EARLY recs with CLAVINETTE ???

upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
edited July 2005 in Music Talk
I love the sound of this instrument, no matter how cheesy or fucked up looking a record is, if theres clavinette on it I'll catch it. Recently caught the Across 110th Street ost, always wanted that Harlem Clavinette joint...Ok, so whats some real early records with clavinette, Im not even sure when this instrument was invented, quess its kind of an extension of the hapsicord which was used on vast amounts of recs in the 60's,... but what about the CLAVINETTE???
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  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    on the Brian Auger tip, on the Streetnoise album 1969, the liners say he's playing organ piano and electric piano, but on the Ellis Island track (an absolute KILLER!) it does sound alot like organ and CLAVINETTE....!

  • davesrecordsdavesrecords 1,802 Posts
    denny zeitlein got a track called on air that switches from piano to electric piano to clavinet.

    dave

  • mcdeemcdee 871 Posts
    on the Brian Auger tip, on the Streetnoise album 1969, the liners say he's playing organ piano and electric piano, but on the Ellis Island track (an absolute KILLER!) it does sound alot like organ and CLAVINETTE....!

    dude isnt a clavinette an electric piano tho? thats what i always thought!

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    on the Brian Auger tip, on the Streetnoise album 1969, the liners say he's playing organ piano and electric piano, but on the Ellis Island track (an absolute KILLER!) it does sound alot like organ and CLAVINETTE....!



    dude isnt a clavinette an electric piano tho? thats what i always thought!



    I'm no kind of gearhead, but I thought a clavinet was a specific electric piano that had a specific sound.



    I though Superstious was one of the first clavinet songs.



    Dan

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    denny zeitlein got a track called on air that switches from piano to electric piano to clavinet.

    dave

    not sure I know this one, I was trying to track down some of the earliest records using clavinette... what year is the Zeitlein from?

  • p_gunnp_gunn 2,284 Posts
    on the Brian Auger tip, on the Streetnoise album 1969, the liners say he's playing organ piano and electric piano, but on the Ellis Island track (an absolute KILLER!) it does sound alot like organ and CLAVINETTE....!

    dude isnt a clavinette an electric piano tho? thats what i always thought!

    no. it's basically an electric harpsichord, or more accurately, an electric clavichord... like a fender rhodes, it can only sound like itself, if that makes sense...

    machine gun- commodores

    oh and "clavinet"

    -p

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    on the Brian Auger tip, on the Streetnoise album 1969, the liners say he's playing organ piano and electric piano, but on the Ellis Island track (an absolute KILLER!) it does sound alot like organ and CLAVINETTE....!

    dude isnt a clavinette an electric piano tho? thats what i always thought!

    I'm no kind of gearhead, but I thought a clavinette was a specific electric piano that had a specific sound.

    I though Superstious was one of the first clavinette songs.

    Dan

    Im no kinda gear expert either,... heres a clavi link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clavinet
    Superstition is from the Talking Book album 1972

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    Stevie Wonder did use the clavinette on his late 60's Motown recordings

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    ...how early 60's Motown stuff Im not sure???

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    just searchin the net right now.... heres another link: http://www.gti.net/junebug/clavinet/ident.html

  • GNZGNZ 68 Posts
    Geroge Duke plays a mean clavinet on his albums 'the aura will prevail,' and 'faces in reflection' w/many effects.

  • Sun Ra and the clavinet in 1967.


  • lots of great info on www.clavinet.com

    CLASSIC KEYBOARDS - THE HOHNER CLAVINET

    Reproduced from Article in Australian Musician Magazine1997 by Brad Coates



    Arguably the most successful keyboard ever produced by German Company, Hohner, was the Clavinet. Hohner, known mainly for their reed instruments (harmonicas, melodicas etc.) had previously made several major contributions to the classic keyboard "Hall of Fame."

    Musician and inventor, Ernst Zacharias, designed the first of these, the Cembalet, in the 1950???s. This was intended to be a portable, amplifiable version of the Cembalo, or Harpsichord. This worked by plucking the end of a flat reed with the key, which was then picked up and amplified in much the same way as an electric guitar. A little later came the Pianet. Both the "CH" and "N" models once again used flat reeds, but employed a very different plucking/striking action. When a key was depressed it engaged a "sticky pad" with foam backing which actually stuck to the reed. When the key was released, the pad came unstuck causing the reed to vibrate which was then amplified. The Pianet model "T" came much later and utilized the suction of a soft rubber pad onto the reed. This was somewhat superior to the "N" and "CH" models, but still had several drawbacks. Although made very popular by bands such as the Zombies and Small Faces, there wasn???t much dynamism available from the keyboard. As all the reeds were damped upon release, this negated the possibility of obtaining sustain via a foot pedal.

    In between the Pianet "N" and "T" models, Zachariah invented what was to become probably Hohner???s most successful, and certainly funkiest keyboard - The Clavinet. Essentially designed to replicate the sound of a Clavichord without the Clavichord???s inherent wimpiness, the Clavinet was an amazing success. The early models - Clavinet I with inbuilt amp, Clavinet II with tonal filters, Clavinet "L" with it???s bizarre triangular shape, all led to the Clavinet model "C". This, in turn, was refined into the D6 - a portable, amplifiable keyboard. This had a fully dynamic keyboard (see fig.2) - as the striker is directly underneath the key, the harder you hit, the louder and more vibrant the tone. (Of course, if you hit too hard you???ll split the striker pads converting the Clav into a Cembalo!!)

    Mention the Clavinet today and most people will automatically think of Stevie Wonders "Superstition" - a recording that owes as much to the instrument played upon it, as it does to the artist that wrote and performed it. The D6 was later superseded by the model E6 and the Clavinet/Pianet Duo. These were basically the same, but more roadworthy and better protected against proximity hums and generally quieter than previous models. However, these models came just a bit too late on the scene in the age of electronics to be as successful as they deserved to be.

    With all of these instruments enjoying a resurgence in popularity a few words of advice about purchasing would not go astray. Realistically, the Black models are the best to purchase in both the Pianet and the Clavinet. The Pianet "T" has a superior striker system and is a lot more roadworthy. The Clavinet E6 is quieter in background noise and once again more robust. Although noisy, the Cembalet is fine as it is, as there are not a lot of moving parts to wear out. A word of warning on the Clavinet however, as there are NO spare parts available on an International basis. Do not pay much for a Clav unless it has been rebuilt. Although guitar strings can be used, their amplitude and tonal qualities are not the same. You also have to join strings together to get the correct length for the lower strings. Striker pads are no longer available and any that are still floating around are generally unusable because of oxidization and perishment problems. Hohner will not be making any themselves because of small production volumes elevating the price out of viability.

    At present no other way exists to repair Clavs that I am aware of, other than dipping the entire keyboard assembly in a plasticized rubber compound, allowing this to cure and then painstakingly shaping each single striker by hand. Although this is effective, it is an extremely time consuming business and very costly for a professional to undertake. When buying a Clav privately, check the interior for oxidization and in particular, check the strikers. When a key is pressed down firmly and held for a second there should be no discernible plucking or "sticking" of the pad to the string. A Clav that???s been played by a meatfist will probably have split strikers, i.e.: the pad splits in the center and slips down each side of the string like a claw making the Clav essentially unplayable.

    Like all electromechanical keyboards there is nothing that sounds and plays like a Clav - it actually makes one feel like playing it and it is an absolute pleasure to use live. If you do find a good one somewhere, don???t hesitate to purchase it - this is a usable, fantastic sounding, funky little keyboard. You won???t regret it.

    Suggested listening : "Superstition" - Stevie Wonder

    " Machine Gun" - Commodores

    "Young Girls Are My Weakness - Commodores

    " Urgent" - Foreigner.

    "Nut Rocker - Kieth Emerson + ELP

  • I have a "C" model (w/ humbucking pickup - same as stevie used in superstitious) but the previous owner replaced the keyboard with one from the D6 model so it would be touch sensitive.

  • nickjnickj 53 Posts
    Two good early uses of the clav were Billy Preston's big instrumental hit "Outa Space" (predating Superstition, I believe), which was played on a rented clav, and Funkadelic's "A Joyful Process" (also 1972). Bernie Worrell says that Stevie had bought the first clavinet available in Detroit and he had bought the second... *



    * liner notes to the Music For Your Mother 45's collection, for the fact-checkers out there.

  • Stevie's "do yourself a favor" is some great wah clav steez.

    some of my favs

    "Funky Al" - Ultrafunk
    "Hot Wheels (the chase)" - Badder Than Evil (Gordon's War OST)
    "I Believe In Miracles" - The Jackson Sisters
    "Camelback" - A B Skhy
    Cosign on "Outa Space" - Billy Preston
    "Cissy Strut" - The Johnny Lewis Quartet
    "Kufanya Mapenzi" - Ramsey Lewis
    "Now Is The Time" - Sisters Love

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    Two good early uses of the clav were Billy Preston's big instrumental hit "Outa Space" (predating Superstition, I believe), which was played on a rented clav, and Funkadelic's "A Joyful Process" (also 1972). Bernie Worrell says that Stevie had bought the first clavinet available in Detroit and he had bought the second... *

    * liner notes to the Music For Your Mother 45's collection, for the fact-checkers out there.

    Outa-Space is from the I Wrote A Simple Song album 1971

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts










    "Kufanya Mapenzi" - Ramsey Lewis



































    (1973)

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    Sun Ra and the clavinet in 1967.


    DOPE!

    clavi-wise this will be a tough one to pre date...

  • nickjnickj 53 Posts

    an obvious early one I forgot:



    from 1969, no less.


  • an obvious early one I forgot:



    from 1969, no less.

    Wasn't it this one (on 'This Wheel's On Fire")?


  • lambertlambert 1,166 Posts
    Anyone know what Horzae Silver is playing on his phase records?
    It sounds like a moog preset to emulate a piano, but I'm not sure. Young Holt had some wild sounding indistinguishable gear, too.

  • nickjnickj 53 Posts


    Does Garth play the clav on that one? I'll have to check at home. I was thinking of Cripple Creek and Ol' Jawbone.

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts
    if i can recall correctly...




  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts


    Does Garth play the clav on that one? I'll have to check at home. I was thinking of Cripple Creek and Ol' Jawbone.

    yes indeed... cripple creek baby


  • stevie wonder's "shoo-be-doo-be-doo-da-day", or sam & dave's "i thank you" are the two earliest instances of clavinet on a recording that i can think of. both came out in '68. which one came first?

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    stevie wonder's "shoo-be-doo-be-doo-da-day", or sam & dave's "i thank you" are the two earliest instances of clavinet on a recording that i can think of. both came out in '68. which one came first?

    I Thank You hit the charts on 2/3/68
    Shoobedoobedoodaday hit the charts on 4/20/68

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    on the Stax tip, Booker T plays clavinette on their version of The Beat Goes On, from the Doin' Our Thing album, 1968 (february)... not sure if theres any earlier Stax or Booker T recordings using clavinette...?

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    Sun Ra and the clavinet in 1967.


    DOPE!

    clavi-wise this will be a tough one to pre date...

    actually Don Ellis and his orchestra was flexing the clavinette early on too, Electric Bath 1967 has Mike Lang playing it (along with other keyboards), he also plays clavinette on Shock Treatment and Autumn, both 1968.

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    Sun Ra and the clavinet in 1967.


    DOPE!

    clavi-wise this will be a tough one to pre date...

    actually Don Ellis and his orchestra was flexing the clavinette early on too, Electric Bath 1967 has Mike Lang playing it (along with other keyboards), he also plays clavinette on Shock Treatment and Autumn, both 1968.

    not to get too nerdy, but these dates might be a bit off, thing is theres no dates on the 60's pressings, so I got the dates of the net, but I was just checking Don Ellis's Live In 3 2/3- 4 time (yup thats the title) on Pacific Jazz,... a real cool album dated on the net to 1966, but I think they screwd these late 60's dates up by a year,... Im looking at the liners on the Pacific album, and its not from 66, its from 67,.... and so the Electric Bath's correct date (imo) is 1968.............. (so Sun Ra was still the first!)
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