Recording Session: The Dailies

[dar512]

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker

We were running an old synth string sound out of the ARP...

Mellotron?

[Elspode]

Nah...a 'Tron is a big honking thing. The instrument in question is sitting on top of a Rhodes.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Elspode

Nah...a 'Tron is a big honking thing. The instrument in question is sitting on top of a Rhodes.

Nevermind it was a brain fart. I was thinking of the emu synths that emulate some of the vintage gear - including the mellotron.

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by dar512

Mellotron?

Mellotrons actually had magnetic tape strips and heads, one per key, with a single voice (usually chorused violins/violas/chellos, but others were available) recorded on it. Pressing the asociated key caused a felt pad to hold the tape strip (weighted at both ends) to be pressed to a long cylindrical capstan and made the tape move against the head. For long sustains there was some wacky mechanical arrangement to get the capstan to let go and the tape reversed direction until it was played out, and the capstan engaged again.

I actually saw on in person once, it was amazing....and a mechanical nightmare if it ever went bad, I'm sure.

String synths came a little later...and boy were they welcome. Although you couldn't easily get that Genesis effect where you interrupted power to the capstan and bent all the pitches at once....:-)

[dar512]

Yep. Way too many moving parts. I read a magazine article once where the keyboardist from the Moody Blues described traveling with one. It was a nightmare.

I saw the Moodies in concert a number of times in my youth, so I do have an idea as to the size of the things. I thought perhaps this was an emulator and they were going for a mellotron-like sound.

[Elspode]

I have had the dubious pleasure of actually carrying a Model 400 (single manual) 'Tron down a flight of stairs once. I cannot recommend it, either as a physical stressor, or as a psychological one (can you imagine the grief you would feel if you dropped the damn thing?).

Cool instruments. Wholly impractical as a touring device, but cool nonetheless. I am constantly pissed that I have yet to manage to find a suitable emulation of the classic Tony Banks/Genesis strings on any of my software or hardware gear.