| Name |
Comments |
Quality |
Classic
status? |
| RMI
ElectraPiano, Rock-Si-Chord etc. | The
first and best of an otherwise mediocre bunch. Many models from 1968 to late seventies.
Harpsichord and "lute" sounds were best, but straight piano sound was
also punchy and distinctive. No touch sensitivity. "Organ" mode extended
decay time. Used by Rick Wakeman, Sparks, Genesis, Ray Manzarek (possibly)
and many others. | *** |
*** |
| Multivox,
Univox(?) | American
importers' brand names applied mostly to Italian-made Crumar instruments (see
Crumar) | ** |
* |
| Crumar
Compac, Compac II,
Roadrunner,
Roadracer,
Roady etc. | The
archetypal early '70s to early '80s electronic pianos. Budget-priced, very portable
(George Duke used one as a strap-on, as did Edgar Winter) but with
bland, unmemorable sounds. Usually had three sounds, vibrato and tuning control.
Roady had additional vibes sound; Roadracer was only model with touch sensitivity.
Legend has it that the Beatles used a Crumar for the intro of "Lucy In the
Sky...". They didn't. THAT was a Lowrey organ, and besides, electronic pianos
didn't exist then. Late models were marketed in the UK as "Chase" rather
than Crumar. | ** |
* |
| Hohner
International
(HI-Piano) | Not
even distantly related to Hohner's famous Clavinet, Pianet and Electra-Piano models,
these are typical Italian pianos (possibly made by Crumar) but housed in very
heavy, road-worthy (German-made?) Clavinet E7-style cases. Some models have additional
string and synth sounds. | *** |
* |
| Armon
(Selmer-Armon) | These
were among the cheapest, nastiest instruments ever made. I speak as someone who
had to struggle with one of these turkeys at school in the late 70s. Bent aluminium
cases, flimsy keyboards, noisy electronics, wobbly stands and fizzy sounds, plus
lack of a tuning control on the model I used were some of the many reasons to
avoid this one. Oh, and the fact that it burst into flames during a rehearsal. |
* |
* |
| Cordovox | Suspiciously
similar to the Selmer-Armon in having sliders for the 3 equally dismal sounds.
Some were mounted in Cordovox's famous "White Elephant" plastic cases;
others in ordinary wood-grain boxes. Moog may have been partly responsible for
the fabled CDX organ; I very much doubt whether they even KNEW about this thing. |
* |
* |
ARP
4-Voice,
16-Voice | Among
the most acoustic-sounding electronic pianos. These were made just before the
ill-fated takeover by CBS/Fender/Rhodes which resulted in the eventual demise
of ARP. The 4-Voice (the name referred to available sounds, not polyphony) is
a good work-horse, while the 16-Voice has a lot of "clever-clever" preset
effects (trills, arpeggios etc.), but not much more that's actually usable. Touch-sensitive,
weighted keyboards. | *** |
** |
| Rhodes
Electronic Piano | When
CBS bought the ARP synthesiser company in the early 80s, ARP had just produced
its first two electronic pianos, the "4-Voice" and the "16-voice".
The Rhodes Electronic Piano was a similar design, including a touch-sensitive
weighted keyboard. However, a Rhodes worthy of its name it was not. |
*** |
** |
| Kustom
88 | Does
exactly what it says on the tin. Actually, this was a pretty good one-sound piano
with a nice 88-note weighted touch-sensitive keyboard and a sound not dissimilar
to that of the old RMI. At the time (early '80s) it would have been a good
cheap alternative to a Yamaha electric grand. Today a Casio will give a better
acoustic piano sound. | *** |
* |
| Yamaha
CP-20 CP-30,
CP-25,
CP-35 | Despite
their names, these were in no way related to Yamaha's classic CP-70 electric
grand and its successors. However, they WERE better-than-average electronic pianos,
if you wanted something that didn't sound like an electric or an acoustic. All
featured selectable waveforms and adjustable decay for a wide range of possible
sounds. The CP-30 and CP-35 also featured tuneable independent dual output channels.
The CP-25 and CP-35 were later models with extra waveforms and effects. The CP
range were among the first electronic pianos to feature weighted touch-sensitive
keyboards. Good but VERY heavy. Used by Elton John, Christine McVie, Dr John
and others. | *** |
*** |
| Yamaha
pf-10,
pf-15,
pf-70,
pf-80 | These
were Yamaha's last electronic (rather than digital) pianos, although they did
in fact use digital FM synthesis (like the DX series synthesisers). The sounds
aren't bad, in a DX-7-ish way, and all but the pf-10 have weighted keyboards and
built-in speakers. Very "1980s" instruments, but here in the UK jazz
musicians seem to like them (or perhaps they can't afford anything better?) The
pf-70 and pf-80 have more sounds, plus MIDI. Later pf-85 is digital. |
*** |
** |
