Rhodes models
Harold Rhodes (born 1910) constructed what is arguably the best known and most widely used electric piano. Designed in 1946—as a piano surrogate for practice, education, and army entertainment—the Rhodes piano was marketed by guitar manufacturer Fender from 1956. The Fender Rhodes is one of the most popular musical instruments in jazz, especially electric jazz. CBS took over production of the Rhodes in 1965, enhancing its popularity in pop and rock music. There are also a number of Rhodes synthesizers, developed by former manufacturer ARP. Roland Corporation owned the Rhodes name for a while and released several digital pianos under the Rhodes moniker. From 1997 until his death in December 2000, Harold Rhodes again owned the name.
The Rhodes piano was also made available as a suitcase piano (with a pre-amplifier and two-channel combo amplifier) and as a stage piano, without an amplifier. Both of these 73-key “portable” versions have a vinyl-covered wooden frame and a rounded plastic top. In 1973, an 88-key model was introduced. Smaller Celeste and bass versions were less popular. The MkII (1978) had a flat top that allowed keyboardists to place extra keyboards on top. The Mark V, introduced in 1984, had a MIDI output.
The mid-1980s saw a decrease in Rhodes production as most keyboard players invested in the lighter and more versatile digital synthesizers that became available around this time. These keyboards could easily emulate the Rhodes sound and also offered a range of new piano sounds.
The Rhodes piano bases its method of sound generation on metal reeds, which function much like a tuning fork. These reeds are struck with a velocity sensitive hammer action that works in a similar fashion to that of a grand piano. The asymmetrical tuning fork consists of a thin tine and a large tone bar that are bolted together. Due to construction considerations, some of the tone bars are rotated by 90 degrees. The piano is kept in tune by the mass of a spring, which can be moved along the tine. The tine oscillates in front of an electric pickup, similar to that of an electric guitar. This oscillation functions along inductive principles, with permanent magnets placed around the tine that have a damping effect on tine movement and therefore, the sound.
The Rhodes output signal is like that of an electric guitar and requires pre-amplification. The Rhodes sound is not harmonically rich. This is why so many performers use a treble boost or an overdrive effect when playing the Rhodes piano. The Rhodes sounds best when played through tube amplifiers.
The characteristic sound of each Rhodes piano depends more on the adjustment and maintenance of the individual instrument than on the model. Early models had hammers covered with felt, resulting in a smoother sound than later models with neoprene-covered hammers. The suitcase piano featured a pre-amplifier that could create a sound with a very dominant mid-range. Appropriate pre-amplification and equalization can, however, deliver an identical tone from almost any stage piano. The MkII does not have the treble range resonance clamps of earlier models; it has less sustain in the treble range. The most significant sonic differences are dependent on the proximity of the tine to the pickup. When the tine is moved closer to the pickup, the bell characteristic becomes more prominent. In the 1980s, many Rhodes pianos were adjusted to have more “bell.”
Note: The Vintage Electric Piano Metal Piano and Attack Piano models feature idealized sound qualities that could only be aimed at with the original Rhodes instruments. Although these models may not sound realistic, they have at least partially achieved the goals that Rhodes technicians may have envisaged when preparing their keyboards.