I have always been a big fan of the Mellotron and was about to buy one in the mid 70's when the first string synthesizers were invented - at the time I settled for an Elka Rhapsody rather than a Mellotron: good decision in view of the cost and unreliability of the Mellotron then. Cue 40 odd years later and the solid state Melly is much more affordable! So I have fulfilled a long held ambition and taken delivery of a Mellotron rack since the last blog.
That's an old MicroKorg keyboard on top that I picked up second hand to drive it.
Sitting quietly nursing a return to health after my latest sniffy cold gift from grandsons, I resolved to re-visit the first demo of Circular Peter and try out the new Mellotron on it. I wasn't in any shape to re-record any vocals or instrument tracks so the only thing new would be to add Mellotron strings and bells and then remix. I re-arranged to shorten the song and conceived a Mellotronic doorbell sound to open proceedings followed by an acoustic verse before the band came in. I made changes in the original demo clips and tracks in Cakewalk Sonar to arrive at the new arrangement. If you listen carefully you can hear the "join" here and there as I cut and pasted the original recording around. But overall I thought it was fit for demo purpose!
Then I recorded the Mellotron strings and bell parts and set about the remix. The remix was very difficult. I tried stereo this time but the original recordings are sufficiently flawed to make it all a frustrating compromise. I had to remind myself that 'one day' I would attempt to record it for real (probably) using hired in musos. But, in the end, I settled for the remix at the following link.
circular-peter-final-stereo-demo
Conclusion: The Mellotron certainly cuts through the mix - I bet it would be great in a live context, just need to find or put together a band sympathetic to the moody Melly sound. Time to move onto the next song in the project I think!
That's an old MicroKorg keyboard on top that I picked up second hand to drive it.
Sitting quietly nursing a return to health after my latest sniffy cold gift from grandsons, I resolved to re-visit the first demo of Circular Peter and try out the new Mellotron on it. I wasn't in any shape to re-record any vocals or instrument tracks so the only thing new would be to add Mellotron strings and bells and then remix. I re-arranged to shorten the song and conceived a Mellotronic doorbell sound to open proceedings followed by an acoustic verse before the band came in. I made changes in the original demo clips and tracks in Cakewalk Sonar to arrive at the new arrangement. If you listen carefully you can hear the "join" here and there as I cut and pasted the original recording around. But overall I thought it was fit for demo purpose!
Then I recorded the Mellotron strings and bell parts and set about the remix. The remix was very difficult. I tried stereo this time but the original recordings are sufficiently flawed to make it all a frustrating compromise. I had to remind myself that 'one day' I would attempt to record it for real (probably) using hired in musos. But, in the end, I settled for the remix at the following link.
circular-peter-final-stereo-demo
Conclusion: The Mellotron certainly cuts through the mix - I bet it would be great in a live context, just need to find or put together a band sympathetic to the moody Melly sound. Time to move onto the next song in the project I think!
