Memphis Mellotron

This classic instrument, a Mellotron M-400, is in the equipment storage room at Ardent in Memphis. The Mellotron is a very early sampler, with the recorded sounds stored on 8-second strips of magnetic tape. When you pressed a key, it moved a pressure pad that pinched the tape strip against a pinch roller, causing the tape to move across a playback head. When you released the key (or when it reached the end of the strip) it would snap back to the beginning, ready to play again. This is the sound of the strings on most classic Moody Blues recordings. Or the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" and many other of their later albums. Unlike a modern digital sampler, where sounds can be looped and modified almost infinitely, a Mellotron was a simple playback device, and the sound would only play the length of the tape strip. Listen to the orchestra parts played on a 'Tron and you'll notice the phrasing is arranged to allow for the 8-second playback limit while the player lets up on the key so the tape can reset back to the beginning. Also, changing sounds requires swapping out the tape frame for one with a different set of recordings.