(Poly)Aftertouch adds 6dB gain & 30 cents down-tuning
Mod-wheel (CC1) tunes 1 octave up & down
Change attack (CC73) & release (CC72) time 10 seconds
Low Pass Filter (CC74) for tone-control
Key-switch from notes C1 to A#2. Sorted in groups, exactly like on the Leisureland website
CC2 switch range between 0 and 22. Sorted the same way as the key-switched version
Long:
Mellotron SFZ based on the lovely Leisureland samples. This is an effort to make a software equivalent of a Mellotron that is open-source and free. All the controls like on a real Mellotron are available. You get a tune knob that can go +1 octave and -1 octave. Thereâs also a tone knob which you will need because fully clockwise the sounds are pretty harsh. Iâve also added an attack and release knob which where not on the Mellotron but are a nice extra for sound-design.
As a final touch there is aftertouch response. When used it adds +6dB gain and slows the pitch down by 30 cents. After reading about Mellotrons on the web it appeared that the M400 sometimes had a felt strip underneath the keys, which enabled the player to press the tape-head a little harder against the tape. I assume this made the sounds louder but also slowed down the tape a little bit because of drag. This is the effect I tried to recreate.
Thereâs a story about Rick Wakeman and the Mellotron on Space Oddity. Apparently he was asked to play because nobody could get the tuning right. The motor on the Mellotron didnât have enough power to keep the same speed when multiple notes where pressed. So chords where a little tuned down. To compensate for this one had to turn up the tune knob a little when playing large chords. You can recreate this by using aftertouch when playing chords and tune up a little with the mod-wheel. This way you get a real authentic Mellotron.
This SFZ is tested on Sfizz and a Zynthian.
3 types of files:
âMellotron_Keyswitch.sfzâ: Key-switch from notes C1 to A#2. Sorted in groups, exactly like on the Leisureland website. When opened in Sfizz, it shows a background image which points the right instruments to the right notes.
âMellotron_CCswitch.sfzâ: Uses CC2 in the range 0 to 22 for selecting instruments. This is for people with a smaller keyboard.
Iâve chosen CC2, which is normally breath control, because this control is available on the Zynthian and people can use the internal controls.
When opened in Sfizz, it shows a background image which points the right instruments to the right CC range.
â(Instrument_name).sfzâ: All the available instruments in separate SFZ files.
Iâve made a yml file to test with the âMellotron_Keyswitch.sfzâ.
If someone who has the testing branch could see if this works, that would be lovely!
I think you just need to add the files in the folder with all the sfzâs.
Hi, I tested it, and it doensât work in your version, but if you simply delete the â in âSt. Johnâs Wood Organâ it does, since thatâs crucial for the parser to see where the string is ending.
I did look into the sfz did delete some redundancies in the keyswitch file. It might be easier to edit this way. Also attack and release now works for me, and your polyphonic AT things do work on channel AT as well. And I tried a continuous looping, but you can revert easily if you want. And its 1000 instead of 10000 lines but itâs literally the same.
personally I would (and will) shorten the attack and release timings on respective CCs. I would maybe also move the pich modulation to the pitchwheel, because on mod wheel itâs quite complicated to get back to normal pitch.
Hey, thanks for helping me out! The SFZâs indeed where a hot mess. Iâve followed you advise and changed the attack & release timing to 1 second. Iâve also added your looping lines as an optional thing. Hope you donât mind?
I thought about pitch modulation on the pitch-wheel but you have to hold it so that was a no-go for me. On my keyboard the mod-wheel has a notch in the middle, yours not? If not, Iâll put it on another CC.
Iâd keep the 0.001 and put the cc modulated att/rel to 4-5s.
Your Sfz is fine, you can just shorten the file by putting common opcodes to the higher level header. You can put all controls under one <control> block. So you have a nice readable file and can edit quickly. Just some tips for the formatting.
You can keep it on cc1, I edit sfz files for myself all the time.
I have a question for people who have knowledge of licensing: The Leisureland samples are made from recording the output of a Mellotron. Nowhere does the Mellotron owner state that he/she asked permission to distribute the samples. My question is, is this legal? Are the Mellotron tape sounds not copyrighted?
Yeah, I would use a standard attack time above 0.001 to your liking, because with standard (0) you may hear clicks on attack sometimes. I would say that a close to no attack time like this would be very Mellotron, but the idea to add a user modifier like you did is quite good. I only thought 10 seconds is a little much, at least if you do not state a user defined curve, because it is fairly difficult to dial in a shortish attack time in a linear control between 0.001 - 10.
âJust to clarify the copyright issue, several years ago, I was in contact with Streetly Electronics, the original manufacturer of Mellotrons, and was told that I could make samples of the classic sounds available because they are old enough to be in the public domain. Thatâs not the case with the new sounds (1995-present), so I canât make any of those that I have available. Streetly continues to produce new sounds for the old and the new breed of Mellotrons. It is far from a dead instrument.â
