Mellotron Archives UK, run by John Bradley (son of Les, managing director of Streetley Electronics - the original manufacturer) and Martin Smith,Mellotron nut and all round good egg, are the only people outside the USAwho can offer a FULL rescue package for sick Mellotrons, Novatrons, and at apush, Birotrons....
The Optigan was a novelty instrument built and marketed by the Optigam Corporation (a subsidiary of Mattel) in Compton, USA in the early 1970's. The unusual feature of the Optigan was its method of sound synthesis; the Optigan optically read graphic representations of waveforms from a series of 12" celluloid LP sized discs, hence the name Optigan - 'Optical-Organ'....
The source for information, new sounds, and replacement parts for Mellotrons and Chamberlins.
Mellotron, Chamberlin, Chamberlain, vintage keyboards, vintage instruments, music, production, repair, synth
Welcome to the original Web page devoted to Mellotrons and Chamberlins, the tape-based analog replay keyboards that first became poplular in the sixties. These fascinating instruments, originally made famous by groups like The Moody Blues, The Beatles, and Genesis, are enjoying a re-discovery forty years later by a new generation of musicians and listeners....
Welcome to the world of the OPTIGAN (NOT "Optigon," "Optagon" or "Octagon!")! In the early 70's, Mattel devised this OPTIcal orGAN to play back the sounds of REAL instruments, encoded on celluloid discs like concentric rings of movie soundtrack.
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