Rhodes Mark 7 A-Series 73 Electric Piano

Friday, March 27, 2009

Rhodes Mark 7 A-Series 73 Electric Piano: the return of a legend.

The Rhodes Mark 7 is a real electro-mechanical piano retaining all the classic features of the original legendary instruments while moving the brand into the 21st Century.

The Rhodes Mark 7 A-Series Electric Piano features active electronics: a 3-band Equaliser and a built-in tremolo system, based on silicon germanium technology. The frame and keybed is made of real wood, with full length wooden piano keys.

The action of the keybed should satisfy even the most demanding professional players.

The improved tine mechanism builds on the original idea of an asymmetrical tuning fork – a tine struck by a hammer acting as one side of the tuning fork, and a counterbalancing resonating tone bar above the tine.

The design of the cabinet enables the user to easily align the pianos to stands, improving stability. A lid locking system is installed, preventing unauthorized access. To prevent moisture build-up within the case, a ventillation system allows the wood to breathe and the air to pass through.

Specification:

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Real electro mechanical Piano
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 Unbeatable classic sound
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 Headphone out
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 Built-in active electronics
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 Circuitry is prototypical â€œsilicon germaniumâ€ technology

FET pre-amp with 3-band active Equaliser
- High-slew, low-noise technology
- Treble 10Khz, Bass 100hz, Mid-range sweeps 100hz to 8Khz
- Boost & cut 15 db

Tremolo: Stereo vibrato circuit, triangle-wave based
- Variable speed & depth
- Wider sweep range than any previous Rhodes

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 Size: 1168 X 210 X 584 mm
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 Weight: 39kg
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Some History:

The Rhodes Electric Piano was first produced in the 1950s.

Produced by Fender, the rhodes was a papular stage piano, thanks to its portability, natural key action, sound quality and robustness.

Invented by Harold Rhodes, the first model ws only 2 1/2 octaves.

In the early 40′s Harold Rhodes, a serviceman with the Army Air Corps, concerned about the morale of hospital patients, built his first “baby Piano”. Constructed from scratch using aircraft parts scrounged and appropriated from army stores, he made a 21/2 octave mini keyboard to entertain and amuse his charges. (This was later to become the extremely rare Fender Celeste which, in turn, was the inspiration for the Bass Keyboard made famous by Ray Manzarek of the Doors). This keyboard, utilizing aluminium rods struck directly by the actual wooden key itself, was an instant success. Throughout the armed forces, hundreds were built and entertained many thousands of servicemen. Later on, the keyboard was lengthened, a sustain mechanism devised, and finally, an adaptation of the electric guitar type pickup was added. It was this unit that attracted the attention of Leo Fender and thus the Fender Rhodes, as we know it today, was born.The Rhodes was manufactured in two basic models with three different keyboard lengths of 54, 73, and 88 notes respectively. (Actually the 54 note was released relatively late in the piece). These two models were designated as “Stage” or “Suitcase” – Stage being just the basic keyboard with its guitar type electromagnetic pickup tone generation, standing on four chrome legs and requiring external amplification.
The Suitcase models sit astride a stereo powered speaker cabinet with stereo “vibrato” effects. The word “vibrato” is really a misnomer in this case as the effect is in reality a tremelo, or, amplitude modulation autopanned side to side, speaker to speaker. In this model the damper / sustain pedal is an integral part of the speaker cabinet – the Stage model has a separate breakdown pedal.

Information provided by Brad Coates (www.melmusic.com.au). Thanks Brad.

Technical data:

Key mechanism used to strike tuning forks
Electromagnetic pickups used to detect tuning fork vibration

Amplified

Models produced from 1959 to 1984

The operation of a Rhodes is simplicity itself. The wooden key activates a hammer via a cam. When the key is depressed, the dampers are lifted above the “tines”, (string equivalents), which are in turn struck by the hammer. This tine vibrates much in the same manner of a tuning fork, transmitted by the pickup as an electromagnetic signal. This is then amplified in much the same fashion as an electric guitar. In a Stage model there are no batteries or mains power – as in a guitar, this is unecessary. The Suitcase models require A/C mains to power not only the amplifier system, but also the stereo “vibrato” and active tone controls. (The tone control on a Stage is “cut only” – you can only remove bass or treble, not add it). While it is possible to play and hear a Rhodes acoustically, a nasty mishmash of overtones makes that exercise somewhat undesirable!

Although a Rhodes in “factory preset” mode has a tinkly bell like sound, this can be dramatically altered and customized. The position of the tine / tonebar assembly can be raised or lowered, allowing the hammer to strike the tine at a slightly different point along its axis, radically altering the timbre of the note, (once again similar to the strike point of a plectrum upon a guitar string – warmer towards the fretboard, thinner and harsher towards the bridge).The position of the magnetic pickups in relation to the end point of the tine rod also changes the timbre and amplitude of the note. Tuning is a relatively simple process – a split spring is slipped along each tine. Moving this spring towards the pickup assembly flattens (lowers) the pitch, sliding it towards the keys sharpens (raises) the pitch.

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Tags: keyboard, piano, rhodes

This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 9:10 pm and is filed under Stage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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