# New SFZ: Mellotron with Aftertouch, Keyswitching, Tune, Filter & AR

**URL:** <https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013>\
**Category:** Using Zynthian\
**Tags:** soundfont, sf2, sfz\
**Created:** [February 8, 2025, 9:29am UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013 "2025-02-08T09:29:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 9:29am UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/1 "2025-02-08T09:29:19Z")

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[https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/5947](https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/5947)

**Short:**

- (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. There’s also a tone knob which you will need because fully clockwise the sounds are pretty harsh. I’ve 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.

There’s 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 didn’t 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:**

- “Mellotron\_Keyswitch.sfz”: 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.

- “Mellotron\_CCswitch.sfz”: Uses CC2 in the range 0 to 22 for selecting instruments. This is for people with a smaller keyboard.  
I’ve 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.

- “(Instrument\_name).sfz”: All the available instruments in separate SFZ files.

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**Author:** ![gitnob](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/gitnob/32/11827_2.png) [@gitnob](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/gitnob)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 4:25pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/2 "2025-02-08T16:25:20Z")

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> [@NathanI](#):
>
> [https://cloud.nubo.coop/s/FRzXnNtPbRGdQnc](https://cloud.nubo.coop/s/FRzXnNtPbRGdQnc)

got an file not found error from the cloud ☹  
Regards

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/3 "2025-02-08T17:13:29Z")

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Sorry, my mistake. Should be back now. I made a few edits 🙂

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**Author:** ![LagoonCity](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/lagooncity/32/12742_2.png) [@LagoonCity](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/LagoonCity)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/4 "2025-02-08T19:21:29Z")

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I’m getting file not found here.

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/5 "2025-02-08T20:55:52Z")

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Hmmm, I just tested it in a private tab and it should work. Did you use the link at the top?  
[https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/5947](https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/5947)

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**Author:** ![LagoonCity](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/lagooncity/32/12742_2.png) [@LagoonCity](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/LagoonCity)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/6 "2025-02-08T23:48:23Z")

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It worked when I clicked the link in the reply notification email instead of directly on here. Weird.

EDIT: works on here now, too. No changes, I haven’t even closed the browser since last time I tried.

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/7 "2025-02-18T21:33:52Z")

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Changed download location: [MelloSFZotron | Musical Artifacts](https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/5947)

 ![Schermafdruk van 2025-03-20 21-09-21](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/default/original/2X/1/15986351d3977060d34f43ca97a4eb3aaa4f8d34.jpeg)  
 ![Schermafdruk van 2025-03-20 21-09-31](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/default/original/2X/1/18329c96052c0ec3794c1fb89bb37c4203e95147.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/8 "2025-03-02T19:55:35Z")

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I’ve made a yml file to test with the “Mellotron\_Keyswitch.sfz”.  
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 sfz’s.

Thanks!

[Mellotron\_Keyswitch.yml](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/short-url/ojFLTdj3nNa9guR0PKPa8EFyV9u.yml) (869 Bytes)  
[common.yml](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/short-url/nPXkqvERzDvOtQFXzLehB7X8FPx.yml) (325 Bytes)

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**Author:** ![hannesmenzel](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/hannesmenzel/32/13014_2.png) [@hannesmenzel](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/hannesmenzel)\
**Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/9 "2025-03-08T17:17:06Z")

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> [@NathanI](#):
>
> I’ve made a yml file to test with the “Mellotron\_Keyswitch.sfz”.  
> 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 sfz’s.
> 
> Thanks!

Hi, I tested it, and it doens’t work in your version, but if you simply delete the ’ in ‘St. John’s Wood Organ’ it does, since that’s crucial for the parser to see where the string is ending.

[Mellotron\_Keyswitch.yml](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/short-url/8o7khGaQ7a2lvzXjG4yTbHnKvzI.yml) (868 Bytes)

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 it’s literally the same.

[Mellotron\_Keyswitch.sfz](https://discourse.zynthian.org/uploads/short-url/tU2yyBOaJUfIuJ0CYWe4TNGa5JA.sfz) (44.0 KB)

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 it’s quite complicated to get back to normal pitch.

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/10 "2025-03-10T17:17:45Z")

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Hey, thanks for helping me out! The SFZ’s indeed where a hot mess. I’ve followed you advise and changed the attack & release timing to 1 second. I’ve also added your looping lines as an optional thing. Hope you don’t 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, I’ll put it on another CC.

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/11 "2025-03-10T17:56:06Z")

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[https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/5947](https://musical-artifacts.com/artifacts/5947)

Edits:

- Poly- & channel-aftertouch adds 6dB gain & 30 cents down-tuning

- Mod-wheel (CC1) tunes 1 octave up & down

- Change attack (CC73) & release (CC72) time 1 second.

- 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 like the key-switch version.

_Editing the file:_

- _Edit offset of keyboard range in octaves: edit line ‘octave\_offset=#’._ _-1 is one octave lower, 1 is…_ _You get it._
- _Make volume react to velocity: edit line ‘amp\_veltrack=0’._ _Setting this to 100 ensures full dynamic control._
- _Looping samples: edit line ‘loop\_mode=no\_loop’ and change to ‘loop\_mode=loop\_continuous’. The samples will play until you release the key._
- _Edit what aftertouch does: find lines with '…oncc130=# ’ & ‘…oncc129=#’ and change # to whatever you want._

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**Author:** ![hannesmenzel](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/hannesmenzel/32/13014_2.png) [@hannesmenzel](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/hannesmenzel)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/12 "2025-03-10T19:00:16Z")

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> [@NathanI](#):
>
> Hope you don’t mind?

No, of course I don’t mind 😉

> [@NathanI](#):
>
> attack & release timing to 1 second.

I’d keep the 0.001 and put the cc modulated att/rel to 4-5s.

> [@NathanI](#):
>
> SFZ’s indeed where a hot mess.

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.

> [@NathanI](#):
>
> If not, I’ll put it on another CC.

You can keep it on cc1, I edit sfz files for myself all the time.

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**Author:** ![wyleu](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/wyleu/32/514_2.png) [@wyleu](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/wyleu)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/13 "2025-03-10T19:02:26Z")

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Very mellotron, but I miss the foxtrot…

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/14 "2025-03-11T13:50:59Z")

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If you know of a source (with a generous license) of the rhythms I would gladly add them 😃

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/15 "2025-03-11T13:53:09Z")

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Ah, You mean a standard release & attack time of 0.001 seconds? I was under the impression that Sfizz, par example, handled this automatic.

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**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:55pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/16 "2025-03-11T13:55:46Z")

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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?

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**Author:** ![hannesmenzel](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/hannesmenzel/32/13014_2.png) [@hannesmenzel](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/hannesmenzel)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 1:59pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/17 "2025-03-11T13:59:45Z")

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> [@NathanI](#):
>
> standard release & attack time of 0.001 seconds?

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.

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**Author:** ![wyleu](https://discourse.zynthian.org/user_avatar/discourse.zynthian.org/wyleu/32/514_2.png) [@wyleu](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/wyleu)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 2:22pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/18 "2025-03-11T14:22:52Z")

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> [@NathanI](#):
>
> If you know of a source (with a generous license) of the rhythms I would gladly add them 😃

I do have them, but I paid for them, some considerable time ago and as you say.  
Honour licenses.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/19 "2025-03-12T14:36:52Z")

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EDIT:

- Attack & release time are 5 seconds. This should give enough space for finer adjustments.
- Smoothness for tone- and pitch control. The pitch knob on a Mellotron adjusted the speed of the fly-wheel so maybe this will feel more realistic.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/d78d45/32.png) [@NathanI](https://discourse.zynthian.org/u/NathanI)\
**Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 2:38pm UTC](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013/20 "2025-03-12T14:38:45Z")

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> [@NathanI](#):
>
> 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?

I found an answer from taijiguy himself on the KVR forum: [https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=304393&start=30](https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=304393&start=30)

“Just 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. That’s not the case with the new sounds (1995-present), so I can’t 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.”

[Next page](https://discourse.zynthian.org/t/new-sfz-mellotron-with-aftertouch-keyswitching-tune-filter-ar/11013.md?page=2)