The FenderRhodes Celeste 1966-68

by Freddan Adlers

The Fender Rhodes Celeste is the most obscure model of all the different Rhodes's there is. It could be seen in the early 1963-64 Fender catalogue ( 37-key verision ), but was not officially launched until 1968. It was produced for a short period and there seems to be a few different types of Celestes with different range and also even a "Suitcase"-49-key verision.

Basically it could probably be argued that the idea to put out a mini-model without the low and high octaves resurfaced when Rhodes took the idea up again with the Rhodes 54 model in 1980. In the pic to the right, ( Fender catalogue 1966-67 ) the Celeste is the 37-note model on the floor.

Here, my own digital Rhodes. I knew someone who had a real one, I must say I did not mind the imitation... and much less temperamental.

What? no little bars to break, or springs to tune? Probably much more useful than a "real" one...



The FenderRhodes Electric Piano Instruction System Models 1967-69

by Freddan Adlers

The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano Instruction Systems probably was Harold Rhodes' dearest project in the -60's. He custom-built whole classroom systems with one Instructor unit connected to a number of Student units. I've even seen pictures of mobile labs installed in a bus! Apart from the Pre-Piano systems in 1946-48, the first systems, to my knowledge, were built in 1967 and had the Gold-top design. Later in the fall of 1968, the Berklee College of Music in Boston ordered a complete classroom with 28 Student pianos and an Instructors console.
Another complete system was ordered for 1969.

At present there are no definite number of how many of these systems that were installed in schools or how many there are left. The system was built so that the teacher could monitor each pupil separately, send a backing track to selected students and to connect two or more so they could play together. Later -70's Rhodes home and restaurant models had similar features like a microphone input, headphones output and a built-in metronome.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Becroft:

Back to the Beach theme - Man's best friend, all two of them!

Great picture. But notice that the piano is an other mock up. For some reason they never seem to use real piano for photo shoots on the beach.

I must remember this water feature idea for my own pool extension at home...

Today's DPOTD:

Before:


After:

The Clusterflux is an instrument that performs an endless textural composition. When the piece is active, it produces dense masses of sound (Clusters) that are in continuous transformation (Flux)
The Clusterflux is similar in structure to the soundboard of a grand piano, the central spruce board sprung into a maple frame to maximize its sound amplification. Across it stretch 48 harpsichord strings spanning 4 octaves, tuned to pitches chosen to optimize their potential for sympathetic resonance. An alternating current fuels each octave, creating a magnetic field around each string. The magnets on the spruce board then attract and release the strings, causing them to vibrate, while the soundboard acts as a natural amplifier.
Within these sound masses, each string produces its own sound, constantly transforming between combinations of it's fundamental and it's harmonics. The pitch of each string is governed by its length and tension (limits of means) but this pitch is never stable as the string heats up when active – changing the pitch in constant isotropic glissandi (chance as an extreme case of controlled disorder.) Thus the physical structures (limits) of the piece are always seeking to guide the sound on an asymptotic path towards a stable state but the electrical energy flowing within the piece is tending towards entropy – preventing stability. The balance between energy flow and constraint is key to the long form natural sound structures (as interpreted by physics) contained within its compositional line.

I woke up one lovely morning and found this in my lounge... Well these people did that and built a rotating house to put it in, and as they say down-under - fair dinkum! - and who wouldn't be proud of this Aussy-made piano? Remember this is one of the new modern innovative pianos with extra soft pedal and bridge agraffes...

The piano is called 'Sweet Patooti'. Music plays from the sculpted mosaic (and planted) grand piano, accompanied by the sound of water from the fountain features.

Again, Sweet Patooti!

We haven't posted one for Zorba lately:

a beautiful piano made in 1903 for the White House by Steinway and Sons, depicting America Receiving the Nine Muses.

A 1915 Morley upright.......grand?



(It's English, what can I say?)

Another Zorba would approve of, a 19th century Erard upright:

A 19th century Bluthner art case: