Why the big attraction with Mellotron sounds?

[flugel45]

I really don't get it. Weren't these just early attempts at romplers (being able to play snippets/samples of flute, strings, etc. at the touch of a key)?

Is it a nostalgia thing? Maybe the cheeze factor?

This is not a slam against mellotrons, so please don't take it that way. It's just that they are leading in Squids' latest poll for next group buy and it got me thinking about why that is. Can someone please enlighten me?

JD

[progfusion74]

mmm they sound great

I know a lot of people who don't like mellotrons, but for someone like me who is heavily into early Genesis, King Crimson, Heldon, etc, Klaus Schulze, etc, Mellotrons are very much a revered instrument.

[griels]

I love the sound too.. However they were, from what I can see, very simple romplers

As there are lots of great mellotron samples on the web already, I always wonder about the need for Mellotron based romplers such as M-Tron (as great as it sounds). Surely this is just a Rompler Rompler?

Unless it does something unique to the mellotron samples? I mean, you could even set up a few modulations in Kontakt to simulate tape flutter and wow if you felt the inclination

[ChamomileShark]

I'd venture that Melletrons have their own sound, just as some of the early synth attempts to imitate real instruments failed bysmally but still managed a beauty of their own. Mellotrons, and things like the M-tron don't sound as real as the real thing, a decent sample or even some of the S+S but they have their own character. Sometimes they are just plain heavy and so have a power or they are more delicate.
If you are into the early prog rock or electronic it's amazing how much of it was down to the mellotron.
I'm finding in some of my music I want something like a choir but I don't really want something spot on, I want something to suggest a choir. Then I reach for the M-tron..and if I had it for something like the Roland VP330 Vocoder plus..

[Meffy]

First there's the nostalgia. Some tape banks just are a certain song. Play it right and you can't help hearing "Watcher of the Skies" or "Strawberry Fields Forever" or "Tuesday Afternoon" or... well, you know. :-) Good memories. Comforting or exciting, depending.

Then again, I'm just plain fond of classic and antique musical instruments, electronic and otherwise. If I could find a decent, authentic VSTi Konzert-Trautonium or Ondes Martenot, it'd be heaven. (Tried to make the latter in Tassman 3 but my results so far at emulating the unusual "Palme" and "Metallique" loudspeakers haven't been encouraging.)

Naturally, MTron and Moog Modular V were top priorities to me. Yes, I'll admit sheer tech-fetish value had an influence on the buying decision in both cases. Call me weak... but happy. :-)



A Mixtur-Trautonium

Meffy

[baggio]

Simple answer to this - they have been used on a countless number of classic songs in a countless number generes.

[Barf]

Very nice FREE mellotron synth at:

http://www.tweakbench.com/instruments.php?id=6