The Mellotron Group

It is light for plywood and very high quality. Not inexpensive. I'd go with 
 solid wood in something that small.
 
 
In a message dated 5/7/2011 11:49:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
wonggster@gmail.com writes:

 
 
 
Sounds bitching. Baltic Birch is light isn't it?  I have to replace my  
Afromosia case for my EMS synthi VCS3 (not the 'A' you saw at Nearfest)  
wondering if stained birch was a good sub.

On Sat, May 7, 2011 at 11:25 PM, <_lsf5275@aol.com_ 
(mailto:lsf5275@aol.com) > wrote:


 
 
 
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_ (mailto: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