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.
@stargate1555Ай бұрын
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.
@maryschade1906Ай бұрын
Any band who used this owes the Moodies and Pinder a huge favor. Pinder introduced the mellotron to the Beatles.
@jaycossey850Ай бұрын
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!! ;-)
@jeffsmith18192 ай бұрын
I still use it!
@hifibrony2 ай бұрын
There is nothing like a Mellotron Nothing. The sound it makes is magical.
@bradleystone26233 ай бұрын
Good job, but you seriously need to remix this and bring your voice up in the mix!
@rogergreen98613 ай бұрын
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.
@alaincelos4763 ай бұрын
Graham Nash had a golden and black MK2 in thé sixties ,one of thé 7 built .
@ChrisElsasser4 ай бұрын
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.😂
@MAS68saxophone4 ай бұрын
A little interesting fact, taylor swift used the brass sound of the mellotron in shake it off. You can hear it in the beginning
@WayneKitching4 ай бұрын
I don't think the Mellotron was replaced by synthesizers because synths sounded more realistic. I think the synths were "good enough" to use, but much more reliable and easier tour with. Later synths and samplers became much more realistic. The Mellotron reminds me of. Old newsreels, because of the lo-di quality and the wow and flutter.
@howitusedtobe5 ай бұрын
Damn my g ! Set it off with and you and I ! Great way to open a video
@Mynamesalexa5 ай бұрын
Surprised you didn't mention FOCUS
@hamstring67925 ай бұрын
Mellotrons got a bad rap for being unreliable. Actually, it was their owners that were unreliable. I've owned 4 of them and the level of maintenance is extremely low. I spend way more time maintaining one guitar than I do on my one remaining Mellotron.
@kathyrizzi87545 ай бұрын
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!♥️🎵🎶🎵🎹🎸🎸🪈🥁
@Lachenmann75 ай бұрын
The narrator's voice is effectively gone.
@googlesucks13765 ай бұрын
Mellotron we recorded way back when. Keeping the pinchrollers and giant capstan clean and with the correct pressure was not fun - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rKmcqsKjqLiXhWQ.html
@mackb9095 ай бұрын
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.
@redsox34595 ай бұрын
Brian Wilson used it in '65 to make Good Vibrations
@zeljkofatzek36705 ай бұрын
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.
@randallgoldapp95106 ай бұрын
It's own unique sound, sort of like a Hammond B3.
@thedrunkphilosopher31236 ай бұрын
Listening to you is akin at trying to hear the guy next to you in the middle of a rock concert. I’m sure what you had to say was great, however I couldn’t hear you.
@axxellein6 ай бұрын
Angel=1975-80, TRES Cool/Heavy use of the Mellotron for POMP Rock Epics!
@michaelmakes12256 ай бұрын
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..
@michellebell50926 ай бұрын
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
@rickdenney57726 ай бұрын
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.
@joeesposito68766 ай бұрын
How do you not mention Jasper Wrath
@nx01craig6 ай бұрын
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!
@neutralearth10616 ай бұрын
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 KZfaq channel. Mellotron lovers unite! Long live the Mellotron!
@imnoone4926 ай бұрын
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.
@blackrhino34426 ай бұрын
I learned a lot. Thanks . Now reengineer the voice over.
@stevekirkby65706 ай бұрын
The Mellotron never fell - it just got replaced by VST's, Samplers and emulations of its function. The Mellotron was genius, but flawed by its size and complexity in keeping it functioning well. Now you can get those sounds in a handy box :) Long may that sound pervade our music.
@CassandrashadowcassMorrison6 ай бұрын
Occult Teacher George Gurdjieff (867-19491 loved this instrument
@alienteknology53906 ай бұрын
Thanks for recognizing this amazing instrument. But there are many of us who believe it hasn't fallen. It's sound is too iconic.
@davidf63266 ай бұрын
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! There is no such condition as 'most unique'. Unique is an absolute. Something either IS unique or it's not. When, oh when, will the horrid misuse of this word cease?! Rant over...... ......for now 😁
@DCHurlford16 ай бұрын
When Black Sabbath used one on their classic track "Changes", it sounded seriously eerie.
@hanskloss13316 ай бұрын
not one mention of David Bowie using one
@artrandy2 ай бұрын
Why should there be? Bowie's use of the 'tron was not revolutionary, nor particularly early. He never even played it. Rick Wakeman did and from memory Gus Dudgeon produced...😀...
@markrlondon6 ай бұрын
I agree with the other commentator, your vocals are sometimes too low respect to the video. Also, you need to e more animated. Your voice is just too mellow to want to listen to. I think every KZfaq channel starts out with one voice and the person eventually changes their voice to be more animated or higher, pitched or faster. Whatever. For what it’s worth.
@rosskendall33106 ай бұрын
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.
@impalaman97076 ай бұрын
Just call it "proto" synth!
@andrewwilliams95996 ай бұрын
Many groups used Mellotrons in the 1980s, including Captain Beefheart (Doc at the Radar Station) and XTC (The Big Express).
@christopherp.hitchens39026 ай бұрын
Ugh! “Freebird”? Anybody that beings up Freebird can’t possibly know much about music!
@michaeldavid62846 ай бұрын
Big thumbs down due to the horrible audio levels, both in narration and music. Also thumbs down for not mentioning the use of the Mellotron in "Stairway To Heaven".
@patrickmedland74736 ай бұрын
Mate, the video’s called “a BRIEF history” I can’t have mentioned every single song it was used on.
@idahomike42546 ай бұрын
Yeah, I don't think any band captured the pure essence of the Melotron like The Moody Blues. It became a very intricate part of their music. RIP Mike Pinder.
@deBASHmode6 ай бұрын
Such an interesting instrument - please remix this so we can hear your voice over music clips.
@tiredironrepair6 ай бұрын
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.
@jaygosch87056 ай бұрын
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.
@hairydonuts60246 ай бұрын
Great vid, but you need to put the audio tracks through a limiter & up your narration. I can't actually hear what you're saying & I'm wearing earbuds! The audio levels are all over the place.
@latheofheaven10176 ай бұрын
Jeez. This could have been an interesting video, but it's destroyed by the ridiculous volume changes. Can you sort it out and reupload it, perhaps?