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Chapter 28 EVP88 513
Additional Parameters
The EVP88 features a number of additional parameters that are accessible via the 001/
100 button at the top of the EVP88 Plug-in window.
The Volume slider sets the overall output level of the EVP88 (Range: −20 to +20 dB).
The Bend Range Down/Up sliders determine the pitch bend range in semitone steps.
The Chorus Rate slider sets the speed of the Chorus effect, in Hz. The Delay PP/FF sliders
determine the delay time (in milliseconds) when the keys are struck pianissimo (PP—
soft) or forte (FF—hard).
The E-Piano Models Emulated
Rhodes
The most commonly known and widely used electric piano model was constructed by
Harold Rhodes (born 1910). Designed in 1946 as a piano surrogate for practice,
education, and army entertainment, the Rhodes piano was successfully marketed by
guitar manufacturer Fender from 1956. The Fender Rhodes has become one of the
most popular musical instruments in jazz, especially electric jazz. Its popularity in pop
and rock music occurred after CBS took over production of the Rhodes in 1965. Despite
further changes in ownership throughout the company history, the instrument is most
commonly called the “Fender Rhodes”. There are also a number of “Rhodes” synthesizers
(which were developed by the now-defunct synthesizer manufacturer ARP). Japanese
synth and music technology manufacturer Roland were the proprietor of the Rhodes
name for a while, and released several digital pianos which carried the Rhodes moniker.
From 1997, until his death in december 2000, Harold Rhodes again inherited the name.
The method of sound generation used by the Rhodes piano is based on metal reeds
which function much like a tuning fork. These are hit by a hammer action that works in
a similar fashion to that of a grand piano action. The asymmetrically designed “tuning
fork” consists of a thin tine and a massive tone bar, which are bolted together. Due to
construction considerations, some of the tone bars are rotated by 90 degrees. The
piano is kept in tune by the mass of a spring which can be moved along the tine. The
tine oscillates in front of an electric pickup, similar to that of an electric guitar. This
functions along inductive principles, with permanent magnets placed around the tine
having a damping effect on its movement, thereby affecting the sound.
Like the output signal of an electric guitar, the Rhodes output signal is rather weak and
needs quite a bit of pre-amplification. The Rhodes sound is not harmonically-rich. This
is why a treble boost or an overdrive effect, which can both add harmonics, is quite
welcome when it comes to playing the Rhodes. Playing the Rhodes is, as mentioned
earlier, at its best when using tube amplifiers.