Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: The Mellotron Group

previous by date index next by date
  topic list  

Subject: Re: [Mellotronists] Musicmaster 600 on YouTube!

From: sdavmor <sdavmor@systemstheory.net>
Date: 2009-10-11

Sean wrote:

> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlbDjdW_8aU>
>
> On a whim I started searching for Chamberlin stuff on the internet.
> Frank or the good folks at Streetly, this Chamberlin seems to need
> your help!
>
> And speaking of Chamberlins one of my friends at Fresno State grew
> up with one.
>
> Story time chitlins...
>
> Last spring I took a basic composition course on a whim. Early in
> the semester Dr. Boone had us all talk briefly about what
> instruments we could play so we all know who to ask to record what,
> or to advise on what. I mentioned Mellotron, samples only of
> course, and that sparked the obligatory "a-whatta-tron?"
>
> As I described our center snare, Elias Kwak started nodding
> knowingly. Talked with him after class and he said
>
> Oh yeah I had one in my house.
>
> YOU WHAT?
>
> Yeah we had a Mellotron, with all those tapes on the inside. It was
> fun.
>
> I am so jealous.
>
> Well, no, it wasn't a Mellotron, what is like a Mellotron? Like,
> the same on the inside with all those tapes over that spinning rod
> and all?
>
> ...You mean a Chamberlin?
>
> YES! That's the name! It was a Chamberlin.
>
> ...
>
> ...you had a Chamberlin? (I'm in a bit of disbelief at the moment)
>
> Yeah, only it never worked right. Sounded good but every time we
> turned it on it smelt like something was burning.
>
> .. do you still have it, that can so be fixed!
>
> No we threw it away.
>
> YOU WHAT?!?
>
> (I think he said that it caught fire one day, I can't remember but
> there was some sort of catastrophic failure)
>
> OH MY GOD DUDE? WHEN? DID THIS JUST HAPPEN?!?!
>
> No, I was 16 when we threw it away (He's 20 now)
>
> (He asked a few questions about Chamberlins, how rare they might
> be, if they're a Mellotron knock-off, etc. I filled him in on the
> history of it. He was impressed by how little he and his family
> appreciated the thing they had.)
>
> I'm sure that the ravages of 4 or 5 years in the Fresno County Dump
> has totalled whatever was left of that beast. However many
> Chamberlins there were I can report that there is one less.
>
> RIP that Chamberlin. And Harry Chamberlin too.
>
> -Sean

Wow! That's quite a story. Thanks for telling it.
--
Cheers, SDM -- a 21st Century Schizoid Man
Systems Theory music project: <www.systemstheory.net>
on MySpace: <www.myspace.com/systemstheory>
on GarageBand: <www.garageband.com/systemstheory>
on Last FM: <www.last.fm/music/Systems+Theory>
on CDBaby: CDBaby <www.cdbaby.com/all/systemstheory>
get "Codetalkers" ∗free∗ at <www.mikedickson.org.uk/codetalkers>
NP: nowt