Ok,
#1562 Originally belonged to Don Robertson. Don had long been a legendary figure in New Age and instrumental music, beginning with his 1969 Mercury album Dawn, considered by many to be the first-ever New Age record. He originally posted on this list that he had a Mellotron he wanted to sell right away and wanted to know what it might fetch on eBay. I emailed him and asked him if he might skip eBay and sell it to me instead. He told me that he had fallen on hard times and need money to prevent the loss of his home to foreclosure.
Oddly, that is one of the things I do for a living. My wife and I have helped over 23,000 homeowners to prevent foreclosure on their homes. We ended up with a trade. I helped him and I got #1562.
At the time, Don was living near Atlanta and the Tron was tucked into its flight case in his mother's basement where it had been stored since 1982. 20 years inside that crate. He arranged to have it shipped to me shortly thereafter. It was shipped to Virginia by FedEx, and the day it arrive at the local depot, there was 2 feet of snow on the ground. They wouldn't deliver it. So, I put the Expedition in 4 wheel drive and went and picked it up.
When I got it home, it didn't work. The only person I knew at the time on this list was Martin Smith. He wasn't home, so I emailed Frank Samagaio who shortly thereafter called me up. After explaining my dilemma, Frank suggested that I check the fuses on the SMS-3. Bingo. (thanks Frank). It fired right up and I was happy to discover that the tapes were shot and it needed a ton of work. When I played it, it sounded like what I imagine a bag of cats thrown into a bathtub full of water would sound like.
Needless to say, I have built a few motorcycles from scratch, and have restored a few for collectors. Mellotrons are easier. The rest is history.
Please check out Don Robertson and the Dovesong foundation. He is an amazing musician.
I will never part with this particular Tron. I have had several others and currently have four in my basement music room. This one is in wonderful condition and sounds just great. It is the only one I have seen with brass tape heads.