The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, the hammers strike thin metal tines, which vibrate next to an electromagnetic pickup. The signal is sent through a cable to an external keyboard amplifier and speaker.
The piano evolved from Rhodes's attempt to manufacture pianos while teaching recovering soldiers during World War II. Development continued after the war and into the following decade. In 1959, Fender began marketing the Piano Bass, a cut-down version; the full-size instrument did not appear until after Fender's sale to CBS in 1965. CBS oversaw mass production of the Rhodes piano in the 1970s, and it was used extensively through the decade, particularly in jazz, pop, and soul music, as well by many rock artists. It was less used in the 1980s because of competition with polyphonic and digital synthesizers such as the Yamaha DX7 and inconsistent quality control caused by cost-cutting.
In 1987, the company was sold to Roland, which manufactured digital versions of the piano, to Harold Rhodes' criticism. In the 1990s, the Rhodes piano underwent a resurgence in popularity, resulting in Rhodes re-obtaining the rights in 1997. Though Harold Rhodes died in 2000, the Rhodes piano has been reissued and his teaching methods are still in use.
Features
The Rhodes piano's keyboard is laid out like a traditional acoustic piano, but some models contain 73 keys instead of 88. The 73-key model weighs around . The keyboard's touch and action is designed to be like an acoustic piano. Pressing a key results in a hammer striking a thin metal rod called a tine connected to a larger "tone bar". The tone generator assembly acts as a tuning fork as the tone bar reinforces and extends the tine's vibrations. A pickup sits opposite the tine, inducing an electric current from the vibrations like an electric guitar. Simply hitting tines does not need an external power supply, and a Rhodes will make sound even when not plugged into an amplifier, though like an unplugged electric guitar, the volume level and tone will be diminished.
The Suitcase model Rhodes includes a built-in power amplifier and a tremolo feature that bounces the output signal from the piano across two speakers. This feature is inaccurately labeled "vibrato" (which is a variation in pitch) on some models to be consistent with the labelling on Fender amplifiers.
Although the Rhodes functions mechanically like a piano, its sound is different. Vibrating tines produce a mellower timbre, and the sound changes with the tine's relative position to the pickup. Putting the two close together gives a characteristic "bell" sound. The Rhodes has been compared to the Wurlitzer electronic piano, which uses a similar technology, but with the hammers striking metal reeds. The Rhodes has a better sustain, while the Wurlitzer produces significant harmonics when the keys are played hard, giving it a "bite". According to Benjamin Love of Retro Rentals, an equalization spectrum analysis of the Rhodes will have a gap where the frequency of a lead vocal can be. This means it can easily support a voice performance without overpowering it.
History
Early models: Xylette, Pre-Piano ("Bantam Piano") and Piano Bass
Harold Rhodes started teaching piano when he was 19. He dropped out of the University of Southern California in 1929 to support his family through the Great Depression by full-time teaching. He designed a method that combined classical and jazz music, which became popular across the United States, and led to an hour-long nationally syndicated radio show. Rhodes continued to teach piano throughout his lifetime, and his method continues to be taught today. He continually refined the Rhodes piano design up to 1984.
By 1942, Rhodes was in the Army Air Corps, where he created a piano teaching method to provide therapy for soldiers recovering from combat in hospital. From scrapped airplanes, he eventually developed miniature pianos that could be played in bed. He was discharged from the Army Air Corps in September 1944."Wounded Men Amused By 'Lap-Model' Piano." Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1945, 6. He named his (non-amplified) lap instrument the "Xylette","Wounded Men Amused By 'Lap-Model' Piano." Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1945, 6. and a 1945 newspaper described its materials and their source: "The Xylette is being constructed by patients in the craft shops of the convalescent hospitals. The [aluminum] xylophone bars are made from discarded hydraulic systems, the plywood from hatchways, keys from the fuselage spruce, and hammers from the hardwood of the propellor.""Wounded Men Amused By 'Lap-Model' Piano." Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1945, 6.
On March 18, 1945, Rhodes visited the Santa Ana Army Base Convalescent Hospital, in Santa Ana, California, bringing with him eight Xylettes, and having visited seven similar military hospitals across the U.S."Wounded Men Amused By 'Lap-Model' Piano." Los Angeles Times, March 19, 1945, 6. When Rhodes had visited the Army's Fort Logan convalescent hospital, in Fort Logan, Colorado, a month earlier, he supervised construction of Xylettes and provided instruction, noting that "exercise afforded by a keyboard instrument is effective in the restoration of neuro-muscular coordination of fingers, hands and arms"."Use Bomber Parts to Build Pianos." The Daily Times (New Philadelphia, OH), February 16, 1945, 3. A Popular Mechanics article in June 1945 pictured recovering veterans playing their Xylettes at the Army's Ft. Thomas convalescent hospital, in Fort Thomas, Kentucky."AF Vets Build Midget Pianos and Learn to Play Tunes in 21 Days." Popular Mechanics 83:6 (June 1945), 16.
Rhodes, in California, next developed an electrically-amplified 38-key instrument, again without strings—instead, using carbon steel rods and advertised as "never needing to be tuned". It was labeled the "Pre-Piano", also being advertised as the "Bantam Piano""Lyon & Healy introduce this fascinating new Bantam Piano for the home, the school, the club" (advertisement). Chicago Tribune, July 18, 1948, 5."See The World's Newest Baby Grand! The Bantam Piano" (advertisement, Campbell Music Company). Washington (DC) Evening Star, November 8, 1948, A-3. or the "Harold Rhodes Electric Piano""Now A Piano For Every Home--The Harold Rhodes Electric Piano" (Stanroy's advertisement). The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat, 13 June 1948, 11. to broaden its appeal. Its public debut was in Los Angeles on May 21, 1948, at the Broadway department store."Twenty-Pound Bantam Piano Put on Show." Los Angeles Times, May 22, 1948, 3. Rhodes was present as demonstrator, as was the songwriter Jimmy McHugh; by that date, Rhodes had built 100 Rhodes pianos in his factory space at 2370 E. Foothill Blvd. in Pasadena."Want to be a Piano Mover? Inventor Here Makes It Easy." Pasadena Independent, May 23, 1948, 18.
Prior to the instrument's first retail sales, Harold Rhodes had exhibited it in Los Angeles on 11-20 July 1947"Zipper Bra Draws Big Crowd at World Inventors Exposition." Peninsula Daily News (Port Angeles, WA), 12 July 1947, 2."New Gadgets Shown at World Inventors Meet." American Press (Lake Charles, LA), 14 July 1947, 7. at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium as part of the "World Inventor's Exposition.""Inventors!! Your Golden Opportunity" (advertisement). Valley Times (North Hollywood, CA), 6 June 1957, 2."World Inventors Show—'Hoppi-Copter' and a Piano You can take to Bed." The Guardian (Perth, AU), 16 August 1947, 2.
By mid-1948 the Pre-Piano was being used for teaching in the Los Angeles public school system, and was eventually adopted in other cities, including Chicago. Among Rhodes's promotional appearances away from Los Angeles was Chicago's Lyon & Healy music store, where he demonstrated the piano between July 21 and 23, 1948."Lyon & Healy introduce this fascinating new Bantam Piano for the home, the school, the club" (advertisement). Chicago Tribune, July 18, 1948, 5. In mid-1948 pianist and song-stylist Gwen Bari was Rhodes's representative and demonstrator in Philadelphia,"First Showing in the East, and Only at Gimbel's: The Bantam Piano" (advertisement). Philadelphia Inquirer, June 16, 1948, 14.—including a local television broadcast."Demonstrations Daily, 1 to 3 p.m., by Gwen Bari" (advertisement, Kelley's furniture store). The Desert Sun, December 17, 1948, 9. She likewise appeared for promotions in Cleveland, New York, and Chicago."Village Musicians Return From East." August 17, 1948, 5. Her husband and violinist-partner, Gene Bari, was Rhodes's sales agent in Palm Springs (CA), advertising the Rhodes piano at $189.50 with amplification either built in or as an outboard unit, though it "also plays without amplification"."Pre-Piano: The World's Smallest Baby Grand" (advertisement). The Desert Sun, May 7, 1948, 4. The piano weighed twenty pounds by itself, and thirty pounds including its tubular base with attached seat, and the Baris were then using it in performances at Palm Springs' Desert Inn."Midget Piano Delights Inn Guests." The Desert Sun, May 11, 1948, 8.
In 1958, Rhodes began a business affiliation with Leo Fender to manufacture instruments.Smith, Don. "Countian Produces Compact Instrument: Technical Ingenuity 'Shrinks' Bass Fiddle." The Register (Orange County, CA), April 15, 1962, 6. For Fender, Rhodes developed a 32-note keyboard bass approximating the string bass's range (E1-B3), known as the Piano Bass. It introduced the design that would become common in subsequent Rhodes pianos, with the same Tolex body as Fender amplifiers and a fiberglass top. The tops came from a boat manufacturer who supplied whatever color happened to be available; consequently a number of different colored piano basses were produced.
Some recent, undocumented sources place Piano Bass manufacture as early as 1959. Actual production (for retail sale) in Fender's Fullerton plant, however, began early in 1962—following manufacture of prototypes that "[had then] been in use throughout the Southwest for more than a year".Smith, Don. "Countian Produces Compact Instrument: Technical Ingenuity 'Shrinks' Bass Fiddle." The Register (Orange County, CA), April 15, 1962, 6.
Under CBS
Fender was bought by CBS in 1965. Rhodes stayed with the company, and released the first Fender Rhodes piano, a 73-note model. It comprised parts — the piano, and a separate enclosure underneath containing the power amplifier and loudspeaker. Like the piano bass, it was finished in black Tolex, and had a fiberglass top. During the late 1960s, two models of the Fender Rhodes Celeste also became available, which used the top three or four octaves, respectively, of the Fender Rhodes piano. The Celeste did not sell well and is now hard to find. In 1969, the fiberglass lid was replaced with vacuum-molded plastic; the earlier models became known retrospectively as "silvertops".
The Student and Instructor models were introduced in 1965. They were designed to teach the piano in the classroom. By connecting the output of a network of student models, the teacher could listen to each student in isolation on the instructor model, and send an audio backing track to them. This allowed the teacher to monitor individual students' progress. Production of educational models ceased in 1974.
In 1970, the 73-note Stage Piano was introduced as a lighter () and more portable alternative to the existing two-piece style, featuring four detachable legs (used in Fender steel pedal guitars), a sustain pedal derived from a Rogers hi-hat stand and a single output jack. Although the Stage could be used with any amplifier, catalogs suggested the use of the Fender Twin Reverb. The older style piano continued to be sold alongside the Stage and was renamed the Suitcase Piano. An 88-note model was introduced in 1971.