From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved. Protection is not an endorsement of the current version (protection log). Please discuss changes on the talk page or request unprotection. You may use {{editprotected}} on the talk page to ask for an administrator to make an edit for you.

A Rhodes piano is an electromechanical musical instrument, a brand of electric piano. Its distinctive sound has appeared and still does in thousands of songs of all musical styles since it was first introduced in 1965.

Contents 1 History 2 Sound-producing mechanism 3 Artists who play Rhodes 4 The Fender buyout 5 Models 6 References 7 External links

History

The Army Air Corps piano was invented during World War II by Harold Rhodes in an effort to provide a piano that injured servicemen could practice while in bed. It evolved from the Rhodes Pre-piano over the 1946 to 1950s timeframe, to an initial design launched as the Rhodes PianoBass in 1959. The Rhodes piano's tone-generating principles are derived from the concept of an asymmetrical tuning fork - with a stiff wire (called a "tine") struck by a felt-tipped (neoprene rubber-tipped after 1970) hammer acting as one side of the tuning fork, and a counterbalancing resonating tone bar above the tine acting as the other side. This tone generator kit's vibrations are then picked up by an electromagnetic pickup (one for each tine), and amplified.

The Rhodes' action is quite different from that of a conventional piano. Whereas in a conventional piano each key causes the hammers to strike sets of strings, in a Rhodes piano the hammers strike the tines instead. The result is a unique, fat sound with a bellish attack and good sustain.

Sound-producing mechanism

The tuning forks themselves are "unbalanced" or asymmetrical: one arm consists of a short, stiff metal rod (essentially a stiff wire) called a "tine" which is struck by the hammer, and the other arm is a tuned resonator resembling a piece of metal bar stock, sized to sound the appropriate note. The actual sounded note is, just like on an electric guitar, produced to be picked up by an electric-guitar-style pickup. The pickups' output is fed to an amplifier which can be adjusted to produce the desired volume.

The sound produced has a bell-like character not unlike a celesta or glockenspiel. Because the instrument produces sound electrically, the signal can be processed to yield many different timbral colors. Often the signal is processed through a stereo low-frequency pan oscillation (which was called Vibrato on the Rhodes front panel) effects unit, which pans the signal back and forth between right and left; it is this "rounded" or chiming sound that is most typically called a classic Rhodes sound, which can be heard on, for example, many of Stevie Wonder's songs. The preamp with stereo panning is included on the original Rhodes Electric Pianos and after 1970 on the "suitcase" models; the "stage" models lack the preamp and the amplified speaker cabinet.

Inspired by one particular and very famous rental piano in L.A., the E-Rhodes, used on hundreds of famous records by many big artists, in 1977 and during the 1980s a set of Rhodes modifications done by a company called "Dyno My Piano" became popular: it made the sound brighter, harder, and more bell-like. It can also be heard on many records from that time. The modifications brings out more of the Rhodes sound and makes it cut through like a grand piano, for instance : when notes are played forcefully, the sound becomes less sweet, as nonlinear distortion creates a characteristic "growling" or "snarling" skilled players can contrast the sweet and rough sounds to create an extremely expressive performance.

Artists who play Rhodes

The first known use of the Rhodes piano on a mainstream recording was by Joe Zawinul with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in 1967. This inpired Miles Davis to have Herbie Hancock play it too. In fact Herbie had never even heard of the Rhodes piano and thought it was some kind of toy. However he admits to being blown away by the big, rich sound of the instrument,^{[citation needed]} and would go on to be one of its most recognisable exponents. The Rhodes was particularly popular from the early '70s-mid '80s, and many of its signature songs date from this period: "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You by The Alan Parsons Project, "Freeway Jam" by Jeff Beck and the Jan Hammer group, "Just the Way You Are" and "James" by Billy Joel, "Ride Captain,Ride" by Blues Image, "Still Crazy After All These Years" by Paul Simon, "Babe" & "Don't Let It End" by Styx, "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" by Stevie Wonder, "Peg" by Steely Dan, "Just You 'N' Me" & "Call On Me" by Chicago, "Gotta Serve Somebody" by Bob Dylan, the intro to "Sheep" by Pink Floyd, "I Can't Tell You Why" and "New Kid in Town" by The Eagles and the theme from Taxi by Bob James. Also, Billy Preston played one on the Beatles' "Get Back". The Rhodes also features prominently in the song "Incommunicado" by Jimmy Buffett. Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers also played a Rhodes on, to name just a couple of hits, "You Belong To Me" and "Minute By Minute." The instrument was also featured in Peter Frampton's best-selling Frampton Comes Alive album. Other songs include "Who Will Save Your Soul" by Jewel and "Dig" by the Christian band Adam Again.

Ray Charles played "Shake a Tail Feather" on a Rhodes during the music store scene in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, and was seen playing "What'd I Say" on a Rhodes on a late 1970s Saturday Night Live appearance (although he played a Wurlitzer electric piano on the original 1959 recording).

The Rhodes was also used in jazz-fusion throughout the late 1960s and '70s. Chick Corea's album Light as a Feather and Miles Davis's In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew featured the Rhodes throughout the whole album. Joe Zawinul of Weather Report, Jan Hammer of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Herbie Hancock also used the Rhodes. Donald Fagen of Steely Dan uses the Rhodes on many recordings such as "Hey Nineteen", "Kid Charlemagne", "My Rival", with a phaser on "The Fez", and on most of their newer recordings. On tour he brings five of them, and always has his MXR phaser in reach to add when needed. Bill Evans used the Rhodes (often together with a grand piano) on different recordings (including "The Bill Evans Album" and "From left to right").

More recently, the Rhodes has seen a resurgence in popularity and has been adopted by a number of bands and artists, including Damien Rice, Pulp, Radiohead (heard most prominently on OK Computer and Kid A), The American Analog Set, Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Money Mark, Copeland, Incubus, Rainer Maria, Little Glitches, The Appleseed Cast, Super Furry Animals, Bright Eyes, Eisley, Arcade Fire, Vanessa Carlton, Secret Machines, Tori Amos, David Byrne, Cat Empire, Silversun Pickups, Wilco, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Mute Math, Thrice, Kate Bush (fender rhodes are heard on almost every song in her album The Red Shoes) R.E.M., Hot Hot Heat, Cake (the Rhodes is in "Sheep Go To Heaven" in the background chords of the chorus), Man Man (most of their songs are recorded with a real piano but all are played live on a Rhodes) The Strokes, Citizen's Band (Omaha, NE), The Flaming Lips, Jim Asbell and the Tropiholics (the Rhodes figures prominently on "800 Miles Away") and Glenn Danzig of the Misfits. On the album "Insomniatic" by teen duo Aly & AJ, Aly Michalka is credited as using a rhodes in the song "Silence". It has also seen a large resurgence in the genre of "Jam Bands", being used regularly by Phish, The String Cheese Incident, Leyline and The Special Purpose. Although it is unconfirmed, The Raconteurs seemed to have used one on their album Broken Boy Soldiers. Heavily filtered or processed Rhodes piano samples have become canon for contemporary dance-oriented electronic music genres. Also Jack White often plays a Rhodes live, and he uses it notably on the songs "The Air Near my Fingers" and "Apple Blossom," and also is seen live using a fender rhodes bass piano

In addition, the Rhodes has seen heavy usage in hip hop—especially that of a more jazzy nature. This can be seen with artists such as The Roots, Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, Blackalicious, Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest, and others. It is even more popular in the neo-soul genre with such artists as Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, and Jill Scott, almost replacing the traditional piano. J Dilla, a late Hip-Hop producer, was a well-known Rhodes player. The Rhodes sound is also all over the late Tupacs records.

In recent years, the Rhodes has been explored in the "prepared" format. The Rhodes is "prepared" as John Cage and others prepared an acoustic piano, (i.e. the insertion of springs, plastic tubes, pins, etc). These objects when touching the strings or the tines change the sound of each key played. The most notable of musicians that perform on the "prepared" rhodes include classical pianist Eric Glick Rieman & free jazz pianist Armen Nalbandian.

The Fender buyout

Leo Fender of The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, then called the Fender Electric Instrument Company, entered a joint venture with Harold Rhodes in 1959, and they produced the instruments for six years. As a result, Rhodes instruments were called Fender Rhodes for 15 years.

The first Fender Rhodes product was the Piano Bass in 1959, and no other models were mass-produced until after the CBS takeover of Fender. During January 1965 CBS bought the Fender company for 13 million dollars, and shortly afterwards the 73 and 61 key Fender Rhodes Electric Piano went into production. The '60s also saw the Fender Rhodes Celeste, the Student/Instructor models and systems as well as the very rare Domestic models. In 1970 the more portable Mark I Stage model was added to the range as well as the two 88 note Stage and Suitcase models, and in 1974 the brand name was correctly changed from Fender Rhodes to just "Rhodes"( Fender was just involved between 1959-1965, and didn't like the piano! ). The Rhodes piano went through internal improvements continuously. The hammers became all plastic, the pedestals changed shape and were bare for a short while, (the felt was on the underside of the hammer), the pickups were altered, and the tine structure modified to endure more wear. The Mark II model was introduced in late 1979.

Also manufactured for a brief period was the Rhodes Mark III EK-10 which had analog oscillators and filters alongside the existing electromechanical elements. The overall effect was that of a Rhodes piano and a synthesizer being played simultaneously; compared with the new polyphonic synthesizers being marketed at the same time, it was far too limited in scope and sound. Very few units were sold.

The final Rhodes electric piano was the Mk V in 1984. The Mark V was thought to be the ultimate Rhodes instrument. With a lighter body, all new action design with an improved cam, increasing the hammerstroke by 23% for power and increased dynamics. A new harmonic tone bar designed for better upper and lower clarity as well as a big reduction in the weight with usage of polymer material in the outer case reducing the weight to about 100 pounds.

Models

Different models of the Rhodes pianos were manufactured. 73 and 88 note versions were available of both the stage model and the suitcase model, which included built in pre-amp with the famous Stereo-Vibrato, amplifier and speakers. For quite a few years, a 54-key version was also produced. The first model to be produced by Fender-Rhodes was the 32-note PianoBass in 1959. This was followed by the Sparkletop Fender-Rhodes Electric Piano or "Mark 0" (1965), Mark I (1970) and Mark II (1979) which was continuously improved and developed, but housed in about the same construction throughout the years. In 1984, the last year of production, the Rhodes Mark V was released.

References

External links

• Rhodes Music Corporation
• www.fenderrhodes.com
• www.fenderrhodes.org
• www.haroldbrhodesmusicfoundatin.org