10MM 121 The Mellotron

The future of sampling may be digital, but with the revival of the Mellotron, tape sampling is back. Grant Bridgeman revisits an iconic instrument.

The original Mellotron incorporated many of the design principles behind a similar machine, the Chamberlin, developed some years previously in the USA. Its design was essentially very simple. Each key on the keyboard would trigger playback from a tape recorder, and on each tape would be the recording of an instrument playing a single note that related to the keyboard pitch. When the note was released, the tape would rewind, ready for the next keystroke.

This feature first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 59
Filed under Home, General Features, Ten Minute Masters, Features

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