Message
Re: [Mellotronists] 4 track and all that............
2002-07-02 by NormLeete@aol.com
Mellotrons vary a lot. My first one, the EMI started out playing quite badly and for years I thought this was the way they all were.
After a serious Streetly rebuild things improved to the extent that the original owner thought it was a new machine. However it was still fussy as to the tape you could put through it, strangely it worked best with EMI tape.
The M400 that I now have was built as a one-off prototype and is the best one I have ever come across. It has a much brighter top end and will play any tape stock that you put through it. So it looks like this is the one I will have for the rest of my life...
My point is that all Mellotrons (in fact any hand-built instrument) will be in its own way be a little bit unique although all should work to a certain standard. In my experience the duff machines are those that have been badly maintained or neglected.
All the best,
Norm