Something new from G-Force (Mellotron MKII)

[Bulbizarre]

Some kind of analog sampler with granular effects ?

[NikkiA]

Don't tell me it'll be an FM Synth!

You're not trying to claim the world has enough 4-op FM synths, surely?

[Teksonik]

Don't tell me it'll be an FM Synth!

You're not trying to claim the world has enough 4-op FM synths, surely?

The world had enough 4-op FM synths the day the TX81Z was released in 1987.....

[Tj Shredder]

Synergy maybe…

[EvilDragon]

Synergy didn't have knobs like that.

[Examigan]

My brother had one of those:

Synergy.jpg

[jens]

Are some people really thinking this might be a Mellotron? This teaser is as un-Mellotronish as it gets in all regards. And someone even claimed the teaser contained "orchestral music"...

it sounds profoundly digital (additive) to me.

[jens]

But yeah, that UI-snippet totally looks like it's from a Mellotron MK2...

[Hewitt Huntwork]

Are some people really thinking this might be a Mellotron? This teaser is as un-Mellotronish as it gets in all regards. And someone even claimed the teaser contained "orchestral music"...

it sounds profoundly digital (additive) to me.

I kinda thought it sounded like a granular 'tron. But I'm not an expert.

[MrJubbly]

Just a query, but how would one go about emulating a Mellotron? Surely, it would be impossible to do so with just pure physical modelling and without it being primarily sample-based, given the nature of the original hardware, right?

I know that other companies like Modartt have had success with physical modelling of Pianos and other keyboards and instruments. But that is quite a different task to attempting something similar for hardware that mainly relied upon magnetic tape recordings as the source of its audio, right?

So, if this were to be a Mellotron that has been teased. What exactly would GForce be bringing to the table and achieving here, that hasn't already been accomplished by other developers' Mellotron efforts?

If it was to be a Mellotron emulation, are we expecting something that is just 'more accurate' than others have been. But which will still require multiple gigabytes worth of library samples to generate the sound? Or something else entirely?

[beely]

We'll find out on Tuesday, presumably...

[Super Piano Hater 64]

Just a query, but how would one go about emulating a Mellotron? Surely, it would be impossible to do so with just pure physical modelling and without it being primarily sample-based, given the nature of the original hardware, right?

I know that other companies like Modartt have had success with physical modelling of Pianos and other keyboards and instruments. But that is quite a different task to attempting something similar for hardware that mainly relied upon magnetic tape recordings as the source of its audio, right?

There are loads of tape emulations out there, and most of them have some kind of support for modulating the playback speed, which (as I understand it) was an essential part of the Mellotron's characteristic sound. Maybe they could make it more accurate by simulating other aspects of the tape playback mechanism, like the famous problem of the tape reels stretching out during playback, which obviously warps the sound.

If it was to be a Mellotron emulation, are we expecting something that is just 'more accurate' than others have been. But which will still require multiple gigabytes worth of library samples to generate the sound?

You actually might have stumbled on something that would be truly weird and new about this synth. Maybe they don't have gigabytes of samples. Maybe the sound loops on the (virtual) tapes are being generated by some kind of synthesis method integrated with whatever else is going on. I can't imagine anybody asked for that, but maybe they just happened to try it and it sounded so cool that they made a product out of it.

Or maybe the "never done before" thing is just marketing, and we're chumps for falling for the hype.

[jens]

Maybe the sound loops on the (virtual) tapes are being generated by some kind of synthesis method integrated with whatever else is going on.

There are no loops on a real Mellotron. Plus seeking to physically emulate real tape-recordings would be beyond bizarre. I can't imagine they'd ever go there. One thing worth pursuing would be emulating all the rest of what makes a Mellotron a Mellotron and allowing you to "mellotronize" your own samples. But Arturia already did that. Then again, what Arturia didn't emulate is the sample-recording bit of the chain too, so if Gforce did that, this would indeed be a novelty. But then again the teaser does NOT in any way sound like a Mellotron at all.

[jens]

I kinda thought it sounded like a granular 'tron.

Without any hint of the highly idiosyncratic 7-8s limit? Even though their M-Tron Pro can already optionally loop the samples, that's totally unlike a real Mellotron (where that limit significantly affects what and how you play - it's a bit of a difficult instrument to master), so why would they tease a next gen Mellotron emulation without that?

(Plus I don't hear any wow&flutter, tuning instabilities, etc.)

[Krakatau]

(Plus I don't hear any wow&flutter, tuning instabilities, etc.)

indeed...