Mellotronists

Hi Troniacs!
Oh boy, how interesting to read all those different opinions about 
the MELLOTRON, the M-Tron and the brand new MEMOTRON. By the way, 
there is no Casio in the MEMOTRON!!! 
Dare I say that I had 40 Mellotrons (I still own two)and more than a 
hundred tape frames in over thirty years of my musicianship? Being a 
real Troniac I helped many desperate Mellotronists to repair, adjust 
and improve their "mellotronic babies" in the last decades.
Am I allowed to say that half of the M-TRON library, Masterbits' 
MELLOZONE, SAMPLETANK's mellotronic noises and the complete MEMOTRON 
sounds stem from my Trons and tape frames? 
In a way I can understand that the owner of a real Tron nowadays 
dislikes or even hates digital MELLOTRON samples, the MEMOTRON and 
the M-Tron as the MELLOTRON always gave its owner a sort 
of 'noblesse'.
I am happy that these often so mistreated instruments are back on 
stage and that their marvellous sounds can be heard (in old and new 
songs) on the radio again. But let's be honest: there are actually at 
an absolute maximum only 1900 M 400s (including the new MkVI) and 
maybe some hundred other Tron models on this planet. What about all 
those ten thousands or more musicians who want(ed) those mellotronic 
noises for their compositions and performances? Keep them away from 
the sounds that often became part of their musical life and 
inspiration? Absolutely: NO!  
In his last interview the father of the original MELLOTRON, Les 
Bradley, told me that he really would have preferred to use more 
advanced ways of sound storage "but in those early days (1962/63) 
when a computer was as big as a house and a single chip cost a 
fortune, tapes were the cheapest way of storing". And believe me, he 
knew exactly all mistakes and odd tunings (that can make a Tronist's 
life at times hard!) in his sound library. Due to a constant lack of 
money and time he was only able to correct the most obvious mistakes. 
His vision was to create a (perfect) machine that could replicate an 
orchestra and its instruments, tapes were only one step on the ladder 
for him! 
Now in 2006 technology has improved considerably, enabling sounds and 
possibilities no one would have dreamed of forty years ago. So why 
not use it? Do you hate DVDs because they lack your video tapes' drop-
outs? As times are constantly changing musicians do no longer need to 
carry 65 or 180 kilos to produce only three sounds on stage. I saw 
the MOODY BLUES on stage in 1970 cancel the whole show because the 
MkII Tron did not do its job!

The main idea behind G-Media's M-Tron was to give all those younger 
(and older) guys who could (or would) never afford to buy the real 
thing the chance to add mellotronic flavours to their computer-
created music and believe me, they did it and created a lot of 
interesting music! 
The MEMOTRON makers have a different approach. They know that the 
original M 400 is heavy to transport (and for most of its users hard 
to adjust and repair). So they created an instrument which gives the 
player a bit of the M 400's flair without its bulkiness, but with a 
programmable (stereo) effects unit, MIDI in/out, a CD-Rom drive for 
the library CDs, a Compact Flash card for your personal sound 
combinations, for 'dramatic sound effects' a "one-octave-down" 
switch, a volume pedal input (for the authentic MELLOTRON feel) and 
the capability to use M-Tron sounds besides the MEMOTRON'S own 
library (= different from the M-Tron!) which presently is the best 
you can find on the market!

Some guys who only played the prototype at last year's Frankfurt 
Music Fair or at the NAMM Show did not have the chance to listen to 
the final version of the actual sounds that will come with the 
machine. Unlike the M-Tron the MEMOTRON uses a sample rate of 32 kHz 
which is more than enough to cover the MELLOTRON's up to 10 kHz (+- 
3dB) frequency width. 
The MEMOTRON library uses completely different samples than in any 
other library before published. It is divided into two parts: 
   The 'VINTAGE' collection faithfully reproduces the original 
MELLOTRON sounds of Genesis, Yes, King Crimson with all the typical 
oddities, a pinch of tape noise and pitch inaccuracy added plus the 
tiny differences between each key in volume (including the wow, 
flutter and occasional attack clicks) of let's say a 1964 MkII, a 
1968 M 300 or a 1970 M 400. You will be amazed how realistic the 
MEMOTRON can sound when it comes to reproduce a superb sounding 
vintage MELLOTRON.
  The 'STUDIO' collection has the producer in mind who wants to add 
those famous warm MELLOTRON sounds to his productions but who is not 
interested in hard tape endings or background hum noises (think of 
the 60Hz hum in the famous 'Violins'). The 'STUDIO' collection 
presents an ideal MELLOTRON with proper sound endings and a 
considerably reduced background noise level where the mighty choirs 
and all the other orchestral instruments create such an enormous 
sound impact that simply blows your mind in its clear power and 
perfect intonation - but with a character (so often missed in present-
day samples) you won't believe until you have heard it yourself. For 
sure Les Bradley would have liked it.       
Last but not least - the MEMOTRON enables the musician to blend all 
sounds of its (still expanding) library with each other for an 
unequalled variety. A creative tool for the working musician and the 
lover of those (unlooped - of course) 8 seconds long noises that make 
our hearts warmer.  
Have fun with the instrument of your choice (be it vintage or modern) 
but use those marvellous sounds for your music and keep your mind 
open.   
Yours mellotronically

Klaus Hoffmann-Hoock (MIND OVER MATTER / COSMIC HOFFMANN) 
www.mindala.de