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Long before digital sampling, the Mellotron revolutionized popular music by introducing a mechanical marvel: a keyboard where every key triggered a dedicated strip of pre-recorded magnetic tape. Developed in the early 1960s, it gave keyboardists the uncanny ability to summon real string sections, choirs, and flutes right from the stage.
The instrument became an unmistakable cornerstone of 1960s and 70s art rock, famously weaving its haunted, breathy textures through masterpieces by The Beatles (“Strawberry Fields Forever”), The Moody Blues (“Nights in White Satin”), King Crimson (“The Court of the Crimson King”), and Genesis (“Watcher of the Skies”). Later revived by 90s alternative mainstays like Oasis, Radiohead, and Smashing Pumpkins, and kept alive today by modern progressive and indie artists, the Mellotron’s lo-fi tape flutter and nostalgic warmth remain utterly timeless.
When building a collection of virtual “Trons,” there is good reason to stock up on multiple libraries sampling the exact same instrument. Because physical Mellotron tapes vary wildly depending on age, wear, calibration, and the specific hardware unit they were pulled from, no two sample libraries sound alike. Each developer’s capture brings its own distinct character, tape saturation, and mechanical charm to your tracks.
LT Mellotron (SoundProps)
I love the Mellotron and Chamberlin vintage samplers, and this has a bunch of excellent Tron patches. My favorite patches are the cello, 8 choir, M300A 2 viloins, mixed brass, MKII flute, and MKII violins, The only patch I find not up to my expectations is the vibes. Otherwise, I love this library.
Expressive Tron (Tronsonic)
I’m a huge fan of the Mellotron M400, and that’s what this developer sampled, originally recorded to analog tape with vintage gear, for this collection of libraries including flute, strings, cello, and male choir.
Mellotron (Sinewavelab)
Format: Kontakt (full version)
I am a sucker for Tron sounds and I own the M-Tron Pro, Sonic Reality’s various Tron libraries (from Dave Kerzner), UVI Mello and a bunch of Tron KONTAKT libraries and this freebie is still worth having. It contains unlooped, 7 second samples of the following libraries: Combined Choir, GC3 Brass, M300A, M300B, MkII Brass, MkII Flute, MkII Violins, String Section, Woodwind 02 and Cello.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHYS-abmpEQ
Hellotron (Premier G)
Format: Kontakt (full version)
Premier G sampled a Mellotron M400S, capturing Flute, Strings, and Cello libraries. Each of the 35 notes on the M400S was sampled with the original seven second duration.So you have the 35 note limitation of the original instrument. Of course, an M400S doesn’t have velocity layers, so it’s a single velocity layer. The GUI offers a switch to mix the Flute and Strings, Strings and Cello. There is a convolution reverb and a control for tone.
https://soundcloud.com/