Mellotron

John Linnell playing with a Mellotron M4000D

The Mellotron is a magnetic tape-based sampling keyboard developed in the early 1960s, with the first model appearing in 1963.

Often described as the world's first sampler, the Mellotron actually evolved out of its predecessor, the Chamberlin. It functions by pulling individual lengths of tape with pre-recorded musical sounds across a playback head as each key is pressed. Each tape is six feet long and provides around eight seconds of playback when a key is pressed before running out. Although originally intended to produce faithful reproductions of these sounds, the unpredictability caused by the electro-mechanical nature of the instrument and its limitations give it a distinct "otherworldly" sound which became iconic in its own right and has been used extensively in pop and rock music ever since. It was popularized on many well known 1960s tracks such as The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" and The Moodly Blues' "Nights in White Satin", but especially found its niche in the progressive rock genre throughout the 1970s with bands like Genesis, King Crimson, and Yes.

Its lo-fi, analog sound has also been captured by TMBG. Although the earlier appearances of the Mellotron in TMBG's discography such as the songs featured on John Henry and Factory Showroom were recorded on a physical Mellotron instrument which was present in the studio, later examples mostly come from the Mellotron M4000D, which is a digital Mellotron sampler owned by the band.

Songs featuring the Mellotron

• Backstabbing Liar
• Black Ops
• Careless Santa
• Electric Car
• Fibber Island
• Glean
• How Can I Sing Like A Girl?
• I Like Fun
• If Day For Winnipeg
• Lord Snowdon
• Particle Man (Live At XM Studio)
• Reprehensible
• Sold My Mind To The Kremlin
• Thankful For Your Service
• The Darlings Of Lumberland
• The End Of The Tour
• The Greatest
• To Serve Mankind
• Window
• XTC vs. Adam Ant

External links

• Demonstration of the Mellotron M4000D posted to TMBG's YouTube channel in 2019
• Planet Mellotron, a website with further information about the Mellotron, including an extensive list of albums that feature the instrument
• Website of Streetly Electronics (formerly Mellotronics), the original manufacturers of the Mellotron