I won't say the M300 was a transitional design, it was just a cut-
down MKII. They didn't know they were heading towards the M400
idea at the time they designed the M300. Mine looks like a better
build quality than the MkII on the inside. The first 6-10 or so M300's
were fitted with yellow roller style turnbuckles left over from SFX
console/MkII production and worked well I think. The problems
started when these ran out and were replaced by M400 style ones
but with Fluon tape-contact surfaces. Then of course there was the
strange idea that fixed speed ac motors and no pitch control would
be better as fitted to the last 30 or so in the run.
Who exactly was in charge of Mellotronics in Londinium? I didn't
realise Streetly and Mellotronics were so independent.
John\u000f
m300#005
Certainly the M300 was a transitional design, but I can just
imagine \u000f
a little staff meeting at the factory after the initial run of \u000f
Mk2's. Someone of hierarchy saying "Okay, gang--these
pricey \u000f
monstrosities are a bit too much to manufacture--the
mechanics, the \u000f
cabinetry...the delicate inner workings, everything...and they \u000f
aren't selling too hot, so we need to scale these things
down and \u000f
simplify them a bit & keep 'em unique at the same time."\u000f
\u000f
\u000f
Actually it was a lot more sluggish than that.\u000e Painfully slow in fact
because it took them until 1971 to realise the potential of a
compact mellotron for the rock and pop industry despite the
Beatles, Manfred Mann and all having shown them the way for the
last 5 years.\u000e There were all these classic singles and albums
coming out around 1967 loaded with 'tron and what did Mellotronics
Manufacturing, Londinium decide upon?\u000e Let's make another
domestic cycling 'tron using 1/4" tape.\u000e Wrong design, wrong
format.\u000e It beggars belief.\u000e The boys at the top had all the marketing
skills of the Baghdad Pork Scratching Company.\u000e Once the penny
dropped it took Les and his brothers very little time to come up with
the M400, probably only a few weeks to pin down the whole design
if I remember Les's words correctly.\u000e Streetly were enterprising but
Mellotronics were staid, the result being a difficult relationship a lot
of the time.\u000f
\u000f
Martin\u000f
\u000f
Streetly Electronics - all things MELLOTRONIC - click this
link..........\u000f\u000f
US East Coast Agent: Jimmy Moore -
JMoore6397@...\u000f
\u000f
West Coast Service Agent:\u000e Paul J Cox -
pjc56@...