Rhodes MK8
CurrentReleased 2021
The first new tine Rhodes since the Mark 7, built to order in the UK with a Kluge keyboard, redesigned tines, pickups and dampers, and an analogue preamp far beyond anything on a vintage one. At 34kg it is a genuinely liftable Rhodes. The FX board and the MIDI system (with polyphonic aftertouch) are factory options, so specify carefully.
Spares: Rhodes sells the common wear parts on its own website: tines, hammer tips, damper felts, pickups, grommets and springs, made for every Rhodes and Fender Rhodes. Official spares ↗
Replaces Mark 7 73
Specifications
General
- Manufacturer
- Rhodes
- Status
- Current
- Released
- 2021
Keyboard
- Keys
- 73
- Key action
- Hammer-action
- Aftertouch
- None
- Keybed
- Rhodes custom spruce keys by Kluge Klaviaturen (Steinway group) on an oak and beech frame; ABS hammers with quad-zone tips
Sound
- Tone source
- Tines
- Sound engine
- Electromechanical: hammer-struck steel tines and tonebars read by electromagnetic pickups (precision-wound alnico), into an analogue preamp
- Polyphony
- Full polyphony (73 notes)
- Features
- Analogue preamp: volume, drive, envelope, Three-band EQ with sweepable resonant mid (wah), Vari-pan with four waveshapes and audio-rate modulation, Optional analogue FX: VCA compressor, phaser, BBD chorus, delay, Optional factory MIDI system: USB and DIN out, polyphonic aftertouch, Two expression/CV inputs (0-5V), FX send and return, direct pickup send, Twist-lock cable sustain pedal, External 15V power supply, Case design by Axel Hartmann, Built to order with custom finishes
Connections
- Outputs
- 1/4-inch unbalanced, XLR balanced, Headphones
- Pedal inputs
- Sustain (mechanical), Expression
Size & weight
- Colours
- Black, Gold Sparkle, Silver Sparkle, Smoked, Violet, Baby Blue, Pink, Mint Turquoise, Khaki, Traffic White, Red, Orange, Warm Grey
- Dimensions (W × D × H)
- 1153 × 563 × 225 mm
- Weight
- 34 kg
Accessories
Add-ons made for this electric piano.
Rhodes
Drop-Over Cover
Current- Type
- Dust cover
- Fits
- Rhodes MK8; Mark I, Mark II, Mark III EK-10, Mark V and Mark 7 73-note
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Featured in
Sleeve notes · Listening
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a Rhodes?
How to tell a Rhodes from a Wurlitzer, a clavinet from a guitar and a Hammond from a Vox or a Farfisa by ear: what each one sounds like, what to listen for, and the songs and players that made them famous.
Sleeve notes · History
The Rhodes story: from a hospital bed to the MK8
How a piano teacher's lap instrument for wounded airmen became the electric piano on half the records of the 1970s, lost its name, got it back and came home as the MK8: every Rhodes model in order, how the tines make the sound, and where to hear it.
More from Rhodes
Legacy since 1969- Keys
- 73
- Key action
- Hammer-action
- Tone source
- Tines
—1965