An electric piano is a musical instrument with a keyboard that looks like a regular piano. Sound is created when mechanical hammers hit metal strings, reeds, or wire tines. This causes vibrations, which are then changed into electrical signals by pickups. Pickups can be magnetic, electrostatic, or piezoelectric. These electrical signals are sent to an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker, which make the sound louder so the performer and audience can hear it clearly.
History
The Neo-Bechstein electric piano was built in 1931. The Vierlang-Forster electric piano was introduced in 1937. The RCA Storytone electric piano was created in 1939 through a partnership between Story & Clark and RCA. John Vassos, an American industrial designer, designed its case. The piano was first shown at the 1939 World's Fair.
Types
The term "electric piano" describes several different instruments that produce sound in various ways, resulting in different sound qualities.
Yamaha, Baldwin, Helpinstill, and Kawai make electric pianos that are real grand or upright pianos with strings and hammers. Helpinstill models have a traditional soundboard, while the others do not have a soundboard and are more like solid-body electric guitars.
On Yamaha's electric pianos, such as the CP-70, the vibrations of the strings are turned into electrical signals by special sensors called piezoelectric pickups located under the bridge. Helpinstill's instruments use electromagnetic pickups attached to the frame of the instrument. All these instruments produce a sound similar to an acoustic piano.
Wurlitzer electric pianos, sometimes called "Wurli," use flat steel reeds struck by felt hammers. The reeds are placed in a comb-like metal plate, and the reeds and plate together form a system that captures electrical signals. The reeds are tuned by adding or removing small amounts of solder at the end of each reed. Replacement reeds have extra solder, making them slightly out of tune. Users must carefully remove the extra solder through trial and error until the correct pitch is reached.
In 2015, Brazilian inventor Tiago Valente created the first prototype of the Valente Electric Piano, an instrument where hammers strike reeds, similar to those in a Wurlitzer. In 2020, the Valente Electric Piano was sold to the public. At the time, Valente said he was inspired by the Suette Piano, another reed electric piano made in Brazil in the 1980s.
The tuning fork refers to the part of the instrument that is struck and has two vibrating parts. In Fender Rhodes instruments, the struck part is a stiff steel wire called a tine. The other part of the fork, next to the tine, is a sturdy steel bar called a tonebar, which helps the sound last longer. A spring attached to the tine can be adjusted to change the pitch slightly for fine-tuning.
The Hohner Pianet uses adhesive pads made from leather covered with foam rubber. Hohner's later "Pianet T" model uses silicone rubber suction pads instead of adhesive pads. It also uses electromagnetic pickups, like those in the Rhodes, instead of an electrostatic system.
Hohner's "Clavinet" is an electric version of a clavichord. A rubber pad under each key presses a string against a metal anvil, causing the string to vibrate. These vibrations are picked up by sensors that convert them into electrical signals.
Digital pianos
Digital pianos that mimic the sound of electric pianos have mostly replaced real electric pianos since the 2010s. This is because digital pianos are smaller, lighter, and can create many different sounds besides piano sounds, such as sounds similar to Hammond organs or synthesizers. However, some musicians still use older electric pianos for performances and recordings. In 2009, the company Rhodes introduced a new series of electric pianos called the Rhodes Mark 7. Around the same time, another company named Vintage Vibe also released a new line of electric pianos.