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Cembalet
The Cembalet is a type of electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, and designed by Ernst Zacharias. It was a reed-based electric piano intended for home use, and the first keyboard produced by Hohner as a piano-like instrument rather than an instrument having the sustained note of an organ. It was adopted by popular musicians for recording and performance in the early 1960s because it was portable and easy to amplify electronically.
The Cembalet is an electro-mechanical piano requiring amplification to produce a usable sound level. Cembalets have 61 keys and a keyboard range of C2 to C7 (65.4 Hz – 2093 Hz). The Cembalet had ground stainless steel reeds and a pick-up using variable capacitance. The keyboard action is very simple. Each key is a single lever element pivoted on a fulcrum point with a spring to return it to the rest position. The key is extended at the rear so that a plectrum and damper pad can be mounted close to the tuned spring steel reed. This plectrum lifts and releases the reed causing it to vibrate when the key is depressed. The vibration of the reed is converted to an electrical signal by a pick-up. The unique playing feel of a Cembalet comes from the resistance of the steel reeds as they reach and exceed their point of release.
After introducing the Cembalet, Hohner produced a variation of the mechanical design named the Pianet. These two instruments were sold in parallel until the late 1960s. Case styles were identical for models C and N through the 1960s causing many to misidentify these instruments. The most obvious point of visual difference is the differing keyboard range, C to C for the Cembalet and F to F for the Pianet.
Reed-based pianos have voices that differ markedly depending on the material and geometry of the reeds, the way they are excited, and the way the vibrations are converted to electrical energy. The Cembalet pushed the tip of the reed upward until it cleared the plectrum, whereas the Pianet pulls the reed upward using a pad adhered over a length of around one quarter inch positioned back from the tip of the reed. The attack of the note and the harmonics produced vary significantly. In addition the plate of the capacitive pickup is to the side in the Cembalet producing further differences in the way the vibration of the reed is converted to an electrical signal.
During the production life of the Cembalet the case, mechanical features and electronics changed to keep pace with developments in electronics manufacture, reductions in manufacturing costs, and fashion. Changes to the Cembalet were also applied to Pianet production. Dating the manufacturing envelope and availability of the various Cembalet models is confused by misidentification of Pianet models as Cembalets and by the differences in sales availability of models between Europe and the United States.
Approximate manufacturing span 1958–1960
The Cembalet has a rectangular case side-profile with no taper towards the front. It has a gold lid lift bar fitted to the front of the lid. It has tapered cylindrical wooden legs with gold ferrules at the foot that mount to angled blocks on the underside of the case. It has a wooden fascia panel below the keys with a central lid lock. The keys are wood with conventional plastic laminates for the top and front. The word 'Cembalet' appears in gold facing upward on the left hand end of the music support ledge. The ledge includes a routed recess for the bottom of the music. It has a valve pre-amplifier and a knee lever for volume control.
Approximate manufacturing span 1960–1963
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Cembalet AI simulator
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Cembalet
The Cembalet is a type of electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, and designed by Ernst Zacharias. It was a reed-based electric piano intended for home use, and the first keyboard produced by Hohner as a piano-like instrument rather than an instrument having the sustained note of an organ. It was adopted by popular musicians for recording and performance in the early 1960s because it was portable and easy to amplify electronically.
The Cembalet is an electro-mechanical piano requiring amplification to produce a usable sound level. Cembalets have 61 keys and a keyboard range of C2 to C7 (65.4 Hz – 2093 Hz). The Cembalet had ground stainless steel reeds and a pick-up using variable capacitance. The keyboard action is very simple. Each key is a single lever element pivoted on a fulcrum point with a spring to return it to the rest position. The key is extended at the rear so that a plectrum and damper pad can be mounted close to the tuned spring steel reed. This plectrum lifts and releases the reed causing it to vibrate when the key is depressed. The vibration of the reed is converted to an electrical signal by a pick-up. The unique playing feel of a Cembalet comes from the resistance of the steel reeds as they reach and exceed their point of release.
After introducing the Cembalet, Hohner produced a variation of the mechanical design named the Pianet. These two instruments were sold in parallel until the late 1960s. Case styles were identical for models C and N through the 1960s causing many to misidentify these instruments. The most obvious point of visual difference is the differing keyboard range, C to C for the Cembalet and F to F for the Pianet.
Reed-based pianos have voices that differ markedly depending on the material and geometry of the reeds, the way they are excited, and the way the vibrations are converted to electrical energy. The Cembalet pushed the tip of the reed upward until it cleared the plectrum, whereas the Pianet pulls the reed upward using a pad adhered over a length of around one quarter inch positioned back from the tip of the reed. The attack of the note and the harmonics produced vary significantly. In addition the plate of the capacitive pickup is to the side in the Cembalet producing further differences in the way the vibration of the reed is converted to an electrical signal.
During the production life of the Cembalet the case, mechanical features and electronics changed to keep pace with developments in electronics manufacture, reductions in manufacturing costs, and fashion. Changes to the Cembalet were also applied to Pianet production. Dating the manufacturing envelope and availability of the various Cembalet models is confused by misidentification of Pianet models as Cembalets and by the differences in sales availability of models between Europe and the United States.
Approximate manufacturing span 1958–1960
The Cembalet has a rectangular case side-profile with no taper towards the front. It has a gold lid lift bar fitted to the front of the lid. It has tapered cylindrical wooden legs with gold ferrules at the foot that mount to angled blocks on the underside of the case. It has a wooden fascia panel below the keys with a central lid lock. The keys are wood with conventional plastic laminates for the top and front. The word 'Cembalet' appears in gold facing upward on the left hand end of the music support ledge. The ledge includes a routed recess for the bottom of the music. It has a valve pre-amplifier and a knee lever for volume control.
Approximate manufacturing span 1960–1963