Photos
Photos in Mellotron 4-Track
Album: Mellotron 4-Track
| Album | Title | Preview | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mellotron 4-Track | Mellotron 4-Track |  | This is how it looked upon arrival. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Name Plate |  | Prototype fabricated by Bomar |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track lid open |  | You can see the basic layout. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Control Panel. |  | Each track has volume, EQ and left/right panning. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Keyboard |  | Here the keyboard has been removed from the 4-Track |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track with keyboard removed |  | Here it looks somewhat like a 400 |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track with tapes removed |  | Everything is metal, even the spill box. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Power Pack |  | Here you can see the transformer and the SMS-3 |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Cross brace removed |  | Obviously, the key springs were of varying tensions. The keys also have numbers stamped on them that have nothing to do with their sequence. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Basic Key Frame With Pressure Pads |  | The keyboard frame was stamped out of one large piece of aluminum |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track Motor |  | Standard Mellotron motor, but this one has been apart before. Trust me, tearing apart one of these motors is easy. Getting them bolted back together is very time consuming. Any shaft binding will cause the motor to burn up and could damage other components. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track in the ";Rack."; |  | I don';t know what was on that flywheel, but it was a bitch to get it off. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track Main Frame |  | Here it is nearly stripped. The capstan bearings are R12s, not 6004s as in a standard M-400. The 4-Track capstan has a 3/4"; diameter. The capstan in a M-400 has a 20mm diameter. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track Head Block |  | |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Head Block Close-Up |  | The head collars are locked. No azimuths to adjust on this one. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Tach-head Close-Up |  | Looks like all the others, and it should. It feeds to an SMS-3 |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Filthy Cabinet |  | Just like many others that have come into the shop. Notice the multiple line-out sockets on the right of the photo. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Installing the pressure pads |  | I really sould have done this, one pad, one key at a time like I do on 400s. It would have saved time. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | The completed keyboard. |  | The keys actually are straight, but my camera is a piece of junk and makes them look funny. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Comparison of 4-Track & M-400 frames. |  | The 4-track frame is much deeper and the keys are a bit longer. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | The Crappy Old Tapes... |  | ...poorly installed |
| Mellotron 4-Track | The 4-Track frame |  | They installed an extra tape guide that does nothing but cause friction problems. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Fixing the tape guides. |  | I took the extra one out and installed a spacer. Then I adjusted every one so they now spin freely. With 1/4 inch tape, friction is a big issue. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | The Old Tapes |  | I saved them on a spool so that the owner can see what shitty tapes look like. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | The New Tapes |  | I left a bit of extra lenght so that I can adjust for maximum time. This proved to be a good idea. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Tapes Installed |  | Doing this outside the cabinet made it a quick job. It took an hour or a bit less. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | 4-Track Pre-amp |  | There are obviously 4 of these. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Serial # Found |  | It took me forever to find this... It is 4-Track #1 |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Installing the frame to the cabinet |  | Here is a look at the frame now reinstalled into a very clean cabinet. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | The completed 4-Track |  | Here it is ready for a test. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Taking the 4-Track for a test drive |  | It sounds great but there are a few adjustments left to do. |
| Mellotron 4-Track | Test Drive II |  | I imagine I';ll be done by mid-week at the latest. |