Mellotronists

wild! someone tell us another story, that was great.

--- In Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com, "jaybe52000" <jaybe52000@...> wrote:
>
> Hey guys,
> 
> I've been looking at some pics I was recently given by an old
girlfriend from 30+ years 
> ago, she was a photographer and took tons of photos of me, and all
the bands and clubs I 
> played in with my keyboard & synth rig back in the day.
> I
> t got me wondering where my old Mellotron 400 is now.  I was the
original owner, I 
> bought it from a music store in Virginia Beach, VA when my band was
playing there in the 
> early 1970's, (truth be told, I saw the 400 in that music store and
they couldn't sell it to 
> save their life, so when they saw me coming they knew they had a
sucker that they might 
> be able to pawn the thing off on.)
> 
> Since I had no extra cash at the time (I just bought an ARP String
Ensemble (one of the first 
> in New England), a Minimoog and an Ampeg SVT with two 8 - 10"
speaker cabinets [yeah, 
> dumb move to use for synths...a bass amp...what was I thinking???]to
go with my 
> Hammond B3/Leslie 145 & Leslie 900, RMI Electra Piano and
Harpsichord 368, Moog 
> Modular Synthesizer Model 12 and a Jenco Celeste), my mind was
working overtime on 
> what I could hock to get this 400.
> 
> The guy in the music store said, "I'll take trade in's if you want
to put something towards 
> the Mellotron"...... 
> 
> So......here it was, my big chance to get rid of the brand new SVT
and two cabinets!!  Of 
> course he was VERRRRY interested since he really wanted to dump this
400 off of his floor.
> (Not a big market with the Navy guys there for mellotrons, heh)
> He agreed to take the SVT but still wanted more cash on top of that
so I told him I'd "throw 
> in" my Leslie 900 (since I still had the Leslie 145 for my B3), if
he'd trade me even.
> 
> He said "OK."  I was dumbstruck.  I didn't expect him to go for it.
 I drove 70 mph back to 
> the hotel were the band was staying, told my bass player who owned
our equipment van, 
> "gimme the keys now, I don't want this guy to change his mind!"  
> I raced to the club, loaded up the Ampeg head, speakers, the Leslie
900 and drove way to 
> fast back to the store.  
> 
> Clearly he thought he was screwing me and I thought I was screwing
him so it was mutual 
> relief on both of our part when I returned to complete the deal.
> 
> I had the 400 for many years and took it with me on a 747 when moved
from Boston, MA 
> to California with it.
> 
> Anyway, I worked at a music store in Los Angeles in 1978 while my
band was recording in 
> the studio, trying to get a record deal, etc. and I also taught
synthesis privately since I had 
> a pretty large Polyfusion Modular synthesizer as well as a Minimoog
back then.
> 
> One of my synth students, who actually ended up being a programming
client (she really 
> didn't want to learn synthesis), so I ended up programming sounds
she wanted that she'd 
> play on audio cassettes to me and I'd program them in her Oberheim
OB-X.  
> 
> I went over to her condo in Hollywood to do some work with her and
as we were walking 
> thru the undeground parking in her building, I saw this huge
aluminum anvl case in her 
> storage area.  I asked her was that a Hammond B3?  Any road cases
I'd ever seen that big 
> were for Hammonds.  She said "no, that's my mellotron."
> I'm scratching my head and said, why is the case so big? And why
aren't you using it on 
> stage with your Oberheim, minimoog and Yamaha CP70 electric grand.
(I figured if here 
> roadies were lugging that electric grand, the 400 was tons lighter.)
> "My roadies refused to carry it in addition to the electric grand"
was her response.
> Still not getting it she said "it a two keyboard mellotron, you
wanna see it?"  Sure, I just 
> had to know what the hell was in that case!
> 
> We lifted the cover off the case and I almost pissed myself, it was
a Mark V!!!!  I'd only seen 
> these in the old Sound Sales brochures and once saw one in person at
a music store in 
> Connecticut, but never played one.  I'd lusted and drooled all over
the brochure I had years 
> ago with the pics of the Mark V.
> 
> Once again, my mind was clicking,how the hell can I get this from
her, it's sitting in her 
> storage space...THAT"S SO WRONG!!!!
> 
> She'd seen my 400 at my place and I said, "Hey, why don't we trade
'trons?"  "I've got that 
> nice little LIGHT white 400 that your roadies surely wouldn't mind
moving."
> She said, "yeah, but mine is a double keyboard and it's worth more."
 I said I'll trade you 
> my 400, my RMI Electra Piano and the anvil case for the RMI which
was custom built to 
> hold the RMI and my Hohner Clavinet D6 which I'd already sold." She
had a Clavinet but no 
> case for it.....perfect!
> 
> So....that plus more cash than I wanted to part with and she said
"OK", but I want you to 
> buy a road case for your 400 too.  (I had the protectomuff cover
only).  I said "done".
> 
> Since I worked at the music store I got an Anvil case for my old 400
and that's how I ended 
> up with my Mark V serial number 117.
> 
> So even though I don't know the serial number of my old 400, it did
have two of the old 
> Mellotron "Union Jack" stickers on it, I put one on the right front
lid above the right 
> keyblock and one on the right rear upper corner (just like the
Minimoog labels are placed 
> on a minimoog).
> The other identifying characteristic is that I had added an XLR
balanced audio output on 
> the rear panel to the right of the original 1/4 inch audio output in
the center of the 400.
> 
> I also used a Dymo Label maker and put black labels on the left
keyboard cheek block next 
> to the track selector that had Strings/Brass/Choir labeled for the
tape set with String 
> Section, Brass and 8 Choir I custom ordered many years earlier from
Frank Levi when he 
> worked at Dallas Arbiter in Mahwah, NJ.
> 
> I realize that the stickers and labels could have been removed, but
I'm thinking they might 
> just still be on there.  So the last place I knew of it residing was
Hollywood, CA.
> 
> Sorry for the life story post, but it is all about Mellotrons pretty
much, so I hope nobody 
> minds.  Not sure what she did to it/with it, but I kept that thing
in perfect shape for many, 
> many years.  It was a really great reliable instrument.  
> 
> I'll post some pics of the Mark V here if that's ok too.  
> 
> Regards,
> 
> John
>