Rhodes unveils the full specs of the upcoming Rhodes MK8 PreviousNext After making our mouths water for several months with a string of teasers, Rhodes Music Group has today unveiled the full details of the upcoming Rhodes MK8. The new electric piano will feature a custom preamp and an optional analog effects unit. ADVERTISEMENT Rhodes MK8 Ever since we learned that Rhodes had shifted owners and was working on a new version of the legendary electric piano, the company has given us small bits of information every couple of weeks or so. So we already knew many of the details unveiled today. Nevertheless, it’s great to finally see the new Rhodes in its full glory. The mechanical section of the instrument consists of custom tines and tonebars. The keybed is provided by German manufacturer Kluge Klaviaturen, which is part of the Steinway Group. The hammers are made of ABS and are internally lubricated. The custom-wound Alnico pickups feature an anti-slip adjustment system for precise intonation. The pedal uses a flexible cable and stays in place thanks to an integrated rubber mat. New Rhodes The Rhodes MK8 features custom ABS hammers Integrated preamp, optional effects The integrated custom preamp offers knobs for volume, envelope (auto wah) and drive. There’s also an analog equalizer, as well as a vari-pan circuit with a choice of four waveforms. New Rhodes Integrated preamp If you fancy inbuilt effects, you can order the Rhodes MK8 with an optional analog effects unit. It features a VCA compressor, a phaser and bucket-brigade-based chorus and delay effects. New Rhodes Optional effects The audio connections are found on the left side of the instrument. In addition to stereo 1/4” outputs, the Rhodes MK8 features balanced XLR outs. The effect send and return jacks provide an opportunity to use external effects. The send jack can also be used as a direct output for the pickups, bypassing the preamp. There’s also a headphone output. Two expression pedals can be connected to the jacks on the right side. These can be used to modulate a variety of settings, such as volume, wah, pan rate, pan depth and a bunch of effect parameters. Interestingly, the Rhodes MK8 also has a USB port for future firmware updates. This means that there must be some sort of digital wizardry going on, although the manufacturer says that the audio signal path from the pickups to the outputs is entirely analog. Price and availability Rhodes is keeping one last secret: We still don’t know when the MK8 will be available, and what it will cost. If you subscribe to the company’s newsletter by November 1, 2021, you’ll get access to the full website with additional information on that date. All others will have to wait until December 1 to gain access. |
