Oh, please, no...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Apparently, the Rhodes remake will actually be at NAMM this year, only like 5 years after that dude bought the name and started threatening to make one. There is actually a web site up and everything, and since it’s on the interwebs, you know it’s true.
I have to say that the technical data on the preview page isn’t exactly inspiring. I can’t for the life of me figure out why a simple mechanical instrument would need a USB port and an LCD screen, so it makes me think that they may have tried to improve on an already good thing. The words “state of the art” appear twice in three bullet points, and since the original Rhodes was created in 1946, I’m wondering how much “state of the art” technology should really be applied.
However, I don’t think it’s a ROMpler. If it is, I swear to christ I’m gonna start fashioning a shiv.
Any other rumors we should all be aware of? I do know a certain effects maker is supposed to debut a new flagship, but other than that, I haven’t heard about anything that would really qualify as “interesting.”
26 comments
I restored a Rhodes once- that was a fun couple of weeks. Simple, brillant design inside that must have been very labor-intensive to assemble. Here's hoping they didn't fuck with it too much.
If they aren't lying, it's not a ROMpler. From the web site's NAMM blurb: "ASK our knowledgeable sales personnel about the first new electromechanical pianos in 22 years". Agreed, I have no idea what USB ports would do on an instrument like that. I reckon they're fitting some kind of MIDI trigger system on some of the models at least, so they'd double up as MIDI controllers.
Otherwise, my NAMM prediction is pretty much "same crap in new shiny packages". But we'll see about that.
Waldorf posted a blueprint style drawing of a synth shaped like their Wave a few weeks back on their homepage which many say may or may not be their new product. Anyone with any pre info please do spill the beans. They released the Nanosynth which is a scaled down micro q like sounding card for the CME controllers, so Terratec I hear is going release their a version of their latest VST Komplexer which can load MicroQ patches but can be an add on into the new controller keyboard they are releasing, just like the Nano synth for the CME joints. Controller keyboards loading VSTS, Korg is to release 3000 new products by the way. Cant wait to see what Behringer copied.
Given that the Rhodes will be the only electromechanical piano in production, all the had to do was actually make the thing to be exciting. Why they feel the need to ad speak it up is beyond me.
Presumably that kind of technology as saviour marketing approach comes part and parcel with being inclined towards threats of litigation to protect the famous brand name you now own but did not build.
ummm, how do you do an electromechanical piano with pitch bend?? either it's a modeling instrument or it's "loaded with techno", ie; crap dsp.
• Tremolo and pitch bend
It has a MIDI out, and it's just as easy these days to make it a USB MIDI interface. (It's probably an OEM board you can buy.) And the screen is for the MIDI features, and perhaps effects? That's my guess.
Yeah, the Wave-looking keyboard caught my eye, too.
"Why they feel the need to ad speak it up is beyond me."
Because your average marketing person is more terrified by blank page-space than anything else in this world. I think they use copy-length to compensate for short-comings in other areas.
Yeah, I tend to agree with Penzoil that it's loaded with techno. We'll see, though.
-CR
loaded with techno never gets old.
Umm, there's going to be a box from Arturia, a hardware rack device, with "selected modules" from Arturia's TAE products - with wooden panels. A nice display in the middle, loads of knobs. :-) Oh, and a Jupiter-8V.
So light it's bulleted twice, never trust a company that can't proof read it's own website, no doubt this thing is filled with techno.
CR, you had better get on fashioning your toothbrush shiv.
I think "state of the art" means dsp fx,amp and preamp emulation.
midi is nice,i remember the 73 case has very natural feel to it back when hammer wight action was still non existing.
i also thing if it will be electro mechenical,it will also feature a rom player engine. and then all the audio demos will be like:
"A synth pad layered on top of a rhods piano,we really are in the year 2000!" :>)
Oh, it is probably blasphomy... but the Rhodes piano sound was always a bit to clinky (for lack of a better term) sounding for my tastes. From what I understand, it was really the only road worthy portable keyboard instrument practical for a touring musician back in the day, so you have a lot of great music created with the Rhodes. Would there really be so much Rhodes love if it wasn't for Stevie Wonder?
So really, why not a Rhodes rompler? One of the things I noticed on the family piano growing up, was that part of the richness of the piano sound came from the sound in the room resonating back into the piano. Sometimes, when there would be a loud enough pitched sound in the room, you would hear a faint reverb of the sound actually coming from the piano. Just the piano sitting there in the room altered the acoustics of the room. The electric piano that I learned to play in school did no such thing. I don't think it was a Rhodes, but still, without that resonance and feedback in the body of the piano, it might as well been a rompler.
I don't see what all of the fuss is about. They've been putting midi outputs and sound modules on real pianos for years. My gf used to own one, and it was still a great sounding piano. The techno crap, although kinda silly, didn't get in the way of the piano at all, and it was kind of fun to be able to record in midi and have the real piano keys mechanically play it back on cue. My only problem with adding all the midi stuff is that it will obviously raise the cost of the thing, and aside from the authentic hammer action, I don't see it being of much use to serious musicains-- I remember a Rhodes being WAY too noisey even when switched off to be used as a dedicated midi controller.
Anyway, my point is that it's pretty hard to fuck up a Rhodes, no matter how much extra shit you attach to it. Then again, I'm the type of guy that would wire a midi controller into an old Rhodes just for fun!
This is akin to putting a USB port on an old tabletop AM radio. If you really like AM radio, you're probably not worrying about ways to interface it to your computer. There's bunches of used Rhodes pianos running around for under a grand, and there are plenty of people who still service them. Anybody who wants that sound can get it if they're willing to do the heavy lifting.
If you can figure out what "Passive-to-active capability with MIDI" means, you'll probably have the truth and maybe the DaVinci Code as well. But only Level 27 initiates are revealed to the mysteries behind "Mark 7 technology".
It's not completely terrible. "in passive, active, and active MIDI configurations" probably means that there's an analog pickup in there somewhere. And "Light, transportable, hi-performance neodymium speaker systems" hopefully means that it's just the cabinetry that got lighter.
BTW, I'll be offering kits that let you convert a Chinese SM-57 clone into a handy shiv/club/toothbrush, hopefully by early April.
I assume that passive/active/active-MIDI means that there are models that are totally passive (e.g. original Mark 1 w/ no EQ), semi-active (e.g. Mark 1 with slider EQ) or semi-active with some sort of MIDI thing shoehorned on.
Be all that as it may, I agree with afreshcupofjoe that if it does have the normal electro-mechanical innards of a Rhodes, then who gives a fuck about whatever shit they throw on the ass end? I also agree that one might as well just buy a proper Rhodes and be done with it.
-CR
I write over-the-top marketing copy just to amuse myself. This morning I was quoted on Music Thing. :)
a zzounds employee?
Damn! you wrote that ad copy synthetic? I remember reading that line on zzounds ages ago when I was bored and looking for cheap, lofi devices and thinking, "This ad copy guy must have a great sense of humor!" It's just too over the top to be serious. "Records one track at a time with classic warm analog sound!"
ROTFL!!!!!
"loaded with techno never gets old."
You might even say that the catchphrase "loaded with techno" is itself loaded with techno. Isn't there a name for that?
"Isn't there a name for that?"
tautology
Recursion.
There's a thread on gearslutz discussing the new rhodes models http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=103172
The actual designer gives more of a heads up as to what all the extras (pitchbend LCD) are for. Here's the pertinent remarks:
"Hold yer horses, boys!
It's a RHODES PIANO!
If that's all you want, order a stripped down stage model and go away. If you want active preamp/EQ/vibrato, get the active version. If you want the bottom speaker, just pop it underneath, it's ready to interface. If you want MIDI, get it. It will have a display for midi mapping, nothing related to the piano's sound.
Hammers and tines are based on the MKV technology. It will weigh around 85 lbs for a 73. Tines are made from the same alloys and are from the same source. The action is fast without the key bounce common in older designs. These things PLAY.
They will have the usual "accessory" jacks to allow interfacing to your beloved MXR Phase 90 while offering a passive output for external processing or a DI right off the pickups. The vibrato rate is very wide, from very slow to chattering fast, great for effects. It's a very smooth optically based triangle waveform pan circuit.
The preamps are using new silicon/germainium technology and noise is very low. There is a 3 band EQ with a mid sweep range of 100 to 8k hz, + - 15 db. Residual buzz from the pickups is also reduced from better shielding. The pickup coils will be made by Turbo-Jet, just like before. They will be better matched than any other previous Rhodes offering improved signal to noise ratios.
The speaker bottom is very powerful but also very light. It has wheels and a great stand/support system. The pedals are improved for faster set up without rubbing. I can get Hendrix like feedback from this thing, it's so powerful.
The new 61 key passive is very affordable. What ever the price is set at, it will be reasonable for the quality and features offered. One can conclude this will be a great product and will find favor with many musicians who don't want the aggravation of maintaining a 30+ year old piano or those who want additional performance and sound quality. We all realize some vintage old "rhodents" will hate anything new, but they already have their old dinosaurs so they are not the market focus.
Booth 5811, see you there....
Jim Williams
Rhodes designer."
"The new 61 key passive is very affordable."
I'm really hoping his idea of affordable is close to my idea of affordable.
I am just returning from the 2007 NAMM event, and have to offer some input to all of those that hold strong opinion for something THEY HAVENT EVEN SEEN! The Rhodes IS all that it is built up to be, Stevie Wonder is a huge advocate for it's revival, and the rest of NAMM is clearly on the side of supportive, otherwise I would not have had to wait in line for 25 minutes to try this fine instrument.
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