Matt's Gearspace
Hohner

Hohner Pianet

Discontinued 1963
Released 1962

The first one, designed by Ernst Zacharias. Sticky leather pads pluck steel reeds and an electrostatic pickup turns that into a bright, short, almost bell-like note. A valve pre-amp inside and a knee lever for volume. Pluck rather than strike is the whole character, and it's why a Pianet chord has gone before a Rhodes chord has got going.

Replaced by Pianet C

Specifications

General

Manufacturer
Hohner
Status
Discontinued
Released
1962

Keyboard

Keys
61
Key action
Synth-action
Aftertouch
None
Keybed
61 lightly sprung unweighted keys, F1-F6; each key lifts a pad off its reed rather than striking it

Sound

Tone source
Reeds
Sound engine
Electro-mechanical: a sticky leather pad lifts off a ground steel reed as the key is pressed, plucking it, and the vibration is read by a variable-capacitance (electrostatic) pickup. There are no dampers, so a note rings until the pad drops back onto the reed.
Polyphony
Full polyphony (61 notes)
Features
Valve pre-amplifier, Knee-lever volume control, No sustain pedal

Connections

Outputs
1/4-inch unbalanced

More from Hohner

  • Hohner

    Pianet C

    Discontinued 1965
    Keys
    61
    Key action
    Synth-action
    Tone source
    Reeds
    —1963
  • Hohner

    Pianet L

    Discontinued 1968
    Keys
    61
    Key action
    Synth-action
    Tone source
    Reeds
    —1963
  • Hohner Pianet N electric piano

    Hohner

    Pianet N

    Discontinued 1968
    Keys
    61
    Key action
    Synth-action
    Tone source
    Reeds
    —1965