The Mellotron Group

The cabinet will be 3 inches taller at the keyboard. It is being built  
from Baltic Birch plywood and MDF. I may do away with removable panels and go  
with doors. I'm using the old cabinet as a platform to experiment with 
different  ways of doing it. There will be several other differences as well. It 
will still  look like a Mellotron.
 
 
In a message dated 5/7/2011 10:18:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
wonggster@gmail.com writes:

 
 
 
I have always wanted my cabinet "one brick" higher. Despite my deep love  
for Mellotrons, cabinets have always a source of conflict for me, too  
'something ' for both standing and sitting.  Have you thought about  making your 
cabinet taller or shorter ?  


best


g

On Sat, May 7, 2011 at 1:12 AM, <_lsf5275@aol.com_ (mailto:lsf5275@aol.com) 
> wrote:


 
 
 
Since I brought this machine home a couple of months ago, aside from  
stripping the cabinet and getting the mechanicals into the wood frame, I've  not 
had the time to even really examine it. All I knew was that it didn't  work 
and that the cabinet was not worth repairing.
 
Well, yesterday I finally got around to finding out why this  machine 
doesn't work. Every time I restore an old Mellotron I find something  unusual 
that I've never seen before. This one was no exception. The SMS  2 was bad, and 
though I have several spares, I was able to fix the one that  came with it 
and it was soon up and running. Then the surprises started. The  keyboard 
was beyond horrible. Oddly, the pressure pad adjustment screws were  backed 
way out. I removed the keyboard and took a close look. All of the  felt pads 
that isolate the adjustment screws were replaced with new ones  that were 1/4 
inch thick. Interesting...  these thick felt pads  were also installed on 
the backs of the pressure pads themselves, forcing  them to stand off of the 
pressure pad rest 1/4 inch, which then necessitated  someone bending it into 
a bizarre configuration.
 

I wanted to get it to run before I started tearing it down and I did  get 
it to work... sorta. I am happy that the motor appears to be very strong  
with little wear on the commutator or brushes. Minor warps in some of the  keys 
are a quick fix. It has a PML 1 and it is very quiet. I cranked up the  
sound dry and got no humming and no crackling. Amazingly, a check of the  heads 
revealed zero magnetism on any of them. In fact, aside from a small  
magnetic reading from the left bearing block, there was none anywhere in or  near 
the tape path. Hooray!
 
So far, I have begun kitting a new cabinet. With any luck, I'll have  all 
of the parts cut within the next couple of weeks. Since this one is mine  and 
I have no deadline or expectant owner, the going will be slow. I expect  
there will be some surprises when I reveal it. The fun has begun.
 
Frank