Chamberlin 300
2007-09-25 by vincentgallo66
I owned the Chamberlin 300 that is up on eBay. For the record dating
back to 1977, I have owned 12 different Mellotrons, including two
MKII's, one of which I sold to John Frusciante and a mint M-4 that I
gave to Sean Lennon. I still own and use a Chaberlin M-1 remote and
have working two very clean 100% original Trons. My good friend Woody
and I did most of the work to restore the badly neglected 300. Rob
Harvey an LA tech did the amplifier stage restoration. I purchased the
300 off eBay from a local LA session guy who had not at all properly
cared for it. Once it was fully operating the 300 played and sounded
as good as any other Tron or Chamberlin I have owned and better than
most. The Bobby Darin provenance came from the mouth of Richard
Chamberlin and I am not sure when or on what Bobby Darin played it but
I do know he played and owned this Chamberlin. Still, the value of a
working Chamberlin 300 goes far past who owned or played it. That
300's value is far more than any Mellotron out there. Regarding
repair and parts, several 600's were made and several 300 remotes so
parts are around. Reliability wise, the 300 was the easiest to restore
and get working perfect and had never given me a problem once finished
being serviced. Originality means a lot to me especially with the
tapes. Folks repaint and restore their Trons thinking what a great
thing they have done. I feel a 100% original machine up the original
working spec is best. I sold/traded the 300 to both to get something
else I needed and because I want to travel with the M-1 remote which I
could not do with the 300. I loved it while it was mine and whoever
wins it will love the shit out of it.
back to 1977, I have owned 12 different Mellotrons, including two
MKII's, one of which I sold to John Frusciante and a mint M-4 that I
gave to Sean Lennon. I still own and use a Chaberlin M-1 remote and
have working two very clean 100% original Trons. My good friend Woody
and I did most of the work to restore the badly neglected 300. Rob
Harvey an LA tech did the amplifier stage restoration. I purchased the
300 off eBay from a local LA session guy who had not at all properly
cared for it. Once it was fully operating the 300 played and sounded
as good as any other Tron or Chamberlin I have owned and better than
most. The Bobby Darin provenance came from the mouth of Richard
Chamberlin and I am not sure when or on what Bobby Darin played it but
I do know he played and owned this Chamberlin. Still, the value of a
working Chamberlin 300 goes far past who owned or played it. That
300's value is far more than any Mellotron out there. Regarding
repair and parts, several 600's were made and several 300 remotes so
parts are around. Reliability wise, the 300 was the easiest to restore
and get working perfect and had never given me a problem once finished
being serviced. Originality means a lot to me especially with the
tapes. Folks repaint and restore their Trons thinking what a great
thing they have done. I feel a 100% original machine up the original
working spec is best. I sold/traded the 300 to both to get something
else I needed and because I want to travel with the M-1 remote which I
could not do with the 300. I loved it while it was mine and whoever
wins it will love the shit out of it.