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WORK ON THE MEDESKITRON
Yikes! It
really was that close of a schedule to make it to the show on May 12!
- The Mellotron didn't arrive until early on May 6
- The choice of sounds for the new tapes wasn't made until the 9th
- The tape frame and head block weren't there until late in the morning on
the 12th! |
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Mellotron M400 #408 Activity Log |
| Day 1 |
May 6 |
1:30am - M400 #408 was supposed to be
there at 11pm on May 5. It arrives at 1:30am in a huge truck on May 6.
It is the first thing packed into the truck, so all of MM&W's gear has to
come out into the driveway to get the 'tron out.
morning - FedEx grabs the tape frame and
headblock for shipment to the UK overnight. It's only about $170US. |
| Day 2 |
May 7 |
wait |
| Day 3 |
May 8 |
wait |
| Day 4 |
May 9 |
John Medeski gets his sound choices to Martin:
 | Bass Clarinet |
| Combined Choir (lower tapes) / Cello (upper
tapes) |
| Mark II Violins |
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| Day 5 |
May 10 |
morning - For another $170, FedEx grabs
the laced frame and headblock to send back from Birmingham, UK to
Philadelphia, PA, USA. |
| Day 6 |
May 11 |
3pm - Your Webmaster arrives in
Pennsylvania to find that there is no headblock or tape frame...it's held up
in Customs. afternoon - Annoyed
phone calls are made to FedEx, as they're supposed to bust butt if you give
them $170!
evening - Cleaning and inspection begin
on M400 #408.
evening - Jimmy Jr., Jimmy Sr., and Your
Webmaster do some work to clean up the machine. It is decided NOT to
remove or mess with the motor or adjust the belt tension, given how John
plays the machine (messing with, stopping, and scratching the flywheel).
So the machine got a bit of a cleaning to rid it of the dust bunnies and
other crud.
Check out Jimmy Jr.'s web site
here!
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| Day 7 |
May 12 |
10:27am - FedEx knocks at the door and
drops off the package! Your Webmaster shorted the preamp and installed
the head block and threw in the tape frame.
10:45am - It's alive!
10:46am - Keyboard issues noted...
| A few tapes didn't return. Had to
adjust some pinch rollers and spread some pins in the frame. |
| Massive wobbly on one pinch roller.
Removed, inspected. The axle had popped out of the holder.
Pressed back in place, reinstalled, crossed fingers. Just realized I
forgot to remind Jimmy to get him a replacement... |
| More adjustment where needed, but care was
taken not to change the overall feel of the keyboard, as that may have
been how John liked it. |
John Medeski did all his own key adjustment
work, but nobody ever told him how to do it or what the correct procedure
is. Usually what you wind up with is a whole bunch of adjustment
screws buried in the keys. But, nope, John didn't go nuts, and the
keyboard was adjusted most sanely, considering, although the pinch rollers
and pad arms are down a little too much, and this is causing some
tapes not to return well. At some point I hope to catch up with John
and show him a few hints for adjusting the machine so he can take it from
there.
afternoon - The 'tron was loaded up and a
bunch of us headed over to the Electric Factory in Philly to deliver it to
John where we took in the sound check and the show. --> |
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