Hi guys.
Just got back from the Mellotron outback and a session with Martin and JB. My EMI has been suffering with cracked and brittle pinchrollers over recent months, so JB replaced the lot, and the difference is unbelievable. I barely have to apply any capstan pressure at all for it to drive very nicely.
I also asked Martin to subtly retune my choice of mk2 flute, m300a strings and mk2 brass.
Rest assured, these tunings do not mess with the tonal character of the instruments one bit. What it does do, is make them more usable in a wider range of keys.
I know there have been some notes that have been simply unusable until now. To these ears, I can't hear any evidence of pitch shifting. The tunings aren't perfect, and I wouldn't want that. They are just very natural.
I thoroughly recommend these new versions to everyone here. I know there are those to whom interfering with history in this way is unthinkable. That's fine, and I respect that, but should you take the decision to have the retuned versions, don't worry, your tron will still sound like a tron, a very good tron indeed!
Andy K