Mellotronists

John Hofmeyer Wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I just joined this list about 2 weeks ago, though I've been a fan of
> the Mellotron for years.
>
> I've been watching for a used Mellotron, as I do not (yet) own one.
> I realize that many of you own one (if not more) Mellotrons, so I
> apologize if my questions are too sophomoronic.
>
> - Can Mk II tapes be used in an M400 ?

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Season's Greetings John,

Welcome to  our group of wild and crazy but loveable
Troniacs .  We all share the same affliction, bitten by
the Mellotron bug long ago, and has developed into
Troniac fever.  Happily so , I might add.....
I'll do my best to answer your questions for you.

MK-II tapes can be used in an M400. But the real catch
is that they must be permanently sacrificed in order to
lace them on an M400 frame. It's difficult and tedious
to locate the start of each tape, then cutting-off the ends.
There are six sets of sounds for each MK-II
tape. But you might lose a portion of the previous and
successive sound when coverting to M400 frame.
This is due to the different lengths of unrecorded tape
on M400 and between stations on MK-II models.
This make any sense?.......I'm starting to ramble.....
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> - What kind of maintanence is involved, do the tape heads need re-
> alignment?

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The headblocks can be checked for head azimuth upon
instrument restoration. Streetly offers this service for all
models.  This needs to be performed only once.

1)Cleanliness of heads,rollers,tape-path, etc. is paramount.
2)Adjustments of key tension,pads,rollers crucial to playability.
All Tron owners have endured horrible sounds from their
instruments during initial setup of these.
3)Lubrication of motor bushings,belt tension,speed-ctrl.
optimization.

These are the usual P.M. items to attend to when owning a Tron.
More things involved with the cycling machines, but  I won't
list them at this time.

Fellow 'Tronists, in case I forgot something(very possible),
feel free to include the others .
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>
>
> - I live in San Francisco.  I would love to put my fingers to the
> real deal.  Is there anyone on this list, living in San Francisco?
> I'd be happy to show my studio, I have the other 'Greats' at my
> place; a Yamaha CP-70b 'Elecric Grand', a coule Fender-Rhodes, a
> Hammond organ + Leslie (waiting for a Bob Schleiker mod), and Hohner
> D6 Clavinet.  Clearly, I'm missing an Arp and a Mellotron!

________________________________________________________________

The West Coast has been prime territory for locating and
owning a Tron. Happy Hunting !  Just pass the word......
....Actually, I think you did.
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> The posts that I've read in the past 2 weeks have been fantastic.  I
> really dig 'Seventh Sojourn' and have been listening to 'Selling
> England by the Pound' for the past month.  Of course, I'll never
> recend my Debussy, Deep Purple, or Swervedriver - I just wish they'd
> use(d) the Mellotron!!!   Regards,   John Hofmeyer

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"Seventh Sojourn"  was mostly recorded using a Chamberlin
M4 . But Mellotron is still in the mix throughout.

One nice thing about our List is that several generations have
come together to pay homage to the Tron and its music
and creators. Loyal fans (as I) who first heard the Tron in
the '60s-'70s, those who took an interest in the late '80s,
and younger members of college-age who are into "classic"
rock .  Guess I'm a "classic" too, heh-heh!

Once more, welcome !

Cheers, Jerry Korb (Tron owner 30+ yrs, and restoration service)
(MK1/124, M300/037, M400/681, JKMK6/001, MK-II/134(visiting))