The Rhodes piano's tone-generating principles are derived from the concept of an asymmetrical tuning fork,
with a stiff wire (called a "tine"), struck by a felt-tipped (neoprene
rubber-tipped after 1970) hammer, acting as one side of the tuning fork,
and a counterbalancing resonating tone bar above the tine acting as the
other side. This tone generator kit's vibrations are then picked up by
an electromagnetic pickup (one for each tine), and amplified. The pickups' output is (on a Stage-model) fed through a volume and a tone potentiometer on the namerail, and then to an output for external amplification.
The sound produced has a bell-like character not unlike a
vibraphone,
celesta or
glockenspiel. Because the instrument produces sound electrically, the signal can be processed to yield many different
timbral colors.
On the Suitcase model the signal is processed through a
"StereoVibrato", a low-frequency pan oscillation (actually a tremolo,
but Leo Fender insisted on calling it vibrato, like on his amplifiers)
effects unit,
which pans the signal back and forth between right and left channels.
It is this "rounded" or chiming sound that is called the classic Rhodes
sound, which can be heard on, for example, many of
Stevie Wonder's or
Herbie Hancock's
songs. The preamp with vibrato was included on the original Fender
Rhodes Electric Pianos and after 1970 (with stereo panning) on the
"suitcase" models; the "stage" models lack the preamp and the amplified
speaker cabinet, but can be retrofitted.
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