Is GForce M-Tron Pro still the best "Tron" vst?

[e@rs]

What's the historical low price of M-Tron Complete?

The one available now is the lowest ever, considering it also contains The Streetly Tapes Vol.5.

[taijiguy]

What's the historical low price of M-Tron Complete?

I think they had 50% and 60% off sales in the past but I don't know if those discounts applied to the Complete bundle.

Might buy Imposcar at 50% right now but the price for Complete feels a little steep for me still, given it's age and given that I already own Arturia mellotron.

I don't believe it's ever been offered before.

I've A/B'd Arturia's "Mellotron" with M-Tron Pro/Streetly Tapes and a real Mellotron. Of course, the real Mellotron came out on top, but the M-Tron Pro/Streetly Tapes combo is way better than Arturia's. And since Streetly Electronics developed the Mellotron and has a massive library, the Streetly Tapes have sounds that no one else has and of higher quality. There's nothing closer to the real thing than the M-Tron Pro/Streetly Tapes combo...not even the much touted M4000D.

[Lotuz2019]

I've A/B'd Arturia's "Mellotron" with M-Tron Pro/Streetly Tapes and a real Mellotron. Of course, the real Mellotron came out on top, but the M-Tron Pro/Streetly Tapes combo is way better than Arturia's.

In what way are they better? I have the original Gforce M-Tron with extra tapes (around 70 in total) and these sound a lot more lofi than the Arturia Mellotron V tapes. The Mellotron V does sound a bit colder than the M-Tron, so I use its EQ to sound more like the M-Tron. But I'm glad I have both, because I can choose which fits the track better.

Btw I assume the M-Tron Pro uses the same tapes as the original M-Tron, but does anyone here know that for certain?

[taijiguy]

I've A/B'd Arturia's "Mellotron" with M-Tron Pro/Streetly Tapes and a real Mellotron. Of course, the real Mellotron came out on top, but the M-Tron Pro/Streetly Tapes combo is way better than Arturia's.

In what way are they better? I have the original Gforce M-Tron with extra tapes (around 70 in total) and these sound a lot more lofi than the Arturia Mellotron V tapes. The Mellotron V does sound a bit colder than the M-Tron, so I use its EQ to sound more like the M-Tron. But I'm glad I have both, because I can choose which fits the track better.

Btw I assume the M-Tron Pro uses the same tapes as the original M-Tron, but does anyone here know that for certain?

I've owned M-Tron since it first came out, along with 2 M400's. The stock sounds in M-Tron Pro are the same as in the original M-Tron. They've never been of very high quality because they came from machines with old tape that had the crap beat out of them. But since Streetly Electronics started providing GForce with the Streetly Tapes, the quality of the samples has drastically risen. The samples are from the output of the best maintained Mellotron there is, the Skellotron, loaded with fresh EMI tape. There's no better tape for an M400-type Mellotron than EMI. The quality of the source Arturia tapes and Mellotron(s) is questionable because they don't provide that information. During my testing, I noticed that the Arturia samples sounded muddy compared to the Streetly Tape samples. The Mellotron I compared both Arturia and M-Tron Pro to was a new cycling (MkII type) Mellotron with fresh BASF tapes.

[seismic1]

I recently bought M-Tron, but haven't yet used it in anger. I do still use various Red_Tron permutations in many of my tracks. I really like those samples.

[taijiguy]

I recently bought M-Tron, but haven't yet used it in anger. I do still use various Red_Tron permutations in many of my tracks. I really like those samples.

Redtron_SE uses samples from my old M400S. Too bad it hasn't been updated to 64 bit.

[starflakeprj]

I'm tempted on buying the M-Tron Pro Complete, but can anyone tell me how the largest GUI looks on a 4k screen?

[mountainmaster]

I recently bought M-Tron, but haven't yet used it in anger. I do still use various Red_Tron permutations in many of my tracks. I really like those samples.

Redtron_SE uses samples from my old M400S. Too bad it hasn't been updated to 64 bit.

The best free mellotron out there if you ask me. Great work! And yes, if it was 64 bit I would still be using it.

IMO Arturia's Mellotron V doesn't cut it somehow.
This topic actually made me buy M-Tron Pro. Just the basic version, which has more than enough sounds to keep me happy for a long time.
The stock sounds seem fine to me. And even if they are a bit lo-fi, isn't that the whole charm of a Tron?

[Lotuz2019]

IMO Arturia's Mellotron V doesn't cut it somehow.
This topic actually made me buy M-Tron Pro. Just the basic version, which has more than enough sounds to keep me happy for a long time.
The stock sounds seem fine to me. And even if they are a bit lo-fi, isn't that the whole charm of a Tron?

Try Mellotron V together with Reels.

[Hewitt Huntwork]

The appeal for me of Arturia was that you could load any sample and give it the 'Tron sound. In that regard, it did, indeed, fall short. I have it, and M-Tron Complete, and UVI Mello, and the Toontrack Ez Keys one.

GForce M-Tron Complete
+ Variety
+ Authenticity
+ 2 tapebanks can be combined for original patch creation
- GUI sucks
- Browser sucks

UVI Mello
+ Has a "remastered" sound quality that I love without sacrificing 'Tron-ness (you might hate it)
+ Adds separate control for key noise
+ Has extended range beyond 37 notes
+ Great tone shaping and FX

- Sounds aren't blendable
- Not many tapebanks included/available

Arturia Mellotron V
+ Sounds ok
+ You can blend tapebanks

- Presets are not identified by the terms we're familiar with (i.e. no "M300 violins")
- Clunky patch creation
- 'Tron simulation of your samples is not impressive

Toontrack EZ Keys Mellotoon
+ EZ Keys is a great way for non-keyboardists to create keyboard parts
+ FX are EZ Mix style (a few - different - parameters per patch that will have the most impact on the patch)

- Really not many sounds, especially for the price
- Presets miss the spirit/vibe/utility of why we love 'Trons to begin with

I wrote this on my phone, shooting from the hip. I may sit down with all four, double check some features, and post a more comprehensive comparison. But hopefully this gives people some useful information.

For me a perfect world would be UVI's instrument with GForce's library. YMMV

[Lotuz2019]

SampleTron 2:

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/sampletron2/

https://youtu.be/Uo3Kfh5yH-4

[Lotuz2019]

I hope IK has done a better job at loading and mapping user samples than Arturia. At the same time I really hope Arturia will pick up the glove and finally improve this aspect of their Mellotron V.

[soulata]

Another question I have,are there any users of the Streetly SFX Console?
Usefulness etc.......

I have it.

I've used applause track on one of my released songs and there are a couple of things from it on my next release but generally, nah.

[functionform]

Bought mtron. Like any other great effort, it blows away Asturias. Its the difference between "oh cool this sounds like a mellotron" and "I want to play this for hours"

[Examigan]

I was just thinking of some other plugins that may have those sounds in them. The Rompler soundset for Electra 2 has a lot of nice samples in it, including the Mellotron. Nori Ubukata contributed those for that collection of presets.