*Here at Gordy's Music in Ferndale, Michigan, we are so proud and grateful to receive the REVERB TOP 300 SELLERS Certificate for the second year in a row! A real honor. We want to start by thanking all of you, our customers, my partner wife Marcia, top notch crew, and Reverb.com. We have quite a team and will strive to get this certificate year after year.*

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Gordy's Music obtained this fine Mellotron about a year ago from a late collector's vintage estate of over 150 pieces. The estate owner had very good taste in high quality very rare instruments you just don't see every day. This Mellotron is an example. Stay tuned for a very early 1960 Blond Fender Twin serial number 00033, with factory special ordered Fender stamped 12" Cerwin Vega speakers!

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Up for sale is an absolute Holy Grail for vintage keyboard collectors, progressive rock enthusiasts, and world-class recording studios: a museum-quality, single-owner 1973 Mellotron 400-SM (Serial Number 796) in excellent original condition.

This is not just an instrument; it is a beautifully preserved piece of music history, complete with an unbroken paper trail of provenance and professional master servicing.📜 The Story & Provenance (1971–1994)The original and only owner spent two years corresponding directly with the Mellotron Company in the UK before special-ordering this unit. Included in the sale is a massive, meticulously kept folder containing:

• The Origin (1971–1973): Personal factory inquiry letters, a direct price quote from the UK (detailing the Mellotron 400, swell pedal, leatherette Protecto muff cover, and shipping), and the original pink sales receipt from Weaver Music Co. in Allen Park, Michigan, dated July 3, 1973.
• The Factory Upgrade (1979): Letters and receipts documenting official factory upgrades performed in 1979 by Sound Sales Inc. in S. Kent, Connecticut (the official UK factory service partner).
• The Archives: A wealth of Mellotron newsletters, a thick newsletter Archive catalog (1991–1994), upgrade price lists, a pictorial catalog, and rare magazine/newspaper article reprints—complete with the original mailing envelopes.

🛠️ Professional Master Service:

Mellotrons are notoriously complex mechanical instruments, but this unit is ready to perform. It has just been completely gone through by our master technician of 40 years (servicing, rebuilding, repairing, and collecting synths and Rhodes since the 1960s) when they more or less became available.

• Brand New Components: Freshly installed new tape and a complete set of 35 new rollers all purchased direct from the Mellotron company.
• Extras Included: The original tape installation tool, the original wall power cable (in excellent condition), and the original factory cover.
• Collector’s Bonus: All of the old tape, original rollers, and tool are preserved and included in the sale to maintain historical completeness.

📦 What’s Included:

• 1973 Mellotron 400-SM (Serial #796)
• Original Factory Cover & Wall Power Cable
• Master Folder of 1971–1994 Correspondence & Literature
• Newly Installed Tape & 35 Rollers (plus the original vintage parts and installation tool)

This is an exceedingly 'rare opportunity' to own a fully operational, factory-upgraded Mellotron M400 with an unparalleled historical record.

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The 'SM' in Mellotron M400SM which this listed model has, stands for Servo Motor and refers to a series of significant mechanical and electronic upgrades introduced by the US distributor Sound Sales, Inc. The original M400 models used an unreliable motor control board (CMC-10) that caused pitch instability and a high-frequency whine. The 'SM' designation marked the transition to a more reliable system, featuring the SMS-2 motor servo board which greatly improved performance, particularly pitch stability. 

Key 'SM' Upgrades:

The 'SM' upgrades made the M400 a much more reliable touring instrument. 

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Key Details

• Model: M400SM (Mellotron 400 SM)
• Year: Circa 1973
• Serial Number: 796
• Manufacturer: Originally manufactured by Streetly Electronics in Birmingham, England, then distributed in the US by Sound Sales, Inc.
• Features: The "SM" model, as introduced in the 1976 catalog, featured improvements such as a new integrated circuit preamp, line amp replacement, and a new 3-pin Cannon output plug.
• Significance: Vintage Mellotrons are highly sought after for their iconic and unstable pitch, which has been used on countless recordings since the 1960s, notably the intro to The Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever". The group King Crimson and many others.
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• Included with the instrument starting in 1971, is a complete folder of provenance with every kind of literature that you could imagine with schematics, instruction manuals, personal letters of inquiry, receipts of purchase, promotional literature and even all the original envelopes they were mailed in.

Starting with pictures #1 through 4 of the last 6 pictures in the listing that show receipts, correspondence, literature, schematics, and manuals, this story starts back in 1971 when the 1 and only owner inquired about information on purchasing a Mellotron. In a 3rd letter from the Mellotron company he gets a price quote which includes the Mellotron 400, a swell pedal, and a Protecto muff cover 'leather', plus shipping. The pink sales receipt is from Weaver Music Co. in Allen Park, Michigan dated July 3rd. 1973 when the keyboard finally arrives from England. He picks up and purchases the unit with it's accessories on July 5th. 1973.

Finally 6 years later in these same first 4 pictures are the letters and receipts inquiring about having the keyboard upgraded which was done in 1979 by Sound Sales Inc. located in S. Kent, Connecticut, who does all Mellotron upgrades for the UK based company.

Picture #5 & 6 contains every imaginable piece of literature Mellotron newsletters, a thick newsletter Archive catalog catalog from 1991-1994, upgrade sales sheets and price lists, a Mellotron picture catalog, and many miscellaneous magazine & newspaper article reprints.

NOTE: Keyboard is cosmetically quite clean and well preserved in previous owners home for it's entire life with the leatherette cover on it just as we found it. As seen in pictures it has some wear mostly at the edges but remains untouched from any type of repairs other than the mechanical ones our technician did as mentioned in this listing.

Finally, I forgot to mention that the tape heads are in superb condition.

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NOTE: Item is listed for pickup only at our shop here in Ferndale, Michigan 48220.

Shipping and pickup of Mellotron is full responsibility of buyer:

Upon payment in full we will work with you and your shipping service for a safe pickup.

Keyboard itself weighs 125 lbs.

With Protecto leather cover & included dolly weighs approximately 135 lbs.

Keyboard dimensions itself are:

Official Dimensions:

According to the original repair and operations manuals, the external measurements of the cabinet are:

• Height: 34 inches (86 cm)
• Width: 34 inches (86 cm)
• Depth: 24 inches (56 cm)

(Note: Depending on whether the unit's rear-protecting lid hardware or bottom glides are included, some localized listings record slight profile variations up to 34" W x 28.5" H x 22.5" D)

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Shop at our Reverb Store for a bunch of vintage and other products at:

https://reverb.com/shop/gordys-music

IN BUSINESS for 40 YEARS!!
50 YEARS of VINTAGE EXPERIENCE!
MICHIGAN GUITAR SHOW PROMOTORS Since 1989!
Brick and mortar to the end!

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Visit our new secured still under construction website to see the long list of celebrity musicians and groups we have met and serviced in the past 40 years. 

NOTE: Too cool. Late last summer we shipped a 1967 MapleGlo Rickenbacker 6-12 Converter 'comb' guitar to Billy Corigan of Smashing Pumpkins! We also then shipped a vintage 50 watt Marshall head to L.A. studio-touring guitarist extraodinaire, Michael Landau, and 2 vintage guitars to Jack White's organization down in Nashville just a few days before his 50th. birthday! mmm? Add 'The Kentucky Head Hunters' to the list, just sold Greg a cool little 50's Valco tube combo amp!

Gordy's Music has become a Detroit institution! Our shop was used as a filming location for a few films like "Miracle in Motor City" a Christmas movie on Lifetime (featuring Smoky Robinson). We've supplied gear for movies including "Bill & Ted Face The Music" with Keanu Reeves. We've got decades of celebrity customers, including recent visits from Beck, Eric Johnson, and we recently sold Billy Joel's bassist a cool Gibson SG he is in love with. One day a while back Andre 3000 and his group stopped in to browse as they were playing Masonic Temple that night and right after that we sold an old oil can Morley Wah Vibrato pedal to Credence Clearwater Revival's thee John Fogerty!

We are having and have had a lot of fun here at Gordy's Music! I was just remembering about 35 years ago a tour bus pulled up to our little shop, and who rolls right in and hangs out for an hour? Lenny Kravitz and his entire group, right about the same time I was selling many guitars to and chauffeuring around Dee Dee Ramone who had an apartment a block down from my house.