This led to the eventual demise of the mass-produced electric piano, and CBS lost interest in the project. But in the 1980s, lower-cost polyphonic synthesizers started to appear, and some were very good at recreating the sound of the Rhodes (especially Yamaha’s DX-7 with sales of over 200,000 ). A flat-topped Rhodes 54 electric piano (1980)ĭuring the CBS years, there were five generations of Rhodes piano… Mark I to Mark V.
Happy farmer model dfor sale professional#
And, at the time, the choice of instruments available to a professional keyboard player was basically… Hammond organ, acoustic piano, Wurlitzer piano, Hohner Clavinet. It didn’t have the sound of an acoustic piano, but had a bell-like timbre, which found favour with a wide range of musicians.
Happy farmer model dfor sale portable#
Unlike an acoustic instrument, it was portable and easily “amplifiable”. The Rhodes Piano was a must-have instrument for touring rock and jazz musicians. CBS dropped the “Fender” part of the name in 1974. The Fender company was sold to CBS in 1965, and four years later a full-range version of the Piano Bass was launched - the Fender Rhodes Electric Piano (Mark 1). Fender Rhodes Mark 1 Stage 73 Piano (1969-1974) This had a 32 note keyboard that approximately encompassed the range of a bass guitar, and used tuned metal rods (tines) as the sound source. However, in 1959 Rhodes joined forces with Leo Fender (of Fender guitar fame) and released the Fender Rhodes Piano Bass. The Pre-Piano wasn’t a great success and was only manufactured for a couple of years. Harold Rhodes and his Pre-PianoĪfter the war, Rhodes wanted to take his designs further and in 1946 launched the Pre-Piano - a 38 note keyboard with piezo pick-ups and a built-in tube amplifier and speaker. Such was the instrument’s success that over 100,000 were built. A set of tuned aluminium tubes acted as the sound source, and these were struck with a crude piano action. Rhodes wanted to give injured bedridden airmen piano lessons to help with their recuperation, and so built a small portable keyboard instrument (known as the Xylette). Harold Rhodes, a young piano teacher from San Fernando, California, was serving in the Army Air Corps. The pianos will be built at a new factory in Leeds (UK). The new Rhodes MK8 has been developed by a new company, Rhodes Music Group Ltd, with input from various high-profile music industry engineers and designers. This is an electric piano – not a digital, virtual or even electronic version, and it truly captures the essence of the outstanding original 1970s/80s instrument. The legendary Rhodes electric piano, often referred to as the Fender Rhodes, is now reincarnated in the form of the Rhodes MK8.
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