The Mellotron Group

It's a machine. It exists. It's poorly named. It does what it is supposed  
to. Knowing Markus, it's probably well made. It's poorly named. It will  
sell.
 
 
In a message dated 1/23/2011 6:00:55 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
MAinPsych@aol.com writes:

 
 
 
BTW, none of my  remarks should construed as defending Markus or demeaning 
Streetly.  I'm  just commenting on what I have actually heard with my own 
ears  firsthand.  Markus is a big boy and can defend himself, if  needed.

Frank  1
 
 
 
In a message dated 01/23/11 14:53:51 Pacific Standard Time, mainpsych  
writes:

   
 
In a message dated 01/23/11 08:14:35 Pacific Standard Time, lsf5275  writes:

Clay,
 
How would Markus sample all of those  Chamberlin sounds. It is my 
understanding that swapping tapes in any  Chamberlin would be a pain in the ass. Even 
if you were to sample the  sounds from an old Music Master, the tapes would 
likely be old and worn.  Mattias has one now. so maybe he can tell us how 
his tapes are. But even  if they're great, they're not all of the sounds. So 
if he wants to use the  Chamberlin Masters, he would have to play them in a 
Mark VI or a 400.  Doing that alters the dynamics of the intended sound. But 
then again,  Markus makes no claim that I have seen, read or heard as to 
how the tapes  were sampled. Maybe the Chamberlin sounds were all sampled from 
a  Mellotron. Then they wouldn't be authentic, but who's gonna  know?

 
We really need  to move from the philosophical/speculative realm to the 
real world, i.e.,  sonority (what sounds good).  50 people, 50 opinions, no 
consensus, no  progress.  After all, strict music theory would dictate that the 
 dissonance of playing a B and a C together is a major no-no (or parallel  
fifths), but listening to Wakeman's brass intro to "Siberian Khatru" says  
it's perfect for that musical phrase, both starting and ending on such an  
interval.  I don't know Markus' sound source, but I can tell you  firsthand 
that, say, the Mellotron Cello and Chamberlin Cello can be played  together or 
solo on an M400D and you can move back and forth between the two  by the 
twist of a knob for an instant A/B comparison.  While both are  good, 
objectively, the Chamby Cello is much more authentic  sounding.   The point being 
that Markus could not have achieved  that other than sampling a source oth er 
than direct from  tape.

 
My only real disappointment about Markus'  machine is the name. I can 
certainly see its appeal and its purpose. I'm  not sure I am aware of his 
marketing strategy, if any, but there certainly  is interest. I am surprised that 
he isn't more involved with the Mellotron  community.

 
I had intended  to ask Markus about this very issue; unfortunately, he was 
not present at  NAMM this year.

Frank  1