Mellotronists

Oh Gawd.. If only THIS one lasted for 8 seconds..


>From: Donald Tillman <don@...>
>To: "Mark Wallis" <markstuartwallis@...>
>CC: Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [Mellotronists] The Clone Wars (was Memotron etc..)
>Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:29:54 -0700
>
>    > From: "Mark Wallis" <markstuartwallis@...>
>    > Sender: Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com
>    > Mailing-List: list Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com; contact 
>Mellotronists-owner@yahoogroups.com
>    > Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:34:16 +0000
>    >
>    > Let's not forget that we (Mellotron owners) are the lucky
>    > ones. There aren't that many of these machines on the planet so
>    > naturally demand outstrips supply.
>
>"Economics 101: If that were true, the price of Mellotrons would be
>significantly higher than they were in their heyday.  Yet they're
>about the same price; significantly cheaper if you account for
>inflation.  So no, demand is not outstripping supply."
>
>    > Most of the folk that want one won't get to own one.

The number of trons on the planet is quite low, not everybody who would 
really like one can afford one.. Like I said, imagine if there were less 
than 2500 guitars on earth and only 10,20, 30 per year being built. Every 
time an M400 comes up on Ebay at least 10 people try to buy it. So 9 are 
disappointed.
>    >
>    > Exclusivity is .. fascism.
>
>"What exclusivity?  There are two companies building real live
>Mellotrons right now."

Yes, true, genuinely GREAT! but 4 pairs of hands can only do so much at a 
time. ??
I was celebrating the availability of Tronsounds to the Tronless, because 
the music comes first, apparently. Denying them access to the astral chords 
is what I was describing as a form of fascism. Like 'Keep Out' signs in the 
middle of nowhere... :-)

"Compare that to the number of companies
>building tone wheel organs, electric pianos, electric clavichords,
>etc."

The Electro-mechanical Rhodes is once again in production. The Clavinet 
seems a likely contender for reanimation, given it's comparative simplicity.
>
>    > Clones feed peoples' desire for the real thing.

"I see absolutely nothing to indicate that."

I know plenty of people who have finally played real Clavinets, Wurlitzers, 
Hammonds etc, who fell in love with the originals having only known the 
sounds as digital recreations...I took a Minimoog to my workshop at our 
studio to repair and EVERYBODY who played it wants one now. 4 people at the 
same studio use the M-tron and everybody loves my 400, even those who 
previously didn't know about the machine behind the sound.  All feel that 
\ufffd4500 for an M4000 is fair for a piece of engineering of that quality and 
with that much character, having been shown the new Streetly pics by myself 
(in my role as unpaid guerilla Streetly propagandist). All would spend \ufffd2000 
on an M400 if they had the cash spare.
>
>
>
>"At the same time digital samplers are the main reason that the
>keyboard companies are no longer making tonewheel organs, electric
>pianos, electric clavichords, etc."

  Tonewheel organs went out of production because of the advent of cheap 
electronic substitutes (however effective or otherwise)and the costs 
involved in building TWGs in the face of then heavy competition. Economics 
did for most electro-mechanical keyboards. Streetlys went into liquidation 
in 1986 because Novatrons/Mellotrons were very much out of fashion at the 
time and they weren't selling. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, i.e.  
irrelevant in the early 80s. Example- the Wurlitzer 'wurlitz'ed' and that 
was that. Gary Numan didn't use one and stuff like that mattered in the 
early 80s.
I thought everybody knew this stuff, to be honest.
>
>"And digital samplers have also completely halted the development of
>new and more interesting keyboard instrument technologies.
>
>So for fascism, it's hard to beat digital samplers.  They steal the
>sounds of other instruments, steal the names of the instruments for
>the names of their products and patches, drive the instrument makers
>out of business, keep new keyboard instruments from being developed,
>demand that everything be delivered as a digital sampler. "

Nah, that's just the soup of the day.

" They've
>even got you doing their propaganda for them."

I know that you're not having a dig there. I defend my right as an 
Englishman to defend anything that I can justify defending. I think I have 
discharged my duties honourably.
>
>"(I'm joking, of course... well, somewhat.)
>
>   -- Don"

I should bloody well think so!

No offence meant and none taken. MSW


www.MySpace.com/markstuartwallis
>
>--
>Don Tillman
>Palo Alto, California
>don@...
>http://www.till.com

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