Mellotron M4000D Rack

This is a digital sample playback unit designed to recreate the sound of the Chamberlin and Mellotron magnetic tape sample playing instruments that were originally invented by Harry Chamberlin in the USA during the late 1940's / early 1950's and later modified by the Bradly Brothers in the UK, (now Streetly Electronics) whose Mellotron version became greatly popularized by and an important part of many of the biggest rock bands of the 1970's like The Rolling Stones, Yes, David Bowie and Genesis to name a few.

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[tripzville]

Stunning sounds. We are truly blessed as creators to have such things at our fingertips.

[neutralearth]

Random noodling on a Mellotron. Life is good. So many great sounds! We love Mellotron!

[Tuurke]

For me...nothing beats the choir- and orchestral

[Sarahbuildsstepsequencers]

Worth its weight in gold, John! I soon realized there was no noting the ‘standouts.’ So fun! A couple of songs that came to mind were The Beatles’ “Got To Get You Into My Life” and, Judy Collins’ “Send In The Clowns.” But so many others! Thank you for sharing! This actually prompted me to do a price check! 😉

[Pacer]

I have this unit. It's FANTASTIC!!! I own Many Vintage Synths, but I would take this unit over a Vintage Mellotron. Great Job John!!!

[AriannaCunningham]

I recently found this today, and I really like the built-in mellotron sounds that came with the Sound Card 01 rack, particularly the Chamberlin Sounds since they sound more realistic than the Mellotron ones.

[BullyMaguireever]

I would consider one of these rack units if they didn’t charge astronomical prices for the sound banks.
Better to just get Mtron Pro for the studio.

[sysexstudio]

Rick Wakeman always comes to mind. Fine piece of gear you got there!

[KristerNielsen]

So 70's-80's Italia-horror... love it! ^^

[URTH-ybxh]

I didnt know this even existed Other nice gear Great sound Thanks for demo

[sysexstudio]

Also the "In the Court of the Crimson King" album comes to mind.

[perfectx]

Thanks John.. I've debated this one myself. And really though I'd love the keyboard the rack makes the most sense.

[Rhythmicons]

That roland rack is awesome also. I have access to a G8 and it is very nice.

[willyp]

It reminds me of when I was a kid, and old movies would play on TV. I love that sound. The only issue I have with the new ones, is they're kind of vst's in hardware. It would have been nice if they offered an analog synthesizer, as well as filters and FX. I can't justify spending almost $3k on a digital sample player. I'm talking about the FS key version. Maybe I'm missing something that justifies the cost. I own an Iridium keys, so I'm not against spending $3k on a digital synth, but the Iridium offers way more, and allows everything from sampling, to pretty much infinite sound design potential. I've always loved the Mellotron sound, but I already own the IK Media and Arturia versions, and there's up to par with this. I would love to see a new version, with more sound design potential. Without the price going up. I feel that this version should be about 15-20% cheaper than the MSRP. I'm guessing they're trying to make up for dev and manufacturing costs. I would prefer a cheaper case, for less money. I wonder how much of the cost comes from the case.. which is about 1% of the reason that I buy gear.

[alexcaminiti]

Hey is this rack unit still holding up well? I’d like to know if the rack unit is worth it more than the mini, and if using another keyboard/workstation to control would makes more sense.

[DearbornJohn]

Although it sounds reminiscent to the original Mellotron, I'm sure you have many more sounds than an original Mellotron and I know your unit doesn't deal with tape loops at all;) Nice Demo John, I enjoyed listening

[adrianh]

Tony Banks of Genesis used the mellotron that was powerful when used choirs live

[mattsynth]

Hi John,
It is funny I could never see the use for a Mellotron because of its old technology using tape. Is this a tape unit or samples? It sounds pretty good. I am Looking forward to future post showing how you use this new unit in some of your tracks.

[FaidedBTB]

Have you ever had any problems with your unit like any Midi issues with the keys not plating correctly?

[donaldjasoncrunk]

it sounds beautiful, but i confess i've never fully understood these digital mellotron emulators. the keyboard models i suppose make sense, as the # of keys and keys offered are somewhat unique - but is there anything going on under the hood that cannot be done with a more 'open ended' rackmount sampler (akai, ensoniq etc)?

i understand the value of immediacy of interface, and i like turnkey as much as the next asshole, it's just that i could hire someone to set up an S6000 with (albeit possibly not-quite-as-high-quality) multisamples and have beer money for the next year. Obv there is something happening here that i am missing!