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Mellotron app comparison
It's come up a few times, so I thought it would be useful to post a comparison between Super Manetron and Mellotronics 3000.
First sample is Super Manetron, Second sample is Mellotronics 3000, then each is played along with iGrand Piano to compare tuning.
Super Manetron is definitely out of tune, which is a shame as I prefer it's softer sound. Also Super Manetron is missing the bottom octaves so it can't play the final B flat note, whereas Mellotronics 3000 can. I used the default reverb in each app set to half way, and I recorded my (poor) playing as MIDI to re-use the same performance each time.
Comments
If you are doing a trial, don't forget to check out ThumbJam's downloadable mellotron instruments too, although they might be "charmingly" out of tune as well... I just checked and the Flute MkII does appear on average to be about 8-10 cents sharp. I didn't adjust for any discrepancies in the source recordings, but perhaps I should. Some of the other ones are even more off. Perhaps Super Manetron did a similar thing.
Also, with regard to the "softer" sound you want from M3000, just apply a low pass filter somewhere down the line (if it doesn't already let you adjust that in the app).
I have been using Mellotron 4000, which is wonderful sounding...very vintage!
I don't want to get into a war here, but the manetron clips sound wonderful to me, the tuning discrepancy does not bother me because that's what the mellotron sounded like, at least to my ears. There's a lot of tuning discrepancies in older recordings, they're not "perfect," yet they are still the standard that many people keep coming back to, not nickleback recordings or the like, where it's "perfect." Each note on the original mellotron was its own recording, so there's tuning discrepancies all over it, as well as attack discrepancies, volume issues, etc. but that sound became something that people dug as it's own thing. For amazing sounding realistic string samples, check out the miroslav set, which does it really well.
Also, the mellotron itself had only the notes present in the original samples if I remember right, they're sampled 1:1 for the app. If you were to sample notes and stretch them over a few keys you'd lose the uniqueness of each tape. I do know mellotronics extended the range, most likely by stretching the samples, since the description says it is also based on the same number of samples as manetron (35 I think?).
Just my thoughts, no one else has to agree, I'm just saying super manetron sounds great to my ears and I am not digging the mellotronics sound, too bright and perfect, which is not what the mellotron is for me. In the end, they're just tools and whatever sounds good to you should be used, I'm not the developer of any of the apps mentioned so I have no horse in the race.
Well, to me, this "out of tune" sounds reminds me instantly my Moody Blues times.
@sonosaurus: here is a sample from Thumbjam, I added a little reverb in Cubasis to vaguely match the other two:
I have to say that I really like the TJ one, it sounds different to both the others. It's possible that a low-pass might be able to help the Mellotronics 3000, but it has a weird "scrapy" sound that I don't much like.
@mrufino1
No problem at all, to each his own. You won't get any argument from me about the sound. I do like the sound of Manetron but the pitch just ruins it and makes it unusable for me. On older recordings of mellotron that I still listen to the trons are not as out of tune as SM is which makes me wonder if the instrument they sampled had issues since the whole thing is sharp, we're not just talking "minor" discrepancies here. It's very noticeable.
Regards
Wow real treat to hear Sir Paul sing it instead of John, thanks.
@yowza said:
They (manetron) should have a pitch knob like the one McCartney tweaked o the real thing at the end of strawberry fields. Since it is a tape machine emulator it wouldn't be completely out of place.
Super Manetron does have a pitch wheel but it's spring loaded and won't stay where you move it. You can lower the pitch and get the whole instrument to be "in tune" but when you let go of the wheel it springs back to default which is sharp.
Thanks for the comparison!
I understand wanting to be faithful to the source but there's no reason to have an out of tune iOS instrument. I prefer the sound of SM in the samples you posted but it's totally useless if there's no way to adjust and set the pitch.
It isn't just that all samples within an instrument are out of tune the same amount, there is variation among the samples, and in many people's opinion that natural variation is one of the key elements of the classic Mellotron sound. I'll let the die-hards take it from here!
Yeah, I get it (and I love that sound on classic albums), but for practical purposes, I can't understand why they wouldn't at least include an option to keep it in tune. Why not offer both in the app ("authentic mode" or something similar)? Just seems very odd to me.
That's a good idea, actually... perhaps I will update TJ's to have a "Tuned" patch alongside the originals.
If it is so out of tune that it sounds like crap when played alongside other instruments that ARE in tune, then it's useless to me.
@Zymos said:
Which seems to be the case. The "SM + piano" audio example in the other mellotron thread really showcases how awkward SM sounds when used with another instrument.
Yeah, I tried it once when I first bought it and gave up on it immediately.
I thought TJ's tron flute was in tune enough to sound good, but without destroying that 'on the edge' quality of a real tron.
What about the Sampletank Mellotron patches? How do they compare with the ones being discussed here?
@busker said:
ST doesn't have the flute so I can't make a direct comparison, but the strings are pretty nasty, with a very sudden attack.
Anything ST has can generally be found better elsewhere. The only real benefit is there are lots of sounds lumped in the one app.
Are you sure sampletank doesn't have the flute? I thought it did. I have miroslav and not all of the files are listed together, they are listed with their like instruments, so if the same us true of their tron pack, would flutes be found in "woodwinds?" Just wondering, I'm not buying the tron samples since I'm covered in other ways. I do have sampletron for the Mac and the sounds are good, but I don't know how they compare with iOS, I guess it depends what they brought over.
I'll double check again but I did look in woodwinds
Tron flute, I think it's called.
Ah, sorry I missed that, there's even a strawberry flute! I will post a sample later.
there's also TAPE FLUTE in Gadgets Marseille
Here's the SampleTank flute trons:
I don't have Gadget so I can't test that, but I can probably make the MIDI file available if someone else wants to try.
I don't think gadgets PCM should be put against the dedicated apps, it is there just in case.
There is a flute in Caustic's PCM synth and in sir Sampleton too.
@Dramatispersona13 I might be wrong but those two are not trying to recreate the mellotron flute.
Marseille, maybe not as authentic for mellotron sounds as the others, but I wouldnt say it's there in Gadget just in case.
here's an official Marseille preview starting with the tape flute