TOM'S AFTERNOON
Tom brought along his laptop and a recording interface, and he thought he'd spend a little time with this guy...
Jerry Korb's Mellotron Mark I "Julia"
...as well as the JK-MK6...
...recording a few chord progressions using the various machines and sounds
available at the Ranch.
Let's not forget the M300!
We may hear some of the snippets on a future CATHEDRAL album or on one of Tom's
solo pieces one of these days. As I'm sure Tom noticed, when you play the
Mark I, you are really taken in by its sound, and that influences what you play.
Compared to the newer Mellotrons, an old Mark I or Mark II being played through
its own internal amps and speakers is something every fan of the Mellotron
should experience in person.
I never did understand the myth that
Mellotrons are unreliable. I have an attic full of old and relatively
new keyboards that have fried one way or another and yet my mellotron
always carries on. In 35 years there has never been a time when I went
to play it that it didn't work for me. Maybe I would have to get out a
screwdriver once in a while or service a stuck tape but ,seriously....
After 35 years of service the thing limped in to be restored and is
now better than new. It should get a medal of honor! I bet #390 is
still around after all the nordwaves have baked themselves. For the
listener it's all about the sound, for the player it's about what you
are comfortable with, what inspires you, what gets you going. A soul
thing. I need the real Mellotron for that and wouldn't trade a dozen
wedge shaped devices for any one tron.
Tom Doncourt
December 2007
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But Tom had a way to drive, and he decided to start getting
things together for his departure...-->
