# Less cowbell! More MELLOTRON!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620 "2017-03-20T16:02:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/1 "2017-03-20T16:02:12Z")
C’mon! Point me to some great songs that use that Mellotron! (Excluding Moody Blues music because that’s too easy) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/2 "2017-03-20T16:36:13Z")
Lol Coxhill’s “A Series of Superbly Played Mellotron Codas” from _Ear of Beholder._ ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/3 "2017-03-20T16:44:27Z")
Ashes to Ashes and Space Oddity by David Bowie ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/4 "2017-03-20T16:48:39Z")
King Crimson is also too easy…or Genesis. Bee Gees: [Every Christian Lion Hearted Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KzkIQonfk8) Jethro Tull: [The Witch’s Promise](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0GAuexrVzo) ('tron about two minutes in) Surely I don’t need to link to “Strawberry Fields Forever”… ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/5 "2017-03-20T16:50:59Z")
Led Zeppelin’s “The Rain Song.” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/6 "2017-03-20T16:52:54Z")
The Stan Kenton Orchestra’s **Music from West Side Story**! Oooops. That has **mello_phones_**. > **[Mellophone](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellophone)** > > Plucked > The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E♭, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the middle-voiced brass instrument in marching bands and drum and bugle corps in place of French horns, and can also be used to play French horn parts in concert bands and orchestras. > These instruments are used instead of French horns for marching b... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/7 "2017-03-20T17:03:45Z")
> [@2Bits](#): > > (Excluding Moody Blues music because that’s too easy) Fun trivia about the Moodies and the Mellotron, however: Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder had worked at Streetly Electronics, the company which created the Mellotron. His engineering skills apparently frequently came into play in order to keep the finicky Mellotron working. As related on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pinder): “Typical of his travails was the Moodies’ first US concert. When the band struck their first harmony, the back of the Mellotron fell open and all of the tape strips cascaded out. Pinder grabbed his tool box and got the instrument back into working order in 20 minutes’ time, while the light crew entertained the audience by projecting cartoons.” ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/8 "2017-03-20T17:04:51Z")
One must visit planet mellotron! [http://www.planetmellotron.com/revgenesis.htm](http://www.planetmellotron.com/revgenesis.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/9 "2017-03-20T17:10:33Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > King Crimson is also too easy… Well early (version 1 and 2) KC. Personal favourite for the OP would be [Starless](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfR6_V91fG8) off Red. Indeed an all time favourite. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/10 "2017-03-20T17:10:58Z")
“[And You and I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-rdL2KkvzY)” by Yes apparently has Rick Wakeman playing a Mellotron during at least one portion. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/11 "2017-03-20T17:12:36Z")
For a less obvious example, I present to you one of my favorite bands, Norway’s Motorpsycho: [Starhammer (feat. the Electric Psalmon)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDlQs67lVCs) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/12 "2017-03-20T17:16:44Z")
The first time I ever heard a mellotron, and understood what the hell kind of device I was listening to was Dinosaur Jr.'s [Thumb](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QBz9H10OVc). It being bare in the intro shows off that it’s a bunch of tape segments. Flutes just don’t make noises that abruptly. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/13 "2017-03-20T17:17:05Z")
“Electrolite” by R.E.M. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1LewYq40Svw/maxresdefault.jpg "R.E.M. - Electrolite (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LewYq40Svw) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/14 "2017-03-20T19:45:34Z")
Rolling Stones, [2000 Light Years from Home](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vaFE5MPUIY) Well-known bit of trivia that is bound to come up: the flamenco guitar sample on the Beatles’ White Album between “Wild Honey Pie” and “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” is a stock Mellotron sound. There is at least one early live recording of King Crimson where you can hear them triggering the same sample in an improv. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/15 "2017-03-20T20:23:04Z")
The real answer to this question is [Genesis “Watcher of the Skies”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzcaKDUZJAo) Or just about any Gabriel-era Genesis song, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/16 "2017-03-20T23:00:26Z")
While I don’t know if I would call it a “great song” here is a contemporary song that youtube randomly played and I found enjoyable. I do like the tiny desk concert version of Agnes Obel’s song “Happening” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MAqIrCjOxws/maxresdefault.jpg "Agnes Obel: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAqIrCjOxws) She is 5× Platinum in Denmark but I find her albums way over produced, but that is true of lots of artists these days but this version is nice. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/17 "2017-03-20T23:03:10Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Well early (version 1 and 2) KC. > > Personal favourite for the OP would be [Starless](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfR6_V91fG8) off Red. Indeed an all time favourite. It was while hearing this song for the first time that I realized that I need to buy a Mellotron. Still looking. The opportunity has arisen, but at times and places where I couldn’t do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/18 "2017-03-21T02:10:24Z")
Michael Pinder actually sold some Mellotrons to the Beatles. The “flutes” at the start of “Strawberry Fields Forever” are Paul playing a Mellotron. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/19 "2017-03-21T04:04:31Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > It was while hearing this song for the first time that I realized that I need to buy a Mellotron. Still looking. The opportunity has arisen, but at times and places where I couldn’t do anything about it. A real one, not the digital version they’re making nowadays? Man, I don’t know a lot of people who’ve been willing to take on that much heartache. Favorite quote about the tron, from Robert Fripp: “Tuning a Mellotron doesn’t.” Manfred Mann, [Ha! Ha! Said the Clown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JPTzHpUHc) ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620/20 "2017-03-21T06:32:41Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > A real one, not the digital version they’re making nowadays? Man, I don’t know a lot of people who’ve been willing to take on that much heartache. Favorite quote about the tron, from Robert Fripp: “Tuning a Mellotron doesn’t.” > > Manfred Mann, [Ha! Ha! Said the Clown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3JPTzHpUHc) I agree I have messed with the original and the digital M4000D and you could never talk me into messing with the original. Pork Rind: IMHO Paying $400 for a mess like [this](https://reverb-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/s--m_B5MYt6--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_1600,q_80,w_1600/v1485634676/rurt3bbad2ffxo8ahaez.jpg) just to get the extra latency is far past my tolerance of pain…and I own an OB8 and a Voyetra 8 and the OB8 just broke this week…so lots of time with a soldering gun soon. The current smaller production Mellotron MkVI does have less lag and you can do some cool things with the voice switch but at $250 per set of 3 voice tapes and $7000+ for the unit when the m4000d or m4000d mini will give you 100 sounds for less than $3K. It has the same interface and keyboard limitations and has 24 bit samples from the original tapes which is about 17 bits more than the original audio had… I enjoy analog gear but don’t talk my word for it, check out the list of well known users from this page. [http://www.mellotron.com/well-known-users-M4000D.html](http://www.mellotron.com/well-known-users-M4000D.html) That said if you want to own it as a piece of history I am not trying to talk you out of that. But if you want it to play and to work within the creative limitations of the original it would be a worth your time to take a long hard look at the M4000D. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/less-cowbell-more-mellotron/782620.md?page=2)