Masterbits

I've always wanted a Mellotron and didn't even reallize it. I've always loved the chior sounds from Radiohead's Exit Music (OK Computer), the strings from various Yes tunes and of coarse the flute from The Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour). When I figured out that those were Mellotron sounds, I had to have it.

OK, to start, instalation is not fun. Sampletank (an LE version comes with the Mello Zone Pack) requires a painful online auth process that is not user friendly. I hade no problems but if I didn't have so much computer experience, I'd have a hard time setting this puppy up. I just like to install a product and use it right away (not dink around on the net for 30min!). Also note the I had to download the RTAS version So I could use it in Protools (5.3.1). The packaged install CD only had the VST and MAS version. But it's worth it!

The sounds are top notch. I patched in Windows media player into Protools and played along with Stawberry Fields. WOW... SPOT ON!!!! The sounds have all the wow, flutter, hiss and pops of the original tape banks and the sounds cut out after 7 or 8 secs (again, like the original). Even the sounds I'm not familiar with are very usable. Like the organ and the brass sounds. The overall vibe of the sounds are VERY analog. The only thing I don't like is that the original tape banks had 25-35 notes, the Mello Zone plays all of the original notes (1 sample per note) as well as the extended notes by pitching down (and up) the bottom and top sample to extend the full range of your keyboard. To most, this is a bonus. But I like to keep it real.

Now I love the Sampletank interface. I gave it a 10 for simplicity. Most people hate it though. I can't stand it when plugins have that cheesy futuristic look. Sampletank keeps it simple.

I gave an 8 for features becauase the internal FX are quite good. And I really like the search feature. Each patch has EQ, attack, release and filter knobs as well.

I'm overall impressed (well worth the $$$).Read Review