A Brief History of the Mellotron: The Rise and Fall of Popular Music's Most Unique Instrument

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ธ.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 303

  • @JamesMcGillis
    @JamesMcGillis 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +24

    Thank you. I'm a big Moody Blues fan, and their use of the Mellotron was what made their signature sound what it was. It sounded like every chord was bent to their will. Timothy Leary!

  • @peterl3282
    @peterl3282 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +90

    It was briefly mentioned here but should be emphasized that the point of the mellotron, aside from its unique wobbly, spooky, ethereal sound, was that bands could get an orchestral sound on stage without incurring the expense of touring with an actual orchestra. It just couldn't be done. (Deep Purple did a one-off show with an orchestra in 1969 but it was really rare.) The Moody Blues were truly unique in that keyboardist Mike Pinder worked at mellotron maker Streetly Electronics prior to forming the band. He could repair the instrument himself. In fact, it happened that Moodies shows could be delayed while Pinder had his head in the cabinet untangling tape loops. This explains why it is so prominently used in their sound. One other note: the mechanical nature of the mellotron meant it was sensitive to voltage fluctuations at the concert venue. Pinder learned to use the pitch bend wheel to counter these voltage surges. He was truly the Mellotron Master and deserves more recognition.

    • @charlesshaver7024
      @charlesshaver7024 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Barclay James Harvest toured with an orchestra in the early 70s, to a greater extent than that one-off Deep Purple show. It did prove to be quite expensive.

    • @martineldritch
      @martineldritch 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Pinder talked the Beatles into trying out the mellotron and they used it on "Strawberry Fields" in Nov/Dec 66

    • @andreasheine9607
      @andreasheine9607 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      The folk prog band Renaissance recorded a lot with orchestras even the Live at the Carnegie Hall LP.
      They are great!

    • @SRV2013
      @SRV2013 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      I guess you didn't know that ELP toured with an Orchestra in 1977.

    • @cuda426hemi
      @cuda426hemi 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Close. It actually existed to be more of a one man band sold to rich folks to park in the parlor with built in rhythms and such , you can hear it in the first example. Later it became a gimmick for Crimson and Moodys, Groundhogs et al. 🎹

  • @cyclesgoff9768
    @cyclesgoff9768 ปีที่แล้ว +155

    Man your vocal level is way way to low in relation to the excerpts your using.

    • @briankehew579
      @briankehew579 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Yes it's easy to fix but it seems to happen a lot nowadays.

    • @kirkericson2722
      @kirkericson2722 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

      This. My wife kept yelling at me because I had the volume jacked up and then the music would kick in and it was deafening. Good content but I almost had to tap out because of this.

    • @KCGeno
      @KCGeno 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Yes! I was afraid my soundbar was having phase issues.

    • @ESIRasta
      @ESIRasta 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Absolutely...

    • @OttoByOgraffey
      @OttoByOgraffey 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      *too low

  • @vincezab1
    @vincezab1 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +86

    Great video, well researched and entertaining. You should do a sound re-mix though because the volume levels jump all over the place, so I was constantly riding the volume control. Also, when you voice-over some of the music clips it is hard to hear you because the music is too loud. Also suggest using a Shure SM7B. I'm going to subscibe and see how this all works out for you. Best of luck!

  • @Sutterjack
    @Sutterjack 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +25

    I'm friends with Mike Pinder and I still think he's the absolute master of the Mellotron. I've heard and respected the 'tron used by many artists but I've never heard anyone get the subtle, etherial sounds out of the mellotron that Mike was able to coax from it in the Moody Blues. That said, I was surprised that Mike had no problem going fully digital once the technology was there.

    • @jamescaron6465
      @jamescaron6465 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Nobody could handle a Mellotron like Mike Pinder. He was a magician with that thing. Not surprised he could go digital. If he would keep a mellotron running he could make anything sound good.

    • @mickeythompson9537
      @mickeythompson9537 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Edgar Froese - Epsilon In Malaysian Pale: very ethereal Mellotron.

    • @theclearsounds3911
      @theclearsounds3911 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Yes, I also love all those old Moody Blues albums that Mike played the Mellotron on. But I still slightly favor Tony Banks on the Genesis album Wind And Wuthering, as far as really getting the most out of the Mellotron. He somehow made it sound less shrill, and got a slightly more orchestral sound out of it. Wow, though, how awesome is it to be friends with Mike Pinder?? I'm envious!

    • @Sutterjack
      @Sutterjack 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      @@theclearsounds3911 I think Mike had an edge because he worked at Mellotron and knew the machine so intimately that he wasn't intimidated by it. He also made substantial improvements to it for sound and reliability. I'm sure you've heard of Rick Wakeman's infamous burning of one of his mellotrons out of frustration - Mike said "he should have called me!"

    • @theclearsounds3911
      @theclearsounds3911 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@Sutterjack I hadn't heard of that one, but it's consistent with an interview I heard where Rick described what it was like to play a concert where the mellotron wouldn't play at the right speed because it was was very finicky about temperature and roadie handling. What a shame, because I think Yes would have sounded better with the Mellotron.

  • @kevm8965
    @kevm8965 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +15

    An interesting video but why was your audio so quiet compared to the music and the blank screen bits?

  • @danielstickney2400
    @danielstickney2400 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

    I've heard the mellotron described as sounding like "a celestial choir with a mild throat infection" and I wish I could remember who said that.

  • @dalecsaunders
    @dalecsaunders 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    I owned a Mellotron and absolutely loved spending hours noodling around on it. There was somewhat of an ethereal spirit similar to a Player Piano (which uses paper rolls) programmed to replicate performances of artists who may have produced these before we were born but we still hear their soulfulness. Regrettably the pitch was so erratic that I was unable to use it for stage with my other instruments. The person that purchased the unit from me took it to the manufacturer to have it completely refurbished.

    •  11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      The digital version just doesn't cut it - doesn't have the eeriness of the orgional.

    • @mickeythompson9537
      @mickeythompson9537 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @ There are two different digital Tron manufacturers, one takes its sounds from the original master tapes (so a 'perfect' sound), the other takes its sounds from the output of a refurbished Mellotron - and that one is better for the eerie sound :-)

  • @AntonXul
    @AntonXul 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

    My mind was totally blown away when I discovered the Mellotron during the pandemic! I couldn’t believe that the Flute sound in “Strawberry Fields Forever” was a Mellotron, not a Flute! As far as other songs go, I had always thought it was an orchestra playing with the songs that had an orchestral sound. Once I discovered what this instrument was I started to search for bands that used it and discovered King Crimson. I’ve heard “21st Century Schizoid Man” before and I liked it, but not enough to explore them. Once I heard this instrument and their use, I was hooked. “Epitaph”, “Court of the Crimson King” & “In the Wake of Poseidon” became instant favorites. I really love the sound of this instrument. It’s a shame it faded away for the horrible ’80s keyboard I despise.

  • @kevhead1525
    @kevhead1525 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +29

    Pinder's Mellotron was essential to Moody Blues' sound.

    • @Psychedelicxylophone
      @Psychedelicxylophone 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      On the threshold of a dream.

    • @jeffsmith1819
      @jeffsmith1819 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      May he rest in peace - died this week

  • @signal12hvac
    @signal12hvac 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +19

    the Moodies introduced the mellotron to the Beatles

  • @nx01craig
    @nx01craig 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    The Mellotron was my first musical instrument! I bought it in 1976 and still have it and used it as often as possible with my current band NEUTRAL EARTH. Thanks!

  • @kingslaphappy1533
    @kingslaphappy1533 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Interesting history of the instrument, thank you for making it. The constant total black outs threw me off somewhat.

  • @peterv7258
    @peterv7258 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +47

    The Mellotron never fell. It was society which fell.

    • @BenTrem42
      @BenTrem42 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      pffffffffffff ... *_triffler_*

    • @hanskloss1331
      @hanskloss1331 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I had a friend in college that had one (Topeka Kansas '83) I would play with it sometimes and it was BEAUTIFUL 3 iconic keyboards for me Hammond B3 , Fender Rhodes , and the Mellotron

    • @neutralearth1061
      @neutralearth1061 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Best comment ever. Bravo!

    • @CrystilBluebird-nl7wj
      @CrystilBluebird-nl7wj 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Very well stated!!
      Music is a reflection of what is happening in society, and present day society has fallen a great deal, and so has the music!
      I think it was Justin Hayward or John Lodge that said their music is not about genitals, or anything to do with chaos, violence, and destruction!!

    • @fueledbylove
      @fueledbylove 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@hanskloss1331 guy named Chuck McDaniel in a Dallas band called Sheriff had one. he wouldnt let anybody touch it! I asked once. No!
      Chuck you still out there somewhere? You were smart, damn thing breaks down if you look at it cross-eyed!

  • @PaulDeForrest
    @PaulDeForrest 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +23

    How can this documentary gloss over In The Court of the crimson King, the album that became the forefather of the progressive movement? No album before or after captures the depth or intensity of mellotron use as this does. Ian Macdonald should be in the HOF just for his creative playing of this instrument and his musical arrangements on this pivotal album alone!

    • @simonagree4070
      @simonagree4070 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      King Crimson hunts down and destroys TH-cam vids that use their image or music. Given that, why would anyone take a chance on giving them more than a passing reference? If Fripp wants recognition for Mellotron pioneering, it's on him to blow his own horn.

    •  11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Apparently Macdonald used to turn the mellotron up full and down during songs like on epitaph.

    • @steelyman08
      @steelyman08 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      @@simonagree4070 That's a shame. Sad when certain individuals ruin it for many over what basically makes their music fade away for newer generations anyway. The money is in streaming these days. Most have enough common sense to let it go now. All said and done, older bands depend on these streaming sources to keep things moving forwards. It must be just one member of King Crimson. Fripp? Like Don Henley from The Eagles. Same problem (there's even a vid on him ranting about YT). He honestly makes no sense at all. I think Rick Beato featured that clip because Henley went after him.

    • @AntonXul
      @AntonXul 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      @@steelyman08
      Yeah some of the old fogeys are pretty stupid. Their music will fade away, but they refuse to let people share their work for new people to discover. It’s stupid for them to block them. They’re shooting themselves in the foot with that reaction.

    • @steelyman08
      @steelyman08 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@AntonXul I think most who research it a little agree as well. Luckily it's very few all things considered. And it always seems to involve some behind the scenes ego feud between band members.

  • @studentjohn35
    @studentjohn35 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +26

    Mellorons were also responsivle for much of Tangerine Dream's early sound. Case in point: Phaedra

    • @Psychedelicxylophone
      @Psychedelicxylophone 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      Fabulous album. Great point there!

    • @lukespread
      @lukespread 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      I love Phaedra, bought it when it was first released.

    • @mickeythompson9537
      @mickeythompson9537 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      If you don't know it, Edgar Froese' solo Epsilon In Malaysian Pale is a must listen.

  • @emdotambient
    @emdotambient 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    Strange that Pinder would erroneously say Mellotrons use a tape loop. They don't. Each key has only about 8 seconds of sound, which you can hear as hes' talking. Once the tape reaches the end of that time, it stops. Tape loops, OTOH, are exactly that. The tape never stops because it's spliced together and just keeps going round and round. The Orchestron, which Kraftwerk used on their albums Radio-Activity, Trans Europe Express, and The Man Machine, uses a loop (albeit not on tape, but rather on an optical disc). The 7 or 8-second limit to each note on a Mellotron caused players to learn a technique when playing longer chords where the fingers of different notes would be released and pressed in a cyclic fashion so that all the notes never stopped at the same time. It's one of the quirks of the Mellotron that gave it its character.

    • @Conernforthesedogs-iw7lf
      @Conernforthesedogs-iw7lf 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      awesome

    • @geraldfriend256
      @geraldfriend256 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yeah they made a digital clone of it that you had to also retrigger a long sustained note. So accurate it even had a couple broken keys.

    • @cjbani159
      @cjbani159 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Just to add, the Orchestron and Birotron (based on looped tapes) did not have the distinctive attack on each note that the Mellotron had ~

  • @PeterJVogel
    @PeterJVogel 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +13

    Fantastic. Mellotron was used by a majority of Brit bands: Pink Floyd, Camel, The Who, Led Zep, ELO, Yes, Moody Blues, Genesis, ELP, Beatles, etc. Era-defining sounds.

    • @bassfooter
      @bassfooter 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      ELP? Which tracks?

  • @MRichK
    @MRichK 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    Great video essay but as you go forward please adjust the volume levels! If you turn your voice to normal levels then the music blows the speakers out, Or if music is normal your voice is very low.

  • @antrygis1
    @antrygis1 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Michael Pinder. Ahh, the Moodies. He once explained how he worked for the company that made them or something intricately connected to it. And on their last album with Mike....he sings, "There's one thing I can do....play my mellotron for you...." Tons of trubs on tour with these recordings-tape loops whatever. But man, when it worked on those Moody albums....MAGIC.

  • @holydiver73
    @holydiver73 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    UK DJ Mark Ratcliffe referred to the Mellotron as ‘an orchestra in a drinks cabinet’. That’s genius, because that’s essentially what it is. 😂😂

  • @davidw5993
    @davidw5993 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    the black screen cuts are very jarring.

  • @BillBraun-g3f
    @BillBraun-g3f ปีที่แล้ว +15

    early prog would not have been the same without the mellotron.
    R. Fripp

    • @cjmesq
      @cjmesq 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      King Crimson bought a used one from the Moody Blues in early 1969. The rest is history.

  • @mikeelliott5541
    @mikeelliott5541 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    Another bands significant use of the mellotron was Barclay James Harvest, particularly on their album Time Honoured Ghosts.

    • @mickeythompson9537
      @mickeythompson9537 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Absolutely - BJH!!

    • @Musichead1968
      @Musichead1968 หลายเดือนก่อน

      And they used that most odd variant, the M300. (for example, the M300's strings were 2 violins on ¼" tape as opposed to the classic 'Tron 3 violins on ⅜" tape found on the other models, Fact Fans!) Apparently, it was supposed to be portable...
      R. I. P. Woolly and Mel.

  • @jameslatham8009
    @jameslatham8009 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

    Shout out to Brian Jones' use of the mellotron. 😊

  • @sunpointstudio4472
    @sunpointstudio4472 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

    To my mind, the Moody Blues' 3rd Album (ignoring Go Now) "On the Threshold of a Dream" side two "Have you Heard (1&2)" and "The Voyage" are among the greatest examples of the use of the Mellotron.

    • @warmswarm
      @warmswarm 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Mike Pinder was the Mellotron King. Ian McDonald from King Crimson was pretty amazing too.

    • @antrygis1
      @antrygis1 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      And My Song from EGBDFavor.

    • @latetotheparty184
      @latetotheparty184 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      How about Rick Wakeman's The 6 wives of King Henry the 8th. Melotron with voices taped.

  • @onenamlit3861
    @onenamlit3861 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    Something i've always wondered about the Mellotron: Did artists ever "hack" the instrument by installing their own snippets of tape? Examples?
    You've done a really nice job with this video. Interesting and well-researched topic. Keep it up; I'll be watching your channel's development.

    • @waltergold3457
      @waltergold3457 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      I hope he does something about his sound balance. But as for hacking the Mellotron, I believe it was the instrument used in a cat-food ad which featured a chorus of singing cats. "Meow, meow, MEOW, meow! Meow, meow, MEOW, meow!" And I seem to remember a rendition of "Old McDonald's Farm" with pigs oinking in tune and so forth.

    • @mickeythompson9537
      @mickeythompson9537 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      A few bands did have the manufacturer install custom sounds - Tangerine Dream in particular, but also others. The BBC had Mellotrons with different sound effects on each key.

    • @mickeythompson9537
      @mickeythompson9537 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@waltergold3457 That was a digital sampler, probably E-mu Emulator.

    • @waltergold3457
      @waltergold3457 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@mickeythompson9537 Thanks!

    • @cjbani159
      @cjbani159 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It's documented that the BBC had a few Mellotrons that they used for sound effects ~

  • @garrygrasinski
    @garrygrasinski 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

    Rick Wakeman's exemplary touch with the mellotron on David Bowie's Space Oddity blew me away.

    • @BostonBobby1961
      @BostonBobby1961 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      RickWakeman is playing the Mellotron on Elton John’s Levon from Madman Across the Water

  • @valazuniga
    @valazuniga 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Great story! I had no idea many of my favorite songs included the sound from a Meletron. Thanks.

    • @warmswarm
      @warmswarm 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @valazuniga - It's Mellotron, it's written in the video title.

  • @ErnieDulanowsky
    @ErnieDulanowsky ปีที่แล้ว +13

    the narration is far too quiet durimg musical passages!!

    • @josephcrocilla1469
      @josephcrocilla1469 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Your voice is way too low in parts and needs re-editing , otherwise it’s a good documentary

  • @tonbridgeman
    @tonbridgeman 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    It is absolutely true that some of those classics just don't sound the same when a modern synth is used instead.

  • @timfurnier7061
    @timfurnier7061 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I turn the volume up so I can hear you, and then the music blasts in my ears.

  • @davidpancerev9658
    @davidpancerev9658 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    5:00..Tony Banks used Mellotron augmented with RMI elec piano(Fly on a windshield).

  • @gerardocarroll1158
    @gerardocarroll1158 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Assault and Battery: Hawkwind, The Rain Song: Led Zeppelin, Care of Cell 44:The Zombies, 2000 Light Years from Home : The Stones, all brilliant songs made better by the Mellotron, fantastic instrument\ gadget.

  • @jaycossey850
    @jaycossey850 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Excellent bit. The production quality of this video transported me right back to the Mellotron age! Seems like it was made in the 1970s on the gear I used back in college. Nice touch!! ;-)

  • @briankehew579
    @briankehew579 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    The Dickies were a punk band using the mellotron in 1978. In the late eighties and nineties it was Mitchell Froom and Tom Waits who brought back the Chamberlain first. Michael Penn and Patrick Warren had hits with the Chamberlin, as well as John Brion on the Mellotron on the East Coast.

    • @cjbani159
      @cjbani159 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I enjoy your music as well as your scholarship, Brian ~

  • @alienteknology5390
    @alienteknology5390 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Thanks for recognizing this amazing instrument. But there are many of us who believe it hasn't fallen. It's sound is too iconic.

  • @trep53
    @trep53 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Good stuff, I like the sound of the mellotron. Glad to watch this TH-cam video. Thanks.

  • @mikemcintosh9933
    @mikemcintosh9933 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I did not know this. Thank you for the history. I remember reading liner notes from the Rick Ruben produced album Blood Sugar Sex Magic by RHCP and reading that Brendan O'Brien played the Mellotron on the song Breaking the Girl. It is a beautiful sound, like a flute arrangement, and I think one of the album's best cuts.

  • @glenhenning9261
    @glenhenning9261 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    CAUTION! The volume is all over the place, you can easily blow out speakers. Keep a hand on the volume control, otherwise would have been a great video. P.s.- MUSICIANS! Electro-harmonix makes a bunch of footpedals that electronically produce these sounds today!!! "MEL-9" for instance, and they work awesome with any electric guitar.

  • @sdgakatbk
    @sdgakatbk 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I like the clips in this.
    When I think of the mellotron, I think of King Crimson.

  • @jbarnes2288
    @jbarnes2288 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    Bowie used a mellotron and it turned up in the recordings of many who know of the coolness factor.
    The key is knowing what to do with it from a production standpoint.
    It wants to be used in good taste

    • @misterakt
      @misterakt 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      in fact, his very first hit "Space Oddity" featured it played Rick Wakeman (who, of course, was playing it on the song at the beginning of this video!)

    •  11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Rick Wakeman played it on space oddity.

  • @daveogarf
    @daveogarf 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    The sudden cuts of the sound examples are very unpleasant and jarring. Voiceovers are sometimes buried by the soundtrack.

  • @rogergreen9861
    @rogergreen9861 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I saw Graham Nash in concert two weeks ago (March 24, Gold Coast Australia) and was so stoked to see a Leslie cabinet behind the keyboards that it took me a minute to notice the Mellotron, high and proud. All the CSNY stuff, just as it had been arranged to sound.

    • @alaincelos476
      @alaincelos476 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Graham Nash had a golden and black MK2 in thé sixties ,one of thé 7 built .

  • @ZNRCDS
    @ZNRCDS 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Nice mention of the Spring album. They had 3 mellotron players! Also two of the greatest mellotron recordings in history were PFM "Per Un Amico" (1972) [th-cam.com/video/hEfWXsl_EmA/w-d-xo.html] and England "Garden Shed" (1977) [th-cam.com/video/8pPlfkFNCkA/w-d-xo.html] There was also a renewed interest in the instrument in the 90s with groups like Anekdoten, Anglagard, Landberk, a.o. The mellotron was to an orchestra as the Fender Rhodes was to a piano. Both instruments transcended their initial uses to become distinctive sounds unto themselves.

  • @donstevenson2660
    @donstevenson2660 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

    The man who always got the best out of the mellotron was Tony Banks.

    • @patricklemeur4607
      @patricklemeur4607 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      MIKE PINDER , MOODY BLUES ....

    • @stuartwaby3081
      @stuartwaby3081 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      Yes Tony Banks was the absolute master, in fact it's generally agreed that Watcher Of The Skies is the best opening piece of Music 🎶 by anyone.

    • @blueridgepatriot1356
      @blueridgepatriot1356 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      And the Arp Quadra.

    • @marktrail8624
      @marktrail8624 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Most certainly Mike Pinder had a way of bring out the etheric sounds in so many Moody Blues tunes.

    • @perry3928
      @perry3928 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Agreed. Just listen to the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Such versatility use of the instrument. Amazing instrument and sadly missed. Very unique sound.

  • @VultureClone
    @VultureClone 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Video is interesting but dude, I can barely hear your voice over the music lol. And I had to keep quickly turning my volume up and down, up and down throughout the video. Just letting you know. Other than that, awesome video.

  • @pmoris4405
    @pmoris4405 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    It was mostly used in the UK where it was conceived. It was rarely heard in american rock/pop music. It trully contribuited to make english bands of the 60’s and 70’s much more interesting than those from the US. Only my opinion.

    • @thekitowl
      @thekitowl 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Not conceived in the UK , check its history out.

    • @pmoris4405
      @pmoris4405 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@thekitowlyes I should replace “conceived” to “developed” althought the point remains the same.

  • @Mo-MuttMusic
    @Mo-MuttMusic 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks for sharing. If memory serves, musicians also got frustrating with the mellotron, too, because the sounds they played would fade out after a few seconds, making it difficult to sustain notes. Seems like Rick Wakeman mentioned that when he talked about playing for Bowie on "Space Oddity." Shawn R., Mo-Mutt Music/Sacred & Secular

  • @davidc.williams-swanseauk3623
    @davidc.williams-swanseauk3623 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I love the Mellotron and first heard it on a Moody Blues trach called "Watching and Waiting" back in the day. I purchased a digital Mellotron about 2 years ago as I had a refund from an airline ticket that I didn't need. As the cost is around £2000 it is a serious investment. However, following in the footsteps of all the great prog rockers (and standing on the shoulders of giants!) I now use it to add more emotion to my songs. There is no other sound like it and it is superb for adding more character to songs. Nights in White Satin was not received well by the rest of the Moody Blues when Justin played it to them for the very first time on guitar. However, as soon as Mike Pinder added Mellotron the result was the amazing track we all love today.

  • @majonari
    @majonari 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Justin Hayward’s voice, Mike Pinder’s Mellotron and Ray Thomas’s flute got me hooked to the music of the Moody Blues. I listen to their music everyday since 1967.

  • @stevenwilliams3083
    @stevenwilliams3083 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    And don't forget the master keyboardist of Barclay James Harvest, the late, great Woolly Wolstenholme.

    • @nickk6518
      @nickk6518 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      'For No One,' from Everyone is Everybody Else. Mellotron Heaven!!

    • @stevenwilliams3083
      @stevenwilliams3083 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@nickk6518 Yes, possibly my very favorite BJH song, maybe my favorite of all time!

    • @stevenwilliams3083
      @stevenwilliams3083 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      ​@@nickk6518And, in addition to the brilliant mellotron, the amazing cascading layers of guitar at the end...possibly their magnum opus?

    • @nickk6518
      @nickk6518 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@stevenwilliams3083 That whole album is one of the greatest to have come out of the 1970s but undoubtedly overshadowed by those of other bands. After I posted my comment, I realised I had forgotten the equally majestic 'See Me See You,' with it's rather gorgeous church-organ style 'echo' at the end.
      Of course, we should never forget the exquisite final five or six minutes of Gates of Delerium by Yes, with Patrick Moraz on keys, including Mellotron.
      And for something a bit more recent 'Twice Around the Sun' from Darktown, by Steve Hackett.

    • @Psychedelicxylophone
      @Psychedelicxylophone 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It makes me V happy when i see someone give woolly recognition for the mellotron.
      Woollys contribution towards the end of those BJH albums is pinnacle.
      Woolly wolstenholme was a very special giffted musician.

  • @mikeymutual5489
    @mikeymutual5489 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    According to the Internet, the Beach Boys never used a Mellotron in any of their recordings. Instead, they used a domestic variant called the "Chamberlin" on a few of their songs.

    • @cjbani159
      @cjbani159 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      The Chamberlain predates the Mellotron, which is actually a bootleg Chamberlain ~

    • @davidpancerev9658
      @davidpancerev9658 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Country air from Wild Honey.

  • @borusa32
    @borusa32 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    It would be hard to think of Watcher of the Skies with any other sound.

  • @philsmith2444
    @philsmith2444 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    My favorite use of it is in Yes “The Revealing Science Of God.” It just sounds so huge!

  • @TheOther11000
    @TheOther11000 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    I use a Memotron these days. The tape banks have all been digitized and it sounds amazing!

    • @earthlightsmusic2743
      @earthlightsmusic2743 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      In 1996 I constructed a Tron-In-ROM that has all the Violins and and octave of Cello digitized. Wouldn't mind having one of those Memotrons, though!

    • @cemdasou
      @cemdasou 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Arturia got a a mellotron as plugin as well

  • @howitusedtobe
    @howitusedtobe 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Damn my g ! Set it off with and you and I ! Great way to open a video

  • @michellebell5092
    @michellebell5092 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I’m a massive prog fan since the beginning of prog rock , but I admit to never fully understanding the background, to the mellotron . so i thank you for the very helpful and history

  • @alanporzio7143
    @alanporzio7143 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Why hasn’t anyone mention the Chamberlin? Harry Chamberlin of Upland California invented the original design and was stolen .copied by a former employee and manufactured by a British company that was unaware of its origin. For an accurate history, there is a documentary about the history of tape playback based keyboards. The film is called Mellodrama, I was one of the first to own a Chamberlin in the LA music circles in the mid 70’s. Jerry Lewis had one and it was originally designed as a home orchestra to replace the home organ. In fact, the Mellotron had aimed for the same market.

    • @kivimik
      @kivimik 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Mike Pinder did record with a Chamberlin for the Moody Blues' album, Seventh Sojourn, if it's any consolation.

    • @cjbani159
      @cjbani159 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I'm a little surprised that the author of this video did not address this ~

  • @DarrylTurner-p6t
    @DarrylTurner-p6t 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    For me, it was the instrument of a lifetime and lifestyle!

  • @axxellein
    @axxellein 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Black Sabbath=Changes-1972..Clear , Ethereal, Ballad! Mellotron TRES Heavy!

  • @ricinro
    @ricinro 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I inherited (volunteered to clean out a deceased man's hobby) old electromechanical music devices on of these was a "Chamberlain" (as I recal) which had a similar tape transport mechanism as the mellotron. Back when I was 18 this stuff was considered useless clutter by my folks and we soon parted ways. Sad, I guess

    • @cjbani159
      @cjbani159 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      The Chamberlain predates the Mellotron, which was actually stolen from Harry Chamberlain. It's quite a story ~

  • @VincentGavin
    @VincentGavin 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Hey, great subject for a video but please consider re-uploading this with your voiceover higher in the mix (particularly when laid over music), I can’t make out what you’re saying!

  • @neutralearth1061
    @neutralearth1061 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    All hail our Mellotron Overlords! The Mellotron is a staple of our sound. We use a vintage 1972 M400 with 4 different tape sets, as well as a digital M4000D (with all of the Sound Cards), 2 Mellotron Micros, and several Mellotron Apps for iPad and iPhone. You can never have too much Mellotron. We write and record our own interesting music for the fun of it and post the albums on our NEUTRAL EARTH TH-cam channel. Mellotron lovers unite! Long live the Mellotron!

  • @wolfgamerz7190
    @wolfgamerz7190 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What’s the song at 5:40?

  • @kensmith8152
    @kensmith8152 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I went to the music store to buy a guitar and the salesman told me they now have a new digital version of the mellotron! I didn’t even go look at it because I would’ve added more money owed to my father’s credit card then I wanted to!😗

  • @hippomancy
    @hippomancy 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    there was a soothing quality to it, similar to strings, but less pretentious- it suited rock'n'roll, or prog, and both elevated the effects of the music, but brought it down. my fave is Crimso's use of it on In the Court..., and Red.

    • @isometric2008
      @isometric2008 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Easy Money as well!!

  • @ybrix101
    @ybrix101 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Great video. Volume and editing needs some work though.

  • @TerminalConstipation
    @TerminalConstipation 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    i think it would be good to increase the volume of the narrator audio in the mix

  • @joeesposito6876
    @joeesposito6876 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    How do you not mention Jasper Wrath

  • @ChrisElsasser
    @ChrisElsasser 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Nice feature on the mellotron.
    I used one at a local keyboard store in Miami back in the seventies it was a beautiful little machine that cost $4,000.😂

  • @lukespread
    @lukespread 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Great video let down by the overall sound quality. I struggled to hear what you were saying, at times.

  • @michaelmakes1225
    @michaelmakes1225 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The mellotron was usually found in certain studios in London, and bands recording in those studios would have the option of using it in the mid/ late 60's,when it was working..The Bee gees early albums, mainly their first 2,feature one, played by Maurice Gibb..

  • @rickdenney5772
    @rickdenney5772 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Talking about the history of the Mellotron without talking to Rick Wakeman is like talking about the Moog synthesizer without talking to Rick Wakeman. Wakeman was the only session musician in London who could play the Mellotron in tune by modulating his finger pressure, and that’s the reason you hear him in Space Oddity among dozens of other well-known hits. That was before he joined Yes, and one of the reasons he joined Yes.

  • @stargate1555
    @stargate1555 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The Mellotron M4000D can reproduce every sound from the M400, the Mark I, the Mark II, Mark VI and has sound presets to reproduce every instrument in an orchestra. With the introduction of sound cards 02-03-04-05-06.......the possibilities are endless. I just hope one day Marcus comes out with an 88 key Mellotron. That would be fantastic. Yes, I'd buy one.

  • @hifibrony
    @hifibrony 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    There is nothing like a Mellotron Nothing. The sound it makes is magical.

  • @bobbyggare8364
    @bobbyggare8364 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Loved the video. Good representation of the Mellotrons key moments.

  • @andrewwilliams9599
    @andrewwilliams9599 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Many groups used Mellotrons in the 1980s, including Captain Beefheart (Doc at the Radar Station) and XTC (The Big Express).

  • @mackb909
    @mackb909 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Wish you’d mentioned The Rolling Stones’ employment of the Mellotron on their underrated psychedelic album “Their Satanic Majesties’ Request.” The late multi instrumentalist Brian Jones mastered it and the result was the eerie and haunting sound on “2000 Light Years From Home” and “She’s A Rainbow” on that album, as well as “Child of the Moon,” the B side of their 1968 single “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
    You also don’t mention its employment by Led Zeppelin’s bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones (the quietest and most underrated member of that band) on the song “Kashmir,” from their 1975 album”Physical Graffiti” (also augmented by actual strings). It gives the song an otherworldly atmosphere.

  • @mlimbolimbo
    @mlimbolimbo 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Great content, but the cuts to black are jarring and take the viewer out of the story. Also as commented below, the voice over is lost to the music in some cases.

  • @larryoilund3377
    @larryoilund3377 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I LIKE MELOTRON N HAMMOND B3 W/LESILE !

  • @tiredironrepair
    @tiredironrepair 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    If the audio tape sections for each key were easily replaced and a new one inserted with words or a phrase recorded on it it would be the first audio sampling keyboard.

    • @jaygosch8705
      @jaygosch8705 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Add a record amp and an erase head and circuit, and you could record new sounds directly with the Mellotron. The tricky part would be pressing the key exactly when you want to start recording and making sure what you want to record fits within the length of the tape. It would be interesting to see the tape drive in the Mellowtron. I'm used to a capstan and pinch roller. When I was a kid, my first tape recorder didn't use a capstan and pinch roller, and it was nearly impossible to get the tape to play back at the speed it was recorded. I got a better one a couple years later. Also, it sounds like the original Mellotron lacked a regulated power supply. That could be easily remedied these days.

  • @blackrhino3442
    @blackrhino3442 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I learned a lot. Thanks . Now reengineer the voice over.

  • @pommelhorsepommelhorse8731
    @pommelhorsepommelhorse8731 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    that was fun. good to see mike pindar who doesn't always get credit.

  • @deBASHmode
    @deBASHmode 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Such an interesting instrument - please remix this so we can hear your voice over music clips.

  • @DCHurlford1
    @DCHurlford1 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    When Black Sabbath used one on their classic track "Changes", it sounded seriously eerie.

  • @RobertGraziose
    @RobertGraziose หลายเดือนก่อน

    What about The Strawbs??

  • @imnoone492
    @imnoone492 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I have a Mellotron on my iPad that I midi to my Yamaha grand electric piano, it sounds good. It sounds like a Mellotron, but it passes, and I love the sound and the versatility of it, and would someday love to have a real one.

  • @kathyrizzi8754
    @kathyrizzi8754 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    They need to bring it back with bands, bring back our great music! YAY to The Moody Blues, Mike Pinder played it in 1968, love the Moodies!♥️🎵🎶🎵🎹🎸🎸🪈🥁

  • @user-ky6vw5up9m
    @user-ky6vw5up9m 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I dabbled with Abbey Road Studios’ Melloton at a “viewing day” in 1980 before it was part of a public auction for an upgrade of the studio equipment.

  • @axxellein
    @axxellein 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Angel=1975-80, TRES Cool/Heavy use of the Mellotron for POMP Rock Epics!

  • @rosskendall3310
    @rosskendall3310 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Well, as pointed out, even by Tony Banks, they had to rebuilt the Mellatron after every performance. Who wants to keep an instrument which has to be repaired night after night? I remember a keyboard that used little discs, like mini CDs for its sound. Saw it in Keyboard magazine during the 1970's. Obviously, it didnt catch on, and advanced keyboards during the 1970's were outrageously expensive. I remember when the first Kurzweils came out, like who could afford them? Now, almost every keyboard player has one. So, unless any keyboard does not hold up while touring, it's going to go by the wayside.

  • @Aquatarkus96
    @Aquatarkus96 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hey I really liked the content of the video but the audio mix could use some work tbh :)

  • @billeberline9744
    @billeberline9744 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    “The Mellotron was a Labor of Love”
    Former President of Mellotron

  • @henrygrant5562
    @henrygrant5562 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Check out the 1970 album on RCA by a band called Spring. Self titled album . Amazing mellotron I still love that album, dominated by mellotron

    • @darleytransportandtravel6353
      @darleytransportandtravel6353 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I once had this album. Worth a fortune now! I believe they used two mk2 models to achieve that haunting spine chilling sound.

    • @lunarpollen
      @lunarpollen 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Definitely a great album... Another one with some amazing Mellotron is Frumpy's second album, especially the song "Duty"...

  • @zeljkofatzek3670
    @zeljkofatzek3670 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I've just listened to early Steve Miller Band masterpiece Children of the Future after long time. Masterful mellotron work by Jim Peterman on par with best Pinder's works.

  • @bradleystone2623
    @bradleystone2623 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Good job, but you seriously need to remix this and bring your voice up in the mix!

  • @Michael-Philip
    @Michael-Philip 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Can barely hear the narration..

  • @mikeymutual5489
    @mikeymutual5489 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Music is loud and narration is soft. Try to fix that.

  • @toddburgess6792
    @toddburgess6792 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    "...held together with bicycle chains, and the Beatles used one."
    I seriously don't know how some of these ideas came about, but surely glad they did.

    • @roygwinn2
      @roygwinn2 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I had a Mellotron Mk II, which had bicycle chains connecting barrels of tape so you could select six different parts of the tape. Each of those parts had three different tracks, so 18 possible sounds. It was very unreliable.