Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Mellotronists

Hi all,
I'll own up to being the purchaser of the ex-strawbs M400 that came
up on ebay in may. I had extensive talks with the seller about the
condition and history of the unit before I put in my bid. Although
the cabinet looked bad at first glance (and the photo on ebay was
particularly poor) in reality it just needed the black paint sanding
off, a few holes filling in, the edges relipping, the base
strengthening and a respray. This is nearly all done and it's in its
undercoat as we speak and coming on nicely. Mechanically and
electrically it's fine - a bit stiff through dirt and years of
inactivity but it all works well except for some crackly pots. And
it has an SMS2 mounted on the power supply case. The Strawbs story
is that in 1978 they dumped their 2 trons in a music store in
Hitchen UK following their tour of that year. The previous owner
bought the newest of the two (1973 model no.992) and has had it ever
since. The tape frame is M400 violins, MkII brass and 8 choir
original tapes and has the original Strawbs label identifying it as
frame no. 4. I'm trying to confirm this story with John Hawken and
Dave Cousins but they are on tour at the moment. I've taken lots of
pics and I'll post them on the website as restoration progresses.

Cheers
John
M300/005, M400 992