Mellotron M4000D Mini

The Lounge Other Gear
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I’ve been thinking about buying a Mellotron M4000D Mini.

Any users out there with any thoughts or feedback on it?

I’m also curious as to whether the expansion cards are worth getting, because if they’re not, then I might consider the Micro instead on the Mini.

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Have considered the Manikin Memotron?

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I have a Micro and I like it very much. It is overbuilt, with a solid enclosure and a very nice keyboard. There are a lot of sounds on it - far more than I would ever need. All of the classic and familiar tapes are included, and a lot more besides. The old Chamberlin tapes are surprisingly good.

In fact, the sound might be too good if you’re looking for something that sounds like a battered old MkIV. The sounds were archived directly from the master tapes rather than being sampled through an actual Mellotron. You can switch on some faux vintage character, but it is only moderately convincing. Personally, I love the sound, but I often consider adding one of the Manikin desktop units to get some of the character of a the Mellotron’s signal path.

Having said that, I still want an actual Mellotron… :flushed:

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I have not.

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Do you have any issues with low level outputs? I’ve read numerous complaints about the low volume output on the Mini and the Micro.

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I have the Mtron Pro and every expansion pack. They are the exact same samples that are used in the M4000 Mellotron. But more and there are extra expansion packs as well as the Streetly etc. The same ones that Kraftwerk used(Orchestron). Now i know its nice to have a hardware version. But if you have a decent aftertouch keyboard you are getting way more for your money. Just sayin :slight_smile:

A real Mellotron would be nice in my studio though.

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I can’t say that I’ve noticed that the level was particularly low… but I probably wouldn’t have if it is. I have lots of stuff with various output levels, so unless it was particularly noisy, I wouldn’t have paid it any mind. I can check later today if you like.

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I haven’t had any problems with the output on the Micro. I also love the ability to mix two sounds with dedicated knobs, and I love the pitch bender. Honestly though, unless it’s for live performance, you’re probably better off with Mtron Pro…it’s a really nice piece of hardware, though

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Micro 4000 player here.
I was actually used to playing Mellotron samples on a Nord Electro, which was good enough for me in a live situation; plus I’m a hardware guy. The integrated effects of the Electro can make the samples sound reminiscent of the real thing or totally transform them into some weird textures.

I had the opportunity to swap some stompboxes for a Micro at some point and I am not disappointed: it is indeed very well built and the sound is diffrent from the Nord library sounds. The instrument has a nice charm to itself.
I haven’t noticed any level issue so far, I may have to A/B test though.

The only two cons for me are:

  • The glass wines samples are not included… no way to do so as the Micro does not support extension cards. That’s a real pity for me, I still have them in the Nord though.
  • The key bed is from C to C, which does not match the F to F original keyspan of the Mellotron. This results in having some mute keys on the lower/higher octave transpose settings. The Mini 4000 should not suffer that as the keyspan is F to F though.

All in all, I love this charming little keboard.

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I also have an Electro! I’d kinda like to find a way to fill up the electro specifically with all the tapes that the Micro lacks, but it would probably require an exhausting journey of cross-referencing and file conversion

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I had the micro and also found it super charming. But I sold it, it just felt like too much money to spend compared what I could do with Arturias plug in and so much more.

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I’ve thought about exporting Mellotron samples to something that can play multi-samples like the 1010 Tangerine, or Waldorf Iridium (if there’s enough memory). Like others have said: I haven’t been able to justify the cost of the new Mellotrons, but I do think they’re well made.

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I adore the 4000d, don’t have one but I have the Mini and I love it as well… The sound is cleaner than authentic but with all of the processors we have to throw at it I haven’t minded at all… it’s great for setting a gang of pedals on top to mangle it with and I want the expansion cards but haven’t gotten any yet because they are expensive… I really want the larger model though because it’s beautiful and I love the wooden keys and how they feel…

  • you could dump more pedals on it or another synth… I also have M-Tron pro software from G-Force love love love it and some extra banks and it sounds more authentic imo and is fun to control with the 4000D mini so I’m not impulse gassing for the expansion cards but I’m sure to grab them when I can find them for a good price one of these days… but make no mistake the 4000D mini imho is great on it’s own.
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The latest M Tron Pro revision is fantastic. They updated everything on my wishlist. Also enjoying the artist packs, particularly the Dust-o-Tron.

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Does the Mtron Pro Complete bundle ever go on sale? I’ve had it bookmarked for ages

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I thought they did at some point in the last year or so? I don’t think they do it often, but they probably will now that I said that.

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yep they have big sales… just had one recently bundles and individuals, if you email them they will probably tell you when the next one is coming up

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Oooh thank you

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sure thing :slightly_smiling_face:

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Probably around Easter, they replied. What sweethearts!

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