Mellotronists

>Here is my Mellotron credo:
>
>A good Mellotron is a sampled Mellotron.
>
>A good Mellotron sample is looped.
>
>A good Mellotron loop is Autotuned.

I'll bite.  What does Tony get by doing this?

- Personal 'tron samples which are from an original machine, as close as 
you're going to get (although not from the Wharfedales, but he also 
explained why)

- Portability, reliability

- Something that's in tune and doesn't wobble

- Something that won't burn studio time trying to "get it right" or while 
trying to fix some malfunction

And that's what Tony wants, and who am I to argue?  I think he kinda knows 
what he's doing, and he's also not blinded by some kind of dedication to a 
strange piece of kit.

On the other hand...Would Michael Oliver's tune 
(http://www.kleonard.com/gear/805/pop.htm) have been more perfect sonically 
if #805 wasn't in a sauna the day he came over to record it?  Of 
course.  But would the *song* have been as good if the wobbly, out-of-tune 
flutes weren't used when one considers the melody and the lyrics?  No 
way.  Would Pinder's work have been so stellar if he didn't have to take 
the time to get it right?  Maybe, maybe not.  Let's just say that compared 
to their heyday, the Moodys leave a little to be desired (but there are a 
lot of reasons for that, not just a Mark II).  Tangerine Dream, too, as 
they moved away from the analog gear.  And Genesis.  No, it ain't the 
gear--entirely--but it's at least part of it---make something easy to do, 
and you'll get stuff that sounds easy to do.  Make something hard to do so 
you have to dedicate yourself to it, and it shows.

As Fritz once posted, everyone should go through a fully analog recording 
session, including splicing tapes and all that, to develop better 
recording/engineering skills and get a full appreciation of the digital 
domain.  Clearly Tony Visconti has been there, done that, and he's decided 
what works better for him---digital.  And that's probably as far as this 
issue should be discussed:  Tony's opinion, he goes with what works for 
him, and that's fine by me.  It's easier/convenient, and, yeah, the output 
kinda shows that (sorry, Tony--not exactly his fault, though), but I can't 
argue with the guy who's been doing this for decades.

*Our* opinions are driven by the gear itself and what we may or may not 
hear in the recorded tracks as being the difference between the real and 
sampled thing.  So we will use the real deal, like someone using a beat-up 
B-3 instead of samples or whatever.  And that's what works for *us*, and 
that's fine.

If I were in Tony's position, I'd probably do exactly the same thing for 
the live shows, but I'd use the real thing on the albums "just 
because."  But that's me.  :-)

...kl...M400 #805 - not sampled

* Ken Leonard - Web Table of Contents:  http://www.kleonard.com
* Get Outdoors New England:  http://www.GONewEngland.org