Vintage Vibe tine electric pianos

http://www.vintagevibeepc.com/

Anyone played one? Would you play a 44 key piano? I know it's impractical, but its so darn cute!

how I long for 49key high-end workstation

I'd be a bit worried if I were them about the current Rhodes company giving them legal trouble.

Current Rhodes company just died.

When VV gets around to making a reed piano (aka Wurlitzer) clone, I am so there.

I have a 73 key on order. I haven't played one yet, but I've seen and heard enough of it to think it's gonna be a dream come true. Brand new, tines, light enough to gig with. I've bought enough parts from VV for Rhodes and Wurlis over the years, I trust em.

About the 44 key question - I think it would be great if you didn't play Rhodes a lot during gigs, but enough to appreciate the huge improvement in your sound. No romper comes close to the complete rhodes/Wurli experience. I have really really tried, but there's no substitute.

[video=youtube;_seiIyUvAZY]

I just think it's great that someone is trying to make a non-digital piano. I hope these catch on and people appreciate these instruments again.

Here's a 44-key in action:

[video=youtube;K9H05SBubu8]

What you talkin bout? I can't find any news stories about this.

So far it's just a rumor, but they didn't appear at NAMM and there are other telltale signs. The rumor is that Brandstetter is trying to find someone to buy him out.

I thought the business case for the Mark 7 was foolish to begin with. I was only wrong about one part, that vintage keyboard players would mostly prefer true vintage instruments to any new design. As it turns out, I haven't heard anything but good reports from vintage Rhodes hounds. The market is just too small. Most keyboards are sold to amateurs, pro-ams, and pros on the local market, and most of those don't have the budget, space, and strength for a single-purpose keyboard, unless it's a piano. The clones aren't the same, but they're pretty darn good: they're closer than for a piano. Even the big time pros are using much smaller kits than before, and most touring keyboardists use backline gear based on what I read in keyboard forums.

In any case, VV has had these pianos for some years now, and I'm sure Brandstetter rattled his sabre at them. Any patents for Rhodes works are long expired, so the only legal protection that remains is the trademark. You'll notice that the term "Rhodes" is omitted from the product name.

Regarding the VV piano: I bet it's a great instrument. The 60 lbs is misleading compared to a Rhodes since you'd need a serious case for it, but still that's quite a bit lighter. I'd be surprised if the legs don't wobble a bit since they're vertical rather than slanted. Finally, I'd have thought that they'd be smart enough to put a flat top on it, more like the Mark II top. Didn't they learn from past mistakes?

I wonder how easy it is to get inside it. It looks like it would be a lot more difficult than with a Rhodes, since it has a one-piece molded top. Nice that the legs are an option, since many would use it with a stand.

Only $3950 for a 73 with pedal. A bit steep for me, especially since a good vintage Rhodes can easily be found for under $1000.

I would love to see a ruggedized version, meaning the cover IS the road case. I agree they are expensive. But remember it's half the weight.

I guess I'm not so interested in this particular piano or company so much as I am the state of mind of keyboardists now days. Are we totally given away to the digital? Is there such a thing as a band where a keyboardist could have only one sound and not be called on to become "Mr. Sound Effects"? I want to get one of these pianos - but more than that I want there to be a market for these pianos!

I'm getting by just fine with EP and B3 for 90% of my band's songs. I have a microkorg that I dink around on sometimes, but it's completely optional. I haven't played a string patch live in 20 years. I refuse to do it. The EP is an instrument, as is a B3. . Guitarists are allowed to insist upon vintage strats and amps. Drummers get to play with head tunings, kick pedal adjustments, all that fun stuff. Keyboardists shouldn't settle for being button pushers. You want a sax? Get a sax player. You want a trombone? Get a trombonist.

To summarize my rant, I'm just down on romplers. I want to play an instrument, not operate a computer. EPs, organs with drawbars, analogs, and of course acoustic pianos - those are musical instruments.

And another thing - no more crap beer. And no more weak folgers coffee. What else can I become a snob about when I get bored with my instrument, beer, and coffee snobbery? Surely it doesn't end there.

I'm right there with you Hogger. Except that when it comes to synthesizers, I'm not so strict in distincting between analog and digital. And gosh, would I like a toy piano. Actually, there are great musical instruments abound, digital sample players are just not them (although some strive, and get kinda close).

RVO: Whitest Boy Alive is a great example of a popular band playing contemporary music, where the keyboardist, apart from an occasional synth line - quite voluntary, I suspect - just gets to do his Rhodes thing.

Good point; I threw the baby out with the bathwater. Digital synths are very cool when they're doing their digital thing, rather than playing samples of acoustic instruments.

I don

Sad but true. Most people refer to all keyboards as "pianos" or "organs." The term "synthesizer" is completely alien to them.

Do you play keys? they ask

I answer: I play piano.