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As Frank said, Roger, the owner of Big City Music, and apparently the M400, really never "demonstrated" ANYthing that I saw, and really didn't even seem to care much. A girl asked if I had ?s, but again, I knew (& cared) far more than she did - friendly enuf, but it was pretty much "help yourself." There was little to no active promotion of the Mellotron, aside from plenty of attractive Mk VI brochures scattered on top of them (w Markus Resch name printed on them?), and that they were placed at the outside corner of the booth where people definitely did see them. Generally people would play a few notes & walk on. 2 or 3 others, I think previous owners or aficionados, clearly had high interest as Frank & I spent some time comparing sounds and listening to the (yet to be, I think) 100 choices on the 4000D. The booth was primarily over-run by a fellow playing very loud, mostly non-musical sounds on a ribbon-controlled analog synth, non-stop the whole day, and that made serious listening (let alone thinking!) a bit challenging at times. (30 secs would've been plenty!)
"M4000 D REVIEW" (for those who haven’t yet seen it!) - To my surprise, there was NO literature on the 4000D, so all the specs escape me. I must admit, my 1st impression, on playing the surprisingly scarred & beaten-up but well-functioning M400 (My bad - I forgot to note the s/n, I think it was in the "mid-teens" if I remember right, older than my #1485), then the 4000D (s/n 001 !), was that the 4000D didn't seem to have the brightness or "presence" of the 400. I took the liberty of finding the small mixer, and tweaked the EQs to bring them much closer together, though all sound was compromised by feeding into about a 6" speaker. It did take some heavy EQ to make the 4000D match up – the high end needed to be cranked on both instrument & mixer, but I got it pretty good. The 4000D wood cabinet was well-done, I’d have to say, very similar in esthetics to M400, and I agree that it seems far better crafted than the Memotron (I’ve only seen photos of that, tho’). Apparently, it also seems the 4000D offers much more, is much simpler to use, and the 2 displays also seem better. More on that in a moment. The action on the Roger’s battle-worn M400 was easy & smooth - nicely set up, with flute, 3 violins and 8 choir. On the 4000D, action was easy and light, and I could feel the weight of the (37!) wooden keys, so it had some of the feel of a 400, but of course, none of the “English,” to borrow a Pool term. Looking "under the (rear-hinged) hood" of the 4000D, (I DID, Frank Stickle, to answer your question!), it was interesting to find a similar basic aluminum keyboard frame and keys as a 400, but with no adjustment screws. Seemed "wrong" somehow, in an amusing way, but there’s obviously no need for 'em. The rest of the cabinet, maybe 5-6" deep, was completely empty! Obviously the main electronics are housed under the control panel, with connections on the rear panel for all the typical synth (but not 'Tron) functions. Nicely, they included 3 Line Outs - Bank A Direct, B Direct & Master Mix, in both 1/4" & +4 XLR formats; Phones; 4 Pedals: Volume, Sustain, & Expression 1 & 2 (not sure what parameters those might effect, perhaps separate volumes for A & B Direct outputs); MIDI, and a port for a "Special Format Expansion Card" to access 100 more sounds. The controls are the same as on the 400, (volume, tone, pitch, “Track” Selector for A, B or Mix, & power), with the addition of a full/half-speed switch, and 2 small Selector scrolling knobs for memory banks A & B, each with its own bright, clear LCD display. Pushing down on a Select knob switches between either the sound menu or activates and displays your highlighted choice, often also showing a photo of the instrument, as well. It’s nice too, that while playing, turning either Select knob brings back the associated menu, so you can pre-select your next sound, and have it come up instantly with the push of the Select knob. No pre-loading, as seems necessary with the Memotron. Pretty cool system, I’d have to admit. I didn’t see any form of “Keyboard Split” function, as you might get with customized tapes or a true synth, but I suppose you could achieve that through the separate A & B outputs if desired, with use of the full 37-note keyboard for both sounds. I DID appreciate that after 8 seconds, the sounds STOP. Kudos to keeping that unique “tron playing technique “honest!” Of course, a chief design difference between the two instruments, is that most of us would be very hard-pressed to pick up the M400 under one arm and throw it into even a small car. That, and the fact that the 4000D does well at quickly bringing a huge number of Mellotron sounds to your palette, does make it an attractive instrument, priced it would seem, in line with many other professional keyboards. Roger, the Big City owner, explained to me that the wild price increase (from $1800 to $2500 USD) is in keeping with the reduced value of the US dollar right now. Hmmm… I think some of you have already pegged another reason – simple supply & demand. You’ve also pegged some of the potential marketing problems or mistakes – drastically pre-release raising of pricing and supplying that demand. Time will tell, but I agree, Frank Stickle, these things will sell to those who love the sounds of Mellotrons. If there’s any interest, I can post some fairly detailed pictures, once I dump ‘em from my camera. All that being said, I ALSO agree with the “purists” here, though, that there’s nothing… nothing, like the traditional Mellotron full of tapes just dying to “play” with the player. The sound, the individuality of each instrument, the quirks… just the visual presence and panache of it, whether it be a 400, a Mk model, or anything else, really adds Magic to the use of our beloved instrument, particularly in a concert or studio-session use. Long live it, and you all at Streetly, as well! Couldn’t agree more with your comment to Martin, Frank, “You make Mellotrons… and damn good ones.” Gotta run. I’ve been long enuf. Hope y’all found it of some worth.
Cheers! Berington Van Campen Van Campen Productions / V.C.MusiCorp / BEATUNES Beatles Tribute VCMusiCorp1@yahoo.com (626) 458-4474 Home/Office www.myspace.com/berington www.facebook.com/berington www.myspace.com/VCMusiCorpScoring --- On Thu, 1/20/11, newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
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