To compare the VV64 to its predecessors and inspirations, I decided to set it up next to my Rhodes MkI Stage 88 and my Wurlitzer EP200. The Input and Output sockets allow you to route the VV64's output through external stomp-boxes and back in again the Headphone and Left/Right connections do exactly what you would expect. The SoundĪll of the VV64's connections are quarter-inch jacks and are found on the bottom of the keyboard. The company described them as 'the world's first NEW electro-mechanical pianos in 30 years!” and 'the finest hand-built electric pianos in the world”. Nonetheless, the problems were overcome, and Vintage Vibe launched their new pianos at the NAMM show in 2011, sporting (optional) sparkly fibreglass lids and beautiful, chromium-plated mechanisms. Even more surprising, they were unable to find an American company to manufacture the piano's keybed (which is shallower and lighter than that of a Rhodes) and had to turn to China for this.

For example, they rejected two companies before they found a third able to manufacture the non-standard keys to the standard required. However, obtaining some of the larger components was not as straightforward as Vintage Vibe might have hoped.

Some decisions were probably straightforward, such as re-employing the companies that had made the tines and pickups for the original Rhodes pianos. They then looked for companies to manufacture the components. Other improvements were also conceived, designed, rejected, re-designed and finally incorporated, and a prototype slowly started to take shape. Likewise, the internal harp was based on the Rhodes design, although this was redesigned a number of times to reduce its weight. And so it was that, while Vintage Vibe worked late into the night repairing large, heavy Rhodes pianos, the idea of building a lighter electro-mechanical piano was born.Įarly on, they decided that the new instrument's sound generation method should be based on that of a Rhodes piano, with the hammers of a modified Rhodes keyboard mechanism striking tines (cylindrical prongs) rather than reeds (flat prongs).

Unfortunately, making money from the rental side of the business proved difficult, whereas servicing and repairing instruments - in particular, electro-mechanical pianos - seemed to provide a steadier income. Vintage Vibe are now based in New Jersey (pronounced 'Noo Joy-zee' by the natives), but first appeared in 1997 as a Manhattan-based keyboard rental company. No samples here! The VV64 with its cover off. I mention all of this not just as a trip down memory lane, but to explain why, when Dougie says that he has uncovered something interesting, I take note - hence my interest when contacted me to say that Klassic Keys were considering importing and distributing the new Vintage Vibe range of pianos The Genesis Of The VV Piano In 2008, he resurfaced for a second time with Klassic Keys, from whom I bought an ultra-rare RMI DK20 in 2011. Sadly, the shop closed in the early '90s, and although Dougie McKendrick resurfaced a short while later in Nottingham, distributing the Moog Etherwave and selling some interesting second-hand keyboards, his Second Gear company was short-lived. This proved to be the start of an all-too-brief relationship with Dougie's, from which I eventually acquired the ARP2600, the Quadra, the OBX and a Moog Source. After a squeal of brakes and a parking manoeuvre that required evasive action from the cars following me, I entered, only to discover various vintage pianos, Clavinets, a CS80, an ARP Quadra, an OBX, and a cornucopia of other synthesizers and gear. I discovered the shop in 1987 when, while driving through Northwich, I spotted an ARP2600 in its window. So how does their creation compare to the classics?įor keyboard players of a certain age (88-note workstations are starting to feel a bit heavy, but you're not quite ready for your Lifetime Achievement award), the name Dougie's Music stirs long-cherished memories of an Aladdin's Cave of musical wondrousness. Rhodes restoration specialists Vintage Vibe have turned their expertise to manufacturing.

Vintage vibe