little@sdcsvax.UUCP (Glenn Little) (12/14/85)
I hope someone can help me. I am trying to synthesize (on an
analog synthesizer... a Matrix 12) the sound of the old
Mellotron String Section. To me, it sounded nothing like a
typical synthesizer string section. Somehow, there was more
"air", or openness; yet at the same time there was a noticeable
lack of thinness. *Really* good description, huh? Sorry. I
just hope someone who knows the sound I'm talking about might
also know a trick to achieve the same effect. The only examples
I can think of off the top of my head are: the beginning section
of "Watcher of the Skies" from the album "Foxtrot", and the
instrumental section toward the end of "Seven Stones" from the
"Nursery Cryme" album, both by Genesis.
I just can't seem to get that air of bigness (?) into my sound...
it always has that synthesizer "buzz". If anyone has any ideas,
please let me know soon. Thanks very much.
Glenn Little
little@UCSD <---- ARPA alternative to whatever uucp return address
is at the top of this letterrlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (12/19/85)
> I hope someone can help me. I am trying to synthesize (on an > analog synthesizer... a Matrix 12) the sound of the old > Mellotron String Section. To me, it sounded nothing like a > typical synthesizer string section. Somehow, there was more > "air", or openness; yet at the same time there was a noticeable > lack of thinness. *Really* good description, huh? Sorry. I > just hope someone who knows the sound I'm talking about might > also know a trick to achieve the same effect. The only examples > I can think of off the top of my head are: the beginning section > of "Watcher of the Skies" from the album "Foxtrot", and the > instrumental section toward the end of "Seven Stones" from the > "Nursery Cryme" album, both by Genesis. > I just can't seem to get that air of bigness (?) into my sound... > it always has that synthesizer "buzz". If anyone has any ideas, > please let me know soon. Thanks very much. > Glenn Little One tip I got from a KEYBOARD (?) interview with Jimmy Destri (of Blondie). When recording "Fade Away and Radiate" (on which Robert Fripp played guitar), he wanted to get that old KingCrimson-esque Mellotron sound, but all he had was a Polymoog. He used the Polymoog piped through a cheap tape/analog echo device (with somewhat poor high-end frequency response) with short delay and ample feedback (without overkilling it). This reproduces the "tapey" sound of the Mellotron pretty well. I used it with a Roland Organ/Strings (then, my primary keyboard) with tone control on low (high end cut off) through an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man analog delay. Rather effective on my instrumental dirge which may or may not be called "Placebo Factory" (which may be on Greg Taylor's "a little net.music" compilation tape someday...). Speaking of which, I do hope some of the people who read THIS newsgroup get to contribute to that. (More info in <253@astroatc.UUCP>, or Greg Taylor may be contacted at seismo!uwvax!astroatc!gtaylor.) -- Life is complex. It has real and imaginary parts. Rich Rosen ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr
rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (12/19/85)
>> I am trying to synthesize (on an analog synthesizer... a Matrix 12) the >> sound of the old Mellotron String Section. To me, it sounded nothing >> like a typical synthesizer string section. Somehow, there was more "air", >> or openness; yet at the same time there was a noticeable lack of thinness. >> Glenn Little > One tip I got from a KEYBOARD (?) interview with Jimmy Destri (of Blondie). > When recording "Fade Away and Radiate" (on which Robert Fripp played guitar), > he wanted to get that old KingCrimson-esque Mellotron sound, but all he had > was a Polymoog. He used the Polymoog piped through a cheap tape/analog > echo device (with somewhat poor high-end frequency response) with short > delay and ample feedback (without overkilling it). This reproduces the > "tapey" sound of the Mellotron pretty well. [RICH ROSEN] A couple of things I forgot to mention: 1) Use of chorus effect either on the originating synth/string machine or in the echo box enhances the effect. I kicked up the chorus on the Memory Man to just below the point where the pitch started to wobble, which simulates a sort of tape wow more than a vibrato. By adjusting carefully and keeping it within the bounds of tolerability, the effect sounds very Mellotron-y. 2) Tony Banks got what a lot of people thought was the best string sound in its day by doubling the Mellotron part on a synthetic string machine on "Many Too Many", achieving both bite and fullness. Perhaps mixing straight and tape echoed sounds will achieve a better overall result. -- Anything's possible, but only a few things actually happen. Rich Rosen pyuxd!rlr
rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (12/24/85)
> I hope someone can help me. I am trying to synthesize (on an > analog synthesizer... a Matrix 12) the sound of the old > Mellotron String Section. To me, it sounded nothing like a > typical synthesizer string section. Somehow, there was more > "air", or openness; yet at the same time there was a noticeable > lack of thinness. *Really* good description, huh? Sorry. I > just hope someone who knows the sound I'm talking about might > also know a trick to achieve the same effect. The only examples > I can think of off the top of my head are: the beginning section > of "Watcher of the Skies" from the album "Foxtrot", and the > instrumental section toward the end of "Seven Stones" from the > "Nursery Cryme" album, both by Genesis. > I just can't seem to get that air of bigness (?) into my sound... > it always has that synthesizer "buzz". If anyone has any ideas, > please let me know soon. Thanks very much. > Glenn Little One tip I got from a KEYBOARD (?) interview with Jimmy Destri (of Blondie). When recording "Fade Away and Radiate" (on which Robert Fripp played guitar), he wanted to get that old KingCrimson-esque Mellotron sound, but all he had was a Polymoog. He used the Polymoog piped through a cheap tape/analog echo device (with somewhat poor high-end frequency response) with short delay and ample feedback (without overkilling it). This reproduces the "tapey" sound of the Mellotron pretty well. I used it with a Roland Organ/Strings (then, my primary keyboard) with tone control on low (high end cut off) through an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man analog delay. Rather effective on my instrumental dirge which may or may not be called "Placebo Factory" (which may be on Greg Taylor's "a little net.music" compilation tape someday...). Speaking of which, I do hope some of the people who read THIS newsgroup get to contribute to that. (More info in <253@astroatc.UUCP>, or Greg Taylor may be contacted at seismo!uwvax!astroatc!gtaylor.) ---- A couple of things I forgot to mention: 1) Use of chorus effect either on the originating synth/string machine or in the echo box enhances the effect. I kicked up the chorus on the Memory Man to just below the point where the pitch started to wobble, which simulates a sort of tape wow more than a vibrato. By adjusting carefully and keeping it within the bounds of tolerability, the effect sounds very Mellotron-y. 2) Tony Banks got what a lot of people thought was the best string sound in its day by doubling the Mellotron part on a synthetic string machine on "Many Too Many", achieving both bite and fullness. Perhaps mixing straight and tape echoed sounds will achieve a better overall result. ---- [THIS IS A RETRANSMISSION OF TWO ARTICLES COMBINED INTO ONE, ONE OR MORE OF WHICH APPARENTLY DID NOT GET OUT ORIGINALLY. SORRY IF THIS IS A DUPLICATE.] -- "Some people don't realize that there's there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything, ... it's all part of the cosmic unconsciousness." "Did you do a lot of acid, Miller, back in the hippie days?" Rich Rosen ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr