Bill,
I owned a Chamber M1 and the sounds are the real thing and the feel is really close to that of my Chamberlain. I bought mine as a "pre-sale" and paid about $1,800 over a year ago. It has over 100 sounds and they are spot on. It's also very easy to operate. Having owned a Chamberlain, I personally prefer these sounds and wish that it had more of them. That's why I was hoping for the sound card. There are only a couple of things that I would have improved. The sounds are not numbered, so when you are scrolling through, you need to know where the sounds are located. Also, the selection knobs feel "soft" and don't always catch onto the sound selection. Also, I would like to know where I can get a case for it as it is a little awkward to move around. Other than that, if you want the real thing without the problems of tapes and mechanics, I highly recommend it. If you ever played a real one, you need to learn to to play it like the real instrument. Keep in mind that like a real Mellotron/Chamberlain, the notes don't respond quickly. So if you want to play :"Earth, Wind and Fire" horn parts, forget about it - it won't do the song justice. However, if you want to use it in the context of how the instruments, you won't be disappointed. When used properly, the Chamberlain strings, cello and female voices will give you chills. The first time I heard Michael Iceberg use the Chanberlain, the hair on my arms and on the back of my neck stood up and that's when I was hooked. The next time I heard the Chamberlain was in Harry Chamberlain's living room and I was playing his "Riviera " Model with 4 keybords and bass pedals - Wow,talk about feeling intimadated, but what an experience!!! Anyway, I know that I feel like most Mellotron owners - there is nothing else that will work. I understand that the cost of one is now over $2,500. It's somewhat expensive for 100 sounds, but those 100 sound are incredible.
--- In newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com, "halmoser" <halmoser@...> wrote:
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> Since I'm new and not up to speed with the group, I'd like to know if anyone knows what Marcus Reisch is doing with the digital mellotron. I recently purchased one and it works great, but there seems to be no activity with his website as I wanted to purchase an additional sound card with 100 sounds. I emailed him over 6 months ago and he said that the card would be available in a couple of months. Since then, nothing has changed on his website and I was wondering what is going on.
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