1/2/2024 0 Comments Mainstage 3 set harp pedals![]() ![]() The changes reflected Hohner's transition from marketing as a home instrument to one that was practical to play on stage. Originally, Hohner intended the instrument for home use and for late Medieval, Baroque and early classical music. Seven different models of the Clavinet were produced from 1964 to 1982. It used the string harp found on later production models, with a Pianet keyboard. The first prototype model, the Claviphon, was manufactured in 1961. He was interested in using metal keypads and plastic keys as an alternative to wooden frames and action that had been used on electric pianos such as the Wurlitzer. He was particularly interested in producing an electric clavichord, and discovered that striking a hammer tip across a string mounted on an anvil allowed the player to hit the keys more forcefully and gain greater volume. ![]() Zacharias revitalised the company's product range, introducing the Cembalet and Pianet. He joined Hohner in 1954, at a time when it was struggling with manufacturing after the company factories had been seized by the Nazis during World War II. He grew up listening to Bach harpsichord music, which led him to design a comparable modern instrument. The Clavinet was designed by German engineer Ernst Zacharias. The volume of the preamplifier can be set by a control to the left of the keyboard. The Clavinet has pickup selector switches, and a solid state preamplifier that allows a line level output to be fed to an amplifier. These are conceptually similar to a neck and bridge pickup on a guitar. Most clavinets have two sets of pickups encased in epoxy in a plastic case, positioned above and below the strings. This harp mechanism is different from the other Hohner keyboard instruments, the Cembalet and Pianet, which have pads plucking metal reeds. Each string is tuned by a machine-head positioned along the front of the harp. The end of each string farthest from the pick-ups passes through a weave of yarn, which damps the vibrating string after a key is released. This makes the keyboard weighted which allows a different volume for each note like a piano and clavichord, along with aftertouch as the string is stretched. The feel of a clavinet comes from the impact of the pad striking its anvil point against the string. An electro-magnetic pickup turns the string vibration into an electric current. Pressing a key forces the pad to fret the string like a hammer on on a guitar. Beneath each key, a metal holder grips a small rubber pad. Each key pivots on a fulcrum point at the rear, with a spring to return it. The sound is produced by a harp of 60 tensioned steel strings placed diagonally below the key surface. Most models have 60 keys ranging from F1 to E6. The Clavinet is an electromechanical instrument that is usually used in conjunction with a keyboard amplifier. Tailpiece A Hohner Clavinet played through effects units and an amplifier Modern digital keyboards can emulate the Clavinet sound, but there is also a grass-roots industry of repairers who continue to maintain the instrument.ĭescription Parts of a Clavinet. It is strongly associated with Stevie Wonder, who used the instrument extensively, particularly on his 1972 hit " Superstition", and was regularly featured in rock, funk and reggae music throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and responding to a keystroke by striking a given point on a tensioned string, and was designed to resemble the Renaissance-era clavichord.Īlthough originally intended for home use, the Clavinet became popular on stage, and could be used to create electric guitar sounds on a keyboard. The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. ![]()
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