TRON Revisited

Correction on my comment saying there are 200 presets on the M4000D. There are in fact 100 that come factory installed with the instrument with room for 100 more via expansion cards.

Afaik the first Tangerine Dream custom tape set was produced 20.5.75 by Mellotronics Limited (labelled D91 1-30SFX/1-32SFX). Later the band bought their own tapes and recorded their own sounds; Edgar Froese 'sampled' his own synths and used them for polyphonic presets on his solo album STUNTMAN as well as using his Birotron B90 with tape loops for infinite choir sounds. The photo of TD used in the video is from the Orange Festival in 1975 and it was one of if not the first time that the SFX tapes were used live. The band also sampled André Almuró’s 1969 electro-acoustic album Kosmos Musiques Experimentales (track one: Va-Et-Vient), which can be heard on Ricochet (the 'thump thump' electro-acoustic drum sounds).

Mellotron really was the original sampler. I'd no idea of these use cases. Very cool!

Everytime you release a mellotron video (and especially with these FX libraries), I just imagine someone doing prepared tape pieces and producing some sort of musique concrete. ...and then I wonder why I never thought to do that in the digital sampling world. Great videos not only educate and share, but also inspire. Thanks for sharing.

Ahh, that tangerine dreams sounds ❤️. I instantly have the corresponding tracks playing in my mind.

The Mellotron has always been one of my favs, with Watcher of the Skies being my favorite usage of the machine. I would like to get one of the modern day versions one day, but in the meantime my EHX Mel9 will have to do! 🤗

We love the Mellotron in all forms and use them a lot. We have a vintage M400 with 4 different tape racks, 2 Mellotron Micro's, an M4000D (like the one in this video). We also have several apps, including Streetlytron, Mellowsound, Manetron, and Mellotron we use with our iPads, phones and iPod Touch. Our motto is "You can never have too much Mellotron."

A very educational and entertaining video. It's just really good fun listening to the samples you chose and watching your reaction as you demonstrate what is lurking inside the TRON. I'm pretty sure that some of these samples have made their way onto keyboards such as the ASM Hydrasynth, Kurweil PC and perhaps even the newer Hammond Stage keyboards. Great video, Tim!

I would like a part 2 how these people went about making these effects. What I love about you tube is you can go from a guy stuck in a cave. To extreme metal Detcting and this video. I like the way you explain stuff and show reviews. It’s good to catch up on all your videos when I have free time 10/10 nice one tim

I spoke to GForce who make the epic M-Tron Pro and have all the Streetly Tapes. They said that they own the rights to all the tron tapes and they were licensed for this machine, I asked them if they'd release the FX libraries for their plugin. They didn't think there'd be a market for them, even though they admitted they're amazing. Might have to stump for a hardware machine just to get those libraries!

Awesome video Tim. I was vaguely aware there were other Mellotron tape/options, no idea how deep that rabbit hole went.

ok, those roxy music FX hit me right in the nostalgia. good video.

These same files are available for the Nord keyboard lineup via their Nord Sample Library. Lots of traditional Mellotron samples, mapped and ready to go. I love them!

Interesting Tim,fantastic presentation as always,GRP A4 next ,????

Great clip. Stunning collection of sounds🕉

A lot of the sounds where you have YES are from Patrick Moraz’s album ‘I’ which is a great album!

The first time I remember hearing the mellotron was on Hawkwind's warrior on the edge of time and David Bowie's Diamond Dogs albums back in the 1970s, being young I didn't realise that the string/choir sound came from a tape based keyboard but I do remember really liking that ethereal sound on those albums. I now have an Akai force/mpcx that does a good simulation of that instrument.

I love the Mellotron sound! Bands that I loved the most, like the Beatles and King Crimson used it and it always sounded magical to me. I always needed to have these sounds, if only as a VST.

This was lovely and entertaining. Thank you kindly, sir.

Thanks Tim I recently picked up the M4000D mini but $500 for the expansion cards is a bit steep considering having just shelled out $2000 for the keyboard. I will say the sounds are priceless. Thank you for sharing.