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M-Tron – a brief history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Sound Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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1 M-Tron – a brief history ® The M-Tron is a virtual emulation of one of the most inspirational and unique instruments ever produced, the Mellotron . This instrument was used on countless records in the heady days of the 1960’s and 1970’s from Yes’ ‘Heart Of The Sunrise’ to Led Zepplin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and The Moody Blues’ ‘Nights in White Satin’. The principal behind the instrument was that each key triggered a corresponding piece of audio tape which then played for a maximum of eight
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Birotron Conceived by Dave Biro with the help of keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman, the Birotron attempted to overcome the problems of the eight-second note duration by implementing the use of eight-track cartridges instead of the various tape widths used in both Chamberlin’s and Mellotron’s. While the concept was undoubtedly sound, the initial batch of Birotron’s coincided with the dawning of the polysynth era and the whole Birotron operation failed. As a result of this quick demise, Birotron’s a
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5 Installing the M-Tron & Tape Banks ® Because every note of each Mellotron sound was sampled separately, the average size of an M-Tron Tape Bank is approximately 21MB. There are over 100 Tape Banks featured in this collection resulting in close to 2.5GB of data. The installation takes place via 4 CDs, each one containing a different selection of Tape Banks. Included on the M-Tron Master CD are multiple versions of the M-Tron. The M-Tron installer allows you to install any or all versions vi
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7 M-Tron Controls Function Knob. A. Once the M-Tron is open the control panel appears with the Function Knob set to position A and the panel lid closed. Playing the M-Tron from its own keyboard (or connected MIDI Keyboard) will play the default sound. B. Moving the Function Knob to position B will open the panel lid and reveal the Attack and Release sliders. Moving the Attack slider to the right will progressively soften the front of the sound allowing it to fade in. Moving the Release s
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9 The Tape Banks 15 Choir A rare 15 male/female voice choir. An interesting alternative to the famous 8 choir. Accordion Chords A selection of accordion chords recorded from a Mk II. Note: There are only 16 notes in this Tape Bank. Accordion Bass + Violins & Brass A microphoned recording featuring a carefully constructed Tape Bank faithfully recreating the Genesis ‘Watcher Of The Skies’ string, brass and bass accordion pad (Accordion Bass Notes 1-12 Violins & Brass Notes 13-35) ARP Country Reco
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Brass 2 Mixed Brass section comprising of trombone, sax and trumpets. Brass B Revised The ‘tron’s most famous brass in its ultimate extremely fat and powerful version. Cello This favorite of King Crimson was originally played by Reg Kirby, the cellist who performed on classic tracks such as ‘Eleanor Rigby’. The first five notes are actually a Double Bass because Reg refused to retune his instrument to these notes during the recording of this Tape Bank. Cello & Strings A mixture of the above cell
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EFX 2 A variety of interesting, unusual and weird sound effects. English Accordion Recorded from a Mk II ‘tron, this sound is pure nostalgia. Flutes Probably the most recognizable flute sound of all time. Originally made famous on ‘Strawberry Fields’ and ‘Stairway To Heaven’ and more recently used by Oasis. French Horn A mellow sort of ‘mystic’ brass sound that’s very rare and much sought after by the ‘Mellotronists’. Genesis Split Similar to the Accordion Bass + Brass and Violins ‘Watcher of Th
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Megatron Organ A hybrid organ sound created by layering a more recent recording of a church organ together with old ‘tron tapes. Big and powerful. Megatron Strings A hybrid string section created by layering a more recent recording of tremolo strings with old ‘tron string recordings. Male Female Choir A split male and female choir. (Male choir notes 1-17, Female choir notes 18-35) Mixed Choir Sometimes known as 8 Choir because it features four male and four female voices in unison. MkII Flute D
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Muted Brass Another microphoned recording for total authenticity. One of the Moody Blues’ ingredients of their early orchestral sound. Oboes Oboes recorded directly from a Mk II ‘tron Orchestra The ultimate symphonic ‘tron powertool. Orchestra & Moog Fat orchestra with a big Moog bottom. Pipe Organ Undoubtedly used in Yes recordings at some time. Rhythm 1 A selection of Samba rhythms and motifs recorded from a Mk II. Note: There are only 16 notes in this Tape Bank. The first G is the end motif.
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Second Flute This is a real rarity of the early 80’s. Intended to push the good old ‘tron further in the battle against the forthcoming digital samplers, the second flute never quite made it to the 1963 (first) flute’s full fame. Solo Viola One of the presumably ‘lost master-tapes’ recordings. Sound FX 1 Originally compiled from the BBC’s sound library for the MkII Sound FX version these effects became popular with studios, TV and radio stations all over the globe for their radio plays and jingle
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Vibes Recorded from a set of tapes that had clearly seen better days, we’ve been surprised at the number of people who love this vibe sound. Viola & Cello An ultra-rare combination of the presumably lost master-tape‚ Viola and a slightly different Cello recording. Violins 1 The famous 3 Violins recorded from the line-out of a modified MkII. This is the bone-fide classic string sound featured on countless ® records since 1964. The Moody Blues’ Mike Pinder used this sound in his Mk II Mellotron fo
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Bill Wyman’s Mk II M400 – Walnut An M300 with speaker cabinet Klaus Schulz’s Mk V, M400 – known as ‘Snowwhite’ 14
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Contact 10 (626) 633-9055 – Tech Support phone lines are open from 7AM to 7PM PST, Monday through Friday. techsupt@m-audio.com – E-mail Tech Support whenever it’s convenient for you. You will usually receive a response within one business day. www.m-audio.com – Check the M-Audio website for any news, FAQs, or updates related to your product. Often, you will find solutions to your problems here that will save you a phone call to Tech Support. M-AUDIO U.S. - M-AUDIO Deutschland (Germany) - 5795 M
