The Mellotron Group

Chris- this is entirely the kind of information that I want to find in a
book! If you can throw in some pictures I will place my order right away!!

>
>
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: lsf5275@aol.com
>   To:  newmellotrongroup@yahoogroups.com
>   Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2008 4:57 PM
>   Subject: Re: [newmellotrongroup] new mellotron book
>
>
>
>   In a message dated 7/31/2008 3:26:39 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> chris.dale@primus.ca writes:
>   This would be the kind of book that would most interest me. I could care
> less how many suspended notes someone uses in there technique. I would
> like to know exactly the process that Harry Chamberlin went through to
> make his first working anything. Then I would like to know How each
> successive machine was created and what thought processes went into
> their creation.
>
>
>   Well, Harry already had an engineering history working on B29 airplanes
> for the government, and rebuilt a couple of rusted Hupmobiles. He also
> was a raceboat driver and in the 1940's would win races against the
> Mafia using  a souped up engine. I think it was his determination to
> make something work regardless of the obstacles, that kept him going. He
> made a 'special room' out of a large walk in closet where he would
> acoustically test things. He would stay in there from 6 in the morning
> until 10 at night working away. In 1948 he also invented the
> intermittent "windshield squeegee" which helped him in his designs.
>
>    Same thing for the Mellotron and Streetly. What was it like back in the
> day in the "factory" when they were perfecting the Mark I, Mark II and
> the M300-400?
>
>   I've heard some "private" recordings of Les talking about this, and
> there were some real financial struggles unbeknownst to most. If a
> mutual working partnership between Les and Harry could have developed,
> it might have made things easier for both of them throughout the period.
> But the way it happened with Bill Fransen prevented it. Harry had a
> great deal of animosity towards Bill Fransen. Maybe if Fransen had
> separated from the Bradleys' earlier, a partnership might have been
> possible. Also technically - you probably would have had more crossover
> between the two instruments as far as parts and design go.
>
>   I'd like to know what occurred with Dave Biro and Wakeman...What went
> into making the Birotron, the Optigan, the Orchestron?
>
>
>   In researching the history and damage to the Wakeman Double-Tron, the
> Birotron story becomes interspersed along the way, as both instruments
> were worked on and modified at the same location.
>
>   The Birotron story interesting because it was never Dave Biro's
> intention to produce that instrument. He only ever built the prototype
> because he couldn't afford a Mellotron at the time, and was disappointed
> in it when he saw one in a music store. Probably poorly adjusted.
>
>   It was Wakemans' idea to go into business with it, and at the time the 8
> track loop method had appeal because there was no limits on the playing
> time, and no fussing with adjusting pressure pads. Roger Whittaker, John
> Lennon, Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones, Tangerine Dream etc. all placed
> orders. Demo model prototypes were sent to Captain and Tennille and
> Tangerine Dream. These were the B90 models - not perfected but good
> enough to betatest.
>
>   The decision to stand the 8 tracks on their sides, arrival of the
> digital chip, and some personal and professional problems in Wakeman's
> life and outside his control, conspired to sink the project. In the
> aftermath, Dave Biro had designed an alternate model that corrected the
> problems in the B90. A prototype was made and funding secured from a
> different company, but the recession of the 80's ruined it.
>
>   The Optigan came from the Chatty Cathy toy, where a disc was played to
> hear the doll talking. A Mattel executive thought the market was ripe
> for an organ that could do this and the original idea was to have an
> Optigan that had discs played with a needle just like a regular record.
> A model was done that showed this wouldn't work and they went to the
> light sensing disc reader. In a sense the Optigan is the first "CD
> player" but it borrows from technology used in the Kimball Organ earlier
> in the century. Mattel, nevertheless, had to buy out several patents
> owned by Harry Chamberlin and even used many Chamberlin recordings on
> the discs. Harry and Richard warned Mattel to stay away from certain
> ideas in the patents but Mattel didn't listen.
>
>   Despite Mattel leaving their name off the product (so they could charge
> more)the Optigan was a toy organ aimed at families that would stand
> around and sing songs after supper, but that era had passed. Mattel soon
> realized this and sold the Optigan to a susidiary called Opsonar. Their
> new market would be to teach kids music, but Opsonar was legally
> entrapped in the problems of the Magnus Organ company and this brought
> and end to them.
>
>   The Optigan almost re-emerged as the "Chilton Talentmaker" when Roy
> Chilton (ex-Optigan) tried to market it. Several were made, but pending
> lawsuit threats put an end to them as well.
>
>   David VanKoevering (of Moog Music) started Vako and they re-released the
> Optigan as the Orchestron, doing away with the rhythm sections of the
> Optigan and Talentmaker. The Orchestron was obviously meant to take a
> share of the Mellotron market, but was offerred as a premium instrument
> at premium prices, and positioned outside of the market.  The Optical
> technology was later sold to NASA for use in their space program. It
> also was used in recordings made for German touring buses.
>
>
>   That's the kind of book that would most appeal to me.
>
>
>   Sorry to ruin your fun Frank, I think I just wrote it! :)
>
>
>
>
>
>
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