| Mellotron | |
|---|---|
 A Mellotron Mk VI | |
| Manufacturer | Bradmatic/Mellotronics (1963–70) Streetly Electronics (1970–1986, 2007–present) |
| Dates | 1963 (Mk I) 1964 (Mk II) 1968 (M300) 1970 (M400) 2007 (M4000) |
| Technical specifications | |
| Polyphony | Full |
| Oscillator | Audio tape |
| Synthesis type | Sample-based synthesis |
| Input/output | |
| Keyboard | 1 or 2 × 35 note manuals (G2–F5) |
TheMellotron is anelectro-mechanical musical instrument developed inBirmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact acapstan, which pulls it across aplayback head. As the key is released, the tape is retracted by a spring to its initial position. Different portions of the tape can be played for different sounds.
The Mellotron evolved from the similarChamberlin, but could be mass-produced more efficiently. The first models were designed for the home and contained a variety of sounds, including automatic accompaniments. BandleaderEric Robinson and television personalityDavid Nixon helped promote the first instruments, and celebrities such asPrincess Margaret were early adopters. It was adopted by rock and pop groups in the mid to late 1960s. One of the first pop songs featuring the Mellotron wasManfred Mann's "Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr. James" (1966).The Beatles used it on tracks including the hit single "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967).
TheMoody Blues keyboardistMike Pinder used it extensively on the band's 1967 albumDays of Future Passed as well as the group's following six albums. During the 1970s, the Mellotron became common inprogressive rock, used by groups such asKing Crimson,Yes, andGenesis. Later models, such as the bestselling M400, dispensed with the accompaniments and some sound selection controls so it could be used by touring musicians. The instrument's popularity declined in the 1980s after the introduction of polyphonicsynthesizers andsamplers, despite high-profile performers such asOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark andXTC continuing to use the instrument.
Production of the Mellotron ceased in 1986, but it regained popularity in the 1990s and was used by bands such asOasis,the Smashing Pumpkins,Muse, andRadiohead. This led to the resurrection of the original manufacturer, Streetly Electronics. In 2007, Streetly produced the M4000, which combined the layout of the M400 with the bank selection of earlier models.
The Mellotron uses the same concept as asampler, but generates its sound using analogue recordings onaudio tape. When a key is pressed, a tape connected to it is pushed against a playback head, as in atape deck. While the key remains depressed, the tape is drawn over the head, and a sound is played. When the key is released, a spring pulls the tape back to its original position.[1]
A variety of sounds are available on the instrument. On earlier models, the instrument is split into "lead" and "rhythm" sections. There is a choice of six "stations" of rhythm sounds, each containing three rhythm tracks and three fill tracks. The fill tracks can also be mixed together.[2]: 17–18 Similarly, there is a choice of six lead stations, each containing three lead instruments which can be mixed. In the centre of the Mellotron, there is a tuning button that allows a variation in pitch (tempo, in the case of the rhythm tracks).[2]: 19 Later models do not have the concept of stations and have a single knob to select a sound, along with the tuning control. However, the frame containing the tapes is designed to be removed, and replaced with one with different sounds.[3]
Although the Mellotron was designed to reproduce the sound of the original instrument, replaying a tape creates minor fluctuations in pitch (wow andflutter) and amplitude, so a note sounds slightly different each time it is played.[4] Pressing a key harder allows the head to come into contact under greater pressure, to the extent that the Mellotron responds toaftertouch.[5]
Another factor in the Mellotron's sound is that the individual notes were recorded in isolation. For a musician accustomed to playing in an orchestral setting, this was unusual, and meant that they had nothing against which to intonate. Noted cellist Reginald Kilbey refused to downtune hiscello to cover the lower range of the Mellotron, and so the bottom notes are actually performed on adouble bass (His refusal was based on the fact that him playing these notes on his cello would be robbing a double bassist of the session fee. When the double bassist turned up for the next session it was found to be Kilbey with a different instrument, thereby collecting a double fee for both appearances). According to Mellotron authorNick Awde, one note of the string sounds contains the sound of a chair being scraped in the background.[1]
When the Chamberlin was first developed, the initial recorded sound used was that of three violins, thereby committing the instrument range to G3 to F6, being the range of theviolin. Unfortunately, as with the cello, many other instruments did not conform to this range. The noted soloflute (which appears on the introduction toStrawberry Fields Forever) actually comprises recordings from an alto flute and a soprano flute, which accounts for some of the odd tuning that appears when chords are played. Other sounds such as thebrass opted for a layered effect where instruments were recorded within their correct range. Others recorded more recently, such as thebass clarinet opt instead to drop the tuning on the lowest notes by pitching them electronically. The Mellotronchoir was recorded in two halves: four men in one studio, and four women in another adjacent, thereby allowing for the actual recording of three sounds concurrently. In this, the male singers from the Ted Taylor Choir were allowed to drop the highest notes back to the previousoctave as they were considerably out of their natural range.
The original Mellotrons were intended to be used in the home or in clubs and were not designed for touring bands. Even the later M400, which was designed to be as portable as possible, weighed over 122 pounds (55 kg).[6] Smoke, variations in temperature, and humidity were also detrimental to the instrument's reliability. Moving the instrument between cold storage rooms and brightly lit stages could cause the tapes to stretch and stick on the capstan. Leslie Bradley recalls receiving some Mellotrons in for a repair "looking like a blacksmith had shaped horseshoes on top".[7] Pressing too many keys at once caused the motor to drag, resulting in the notes sounding flat.[8]Robert Fripp stated that "[t]uning a Mellotron doesn't".[9][10] Dave Kean, an expert Mellotron repairer, recommends that older Mellotrons should not be immediately used after a period of inactivity, as the tape heads can become magnetised in storage and destroy the recordings on them if played.[7]
Although tape samplers had been explored in research studios, the first commercially available keyboard-driven tape instruments were built and sold by California-basedHarry Chamberlin.[11] The concept of the Mellotron originated when Chamberlin's sales agent, Bill Fransen, brought two of Chamberlin's Musicmaster 600 instruments to England in 1962 to search for someone who could manufacture 70 matching tape heads for future Chamberlins. He met Frank, Norman, and Les Bradley of tape engineering company Bradmatic Ltd, who said they could improve on the original design.[12] The Bradleys subsequently met bandleaderEric Robinson, who agreed to help finance the recording of the necessary instruments and sounds. Together with the Bradleys and television celebrityDavid Nixon (Robinson's son-in-law), they formed a company, Mellotronics, in order to market the instrument.[13] Robinson was particularly enthusiastic about the Mellotron because he felt it would revitalise his career, which was then on the wane. He arranged the recording sessions atIBC Studios in London, which he co-owned with George Clouston.[14]
The first model to be commercially manufactured was the Mk I in 1963. An updated version, the Mk II, was released the following year and featured the full set of sounds selectable by banks and stations.[12] The instrument was expensive, costing £1,000 (equivalent to £26,449 in 2023), at a time when a typical house cost £2,000–£3,000.[15]
Fransen failed to explain to the Bradleys that he was not the owner of the concept, and Chamberlin was unhappy with the fact that someone overseas was copying his idea. After some acrimony between the two parties, a deal was struck between them in 1966, whereby they would both continue to manufacture instruments independently.[16] Bradmatic renamed themselves Streetly Electronics in 1970.[17]
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In 1970, the model M400 was released, which contained 35 notes (G–F) and a removable tape frame. It sold over 1,800 units.[7] In the early 1970s, hundreds of the instruments were assembled and sold byEMI under exclusive licence.[8] Following a financial and trademark dispute through a US distribution agreement, the Mellotron name was acquired by American-based Sound Sales.[18] Streetly-manufactured instruments after 1976 were sold under the nameNovatron.[17] The American Mellotron distributor, Sound Sales, produced their own Mellotron model, the 4-Track, in the early 1980s. At the same time Streetly Electronics produced a road-cased version of the 400 – the T550 Novatron.[19] By the mid-1980s, both Sound Sales and Streetly Electronics suffered severe financial setbacks, losing their market to synthesizers and solid-state electronicsamplers, which rendered the Mellotron essentially obsolete. The company folded in 1986, and Les Bradley threw most of the manufacturing equipment into askip.[20] From 1963 until Streetly's closure, around 2,500 units had been built.[21]
Streetly Electronics was subsequently reactivated by Les Bradley's son John and Martin Smith.[22] After Les Bradley's death in 1997, they decided to resume full-time operation as a support and refurbishment business. By 2007, the stock of available instruments to repair and restore was diminishing, so they decided to build a new model, which became the M4000. The instrument combined the features of several previous models, and featured the layout and chassis of an M400 but with a digital bank selector that emulated the mechanical original in the Mk II.[3][23]
The first notable musician to use the Mellotron was variety pianistGeoff Unwin, who was specifically hired by Robinson in 1962 to promote the use of the instrument. He toured with a Mk II Mellotron and made numerous appearances on television and radio.[24] Unwin claimed that the automatic backing tracks on the Mk II's left-hand keyboard allowed him to provide more accomplished performances than his own basic skills on the piano could provide.[25]
The earlier 1960s Mk II units were made for the home and the characteristics of the instrument attracted a number of celebrities. Among the early Mellotron owners werePrincess Margaret,[26]Peter Sellers,[27]King Hussein of Jordan[15] andScientology founderL. Ron Hubbard[28] (whose Mellotron was installed in the Church of Scientology's head UK office atSaint Hill Manor).[29] According toRobin Douglas-Home, Princess Margaret "adored it; (Lord Snowdon) positively loathed it".[27]
After Mellotronics had targeted them as a potential customer, the BBC became interested in the possibilities of the instrument, hoping it would allow them to increase throughput at theRadiophonic Workshop. Two custom-made models loaded with sound effects were acquired in 1963, but the Radiophonic Workshop were unenthusiastic and problems with fluctuating tape speed and noise meant the sound was not up to professional broadcast quality. They ended up in the BBC FX library.[30]
British multi-instrumentalistGraham Bond is considered the first rock musician to record with a Mellotron, beginning in 1965. The first hit song to feature a Mellotron Mk II was "Baby Can It Be True", which Bond performed live with the machine in televised performances, usingsolenoids to trigger the tapes from hisHammond organ.[31] Manfred Mann then included multiple Mellotron parts on their single, "Ha! Ha! Said the Clown".[32]
There's one thing I can do /
Play my Mellotron for you /
Try to blow away your city blues
Mike Pinder worked at Streetly Electronics for 18 months in the early 1960s as a tester, and was immediately excited by the possibilities of the instrument.[34] After trying piano and Hammond organ, he settled on the Mellotron as the instrument of choice for his band,the Moody Blues, purchasing a second-hand model from Fort Dunlop Working Men's Club in Birmingham[35] and using it extensively on every album fromDays of Future Passed (1967) toOctave (1978).[36]
Pinder says he introducedJohn Lennon andPaul McCartney to the Mellotron, and persuaded each of them to buy one.[36] The Beatles hired a machine and used it on their single "Strawberry Fields Forever", recorded in various takes between November and December 1966.[37][38] Author Mark Cunningham describes the part in "Strawberry Fields Forever" as "probably the most famous Mellotron figure of all-time".[39] Although producerGeorge Martin was unconvinced by the instrument, describing it "as if a Neanderthal piano had impregnated a primitive electronic keyboard",[16] they continued to compose and record with various Mellotrons for the albumsMagical Mystery Tour (1967)[40] andThe Beatles (1968, also known as "the White Album").[41] McCartney went on to use the Mellotron sporadically in his solo career.[42]
The instrument became increasingly popular among rock and pop bands during the psychedelic era, adding what author Thom Holmes terms "an eerie, unearthly sound" to their recordings.[43]Brian Jones ofthe Rolling Stones played a Mellotron on several of his band's songs over 1967–68. These include "We Love You", where he used the instrument to create aMoroccan-sounding horn section,[44] "She's a Rainbow",[45] "2000 Light Years from Home"[21] and "Jigsaw Puzzle".[46]
The Mellotron became a key instrument inprogressive rock.King Crimson bought two Mellotrons when forming in 1969.[47] They were aware of Pinder's contributions to the Moody Blues and did not want to sound similar, but concluded there was no other way of generating the orchestral sound.[48] The instrument was originally played by Ian McDonald,[49] and subsequently by Robert Fripp upon McDonald's departure. Later memberDavid Cross recalled he did not particularly want to play the Mellotron, but felt that it was simply what he needed to do as a member of the band.[50]
Tony Banks bought a Mellotron from Fripp in 1971, which he claimed was previously used by King Crimson, to use withGenesis. He decided to not to use the instrument as though it were an orchestra, instead usingblock chords. He went on to explain that he used it in the same manner as asynth pad on later albums.[51] His unaccompanied introduction to "Watcher of the Skies" on the albumFoxtrot (1972), played on a Mk II with combined strings and brass, became significant enough that Streetly Electronics provided a "Watcher Mix" sound with the M4000.[3] Banks claims to still have a Mellotron in storage, but does not feel inclined to use it as he generally prefers to use up-to-date technology.[52]Barclay James Harvest'sWoolly Wolstenholme bought an M300 primarily to use for string sounds,[53] and continued to play an M400 live into the 2000s as part of a reformed band.[54]
Rick Wakeman played Mellotron onDavid Bowie's 1969 hit song "Space Oddity". Having previously found it difficult to keep in tune, Wakeman had discovered a way to do so using a special fingering technique.[55]
The Mellotron was used extensively by German electronic bandTangerine Dream through the 1970s,[56] on albums such asAtem (1973),[56]Phaedra (1974),[57]Rubycon (1975),[58]Stratosfear (1976),[59] andEncore (1977).[59] In the late 1970s, French duoSpace Art used a Mellotron during the recording of their second album,Trip in the Centre Head.[60] In 1983, the band'sChristopher Franke asked Mellotronics if they could produce a digital model, as the group migrated towards using samplers.[61]
Although the Mellotron was not extensively used in the 1980s, a number of bands featured it as a prominent instrument. One of the few UKpost-punk bands to do so wasOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, who featured it heavily on their platinum-selling 1981 albumArchitecture & Morality.Andy McCluskey has stated they used the Mellotron because they were starting to run into the limitations of the cheap monophonic synthesizers they had used up to that point. He bought a second-hand M400 and was immediately impressed with the strings and choir sounds.[62]XTC'sDave Gregory recalls seeing bands using Mellotrons when growing up in the 1970s, and thought it would be an interesting addition to the group's sound. He bought a second-hand model in 1982 for £165, and first used it on the albumMummer (1983).[63]IQ'sMartin Orford bought a second-hand M400 and used it primarily for visual appeal rather than musical quality or convenience.[64]
The Mellotron resurfaced in 1995 onOasis' album(What's the Story) Morning Glory?[65] The instrument was played by bothNoel Gallagher andPaul Arthurs on several tracks, but a particularly prominent use was the cello sound on the hit single "Wonderwall", played by Arthurs.[66] It also notably appears on their 2000 single "Go Let It Out".Radiohead asked Streetly Electronics to restore and repair a model for them in 1997,[67] and recorded with it on several tracks for their albumOK Computer (1997).[68] The French electronic duoAir extensively used a M400 on their two first albumsMoon Safari in 1998 andThe Virgin Suicides in 1999.[69]
Spock's Beard'sRyo Okumoto is a fan of the Mellotron, saying it characterises the sound of the band.[70]Porcupine Tree'sSteven Wilson has acquired one of King Crimson's old Mellotrons[71] and, in 2013, gave a demonstration of the instrument in celebration of its 50th anniversary.[72]
Alternatives to the Mellotron were manufactured by competitors in the early to late 1970s. TheMattelOptigan was a toy keyboard designed to be used in the home, which played back sounds usingoptical discs.[73] This was followed by the VakoOrchestron in 1975, which used a more professional-sounding version of the same technology. It was used byPatrick Moraz.[74] TheBirotron was a similar concept based around8-track cartridges, used by Wakeman.[75]
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