The Electric Piano — Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet
Lineage of Electronic Keyboard Instruments, Article 2. Before fully electronic sound became practical, it was the "electro-mechanical" keyboard that defined the sound of popular music. The sweet tone of the Fender Rhodes, its hammers striking metal tines; the raw growl of the Wurlitzer, its hammers striking reeds; the funky bite of the Hohner Clavinet, its hammers striking strings. We trace the instruments that stood halfway between the acoustic piano and electronic sound, and that shaped the tone of soul, funk, fusion, and city pop.
Between the Acoustic Piano and Electronic Sound
Before synthesizers began synthesizing sound electronically, it was electro-mechanical instruments that defined the keyboard sound of popular music in the 1950s-70s. These were the electric pianos.
The principle of the electric piano is simple: a hammer strikes a mechanical vibrating element (a metal rod, a reed, or a string), and its faint vibration is picked up by an electromagnetic or electrostatic pickup and amplified. It sits exactly halfway between the acoustic piano (resonating strings) and the synthesizer (pure electronic oscillation) — piano-like in that it “strikes a vibrating element,” electronic in that it “amplifies with electricity.”
Three Systems of Sound Production
Electric pianos fall into three types, based on “what is struck, and how it is converted into electricity”:
| Type | Vibrating Element | Pickup | Representative Model | Character of Tone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tine | Metal rod + tone bar | Electromagnetic | Fender Rhodes | Sweet, bell-like |
| Reed | Metal reed | Electrostatic | Wurlitzer | Gritty, distorts easily |
| Struck string | Actual strings | Electromagnetic | Hohner Clavinet | Percussive, funky |
In every case, the bare vibrating element makes almost no sound on its own — it only becomes music once amplified through an amp and speaker. This combination of “mechanical vibration plus electrical amplification” produces a texture unlike either the acoustic piano or the synthesizer.
Fender Rhodes — King of the Tine
Invented by Harold Rhodes. Its origin was a miniature piano built for recuperating soldiers in a military hospital.
- Piano Bass (1959) → Suitcase (1965, with a built-in amp) → Stage 73/88 → Mark I / II
- The hammer strikes a tine (an asymmetric tuning fork — a thin metal rod plus a tone bar), picked up by an electromagnetic pickup
- The tone is sweet, bell-like, and mellow — an emblem of jazz, soul, and fusion
Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, and city pop in general all made use of the Rhodes sound. As a signifier of “night,” “the city,” and “ennui,” it remains the most beloved electric piano to this day.
Wurlitzer — The Rawness of the Reed
The Wurlitzer 200/200A is the representative model. The hammer strikes a metal reed, picked up by an electrostatic pickup. It is grittier than the Rhodes and distorts more easily, which suits rock and blues. Ray Charles’s “What’d I Say,” Supertramp, the Beatles, and others made use of it.
Hohner Clavinet — Emblem of Funk
The Clavinet D6/E7. Pressing a key causes a rubber-tipped hammer to press down on a string to sound it (close to an amplified clavichord). The tone is percussive, crisp, and funky. It pairs superbly with a wah pedal, and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” became synonymous with the Clavinet.
Other important electric keyboards of this era include the Hohner Pianet (the Beatles, the Zombies), which plucks a reed with an adhesive pad, and the Yamaha CP-70/80 (Genesis, Peter Gabriel), a compact grand piano using real strings.
Decline and Revival — When the Fake Drove Out the Real
In the 1980s, the electric piano declined rapidly amid digitization. Ironically, the trigger was the Yamaha DX7’s FM preset “E.PIANO 1” — an imitation of the real Rhodes sound that, being lighter and cheaper than the actual instrument, came to dominate 80s pop. The fake electric piano drove out the real electric piano (this paradox is examined in detail in Article 6).
After that:
- 1990s-2000s — Sample-based digital pianos and workstations came with built-in Rhodes and Wurlitzer tones
- Today — Software instruments that precisely model the original hardware have become standard. Reissues of the original hardware have also progressed (the Rhodes Mark 8, with the revived Rhodes company returning in 2021), and secondhand prices for vintage originals have soared
Its Place in the Lineage of Electronic Keyboards
The electric piano represents the first practical generation of electric keyboards in the lineage of electronic keyboards. If the theremin (Article 1) was an experimental forerunner, the Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Clavinet were the first successful examples of establishing electric keyboards in popular music.
Acoustic Piano (resonating strings)
→ Electric Piano (electro-mechanical) ★ this article
→ Synthesizer (electronic synthesis)
→ Digital Piano (sampling)
→ Software Synth (modeling)The idea of “amplifying mechanical vibration with electricity” served as a transitional stage on the way to fully electronic sound. The next article traces the next leap forward — the moment Moog used voltage control to “synthesize” sound, and the analog synthesizer was born.