zephonic Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 I just found out about this. In 1932, renowned piano manufacturer Bechstein and electronics giant Siemens teamed up to produce the world's first electric piano, the Neo-Bechstein. It was a commercial failure, and production was discontinued the next year after selling only 150 units worldwide. Looks like they were a few decades too early, as the fundamental design seems similar to later successes like the Rhodes and Wurlitzer. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Bechstein http://www.besbrodepianos.co.uk/piano-sale/neo-bechstein-first-electric-grand-piano-radio-record-player.htm https://www.technischesmuseum.at/object/neo-bechstein-fluegel Quote local: Korg Nautilus 73 | Yamaha MODX8 away: GigPerformer home: Kawai RX-2 | Korg D1 | Roland Fantom X7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Must have been expensive and did'n't sound that great. Ahead of it's time for sure! And even now with Hybrid Pianos and the AvantGrand, Novus, etc. there is still love for the immersive timbre of a fine acoustic. Now, if these high tech electrics were actually significantly cheaper than a fine acoustic things might start to float the other way. In the meanwhile, the lower end digitals have allowed us to be mobile and also have brought affordable keyboard instruments to the masses. Quote Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsetto Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Great find, zephonic. Maybe it sounds surreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zephonic Posted October 25, 2017 Author Share Posted October 25, 2017 In this video its sound is somewhere between an acoustic and a CP70 to my ears (piano starts around 2m50s) [video:youtube]Vew-VDL8cpw Quaint 1932 footage: [video:youtube]lk6rirQrDQ4 The room sound in this vid makes distinguishing the instrument's tone challenging, but better than nothing, I guess: [video:youtube]ECUvr0tYrlo Quote local: Korg Nautilus 73 | Yamaha MODX8 away: GigPerformer home: Kawai RX-2 | Korg D1 | Roland Fantom X7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 It sounds more like a piano than 70s electronic pianos like the RMI and Univox ever did. Just think about the gig rig you could have had in 1940: - Neo Bechstein for piano - Hammond organ for organ - Hammond Novachord for synth Doesn't get any better than this! Quote Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reezekeys Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Looks like one string per note? Can't get too piano-like with that sound. The CPs had two I think - one in the mid & low registers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphollis Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Great find, so congrats. Love to see innovators out there. In the modern world, the Yamaha Acoustic Grand NP series is sort of the best proxy for AP/DP hybrids. I took the plunge on a AG N3 many years ago. Total joy. No regrets. A whole bunch of real APs from other vendors get obsoleted as a result. For what I paid, I can't imagine a better playing experience. Happy, happy. Just to be clear, I have gigging boards (all Nords these days) and Home Sound, which is a Bosie Model 200 Klimt Edition. So I have a bit of a reference frame. Maybe not the talent and time to fully exploit it, but that's a different issue. The Yammie AG is a special deal for those that can appreciate it. Quote Want to make your band better? Check out "A Guide To Starting (Or Improving!) Your Own Local Band" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourniplus Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Thanks for sharing! I had seen the Neo-Bechstein listed in Simon's Hall of Electric Pianos, but couldn't find much info last time I checked. It's interesting to see that it's single-strung in the bass and high treble, and double-strung in the rest. Quote "Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now, show me all the blueprints." My homemade instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanFor Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 That one in Vienna Technisches Museum is from me, I sold it to them in 2003 before my moving to Japan. It was the oldest instrument in my private Museum of Electro-acoustic Musical Instruments which I have run between 1989-2003 as the only one in Czech Republic. I've got Neo-Bechstein in Czech Republic, previous owner told me it was used in some circus orchestra. It was not in good shape, I wanted to restore it as other my instruments but didn't have anough time and money. I was happy that Vienna TM could afford to do perfect renovation. Daniel Forro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 It sounds more like a piano than 70s electronic pianos like the RMI and Univox ever did. Just think about the gig rig you could have had in 1940: - Neo Bechstein for piano - Hammond organ for organ - Hammond Novachord for synth Doesn't get any better than this! You could throw a Theramin in there if you really wanted to get wild! Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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