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Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: need opinions for making a mellotron choice

From: tronbros <tronbros@aol.com>
Date: 2012-02-19

Interesting!  Our take is that mellotrons will always be wanted but not in great numbers.  We don't need great numbers to survive and are a lean enough operation to continue with the current trend.  Indeed, it is in every mellotron owner's interest that we do continue because you will always be able to restore a mechanical machine long after chipsets have come and gone.  The old comparison stands up: Steinway grands are still being made but you can get umpteen boxes and sample sets that come extremely close to the real deal.  What they don't offer is the interaction, they just offer the sound and one day they will die and not be worth tinkering with.  Our excursion into software is that we have decided to exploit our archive, not having put out any form of samples other that on mellotron tapes in the past 15 years of our current incarnation.  We will not, however, be manufacturing a digital keyboard in the near future as we've discovered you can't mill, drill, press, bend or turn dsp chips!  

Best,

Martin

mellotronics.co.uk



On 19 Feb 2012, at 21:31, Gary Brumm <gabru@comsec.net> wrote:

 

Very true Mike, I do look forward to getting the Streetly samples because I am sure they will be painstaking tin their reproduction. 

I do wish they would make the in other formats besides the M-tron.  Although I have a M-tron Pro I would rather use the samples

in one of my Kurzweils or other samplers so I didn’t have to use a laptop if I wanted to plat them live.  Oh well maybe someday. 

I could sample the M-tron into the Kurzweil but it would be nice to have native files to work with.

 

From: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com [mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Mike Dickson
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 1:23 PM
To: newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: need opinions for making a mellotron choice

 

 

There is a big difference between 'low quality' samples and 'low grade' samples.  I know it has been said before, but most samples are bloody awful because of the 'creative liberties' taken with the original sounds, ie normalisation, tuning, noise reduction etc. I recorded the 3-violins from #996 warts and all and programmed it into a sampler and I can absolutely guarantee you that there is no way this side of a miracle you could tell it from the real deal. Comparing that to what M-Tronfirst produced and you have to wonder what they were even thinking about. I haven't had the chance to see or feel the latest batch but they sound a lot better, it must be said. 

 

I'm absolutely certain that one day Mellotrons will turn no more, but given that it'sthat sound that we are after you realise that the instrument is only the medium for the noise that it makes. As long as the sound is captured somewhere and can be reproduced by whatever means then it will be around for years and years yet.

 

Mike