tonewheeltom

That was a weird position for him to take, wasn't it? I teach music in an inner city public high school and rescue German Shepherds, and I bought my Memotron with my earnings from a gig so I may perform my job even better for the next shows we have coming up. Does that disqualify me from the "novelty" tag? Is a forum where guys list their gear in their signature and have pictures of themselves rocking their rig in their avatar not the appropriate audience to discuss this with? Heck, playing in any tribute band is a novelty! My Genesis band has learned all of the songs played on the 1977 tour, plus the rest of the Wind an Wuthering album they didn't play live. With each song we learned, I had to add more gear. I was running out of options with MIDI controllers, outputs, and expression pedals. For my live needs, the Memotron was easier than adding another computer, audio interface, controller, etc. I was an early adopter of the Nord Stage - preordered it without hesitation when I was a first year teacher. I was devastated when they announced the next generation of Nords which came with Resch's Mellotron samples. So I got a laptop and the GForce instruments. Now, I have a home studio. I would have been perfectly fine with M-Tron Pro. Turns out this gig needs a hardware solution. At this point in my life, I'm completely disinterested in the Korg/Roland/Yamaha workstations, so after much deliberation and research, I settled on the updated M2K. It was not a lighthearted whim.

I ALMOST bought a Novatron M400 six weeks ago that was restored by Streetly from a private seller in Massachusetts, but I talked myself out of it. Mellotron lust - the struggle is real!

It was certainly a tough choice for me between either of the Resch models and the M2K. Manikin really needs to get the word out about how much the new version is improved. They have with the tabletop M2D, but not the new M2K. The original model with the CD drive looked unappealing to me. It's also much better looking in person than the photos. The M2K action is probably similar to the Mini. As cool as the non-Mini action seems, I told myself I wouldn't be shredding some hot licks on this instrument! I'll say it again - all this research has REALLY made me lust after a Streetly M4000! That looks and sounds like a dream machine. If anyone with either of the Resch models is in the Northeast US and wants to meet up to play them side by side with my M2K, hit me up, I'm in southern NJ. You're welcome to swing by my studio, which if you check out my signature it's quite a vintage keyboard museum.

Hi, I'll chime in as I've recently bought the new Memotron M2K after much research. First, both the Mellotron and Manikin sites are disasters! I had to email both Markus at Mellotron and Thorsten and Manikin to find out info that wasn't available on their sites. Thorsten answered me right away. It was only through scouring forums and Facebook groups I got all the info I needed. I play in a NJ based Genesis tribute band covering the Seconds Out tour, and have been using M-Tron Pro with the Streetly expansions with a Receptor. We did our first show, 600+ sold out!, in April. I'm using a real RMI piano and ARP Pro Soloist, and the rest was plugins. Let's just say depending on vintage gear AND plugins on stage is scary! I was looking for more hardware to ease the load of the Receptor. Our soundman is a Clair Bros. vet of Yes tours, plus he saw all the US Genesis tours of the 70s, and he's VERY critical of digital emulations. We decided I must have more flexibility and variety in regards to my Mellotron sounds. I chose the M2K for its library of the most popular sounds. Having around 10 of the famous "3 Violins" sound is more vital than I would have thought. Now, in rehearsal, I can easily swap between Streetly's M400, Tangerine Dream's M400, King Crimson's MKII, and others to find the best EQ'ed version for each song. There are also quite a few versions of the "8 Choir" tapes. Another draw of the M2K is the onboard effects. I need a big reverb on these Mellotron sounds that I don't need on the RMI, and my ARPs need tape delay. Lastly, the M2K's FRAME options are great in a live setting. Take Genesis' "One For The Vine". All of my MIDI controllers are in use for this song. Now, with the M2K, I have the A/B/C tapes set to play always as a layer instead of crossfading across the dial. I have a 3 Violins in its original place across the keyboard. I can do those suspended chords Tony does at the beginning in the lowest octave. Then, when the big chords come in where Tony is playing two-handed on the record, I have a layer in the upper octave. Then, when the overdubbed "ah's" come in, I have the Fairlight's ARHH as a high velocity layer. I can do this all with my left hand while I play the RH piano part on Ivory with my Nord. That said, there is very little info out there on the "new" M2K. The OS is the same as the M2D, with the FRAME/PLACE settings and the three levels of FX. It also has lost the CD drive and loads instantly. They do not have this on their site, incredibly! EDIT: I should add that the build quality of the M2K is fantastic. It's lightweight to carry, but sits solidly without wiggling. It sits atop my RMI piano nicely without sliding around like my Novation Impulse 61 did previously. Also, the new M2K has 37 keys unlike the previous version. The M4000D non-Mini looks great with its wooden keys and XLR outputs, but with the new M2K at the same price point as the M4000D Mini, the M2K had more options I needed for this project: the many versions of the classic sounds, the effects, and the option to transpose and layer. If I wasn't in this band, I would have saved for a Streetly M4000!