Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Mellotronists

Fellow mellotronists,

Over the past several months I've been having frequent chats with one
Martinge Smith of Streetly Electronics. (I'm sure you're all familiar
with him!) The reason for these discussions was a very special
commission which Streetly undertook at the end of last year on behalf
of a collector who was interested in something "a bit out of the
ordinary" for mellotrons, something very special indeed.

As the project unfolded, I was taken into Streetly's confidence and
developed a magazine article which I sold to Robb Report, which if
you're not familiar with it, bills itself as the "monthly lifestyle
magazine for the affluent". How does this fit in with those rather
plain white boxes we all know and love? Well, dear reader, you have two
choices. I encourage you to purchase the June Issue of Robb Report
which contains their annual "Great Machines" extra issue. It's due out
on newsstands next Wednesday. Or you can check out
www.mellotronics.com. Just click on the bottom image (believe me you'll
know which one it is) and see what the Streetlys have been up to.

This special "Skellotron" is based (very loosely) on the original demo
unit built in the '70s. With the design help of Martin's son, Paul (a
very talented industrial designer), they have built something quite
unique. Due to the requests of the commissioning collector, it is
something more than even the most diehard "tronniac" might ask for, but
it is, literally, a work of art. The entire unit was made in-house by
Streetly, although a few things such as the gold plating (I'm not
kidding) obviously had to be hired out.

So now, besides rebuilding and repairing our classic machines and
making plans for various upgrade kits as well as a limited run of
400-based instruments, Streetly has now moved into a vastly different
realm where they are creating unique musical instruments based on our
favourite beasts.

I invite you to look at the latest example of John's and Martin's (and
Brian's) many years of dedication and hard work to the mellotron
community. I guarantee your jaw will drop. Even though I was privy to
what was going on as they worked on the unit, I was completely
"gobsmacked" by the final results when Streetly sent me the photographs
of the Skellotron prior to the submission of my article to Robb Report.

It really is quite extraordinary.

Rick (SFX 10030 -- "What, no wise ass comments tonight?"