Austin M400A
2014-10-23 by Matt Oliver
Any M400A owners in Austin, TX?
I know Mike Castoro has a couple...
Thread
Austin M400A
Re: Austin M400A
2014-10-23 by tron400@yahoo.com
I've never heard of an M400A. My former M400 was an M400S. What does the "A" signify?
Bernie
Bernie
Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Austin M400A
2014-10-24 by gino wong
I have an M400SM
Don't think the designation is technical.
On Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 6:28 AM, tron400@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:I've never heard of an M400A. My former M400 was an M400S. What does the "A" signify?
Bernie--Gino Wong Birgelo BSComm, BSEEReRed RecordingReRed Treehouse Studios at Girard Hall527 W. Girard AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19123 USA
Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Austin M400A
2014-10-24 by jimabgm@gmail.com
I have an M400S&M. Why? It beats me.
Jim Bailey
(sorry folks, couldn't pass that one up)
Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Austin M400A
2014-10-24 by Chris Dale
There are some technical differences between the early ones and later ones.
Early ones have a brass capstan and occasionally a CMC-4 instead of a nickel capstan and CMC-10.
The brass capstan is actually a bit better than the nickel one because the metal holds on to very slight moisture (less static) and grabs tapes slightly better.
They will also have a WME289 and WME290 circuit boards for volume and tone.
The later ones have Sound Sales mods like the PML board which unifies volume and tone on one board, and
also have SMS2 motor boards, which is where the SM reference comes from.
Sound Sales units also have different equalization and possibly even different takes for work master tapes than the original BBS ones.
I believe these were the 'Mellotronics Ltd' tape work masters and not Streetly's work masters.
For example you don't get that loud high D note at the beginning of King Crimson's 'Trio' when played from a Mellotronics or Sound Sales tape set. You can only get that 'feature' from an original BBS set (or a copy of those exact takes in the masters). The flute is also more breathy.
Conversely on the other hand, the strings sound more brash and upfront and a bit less warm in the Sound Sales tapes.
You can hear that on Strange Advance' 'Worlds Away'. There are differences in some other sounds too.
Sound variance also depends on studio trickery as well, and whether a machine was customized.
Of course, being able to detect these differences depends on whether your machine is set up properly - not just the pinch rollers, pressure pads, but also the speed and stability controls on the SMS circuit boards (which are almost never talked about - or put back into proper adjustment). If everything isn't set up right, then these subtleties are completely lost and you'll never hear them or even know they exist.
As far as numbers go, I think there's an M400A, M400B, M400C, M400D, and finally the M400SM.
I don't know the exact differences between them, but they will have combined variations on the above mentioned details.
Others here might be able to elucidate better than me.
On Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 9:07 PM, gino wong wonggster@gmail.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:I have an M400SMDon't think the designation is technical.On Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 6:28 AM, tron400@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:I've never heard of an M400A. My former M400 was an M400S. What does the "A" signify?
Bernie--Gino Wong Birgelo BSComm, BSEEReRed RecordingReRed Treehouse Studios at Girard Hall527 W. Girard AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19123 USA
Re: Austin M400A
2014-10-24 by b_crny@yahoo.com
Long-time lurker here, going back to the original mellotron message group. I don't post that often.
I'm in Austin and own M400 #480 (I guess that makes it a D model)?Tape frames - Mk II 3 violins, flute, cello; Mk II brass, 8 voice choir, chamber woodwinds
I had the tron completely refurbished by Streetly in 2006. I highly recommend their work, and that is a completely unpaid plug on my part!
Mike Castoro is a friend of a friend here, so I have met him once or twice and was privy to his collection.
That will probably be the closest I will ever get to a working pristine MKII. Mike was kind enough to allow me to use his air freight account to ship my tron to England for the Streetly repairs. I can't imagine the hassle air freight must be without a business account.
Anyone else here on the board in Austin or in the Texas area?
-Brian
Re: [newmellotrongroup] Re: Austin M400A
2014-10-24 by gino wong
An M4000 can be loaded up like a Mk2 sonically.
On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 12:48 PM, b_crny@yahoo.com [newmellotrongroup] <newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Long-time lurker here, going back to the original mellotron message group. I don't post that often.I'm in Austin and own M400 #480 (I guess that makes it a D model)?Tape frames - Mk II 3 violins, flute, cello; Mk II brass, 8 voice choir, chamber woodwindsI had the tron completely refurbished by Streetly in 2006. I highly recommend their work, and that is a completely unpaid plug on my part!Mike Castoro is a friend of a friend here, so I have met him once or twice and was privy to his collection.That will probably be the closest I will ever get to a working pristine MKII. Mike was kind enough to allow me to use his air freight account to ship my tron to England for the Streetly repairs. I can't imagine the hassle air freight must be without a business account.Anyone else here on the board in Austin or in the Texas area?-Brian--Gino Wong Birgelo BSComm, BSEEReRed RecordingReRed Treehouse Studios at Girard Hall527 W. Girard AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19123 USA