Dear All,
My slant on this is that most M400's sound different to each other!!!!!!!
My first (EMI) was certainly a more mellow beast than my current M400. This one is so bright that the tone control usually lives at about half way to tame the top end (otherwise it would sound like a Chamberlin :-))
Other things that may change things are the keyboard feel (MkII is better) and the heads are different on the early machines. MkII uses different electronics (valve / tube) and there is the MkII's own amplification to add to the equation.
Conclusion: Any Mellotron is preferable to no Mellotron at all...
All the best,
Norm
My slant on this is that most M400's sound different to each other!!!!!!!
My first (EMI) was certainly a more mellow beast than my current M400. This one is so bright that the tone control usually lives at about half way to tame the top end (otherwise it would sound like a Chamberlin :-))
Other things that may change things are the keyboard feel (MkII is better) and the heads are different on the early machines. MkII uses different electronics (valve / tube) and there is the MkII's own amplification to add to the equation.
Conclusion: Any Mellotron is preferable to no Mellotron at all...
All the best,
Norm