mellotron
An electromechanical keyboard instrument that plays pre-recorded tape strips of real instrument sounds when keys are pressed.
In Depth
The Mellotron, developed in Birmingham, England in 1963, contains a bank of magnetic tape strips — one for each key. When a key is pressed, a pinch roller pulls the corresponding tape across a playback head, producing the recorded sound of a real instrument (typically strings, flute, or choir). When the key is released, a spring returns the tape to its starting position. Each note can sustain for a maximum of about eight seconds. The instrument's slightly wobbly, imperfect reproduction of orchestral sounds gives it a hauntingly nostalgic quality that proved irresistible to progressive rock and art rock musicians. The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" (1967) features one of its most famous appearances, using the flute setting. King Crimson, Genesis, and Radiohead have all made iconic use of the Mellotron, and its distinctive sound remains widely sampled and emulated in modern music production.
Each Mellotron contained approximately 1,260 feet of magnetic tape — about a quarter mile — distributed across its 35 keys.