Mellotron Workshop - Dec 11 - Philladelphia

mosc

Calendar Event: December 11, 2004

Mellotron Workshop
December 11, 2004
8:00 PM
Philadelphia

On Saturday 11 December 2004 at 8:00pm The Gatherings
Concert Series will present a Mellotron Workshop. The
workshop is open to anyone interested in learning more about
the concepts upon which this instrument is based. If you have
ever listened to music which included the sounds of the classic
mighty Mellotron keyboard and become curious about how it
functions and is used to create music, then this workshop is for
you!

The Mellotron workshop at The Gatherings will be headed by
veteran Mellotronist Jeff Coulter, a leading figure in the field of
tape-based analog replay keyboards as well as in music
performance with the now legendary Philadelphia-based
Spacemusic duo Tangent.

Demonstrating on a vintage Mellotron M400, Coulter and his
team of experts will discuss the history, technology and basic
concepts involved in playing sounds and producing music with a
Mellotron. Attendees will have an opportunity to observe close-up
the workings of a Mellotron, hear how this instrument produces
tones and how musicians use these tones in musical
composition. Whether you are a beginner, a music fan or have
advanced knowledge, you will come away from this workshop
with a better understanding of the Mellotron, the people who use
them and deeper insight into the contributions this unique
instrument has made to contemporary music.

Joining Jeff Coulter at the Mellotron Workshop will be a number
of noted fellow enthusiasts including:

-Ken Leonard will be creating the "skell-o-tron", a Mellotron with
no case allowing complete access and view to the inner
workings

-Jimmy Moore is an independant Mellotron scholar, co-host of
the May 2001 Mellotron Symposium in Glen Mills, PA and owner
of the "Formicatron" (loaned to Radio Massacre Int'l on their May
2004 visit to The Gatherings)

-Pierre Veilleux, the one-time keyboard player for [the
Canadian Genesis tribute band] "The Musical Box" and official
experienced Mellotron demonstrator will be showing attendees
his instrument's full performance potential

-Gino Wong is a fellow Mellotron owner and former STAR'S
END/DIASPAR host

Along with an actual performance by revered Mellotronist Pierre
Veilleux, each expert in turn will review some of the history,
technology, apparent "cult" following of the Mellotron, as well as
cover the mechanics, workings, maintenance and current status
of tape replay keyboards.

The Gatherings Concert Series hosts:
The Mellotron Workshop with Jeff Coulter et al
8:00pm on Saturday 11 December 2004 in
the parish hall of
St. Mary's Hamilton Village
3916 Locust Walk on the Penn campus in West Philadelphia

For more on the Mellotron Workshop at
The Gatherings Concert Series,
please access: http://www.thegatherings.org

Mellotron Overview:

A Mellotron is a tape replay keyboard. This means that under
every key is a length of magnetic tape that is moved past a
playback head whenever that key is pressed. Each piece of tape
has a sound (for example, a sustained flute note) whose pitch
corresponds with the keyboard note that it is under. After a key
has been pressed and then released, the tape is pulled quickly
back to its starting position by a spring. Since each sound is
produced by a linear piece of tape rather than an endless loop,
the sound can faithfully reproduce the attack phase and then the
decay phase of a percussive instrument such as a piano.

While the designer's goal was probably to make it sound exactly
like the original instrument that was recorded, the quality of a
Mellotron's sound is, perhaps accidentally, distinctly its own. It
has been called a 'mutant organ' and its sound is often
described as moody and warm. It gives a song a haunting,
lonely quality.

Notes From Bob Synder's Mellotron Page

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:58 am Post subject:

BRILLIANT!!!!!! Very Happy

paul e. · Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 10:27 am Post subject:

does anyone know who invented/designed the mellotron..?

i also love this instrument...

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:34 am Post subject:

The Guvnor · Joined: Dec 06, 2004 Posts: 14 Location: Central NJ

Ever since I bought a copy of the M-Tron virtual instrument, Ive always wanted to build a wooden case, stuff a PC in there running V-Stack & the M-Tron VSTi, and cannibalise one of my old MIDI synths for a keyboard and have a genuine 'Tron Copy'.

Triggering a Tron VSTi from a MIDI synth has a strange feeling to it....

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 6:50 pm Post subject:

Yeah... me too...
This is a project I guess I will start some time next year.

The Guvnor · Joined: Dec 06, 2004 Posts: 14 Location: Central NJ

zynthetix · Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:56 am Post subject:

The Guvnor · Joined: Dec 06, 2004 Posts: 14 Location: Central NJ

I think we've found a whole new use for those old PCs... I wonder where I can find the dimensions for the cabinet????

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:21 pm Post subject:

I have probably somewhere still 2 manuals for the Novatron. I think one of these did have some kind of list of the measurements for the cabinet and I did find a pretty good drawing of the cabinet somewhere on the net.

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:26 pm Post subject:

I was thinking I could kinda set up the mac or pc with various efx plugs and that way construct some of my standard patches for the instrument.
This could probably also be done by putting in some 1 U efx units too. I haven´t decided yet. I guess I should test how far I can stretch the CPU in the old mac first. Only problem is that I guess I should have some kind of display .. embedding an LCD panel ?? Hmm...

seraph · Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 4:09 pm Post subject:

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 4:35 pm Post subject:

Not the macotron.. I have all the parts... hopefully.. but not until like september next year I guess. When I said winter project I was thinking about the clone compressors etc.