NORD ELECTRO 2 V2.0x
9. History: The story behind the Electro 2 instruments
Page 61
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The Clavinet is another story. It's based on strings and guitar
pick-ups. Ernst Zacharias designed the Clavinet during the
mid-'60s and filed his patent in 1966.
Previously, Zacharias had designed an instrument called the
Cembalet -- a keyboard that used accordion reeds as the tone
source. This instrument was very popular at the time and was
in production for ten years. Hohner released the Pianet L -- an
electrified metal-reed piano -- in 1962. In 1977, the company
introduced another version called the Pianet T, which was the
cheapest, most popular, and final model of the Pianet series.
While designing and building the Pianet series, Zacharias also
worked on another project. As he was very interested in early
keyboard music, he investigated the clavichord to see if he
could make an electric version. This work finally resulted in
the Hohner Clavinet I. It was primarily designed as a home in-
strument for playing baroque or classic music. Of course later
history proved that this instrument instead had a huge impact
on the rock/funk keyboard player.
The mechanics of the Clavinet is similar to what happens in
an electric guitar, and offers a distinct powerful attack. Thanks
to the keys
being
in direct
contact with
the the string
s, it's
easy
to play fast
rhythm patterns. Unfortunately, the first Clavinet
s
were diffi
cult to play in high-volume situations because of
major feedback
problems.
A Hohner Clavinet D6. The sound of this in-
strument was made famous thanks to the fabu-
lous Stevie Wonder song "Superstition".
The front page of Ernst Zacharias’ patent
for ‘String Instruments Having a Keyboard
filed in 1966.