The Mellotron Group

The Musical Box used to use a fake cabinet with a Kurzweil in it for years. 
 Now they use an M4000D
 
 
 
In a message dated 8/30/2014 6:50:21 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com writes:

 
 
 
 
So just think - if true:


All the hard work these last 20 years - all the years of cleaning and  
preserving of tapes, recording them, archiving them, saving the sounds to  
computers, changing pinch rollers, pressure pads, cleaning capstans, adjusting  
tape head azimuth, re-doing the cycling mechanisms, track selectors, 
re-wiring  power supplies, installing motors, re-building old machines, re-doing the 
 cabinets....making new parts......and the money, and energy,  and time  
spent to do it.....to first save and then re-introduce the instrument  


it's all being shit upon by someone with a sampler and a case to fool  
people with. 
Some guy who wants to bask in the glow of others accomplishments, others  
music history, and years of toil and countless hard work by other people he  
never supported or contributed to. 


At least other people who have done something similar have bought real  
Mellotrons or digital products from Streetly or Mellotron. and are supporting  
them. They keep it going.




I hope you're wrong Frank. 




Well.....I guess walking around with Pabst Blue Ribbon bottles and  
secretly having cheap Chinese beer inside will be next. :)































On Sat, Aug 30, 2014 at 4:00 AM, _lsf5275@aol.com_ (mailto:lsf5275@aol.com) 
  [newmellotrongroup] <_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:


 
 
 
I don't think it is a real Mellotron. I  think it is a cabinet with a 
sampler in it. It's too tall for a Mark VI or  an M400 and not deep enough front 
to back to be an M4000. There is no  continuous hinge on the lid so it 
wasn't made by Markus or Streetly and the  cut-outs in to lower back panel aren't 
right. I think it's a  fake.

Frank (Real M400, Real M4000, Real Mark II)
 


 
In a message dated 8/30/2014 2:46:48 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
_newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com_ (mailto:newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com)  writes:

 
I thought that as well.  


None of this sounds 'live' to me at all except for the lead singing  and 
the drums.



The background vocals are especially fake.




Those aren't Mellotron strings. The Mellotron is inaudible. The  players 
hands don't match what he's playing.
Looks like it was used as a prop.






This is a double edged sword for me. It's always nice to see a  Mellotron 
on a mainstream show, but this also somehow always comes across  like someone 
taking some great painting and using it as a coffee table  with a person 
putting his coffee mug down on it and saying 'look how cool  (but in reality - 
uncool) I am'.



I'm sure that's not the intended effect.  




But it's like the hipster version of the cliche black grand piano you  see 
in someone's grand spacious home. It sits there, looks nice, is  regularly 
polished - and never gets played. The impression it makes is a  
non-impression. 




The music itself is okay. I liked it. The melodies and arrangements  are 
interesting. The songs are good.




But this performance itself seems more about catering to the hipster  crowd 
- probably not the bands doing if they're on a show like Jimmy  Kimmel. 
(And the crowd noise is also fake - at the beginning of Runaway -  you hear 
more people cheering then are actually there)  


I'd like to see *genuine* live performances from them and listen to  more 
of their songs to decide whether I truly like them or  not. 


The music is impressive, this 'live' performance isn't. 


In a music video - okay, never a problem.  


But don't present something as 'live' and lie about it.  We now  have the 
technology (mics, amps, etc.) to put on the best live  shows.
Never before in the history of the world has that been  possible.


There's no excuse in this day and age for this. 




Yes, you can argue TV's been doing this for years. But that's beside  the 
point. 
It's never acceptable or worthwhile - regardless of who is doing  it.




Bullshit is bullshit.     















On Fri, Aug 29, 2014 at 10:05 PM, markpringnz <_no_reply@yahoogroups.com_ 
(mailto:no_reply@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:


 
 
 
I meant doesn't sound live.