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I have just bought a MEL 9 to use for recording, with a bit of practice I am getting some good sounds from it. Has anyone here tried one?

No need for this as I have the real thing, but I have read many good things about it, and there are several demos on YouTube. A friend of mine who is fascinated by all things Mellotronic is considering getting one, if he does I'll ask him for his impressions and report back to you.

Only downside is that the Shads, as far as I know, never used a Melly. (Shame on them!)

I had the MEL 9 three years ago as well as the SYNTH 9, and the two organ pedals B9 & C9 which I used with varying degrees of success, but sold the MEL 9 pretty fast as I did't think it sounded great. As an alternative I recently went for the Fishman TriplePlay which gives me all of the above on my guitar and I sold the two organ pedals with only the synth to move on. For me it was the way to go as all of those sounds are available using the Fishman through my Roland Fantom module and it's wireless and far less bulky.
It's also more expensive, but I'm happy and this method offers more than the EHX pedals did.

Thanks Steve and Dave,
I have come to the same conclusion Dave, initially I thought " ah strings from the guitar, just what I am looking for' but comparing to the sound that my daughter used to get from her Yamaha keyboard they are not as good. So it's going back.
I will either keep looking or learn how to use the keyboard

Take care

I have been trying the Jam Origin - Midi Guitar2.
I was hoping that it would provide accurate single note and chord operation.
Seemed ok on Chords - thought I was there as it were - but it was difficult to get a reliable setting for single notes.
The system was triggering on fret noise - at this time one is unable to set the gate to be reliable.

It connected to my DAW ok - I was able to use the Midi Guitar sounds and forward the midi into my DAW and use the sounds from there.
I know there are more expensive systems that require the additional pickup - but do we need to go that far as one is not using the system for gigging?

The Daw was able to store the notes and so I could produce the music and tab sheets - but the false triggering was the issue as it was adding more notes than you were playing.

petercreasey wrote:Thanks Steve and Dave,
I have come to the same conclusion Dave, initially I thought " ah strings from the guitar, just what I am looking for' but comparing to the sound that my daughter used to get from her Yamaha keyboard they are not as good. So it's going back.
I will either keep looking or learn how to use the keyboard

Take care

Compared to the two organ pedals and the Synth9 I was disappointed in the Mel 9 and I returned it too.
For similar money you can buy the Fishman Triple Play second hand and they sound terrific and track perfectly and it's wireless too.
You can use the sounds from your keyboard as well, I use my Roland Fantom XR to great effect.
Easy to install, easily removable, no drilling. Might be an option.

Thanks for that Dave

petercreasey wrote:Thanks for that Dave

Just thinking about it I bought the wireless version which is quite expensive, but there's a wired version too at around £175, which maybe good for what you were planning Peter.
You'll just need to check that it will connect to the keyboards v midii so that you can use those sounds. I had to buy a £39 Midi Host to enable connection to my synth module.
They're on eBay by DORE MIDI.

Thanks again

dave robinson wrote:

petercreasey wrote:Thanks for that Dave

Just thinking about it I bought the wireless version which is quite expensive, but there's a wired version too at around £175, which maybe good for what you were planning Peter.
You'll just need to check that it will connect to the keyboards v midii so that you can use those sounds. I had to buy a £39 Midi Host to enable connection to my synth module.
They're on eBay by DORE MIDI.

I did go for the Fishman Triple play Connect which I have to say has brought with it frustration, anger and, after a steep learning curve ,some great sounds.
I suppose like a lot of things it is worth what you are prepared to put into it, having spent a lot of time getting my head ( partially ) round it I am very happy with the results. I am using the Fishman with the Ipad app which is great, I'm sure that in the future I can expand when my knowledge improves!!
I have been wanting to take a tune and put my own spin on it, and to do that I needed a " band" that I could control ( we all know how hard that can be!) I am at a very early stage in the learning process and this little piece of kit looks as though it will keep me occupied until we are all able to get out and about again... and beyond.

Thanks for the heads up on the Fishman Dave, I can now lock myself in my little home studio and make a racket to my hearts content

Take care