Do I Have A Problem?

[Mouse]

I like Mellotrons. There, I said it and I do apologise. I'm preparing to run...

I love that metallic string sound - see The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway for why I think it's a beautiful sound.

However! I hate that choir voice sound - see the first few seconds of The Great Nothing by Spock's Beard for why it's an horiffic sound!

Over to you lot - do I have a problem?

(Next time: I like Emerson Lake And Palmer, do I have a problem? If you've been affected by this topic and would like to complain, please throw your burning hatred in the direction of The Mouse Hole, PO Box...)

[Pedro]

I don't have a problem with Mellotrons as an instrument.
They were a vital step in the progress from then to now and I can't imagine several tracks being as good as they were without that sound.
I think the big problem some people have is with the excessive overuse of the sounds - I believe this is what has turned a classic into a cliché and prompted flurries of dislike that sometimes come across as disproportionate, IMHO.  

[tomskerous]

I quite like a good sackbut.

[Pedro]

I quite like a good sackbut.

....but what?

[tomskerous]

Nicely said P. The sound isn't bad (and Bill Drake still somehow manages to surprise me with his use of it) but it's just become a bit of a lazy cliche in prog circles. As a small 'doff of the hat' I don't have a problem, as long as it's not carrying a track for want of a new idea.

[tomskerous]

I quite like a good sackbut.

....but what?

But it was the Taurus Bass Pedals of its time.

Anyway, never mind that, did you know that Klose and Buffet took the standard soprano clarinet, adapted the ring and axle keywork system to correct serious intonation issues on both the upper and lower joints of the instrument, and added duplicate keys for the left hand and right hand little fingers to simplify several difficult articulations throughout the range of the instrument?

[Mikey]

I like Emerson Lake And Palmer, do I have a problem?

Not in my book.

See previous comments re prog & classical, of which ELP butchered (well) a fair bit

[Lerxst]

I like mellotrons when used appropriately....

[Mikey]

I like mellotrons when used appropriately....

á la Wakeman ??

[James_S]

There are much more realistic ways of getting string sounds (and choirs for that matter) these days.

Its a bit like driving around in a 40 year old car, compared to the comfort of a shiny new car - I can't imagine many people would take the old one out of choice!

[RacingHippo]

Pedro said it, really.
They have/had their place, and were vital in progressive music as they were cutting edge... when they were cutting edge.  Now, their use is rarely anything but regressive.
I'm sure there are exceptions, as ever.


Fascinating Facts About Racing Hippo! No 173:
I used to play the sackbut. It was an alto, though. so not very Taurussey.
Now I just have a sackbut. Or so my wife tells me.

[wickedwitch]

i have no problem with mellatrons. i have a problem with people who think that all music requires it to be considered good.

[SerFox]

The Mellotron is overused in several ways. The string sound is famous, there's the sounds no one used, and of course, "that f**king sound".

I find that the IDEA behind the mellotron is what made it, the sound of the tapes. So why not take new sounds, put them to tape, warp them a little (oven to freezer to oven to freezer, stretch them and wear them out a little?) and sample the tape into the 21st century and walla, you could have the new Mellotron sound. Hell you could sample an entire piano and have the pianotron.

But people who use the mellotron like this need to be bludgeoned to death with the damn thing, because it's fucking ridiculous.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yrXtmKGkSa4

[tomskerous]

Or take the old sound and Beatmasters-style chuck it through a gate driven by a drum machine.

What about Metatrons? Did a good turn in 'Good Omens'.

[rogerg]

I quite like a good sackbut.

shawm for me.