Mellotronists

I recently purchased my 2nd Tron from a fellow list member who happened to  
live only 15 minutes away. He posted on this list that he wanted to sell it. I  
have been waiting several years to find a 2nd one. 
 
Before I went to his house to see it he emailed me a photo. Cabinet in  
excellent shape. I went to his home and was given all the time I needed to  examine 
it. It hadn't been played in many years, but all the right parts were  there 
and did not appear to have pin puked in, had beer or other liquids spilled  in 
it, and surprise, no dead animals! The price seemed very reasonable  
($2,000.00) and I took it home.
 
To get it into playing condition ended up requiring a bit of work. The  pinch 
rollers were fine, but all of the felts on the pressure pads and key  springs 
had to be replaced, the power supply was dead and had to be resurrected  by 
our own Jerry Korb (thanks Jerry). It needed a replacement motor (I had a  
spare) a new pitch pot (had one) and, ultimately a replaced SMS board (had one). 
 
I went through the whole machine and cleaned, squared and polished  
everything. Now I have a Mellotron that sings loud and clear (actually, I have  two 
that do). No wobblies, no instability and no hum. Total investment well  under 3K.
 
Thanks to Jerry, Martin and Markus for advice and assistance. What a  
wonderful group we have!
 
My advice... If you want to buy a Tron, be patient, do your homework and  ask 
for help from folks on this list. I have rebuilt a bunch of these things and  
I learn new things every day. There is a wealth of information at our 
disposal  and a willingness to help, and chances are, if the Tron you want is not 
close to  home, there is someone on this list who might be able to check it out 
for  you.
 
Frank (1562 and 430)