Newsgroups: rec.music.synth

In rec.music.synth, sullivan@nodename.dec.com (Greg Sullivan) writes:

    What does a Hohner Clavinet sound like? Could you give me a few examples of
    popular songs? I've heard this talked about before, and I would like to know
    more about it.

Hohner actually made several models of the Clavinet over the years.  The
model I have, which I think was the most popular model, is the D6.  The
Clavinet is an electric clavichord.  It had 61 keys.  Each key had a small
rubber tipped finger which, when the key was pressed, would push the string
down against a tiny "anvil" under the string, causing the string to vibrate
in essentially the same way that playing "hammer-ons" on a guitar does.  When
the key was released, wool thread wrapped around the end of the string would
damp the vibrations.  There (note arbitrary change of tense) is also a wool-
covered damper plate at the other end of the strings that can be raised or
lowered via a slider to the right of the keyboard.  The D6 has two pickups,
which feed into a phase-selector and pickup-selector matrix (sort of like a
telecaster), and then into a preamp and four switchable filters.  The sound
varies depending on the switch settings.  It can sound quite a bit like a
banjo, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, clavichord, pseudo-harpsichord, and
many other similar sounds.  Probably the two most "classic" pop tunes featuring
Clav are Billy Preston's (Oh, I forget the name) ?Outta Space? , and Stevie
Wonder's "Superstitious."  That's the funky use of a clav.  The first half
of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Tank" (original version), and all of ELP's
"Nutrocker" were played on a Clav, sort of pianistically.  But I used to
run mine through a Fender Super Reverb, and played it more like a raunchy
electric guitar, or a gentler sort-of-like acoustic guitar.  I really like
the sound, and have managed to come close to emulating it on every polyphonic
synth I've owned.  (Most factory preset "clav" sounds that I've heard attempt
and fail to emulate the "funky" sound.)  I still own my D6, and pull it out 
every so often and just play away.  (Would you like to own it?? :-> )
As for action, it's sort of weird.  If you're playing in 
that bouncy, funky "Superstitious" style, it's a very natural feeling keyboard.
But if you're trying to get some expression out of it, the velocity response
is highly non-linear, and if you don't press the keys hard enough, the sound
is very muted.  Oh, also, you can get subtle vibrato effects by shaking the
keys.  (And then, you can also bend notes by taking off the right endplate
and pressing on the strings past the bridge.  And then there's the Castle
whammy bar.  No way to add a sustain pedal, though, alas.)

The instrument doesn't stay in tune as well as, say, a Rhodes, but it wasn't
_too_ hard to tune.  Sort of like ten electric guitars. :->  You also had to
replace the little fingertips every so often, as they would get grooves where
the strings crossed them.  Re-fingering a clav is pretty simple.  The 
instrument was well-designed and easy to take apart.  Re-fingering and 
re-stringing would really make a difference.  I used to do this once every
year or so.  It used standard electric guitar strings.
I don't know if the fingertips are still available.  The
filter circuit also included a preamplifier, and ran off of a 9-volt battery
or AC adapter.  The preamp was a bit hissy.  The battery would last forever.
The Clav had four screw-on legs which would store inside the instrument.
It must weigh somewhere between 50 and 70 pounds.  Much less than a Rhodes,
but still a hefty item for one person to carry.

Well, I guess that's all I have to say on that subject.  Anyone want to 
buy a Clavinet?  :->

                 - Jim Smith  smithj@hpsad.sad.hp.com
            Yupatupata da yupadupa chickida, Icktang icktang, 
            Ickitack tangdow, Rickitickatar ticka chingtar da.
	              (There ya go, Mike.  :-> )

Newsgroups: rec.music.synth