?TR606 Mellotron-style Cassette Player + Recorder

Imagine taking the iconic Mellotron's tape-head magic and shrinking it into a pocket-sized Walkman that Gijs Gieskes has lovingly hacked into a musical instrument.

This modified cassette player/recorder uses a continuous loop tape—included along with an external mic—to capture sounds via built-in or external recording, then plays them back Mellotron-style by switching between four preset pitches with a simple key switch. Control playback speed for pitch-shifting effects, engage the Sound On Sound (S.O.S.) feature to layer recordings endlessly, and output through the 3.5mm headphone jack. It's analog at heart, powered by internal battery, two AA cells, or USB-C, all packed into a super-portable 120 x 91 x 42 mm body weighing just 250g—perfect for experimental jams anywhere.

Players love how it delivers warm, lo-fi tape tones with that unpredictable organic charm, though some note it takes a gentle touch to keep the mechanism happy in heavy use.