The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an
electric piano invented by
Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, the hammers strike thin metal
tines
Tines (; also spelled tynes), prongs or teeth are parallel or branching spikes forming parts of a tool or natural object. They are used to spear, hook, move or otherwise act on other objects. They may be made of metal, wood, bone or other hard, ...
, which vibrate next to an electromagnetic
pickup. The signal is then sent through a cable to an external
keyboard amplifier and speaker.
The instrument evolved from Rhodes's attempt to manufacture pianos while teaching recovering soldiers during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Development continued after the war and into the following decade. In 1959,
Fender began marketing the Piano Bass, a cut-down version; the full-size instrument did not appear until after Fender's sale to
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in 1965. CBS oversaw mass production of the Rhodes piano in the 1970s, and it was used extensively through the decade, particularly in
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
pop, and
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
. It was less used in the 1980s because of competition with
polyphonic and digital
synthesizers such as the
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 1980 ...
and an inconsistent quality control caused by
cost-cutting
Cost reduction is the process used by companies to reduce their costs and increase their profits. Depending on a company’s services or products, the strategies can vary. Every decision in the product development process affects cost: design i ...
.
In 1987, the company was sold to
Roland, which manufactured digital versions of the instrument without authorization from Harold Rhodes. In the 1990s, the instrument experienced a resurgence in popularity, resulting in Rhodes re-obtaining the rights to the piano in 1997. Although Harold Rhodes died in 2000, the Rhodes piano has since been reissued, and his teaching methods are still in use.
Features
The Rhodes piano's keyboard is laid out like a traditional acoustic piano, but some models contain 73 keys instead of 88. The 73-key model weighs around . The keyboard's touch and action is designed to be like an acoustic piano. Pressing a key results in a hammer striking a thin metal rod called a tine connected to a larger "tone bar". The tone generator assembly acts as a
tuning fork
A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs ( tines) formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal (usually steel). It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it agains ...
as the tone bar reinforces and extends the tine's vibrations. A
pickup sits opposite the tine, inducing an
electric current from the vibrations like an electric guitar. Simply hitting tines does not need an external
power supply
A power supply is an electrical device that supplies electric power to an electrical load. The main purpose of a power supply is to convert electric current from a source to the correct voltage, current, and frequency to power the load. As a ...
, and a Rhodes will make sound even when not plugged into an
amplifier
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost t ...
, though like an unplugged electric guitar, the volume level and tone will be diminished.
The Suitcase model Rhodes includes a built-in power amplifier and a
tremolo feature that bounces the output signal from the piano across two speakers. This feature is inaccurately labeled "
vibrato
Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...
" (which is a variation in pitch) on some models to be consistent with the labelling on
Fender amplifiers
Fender amplifiers are a series of electric instrument amplifiers produced by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The first guitar amplifiers attributed to Leo Fender were manufactured by the K&F Manufacturing Corporation (K&F) betwee ...
.
Although the Rhodes functions mechanically like a piano, its sound is very different. Vibrating tines produce a mellower timbre, and the sound changes with the tine's relative position to the pickup. Putting the two close together gives a characteristic "bell" sound.
The instrument has been compared with the
Wurlitzer electronic piano
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptua ...
, which uses a similar technology, but with the hammers striking metal reeds. The Rhodes has a better sustain, while the Wurlitzer produces significant
harmonics when the keys are played hard, giving it a "bite". According to Benjamin Love of Retro Rentals, an
EQ spectrum analysis of the instrument will have a gap where the frequency of a lead vocal can be. This means the instrument can easily support a voice performance without overpowering it.
History
Early models
Harold Rhodes started teaching piano when he was 19. He dropped out of the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
in 1929 to support his family through the
Great Depression by full-time teaching. He designed a method that combined
classical and
jazz music
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a maj ...
, which became popular across the United States,
and led to an hour-long nationally syndicated radio show. Rhodes continued to teach piano throughout his lifetime, and his piano method continues to be taught today.
He continually refined and updated the design of the instrument up to 1984.
By 1942, Rhodes was in the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
, where he created a piano teaching method to provide therapy for soldiers recovering from combat in hospital. From scrapped airplanes, he developed miniature pianos that could be played in bed.
[
] Rhodes won a service award for his therapy achievements and put an electric model, the Pre-Piano, into production for home use during the late 1940s.
In 1959, Rhodes entered a joint venture with
Leo Fender
Clarence Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 – March 21, 1991) was an American inventor known for designing the Fender Stratocaster. He also founded the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In January 1965, he sold Fender to CBS, and later foun ...
to manufacture instruments. Fender disliked the higher tones of the Pre-Piano, and decided to manufacture a
keyboard bass
Keyboard bass (shortened to keybass and sometimes referred as a synth-bass) is the use of a smaller, low-pitched keyboard with fewer notes than a regular keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the deep notes of a bass guitar or double bass ...
using the bottom 32 notes (E-B), known as the Piano Bass. The instrument introduced the design that would become common to subsequent Rhodes pianos, with the same
tolex
Tolex is a trade name for a flexible, waterproof, vinyl material used as a cover material for books, upholstery, guitar amplifiers, cases, and other products.
Tolex was filed as a trademark on August 30, 1945 by the General Tire, and was registe ...
body as Fender amplifiers and a
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
top. The tops came from a boat manufacturer who supplied whatever color happened to be available; consequently a number of different colored piano basses were produced.
Under CBS
![6f 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/6f_1.png)
Fender was bought by
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
in 1965.
Rhodes stayed with the company, and released the first Fender Rhodes piano, a 73-note model. The instrument comprised parts — the piano, and a separate enclosure underneath containing the power amplifier and loudspeaker. Like the piano bass, it was finished in black tolex, and had a fiberglass top. During the late 1960s, two models of the Fender Rhodes Celeste also became available, which used the top three or four octaves, respectively, of the Fender Rhodes piano. The Celeste did not sell well and is now hard to find. In 1969, the fiberglass lid was replaced with vacuum-molded plastic; the earlier models became known retrospectively as "silvertops".
The Student and Instructor models were introduced in 1965. They were designed to teach the piano in the classroom. By connecting the output of a network of student models, the teacher could listen to each student in isolation on the instructor model, and send an audio
backing track
A backing track is an audio recording on audiotape, CD or a digital recording medium or a MIDI recording of synthesized instruments, sometimes of purely rhythmic accompaniment, often of a rhythm section or other accompaniment parts that live musi ...
to them. This allowed the teacher to monitor individual students' progress. Production of educational models ceased in 1974.
In 1970, the 73-note Stage Piano was introduced as a lighter () and more portable alternative to the existing two-piece style, featuring four detachable legs (used in Fender steel pedal guitars), a sustain pedal derived from a Rogers
hi-hat stand and a single output jack. Although the Stage could be used with any amplifier, catalogs suggested the use of the
Fender Twin Reverb
The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characterist ...
.
The older style piano continued to be sold alongside the Stage and was renamed the Suitcase Piano. An 88-note model was introduced in 1971.
The Rhodes became increasingly popular during the 1970s. In 1976, the company posted an advertisement claiming that of the top 100 ''Billboard'' albums featuring electric pianos, 82% of them used a Rhodes.
Later models
![Rhodes Mark V](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Rhodes_Mark_V.jpg)
During the 1970s various changes were made to the Rhodes mechanics. In 1971 the hammer tips were changed to neoprene rubber instead of felt, to avoid the excessive need for regular maintenance, while in 1975 harp supports were changed from wood to aluminum. Although this made production cheaper, it changed the resonance of the instrument slightly. In 1977 the power amplifier design was changed from an 80 to a 100-watt model. The Mk II model was introduced in late 1979, which was simply a set of cosmetic changes over the most recent Mk I models. A 54-note model was added to the range.
The Rhodes Mk III EK-10 was a combination electric piano and
synthesizer, introduced in 1980 before CBS bought
ARP Instruments
ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman
in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...
in 1981. It used
analog oscillators and
filters
Filter, filtering or filters may refer to:
Science and technology
Computing
* Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming
* Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream
* Filter (video), a software component tha ...
alongside the existing electromechanical elements. The overall effect was that of a Rhodes piano and a synthesizer being played simultaneously. The instrument was unreliable with a problematic production, particularly when a shipment of 150 units to Japan caused interference with local television reception. Compared to the new
polyphonic synthesizer
Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophoni ...
s being marketed at the same time, it was limited in scope and sound, and very few units were sold.
The final Rhodes produced by the original company was the Mk V in 1984. Among other improvements, it had a lighter plastic body and an improved action that varied the dynamics with each note. The Mark V is the easiest of the original Rhodes pianos for touring musicians to transport.
Rhodes pianos produced under the original run had an inconsistent quality as the company wanted to mass-produce the instrument.
During the late 1970s and 1980s, Chuck Monte manufactured an after-market modification to the Rhodes, known as Dyno My Piano.
It included a lever that moved the relative position of the tines to the pickups, modifying the sound, and fed the output signal through additional electronics. This sound was emulated by the
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 1980 ...
with a patch known as the DX7 Rhodes that was popular during the 1980s, and caused several players to abandon the Rhodes in favor of the DX7.
After CBS
In 1983, Rhodes was sold to CBS boss William Schultz,
who closed the main factory in 1985 and sold the business to the Japanese corporation
Roland in 1987. Roland manufactured
digital piano
A digital piano is a type of electronic keyboard instrument designed to serve primarily as an alternative to the traditional acoustic piano, both in how it feels to play and in the sound it produces. Digital pianos use either synthesized emulat ...
s under the Rhodes name, but Harold Rhodes disapproved of the instruments, which were made without his consultation.
![Rhodes Mark 7 (rear), Expomusic 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Rhodes_Mark_7_%28rear%29%2C_Expomusic_2010.jpg)
Rhodes re-acquired the rights to the Rhodes piano in 1997. By then, he was in ill health and died in December 2000.
In 2007, his former business partner Joe Brandstetter acquired the rights to the name and re-formed Rhodes Music Corporation. The company introduced a reproduction of the original electric piano, the Rhodes Mark 7, housed in a molded plastic enclosure.
In 2021, a new company, Rhodes Music Group Ltd, was formed by the audio company
Loopmasters
Loopmasters is an English sound design record label based in Brighton, England. Loopmasters is mainly known for releasing and publishing sample packs on the pro-audio market and cooperating with software and hardware vendors including Ableton Liv ...
who bought the rights from Brandstetter. They announced a new model, the MK8, in development. The MK8 was made available for pre-order in November with 500 units planned for production in 2022. The MK8's case was designed by
Axel Hartmann and its electronics were designed by former
Moog Music technician Cyril Lance. At , it is significantly lighter than earlier models.
Notable users
Doors
A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by ...
keyboardist
Ray Manzarek began using Rhodes instruments when the group formed in 1965. He played basslines on a Piano Bass with his left hand, while playing organ with his right. He also played a full-sized Rhodes in the studio, such as a Mark I Stage 73 on "
Riders on the Storm
"Riders on the Storm" is a song by American rock band the Doors. It was released in June 1971, as the second single from '' L.A. Woman'', their sixth studio album and the last with lead singer Jim Morrison. The song reached number 14 on the U.S ...
". According to Manzarek, "If Mr. Rhodes hadn't created the keyboard bass, the Doors would never have existed."
The Rhodes piano became a popular instrument in
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
in the late 1960s, particularly for several sidemen who played with
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
.
Herbie Hancock first encountered the Rhodes in 1968 while booked for a session with Davis. He immediately became an enthusiast, noting that the amplification made him much more audible in groups when compared to the piano. Hancock continued to experiment with the Rhodes over the following years, including playing it through a
wah-wah. Other former Davis sidemen,
Chick Corea and
Joe Zawinul, started using the Rhodes prominently during the 1970s.
Beginning with ''
In a Silent Way
''In a Silent Way'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis, released on July 30, 1969, on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969, at CBS ...
'' (1969), the Rhodes became the most prominent keyboard on Davis's recordings until the mid-1970s.
Vince Guaraldi
Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this series includ ...
started using a Rhodes in 1968, and toured with both a piano and a Rhodes. He achieved particular prominence with his soundtrack music for ''
A Charlie Brown Christmas'' and other ''
Peanuts
''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and infl ...
'' / ''
Charlie Brown
Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip '' Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American a ...
'' films.
Billy Preston was described as the "Ruler of the Rhodes" by ''Music Radar;'' he played Rhodes during
the Beatles' rooftop concert
On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed an impromptu concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, in central London's office and fashion district. Joined by guest keyboardist Billy Preston, the band played a ...
in 1969, and on the Beatles' hit single "
Get Back
"Get Back" is a song recorded by the British rock band the Beatles and Billy Preston, and written by Paul McCartney though credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. It was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to ...
". Many of
Stevie Wonder's recordings from the 1970s, such as "
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
"You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a 1973 single released by Stevie Wonder. The song became Wonder's third number-one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and his first number-one on the Easy Listening chart. It won Wonder a Grammy Award f ...
" feature him playing the Rhodes. He often used one alongside the
Hohner Clavinet
The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...
.
Donny Hathaway regularly used the Rhodes; his hit single, "
This Christmas", which receives seasonal radio play on African American stations, makes a prominent use of the instrument. Although better known for playing the
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
,
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
played a Rhodes on his performance of "
Shake a Tailfeather" in the film ''
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...
''.
Donald Fagen of
Steely Dan has regularly used the Rhodes. He has also used the Rhodes in all his solo albums and has played it at every one of his touring performances since 1994. The Rhodes features in "Angela", the 1978 instrumental theme from the sitcom ''
Taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
'' by
Bob James. The French band
Air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
make regular use of the Rhodes piano in their recordings. German pianist and composer
Nils Frahm
Nils Frahm (born 20 September 1982) is a German musician, composer, and record producer based in Berlin. He is known for combining classical and electronic music and for an unconventional approach to the piano in which he mixes a grand piano, upr ...
uses a Rhodes piano extensively in his studio and live performances.
See also
*
Dulcitone
A dulcitone is a keyboard instrument in which sound is produced by a range of tuning forks, which vibrate when struck by felt-covered hammers activated by the keyboard.
The instrument was designed by Thomas Machell of Glasgow in the 1860s, at the ...
*
Keyboard bass
Keyboard bass (shortened to keybass and sometimes referred as a synth-bass) is the use of a smaller, low-pitched keyboard with fewer notes than a regular keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the deep notes of a bass guitar or double bass ...
*
Vintage Vibe
Vintage Vibe is a manufacturer of electric pianos, based in Rockaway, New Jersey. The company also offers repair and restoration services for electric pianos, keyboard instruments and amplifiers, brand new parts for vintage electric pianos, and ...
References
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Rhodes Music Corporation– Company that manufactures the instrument
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes Piano
Electric pianos
Piano manufacturing companies of the United States
Former CBS Corporation subsidiaries