellotron land,

Having read recent postings on this list ranging from blatant self promotion,
now appearing to be an art form (will check with Martinge, he's the arty
farty one), kind words, comments good and bad, downright silly (yes FARTS
DOWDY this means YOU !!) and finally threats, I was moved to write the
following;

1 To friends/customers/enemies etc.etc. HAPPY NEW YEAR (may it be better than
the last) !

2 Yes Harry was the first, Yes he pioneered the birth of our favourite type
of keyboard instrument BUT, now being the proud (!) co-owner of a Chamberlin
300, ∗I∗ say thank goodness the Mellotron was born, or else our favourite
"Mellotron moments" probably would not exist !!!

3 Who did what and when??
Just to put the record straight, the first machines to be renovated by
MS/LJB/JB admittedly on a part time basis (as Markus still does) was way back
in 1990/91
interestingly one of these went on to be a star of cd-rom and video as DK's
MKII/123.

4 "UNCLE DON GETS MAD"
Having been involved in the production of all Mellotron/Novatrons at the
original Streetly factory from 1976 onwards, I feel qualified enough to know
the difference between a good and bad machine.

"MKVI rebuilds a speciality"

This is not a "dig" at DK it is a fact, having re-built a couple of MKVI,s at
the request of the owners, we are fully aware of the shoddy state of these
two machines as supplied. Don I appreciate the great work you do
administering this group,
but I do find your threat offensive and feel it should be withdrawn.

5 Markus
None of Harry Clifford Chamberlin's machines ever carried the Mellotron name
as it was not his idea.
The name Mellotron or Mellotrone as it first appeared on letter heads, was
the invention of William Irving Fransen and his partner in crime James Monroe
Harvey.

Finally a question for Markus, how many MKVI machines have you manufactured
and sold to date ?

I hope this clears the air a little,
regards to you all (exept Mike Rivers) JB MKI/132
STREETLY ELECTRONICS for all things Mellotronic.