The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano , invented by Harold Rhodes during the 1950s . It was later manufactured in a number of models , first in collaboration with Fender who after 1965 , was bought by CBS . As a member of the electrophone sub-group of percussion instruments , it employs a piano-like keyboard with hammers that hit small metal tines , amplified by electromagnetic pickups . A 2001 New York Times article described the instrument as `` a pianistic counterpart to the electric guitar '' having a `` shimmering , ethereal sound '' . The Rhodes piano was used extensively throughout the 1970s in all styles of music . It fell out of fashion for a while in the middle 1980s , principally due to the emergence of polyphonic and later digital synthesizers , but has enjoyed a huge resurgence of popularity since the 1990s . The last model , the MkV , was released in 1984 , when the factory in Fullerton was closed . Rhodes Music Corporation tried to re-introduce a version of the instrument in 2007 . WWII : The Army Air Corps piano was an acoustic instrument invented by Harold Rhodes during World War II in an effort to create a piano that injured soldiers could play while lying in a hospital bed . Rhodes built the first model in 1942 , a 29-note keyboard using aluminum tubing from a B-17 bomber aircraft . The Air Force asked Rhodes to write a training manual and draw blueprints of what came to be known as the Army Air Corps piano , so soldiers could make their own . Also called a `` Xylette , '' thousands of the rudimentary models were built . 1946-1965 : Harold Rhodes subsequently founded The Rhodes Piano Corporation and introduced the Pre-Piano at NAMM 1946 . In 1959 , Rhodes entered a joint venture with Leo Fender to manufacture the instruments under a company named Fender & Rhodes . The partnership lasted for six years with the model marketed as the Fender Rhodes Piano Bass , a 32-note version with only the low range of the piano , accounting for the bulk of the sales . The Fender Rhodes Celeste was a similar keyboard covering the midrange of the piano , and electric pianos with tube amplifiers were prototyped at the time . The Piano 73 would become known as the Fender Rhodes Electric Piano , with an amplifier cabinet used as a base for supporting the piano keyboard . 1965-1984 : CBS purchased the Fender company in 1965 , and offered Rhodes a release from his Fender agreement . Rhodes stayed with CBS , with the company first offering the full 73-note Suitcase model , in addition to the Piano Bass and the Celeste . In 1969 the 73-note Mark I Stage Piano was introduced as a one-piece alternative to the Suitcase style , featuring four detachable legs -LRB- used in Fender steel pedal guitars -RRB- , a sustain pedal with an adjustable pushrod -LRB- the main component in a Rogers hi-hat -RRB- and a single output -LRB- mislabeled INPUT -RRB- for use with an outboard guitar cabinet or other source of amplification . The Fender Twin Reverb was the amplifier shown in catalogs as the cabinet of choice for the Stage Piano , and many Rhodes players rely on that particular 2 x 12 '' tube amp to get the classic tone . 1970 saw the release of an 88-key Suitcase Piano , and improvements in both the piano action and tone generator life were made a priority . In 1974 the decision was made to drop `` Fender '' from the name for marketing purposes . Production in the 16-year `` CBS period '' reached as high as 50 units per day around 1978-79 , but sales declined as 1980 approached , and the Mark II Stage Piano was introduced in an attempt to revitalize the product . Production ended in 1984 , with the Rhodes Mark V being the final CBS model . No records exist on how many pianos were produced in total by the time CBS Musical Instruments ceased production . Harold Rhodes himself never kept any records of production , but during the 1970s it might have reached ten thousand instruments each year . 1987-1991 : Roland acquired the Rhodes trademark from CBS for $ 20,000 in 1987 . It manufactured only two digital piano models , the MK-80 -LRB- 88 key -RRB- and the MK-60 -LRB- 64 key -RRB- , using S/A -LRB- Structured Adaptive -RRB- Synthesis method and weighted action , but the sound of the Roland piano disgusted Harold Rhodes . 1997 : Harold Rhodes re-acquired the Rhodes trademark to re-issue the original mechanical Rhodes piano , but he died in December 2000 . 2007 : In 2007 , a re-formed Rhodes Music Corporation introduced a reproduction of the original electric piano called the Rhodes Mark 7 . This was a version of the Rhodes housed in a molded plastic housing , most similar to the CBS Rhodes Mark V in terms of style and mechanics . Total sales of this specific piano have not been disclosed . The first Fender Rhodes product was the FenderRhodes PianoBass , a 32-key model . No other models were mass-produced until after the CBS takeover of Fender in 1965 . Shortly afterwards the 73-key FenderRhodes ElectricPiano went into production . The '60s also saw the FenderRhodes Celeste , the Student/Instructor models and systems as well as the very rare Domestic models . In 1970 the more portable Stage MK I model was added to the range as well as the two Stage 88 and Suitcase 88 models . The Suitcase models included a built in pre-amp with the famous StereoVibrato , plus a cabinet with stereo amplifier and speakers . In 1980 , a Stage 54 model was also produced . The Rhodes went through continuous internal improvements : the hammers became all plastic , the pedestals changed shape -LRB- and were bare for a short while , the felt was on the underside of the hammer -RRB- , the pickups were altered , and the tine structure modified to endure more wear . The Mk II model was introduced in late 1979 . Also manufactured for a brief period was the Rhodes Mk III EK-10 which had analog oscillators and filters alongside the existing electromechanical elements . The overall effect was that of a Rhodes piano and a synthesizer being played simultaneously . Compared with the new polyphonic synthesizers being marketed at the same time it was limited in scope and sound , and very few units were sold . The final classic Rhodes was the Mk V , introduced in 1984 . Among other improvements , it had a lighter body and all new action with an improved cam , increasing the hammer stroke by 23 % . With competition from digital and polyphonic synthesizers and the introduction of MIDI , production of Rhodes instruments ended in late 1984 . A new Rhodes Mark 7 was introduced at NAMM 2007 and Musik Messe 2007 , featuring the same electromechanical design as the original instrument , but with a new futuristic look and number of changes . The Mark 7 was the first instrument to be released under the Rhodes name since the late Harold Rhodes purchased it back from Roland . The Rhodes piano employs an asymmetrical tuning fork , with a stiff wire -LRB- called a `` tine '' -RRB- struck by a felt-tipped -LRB- neoprene rubber-tipped after 1970 -RRB- hammer acting as one side of the tuning fork , and a counterbalancing resonating tone bar above the tine acting as the other side . This tone generator kit 's vibrations are then picked up by an electromagnetic pickup -LRB- one for each tine -RRB- , and amplified . The pickups ' output is -LRB- on a Stage-model -RRB- fed through a volume and a tone potentiometer on the namerail , and then to an output for external amplification . The sound produced has a bell-like character not unlike a vibraphone , celesta or glockenspiel . Because the instrument produces sound electrically , the signal can be processed to yield many different timbral colors . On the Suitcase model the signal is processed through a `` StereoVibrato '' , a low-frequency pan oscillation -LRB- actually a tremolo , but Leo Fender insisted on calling it vibrato , like on his amplifiers -RRB- effects unit , which pans the signal back and forth between right and left channels . It is this `` rounded '' or chiming sound that is called the classic Rhodes sound , which can be heard on , for example , many of Stevie Wonder 's or Herbie Hancock 's songs . The preamp with vibrato was included on the original Fender Rhodes Electric Pianos and after 1970 -LRB- with stereo panning -RRB- on the `` suitcase '' models ; the `` stage '' models lack the preamp and the amplified speaker cabinet , but can be retrofitted . During the 1980s a set of Rhodes modifications done by a company called `` Dyno My Piano '' became popular , inspired by one particular and very famous rental piano in L.A. , the E-Rhodes , which can be heard on many records from that time . The modifications made the sound brighter , harder , and more bell-like , bringing out more of the attack in the Rhodes sound and making it cut through a mix like a grand piano . For instance , when notes are played forcefully , the sound becomes less sweet , as nonlinear distortion creates a characteristic `` growling '' or `` snarling '' , called `` bark '' by pianists . Skilled players can contrast the sweet and rough sounds to create an extremely expressive performance . This sound was emulated by the Yamaha DX7 with a patch that was enormously popular during the 80 's -LRB- see DX7 Rhodes -RRB- .