RMI electric piano - harpsicord

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otto
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RMI electric piano - harpsicord

Post by otto » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:20 pm

I know... not a synth. Are these worth checking out? There's one selling locally and it seems like an interesting piece of equipment but I don't know much about electric pianos.
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Post by Jack Spider » Fri Nov 02, 2007 12:01 am

Nowt wrong with EP talk, Otto!

If it's the RMI Electrapiano (which has a Harpsichord preset) and you've never heard one, Ron Mael used one with Sparks around 1974 on the 'Kimono My House' album - notably on 'This Town Ain't Big Enough'. I'm pretty sure Ray Manzarek used one on The Doors' 'Waiting for the Sun', too.

It's certainly one of the more unique sounding electronic pianos - well worth checking out in my opinion.

According to Peter Forrest's A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers, it doesn't use divide-down technology like a lot of early electronic pianos, but an oscillator for each voice - something to bear in mind in terms of repairs/maintenance.
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Post by Panurge8 » Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:51 pm

I've played a few of these, but it has been a couple of years... :roll:
One thing to keep in mind is that the electrapiano didn't have any sort of velocity or touch sensitivity (can anyone confirm this?). It does have a nice warm sound, and it would give you a unique edge.

The RMIs were popular with the prog-rock guys, and it's all over Yessongs, most noticeably on the harpsichord solo in Siberian Khatru.
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Post by wiss » Fri Nov 02, 2007 9:55 pm

its fun....responds very well too effects

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Post by hexvectors » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:59 pm

I own one. It sounds great, especially going through the external in of my CS-15.

Mine is in need of repair, but it's definitely worth it if it's cheap.

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Post by otto » Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:14 am

It's $125 and supposedly works fine. I should put my money towards some effects tho.... Hmmm what to do.
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Post by donaldm » Sat Nov 03, 2007 1:00 am

If you ask me.. Its a synth!

anyways, I've got one and play it all the time. If your looking to fuzz it up a bit I've found the Fender Blender reissue to work with it perfectly. The pedal takes lots of tweaking but its well worth it. Tony banks had one built right into his RMIs cabinet.

Also, I would not buy one if it does not come with the pedal unit. The amp envelopes on mine do not close correctly unless its plugged in.

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