Mellotron

A intro to the mellotron by Paul McCartney where he shows an example of how the Beatles used it the technology in Strawberry Fields Forever.

The mellotron was popular for about 20 years before the technology became dated. Mellotrons were not intended to be mobile devices, weighing around 120lbs. Although they gained their popularity through popular bands in the 1960's. I imagine traveling bands that used them probably had a trained mellotron maintenance person with them. They were also difficult to fix, and the tapes needed to be replaced often. All 35 keys had the be de-magnetized and maintain the proper tension. There were also issues with the tapes resetting and creating a click during the process that made the mellotron inconsistent. Overall the maintenance on these machines were their ultimate downfall.