Article Preview :: Electro-mechanical Piano
Rhodes restoration specialists Vintage Vibe have
turned their expertise to manufacturing. So how does their creation
compare to the classics?
For keyboard players
of a certain age (88-note workstations are starting to feel a bit heavy,
but you’re not quite ready for your Lifetime Achievement award), the
name Dougie’s Music stirs long-cherished memories of an Aladdin’s Cave
of musical wondrousness. I discovered the shop in 1987 when, while
driving through Northwich, I spotted an ARP2600 in its window. After
a squeal of brakes and a parking manoeuvre that required evasive action
from the cars following me, I entered, only to discover various vintage
pianos, Clavinets, a CS80, an ARP Quadra, an OBX, and a cornucopia of
other synthesizers and gear.
This proved to be the start of an
all-too-brief relationship with Dougie’s, from which I eventually
acquired the ARP2600, the Quadra, the OBX and a Moog Source. Sadly, the
shop closed in the early ’90s, and although Dougie McKendrick resurfaced
a short while later in Nottingham, distributing the Moog Etherwave and
selling some interesting second-hand keyboards, his Second Gear company
was short-lived. In 2008, he resurfaced for a second time with Klassic
Keys, from whom I bought an ultra-rare RMI DK20 in 2011.
I mention all
of this not just as a trip down memory lane, but to explain why, when
Dougie says that he has uncovered something interesting, I take note —
hence my interest when contacted me to say that Klassic Keys were
considering importing and distributing the new Vintage Vibe range of
pianos
The Genesis Of The VV Piano
No samples here! The VV64 with its cover off.
Vintage Vibe are now based in New Jersey (pronounced
‘Noo Joy-zee’ by the natives), but first appeared in 1997 as
a Manhattan-based keyboard rental company. Unfortunately, making money
from the rental side of the business proved difficult, whereas servicing
and repairing instruments — in particular, electro-mechanical pianos —
seemed to provide a steadier income. And so it was that, while Vintage
Vibe worked late into the night repairing large, heavy Rhodes pianos,
the idea of building a lighter electro-mechanical piano was born.
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