Mellotron Micro Digital Synthesizer

Product Information

this experience left me undecided. i do like the looks, the build, the displays and all. unfortunately never had a chance to play a memotron to compare. i dont like that its unnecessary wide with that extention right from the keyboard. when you carry stuff arround, every inch counts. at least,, that's what she said. I recently got to play with one of my new favorite toys, the Mellotron Micro. I’ve always been a huge fan of the way a Mellotron sounds, as they are truly the key to capturing the audio mood of melancholiness. Made famous by The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields” and The Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin”, the Mellotron sound has been a favorite of many professional keyboardists since the early 1960s. I am owning one of the first built Manikin Electronics Memotrons with all available soundsets. But for a few sounds on stage, I dislike carrying the big thing. And selecting sounds instantly is of cause a big plus when doing mainly improvised mid seventies Berlin School music. I am not a fan of using a MIDI keyboard to control expanders, so the new Manikin Memotron Desktop was not the right thing for me.

The Mellotron Micro is the smallest version available of the M4000D Digital Mellotron, and includes many of the features of the full-size version. One hundred 24-bit uncompressed sounds are immediately accessible, sourced from original first-generation Mellotron and Chamberlain tape libraries. An octave selector switch provides access across the same range as the larger M4000Ds from Micro’s two-octave keyboard. The semi-weighted keys and MIDI connections also allow the Mellotron Micro to be used as a high-quality controller in your studio or on the road. Additional controls include octave selector, volume, tone, normal/half-speed play and pitch adjustment. Expansion slot gives you 100 extra sounds on special compact flash cards, all from the original archives. There will be ca 8 expansion cards released with a large variety of sounds Famous songs featuring Mellotrons include “Strawberry Fields Forever,”“Kashmir,”and “Paranoid Android.” The sounds are taken from the original first-generation tape library giving the same sound quality as the original Mellotrons made in the 60s and 70s The sale included the micro and the power supply only. Needless to say, I was surprised to find out the box is a simple brown box with some styrofoamso, ill add here that listening to both models on youtube now, the memo samples seem vibey but its very dark. like there is a lowpass filter on all sounds. it is great that its samples at the output of a mellotron, but that of course depends a lot on what kind of mellotron unit it was, and what sort of audio path conversion was used.

Our very advanced and in-house developed streaming technology for uncompressed 24 bit audio reproduction Third, if you're doing TV or other work where you're in the grid, dealing with MIDI, and you need the signals to be super clean (I know, not exactly the way most use a Mellotron) a real M400 might not be the best choice. The Mellotron is, in fact, an electronic keyboard, but unlike a traditional synthesizer, the sound is generated from the 35 individual tapes containing different sounds. This allows them to emulate completely different instruments like modern-day sampling devices.Invented in the 1960s in England, it gained popularity with bands like The Beatles, King Crimson, and Genesis. I'm forunate to have both the Mellotron M4000D (micro version) and the Memotron M2D. I'm cetainly no expert on the subject of Mellotrons, authentic or sample based software or hardware. I bought these two because i'ved always loved the Mellotron sounds which have haunted me for years. I shoiuld point out here after spend most of my working life stuch in front of computer screens coding all day the last last thing I want to do is sit in front of the same dam screen when it comes to music hence hardware is where I want to be for sounds!

Next to that is the LED Mellotron logo, which is one of the coolest aesthetic features of this synth. The LED can be seen on the key bed from the front of the synth, and depending on the mood you are in, has the ability to change colors. To change the color, hold your fingers on the logo until you find your favorite one. The first time this happened in the studio everyone jumped up out of their seats. After all, it’s the little things that make you feel a connection with a new instrument. This is the thing to focus on. If the digital samples are done well, there IS no difference from the Mellotron that was sampled at the time it was sampled. A week later, the Mellotron will sound different from tape wear and head dirt, the sampler will not. That is the main difference. The original Mellotron will sound different over time and that change will not be a positive one.As far as updates, updating via the SD card is far easier. I was an early adopter of the Micro and it needed an update so Markus just sent me a micro SD card that I popped in and ran, no need for a computer with a MIDI interface and more complicated procedure. The Mellotron M4000D Micro is a compact, lightweight, portable two-octave synthesizer keyboard that is ideal for on the road and in the studio. Mellotron M4000D Micro features A & B soundbanks with 100 instantly accessible Mellotron and Chamberlin sounds gathered from the original master tapes, with mix control to blend them together. Its semi-weighted velocity sensitive keys provide easy playability. Additionally, the Mellotron Micro features controls for octave switching, tone, volume, and pitch adjustment providing a versatile mini keyboard. The M4000D micro is the ideal solution for the on-the-move musician and producer featuring MIDI connections, additional headphone input, and a super compact design allowing it to be easily portable. Take the classic sounds of the Mellotron and Chamberlin anywhere you go. Keys are not aftertouch-sensitive. Still could be considered pricey. Modified foot controllers required for some control features. You can use the Arturia KeyLab or any other MIDI controller to use this software, and it is compatible with all DAWs on Windows as well as Mac computers. Summary