mellotron mark 2 AN1X recording tricks.
2001-03-12 by leo
to All, There are excellent samples out there for the mellotron sounds. However, as I said before, try to experiment with different tools. one way of getting a realy cool retro effect on synths is using an Analog delay with modulation, set the mod on a slower/mid rate and a litle depth and you'll get the old analog pitch variations if you chain it up with an older tube pre/eq/compressor it will sound even better. also, take a sample sound and record it to your analog recorder, even a tape cassette machine , dub it a couple of times and resample it after you tweeked it to your liking with different effects, Now, play it back thru your sampler. you'll be amazed at the results. don't be affraid of noise - it is a part of nature and when you have mix going on, many times you will not hear the noise at all... I took a bass track that was recorded using a stinky bass guitar, the sound was awful and dull, I recorded it on older tube 2 track 1/4" 'Roberts' machine ( these are cheap these days.) using a realy low speed and eq etc the rest. than I recorded it back on the PC program and synced it back to the multitrack. the tubes and the actual analog recording created a new personality to the track. it sounded as if it came from some older recording... and it was much more 'warm' and 'punchy' ! just using your original synth sounds is only half of the work you've got to try using the 'recording' tools as a big part of the sound. another method is - Amps ! have ever tried to take a mono synth line and run it thru a Bass Amp ? try it. The Beatles used common tools for those days, what was unique is their ways of recording . the fact that they realy didn't know how to use it made them experiment and create new sounds. always try things according to your personal view and not by following manual instruction etc. that was the beatles 'secret' sauce for originality . I've been a recording engineer in the last 20+ years and I've learned that every little detail in the recording process will affect your final sound. especialy when you are using 'digital' synths and digital recording. Leo