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Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] Opinion sought on strings...

From: Daniel Swanson <tspit74@comcast.net>
Date: 2009-12-24

As of now, I'm leaning towards:

MKII brass
String section w/ cello
8 voice choir

All untuned.

The String section sounds about as German a sound as I can imagine. With those 3 sounds, I could set up a nice 23 second ambient wash of string section with my Gigadelay, loop it, and play flourishes of choir and brass for days on end until my wife has me hauled away to the looney bin. Tangerine who?

Why untuned? Because any records I've grown up listening to and thus made me lust after this instrument in the first place, all had untuned tapes. I never knew what the keyboard on "Siberian Khatru" was. I just knew I couldn't get the sound on my brother's D-50. Why? I'm assuming because his D-50 was in tune. Same with any song with a Mellotron. You can get a note close with a synth, but when you add the rest, they just sound boring. I don't think I want my Mellotron to sound perfect, so much as I want it to sound right. Right?

Feel free to tell me that my reasoning is stupid and I should reconsider either of my positions on tuning or the sound set. I'm sure I'll wake up in the morning feeling completely differently anyway. But I am getting close,r and you guys have been a big help. I feel like I'm finally making some progress.
On Dec 23, 2009, at 11:39 PM, Daniel Swanson wrote:

Good point.

On Dec 23, 2009, at 10:49 PM, lsf5275@aol. com wrote:


Wrong. But if you get Mark II Strings and Cello on the same frame, you're nearly there when you mix them anyway.
 
In a message dated 12/23/2009 10:09:44 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, tspit74@comcast. net writes:
I think it would be cool, but you probably can't play more than 2 notes at a time, right?