Description : A keyboard instrument manufatured in the 60s and 70s that uses pre-recorded tape as it´s soundsource.
Amount : Ca 1800
Used by : Smashing Pumpkins, The Beatles, Oasis, the Moody Blues, Genesis, King Crimson, Eels, Wilco.
Production period : 1963 - 1986 , 2003 - ?
Keys :
Weight : 55 kg

Description : The Mellotron was a very integral part of a lot of keyboard players setups during the late 60´s and 70´s. The problem that faced many touring bands was that the instruments were very fragile and broke easily and weren´t that reliable even if they got it on stage. One of strong points of this keyboard ( besides it´s unique sound ) was to have the ability to reproduce orchestral textures and acoustic instruments in a live setting.

The sounds are on snippets of tape that are attached to frames. On every frame there are three sounds. There is one snippet of tape for every key on the keyboard. The tapeframe is attached underneath the actual keyboard. When the key is pressed the tape is pulled over the head and the sound on the tape is replayed. Every tape is 7 seconds long. When changing sounds on the tapeframes you simply change the placement of tapeheads under the tape.
You can also switch between tapeframes for more sounds but this takes about 3-4 minutes.

A variety of sounds were manufactured for the Mellotron. The most common ones are strings, flute, cello and choirs but also sound effects, wineglasses and more odd sounds are available. There are approximatley 70 different sounds made for the Mellotron. Groups such as Roxy Music and Black Sabbath even created their own sounds and had them put on Mellotron tapes. The sounds have almost a ghostlike character to them.

In 1992 Johan Högberg ( bass player of Änglagård ) was desperate in his search for a Mellotron. He had heard a rumour that a studio in Roslagen had a Mellotron. So he started to call every studio he could find in Roslagen and didn’t come up with anything…but he got a hold of Roger Skogh who was very surprised that someone was calling him about Mellotrons.

He hadn’t heard the word Mellotron in over ten years. He mentioned that he had helped a woman record bees and insects for Mellotron tapes but sadly enough he didn’t know anything more about it. Johan and Roger kept on talking and one thing led to another and Änglagård ended up recording two albums at Rogers Studio Largen. Johan eventually found another Mellotron in Linköping.

Fast forward to the summer of 2005. I had just bought a new tape frame and was showing the new sounds to Two times the Trauma. One of the girls of the vocal ensemble mentioned in passing that at her school ( the musical conservatory in Stockholm ) they also had a Mellotron but with rather useless sounds…Bees, bumblebees and wasps….

I was jumping up and down of excitement when I heard this. So I made some phone calls and a couple of weeks later I got in contact with the owner…

Mellotron #563 was previously owned by musical and artistic visionary Gaby Stenberg who one summer realized that she had bees and bumble bees that buzzed in tune (she had perfect pitch) and she found three notes. A,B and D. From there on she found an electric razor, a refrigerator and a swing that were in pitch. While talking to a musician friend he prompted her to keep on working on the bees and bumblebees so she proceeded to take a small cage and a microphone and a reel to reel machine and spent two summers recording to create a c-c scale of buzzing insects. This was then pitched up and down to create a full Mellotron keyboard of insects…There was also ideas of doing a mosquito scale but this wasn’t finalized as the captured Mosquitoes died when Gaby forgot to feed them.

The Mellotron itself has been stored at the Music conservatory in Stockholm for the last 25 years or so…but is now in full play at Roth Händle. Needs some TLC but will be back in full action soon…

Mattias - Bees playing The Model (well.. sort of)

Mattias - Bees playing Star Wars

Mattias - Bees playing Just can't get enough of them bees