Originally invented as a portable piano replacement, electric pianos have become classics in their own right. Our love for vintage pianos encompasses the sounds of the ’60s and ’70s, especially originals like the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer, as well as modern stage pianos in retro style.
It should come as no surprise that there is a wide variety of vintage piano sounds available today, as each musical era inevitably has its own unique electric piano sound. Throughout this evolution over time, certain sound ideals have re-emerged frequently.
If you want to buy a vintage electric piano, you will quickly realize that instruments with electromechanical sound generators can cost a lot of money. Not only are these instruments undoubtedly very rare today, but each one is unique, with very specific characteristics. However, you can get more flexibility and modern features with the latest stage pianos and keyboards with digital vintage sounds. Software may also be the solution as there are many vintage piano VSTs available.
On (almost) every digital piano or stage piano, the first electric piano sound is dedicated to the Fender Rhodes. And for good reason: It is not only the most popular electric piano sound but also the most versatile. As a result, stage pianos usually offer at least two versions: A brilliant version that emphasizes the typical bell-like sound in the attack, and a more dry and direct-sounding version.
The different sounds are a result of different model series: The Fender Rhodes Mark I is popular for its more woody and warm sound, while the Mark II, which came out later, sounds a bit more wiry and trebly. However, almost all keyboard players have tweaked the sounds by changing the positions of the tines and pickups to create an individual sound. The sound was also “reworked” with a phaser, chorus, wah pedal, EQ, compressor, and delay.
These audio clips demonstrate just how different the Fender Rhodes can sound. First, a classic Mark One, a warm basic sound with a nice bell-like attack. With the fast tremolo effect, the sound is also reminiscent of a vibraphone.
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The stereo tremolo with panorama modulation gives this Mark One a very spatial timbre. A popular sound in the soul music of the ’70s.
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Next, a Dyno Rhodes: strong bell-like attack and a broad, wiry sound with lots of EQ, chorus, and tremolo.
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Its distinctive sound, classically combined with a tremolo effect, has made this e-piano also very popular. The Wurlitzer sounds much more mid-range and aggressive than a Fender Rhodes, making it more suitable for rock songs. However, the Wurlitzer is also often used for jazz and pop. While the Fender Rhodes and the Wurlitzer electric piano are both electromechanical instruments, they differ in the way they produce sound. The Wurlitzer uses a hammer to strike a flat metal reed. The Rhodes’ tine/tone bar system, modeled after a tuning fork, is much more variable in sound.
The Wurlitzer electric piano produces a wide variety of sounds. The models differ not only in tone, but also in playing technique, effects, EQ, and amplification. The first example shows the classic sound of the Wurlitzer digital piano: dry, percussive, and direct, almost rock-like.
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In this example, adding a guitar amp enhances the rock sound of the Wurlitzer.
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However, the Wurlitzer electric piano also has some delicate nuances in its dynamics. You just have to play it with appropriate restraint and softness.
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The digital pianos from German manufacturer Hohner have not received as much attention as the American-made Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos. Yet they are still treasured, not least because of their truly beautiful sound. The Electra piano is the domestic version.
With its very charming soft and bell-like sound, it is somewhat similar to the Rhodes piano but behaves very differently in terms of dynamic sound development. The small Pianets, on the other hand, sound much rougher and are great band instruments. The sound is somewhere between a Rhodes and a Wurlitzer.
This Hohner instrument became world-famous thanks to the electric jazz and jazz-rock of the ’70s. It is not actually an electric piano, but an electromechanical spinet. Inside, steel strings are struck and picked up by pickups. Often, phasers or flangers are then used to edit the Clavinet sound – but it gets extremely funky when combined with a wah pedal.
Although pianos with electromechanical sound generators became really popular, their sound was far from that of string vibration. The next step was the electromechanical grand piano, most famously the Yamaha CP80 or CP70. Built like a miniature grand piano, it was also an eye-catcher on stage. Hence, you’d find it in the stage setup of countless bands in the ’80s. Due to its independent, extremely wiry, and percussive sound, this piano is also often included in the digital piano sounds of modern stage pianos.
- Tom Blankenberg on the making of his solo piano album ``Atermus``
With the advancement of transistor technology, electric pianos with a unique sound followed the earlier electromechanical e-pianos. The appeal of these e-pianos lies less in their dynamic expressiveness – in that respect, they are a step backward compared to the electromechanical vintage pianos. However, you have to take into account the beat era of the ’60s and ’70s: Since then, new sounds based on sawtooth and square waveforms have boosted the musical evolution.
You have to discover the more sober charm of analog e-pianos. Well-known examples are the Farfisa Professional Piano, Crumar Dynamic Piano DP-80, Wersi Pianostar or the Yamaha CP series, Roland EP-09 or Korg EPS-1.
Before the release of the DX7 synthesizer in 1983 – and with it, countless derivatives of the sound commonly known as FM piano – Yamaha released the GS-1 piano and its portable version, the GS-2. Both instruments used frequency modulation to create sounds. Unlike synthesizers, you could not edit them freely, but you could at least reprogram them using magnetic tape strips.
The Roland RD-1000 – the first digital stage piano and a milestone of the late ’80s. Its so-called “Structured Adaptive” (SA) sound generation produced quite synthetic-sounding acoustic pianos, but the sound of the RD-1000 was already much closer to a grand piano than anything else at the time. Above all, this sound provided a realistic playing experience in terms of dynamics.
You could also purchase the sound generator as a module called the Roland MKS-20. However, the digital pianos of these two Roland machines became even more popular. Modeled after the Rhodes, these sounds also had a very synthetic feel to them – but remain a classic today. Very rich, warm and bell-like. In turn, the sound generation of the RD-1000 and MKS-20 also found its way into the Rhodes MK-80 – a collaboration between Roland and the then-fading Rhodes brand.
It may be a little confusing, but the “V” here does not indicate vintage. V-Piano can be read here as “Virtual Piano”. The V-Piano was launched in 2010 and is therefore already vintage itself. Nevertheless, this technology lives on in current Roland stage pianos and is used extensively for the production of acoustic pianos – such as the current top stage piano RD-2000 EX.
The Roland V-Piano is therefore clearly a digital stage piano and has a voluminous appearance, which is also reflected in its weight of almost 40 kg. At well over 5,000 euros, the price when the instrument was first released was also rather heavy.
With the triumph of digital pianos, electric pianos of the past are now being recreated using sampling or physical modeling. Musicians are also rediscovering the originals and placing them in new musical contexts. In the late ’90s, for example, the Rhodes sound became popular again and was often used in various styles of electronic music.
In addition to that, combinations of sampled and synthesized sounds were layered on top of each other to create ever-new and fantastic sounds, similar to what started with the DX7. Stage pianos and digital pianos with extensive sound equipment also contain many sounds that may not be very effective when played alone but show their potential when used as part of a layered combination.
Vintage electric keyboards are extremely popular and fetch collector’s prices. Taking care of these old treasures can be an expensive hobby. However, there are digital stage pianos with a vintage focus: Swedish manufacturer Clavia started in the 2000s with the Nord Electro series.
The very first model impressed with the realistic sounds of Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Hammond B3. But other manufacturers have also picked up on the vintage trend. Like the Nord Electro, the Vox Continental is designed as a vintage stage keyboard with a waterfall keybed – a throwback to the days of ’60s cult bands like The Doors. Roland offers a similar concept with the VR-09 V-Combo: Hammond organ meets vintage piano.
The so-called waterfall keys are modeled after the manuals of a Hammond organ. While stage keyboards are great for playing organ sounds, the same cannot be said for authentic piano sounds. If you are looking for a stage piano with a “vintage” focus, you will find a large selection of instruments, some of which are even very retro in style.
The 73 Nord Electro 6 HP, for example, is a good compromise between a robust lightweight construction and a pianistic feel thanks to the hammer action portable keyboard. If you don’t want to compromise on the keyboard, take a look at Korg’s stage pianos: Designed as a stage piano with vintage sounds, the Korg Stage Vintage is available in black as the SV-1bk or in metallic red, with a choice of a 73- or an 88-note keyboard. The Korg Grandstage is also a hot tip when it comes to vintage pianos. On the other hand, if the retro-style design is important to you, the Waldorf Zarenbourg or the Crumar Seven might be of interest.
With any retro vintage piano, you can assume that you are dealing with a digital sound generator. But why not buy a real electric piano with a real electromechanical sound generator? That’s what the American vintage piano experts at Vintage Vibe thought, leading them to design their own digital piano. Their Vintage Vibe Piano is based on many features of the Fender Rhodes, although it is not a 1:1 copy and even has some improved details. For example, the Vintage Vibe Piano is lighter and offers different preamp models and designs.
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