Mellotronists

In a message dated 05/17/06 3:03:44 PM Central Daylight Time, 
jkorb@... writes:

> Ken Merbler of our List had his MK-II on the sixth floor of 
> oceanfront condo in Cocoa Beach, FL.  If those storm shutters failed, 
> 


Yes, Jerry, but I think that one of your trons holds the record for being in 
the most humid climate.  Wasn't "Julia" at one time living on someone's boat 
before you restored her?  What were the effects of that on a MKI?

Actually, I had my MKII, an M400, Voyager, Kurzweil 2600XS, guitars, etc. in 
that condo on the beach in Florida and I had to evacuate the place (and the 
gear) twice during the 2004 hurricane season.  Thank goodness for hurricane 
shutters, but if we were to take a direct hit, even the shutters wouldn't have 
saved the place.

The Florida humidity *was* good for my MKII however.  The static snapping 
that was happening in the MKII audio due to the cold, dry Boston climate was not 
a problem in Florida.  The thinking was that the cycling was causing a buildup 
of static electricity that was being discharged when the keys were depressed, 
causing pops in the audio.  Martin graciously sent me another set of MKII 
tapes without backing, but I moved to Florida before I got a chance to install 
them, and the humid Florida air eliminated the static problem.

Now I'm living in Dallas, which is, I guess, on one end of tornado alley.  
So, there are potential problems for the trons wherever I go.  Hmmm...Boston 
(static problems, currently flooding), Florida (hurricanes), Dallas (tornados).  
There's your "Merbler Triangle". ;-)  The trons are currently in storage, so I 
don't know how they will play in Dallas.  

BTW, anyone want to buy a condo in Cocoa Beach, FL?

Ken M.