At Knobcon 2024, we caught up synthesist Marc Doty, and talked about his latest video series, embedded above, that offers an in-depth look at the Mellotron Micro.
The Mellotron Micro is the smallest version of Mellotron’s modern digital instrument. It includes many of the features of the full-size version, but has a smaller keyboard and no expansion slot for loading additional sound libraries.
You might think that Doty – with his love of analog instruments and the interfaces of classic instruments – might not be a fan of an instrument that’s a scaled-down digital copy.
But he loves it, and sees these digital recreations as an important option for musicians, when for most of us, owning and maintaining a vintage tape Mellotron is simply not a realistic option.
And even the entry-level digital Mellotron lets you access a library of sounds that goes far beyond what would be typically available to vintage Mellotron users.
In the first videos in the series, Doty introduces the Mellotron Micro and demonstrates how it works. In the later videos, Doty explores the Micro’s sound library. Along the way, he highlights some of the weirdness of the original Mellotron recordings, noting “If you have stuff like that, it’s going to give this thing way more character. It’s awesome.”
Check out the videos and then share your thoughts on the Mellotron Micro in the comments!
I’d find two octaves too limiting. Otherwise, its a winner. There’s a general love/hate thing going about the quirky, lo-fi sound. I’m drawn to it in a big way. Where it fits, especially layered with other instruments, its massive. M-Tron Pro is my chosen path. The huge library makes it as potent as any classic poly synth.
If you need one, you know it. If you don’t, you probably need a punk era “I HATE PINK FLOYD” t-shirt.
Critics seem to hate the ‘vst in a box’ category, but this seems like an ‘if you know, you know’ type of situation.
Combining that deep library of sounds with a traditional interface puts you on the fast train to prog town. What an evocative collection of sounds!
Too expensive for me: 1000$ is too much for this