| Despite its aspirations to
be a portable piano, the Electrapiano was not - unbelievably - touch
sensitive! This was to come much later at the end of its life and
even then, the velocity sensitive model was only available to order
before the product was completely discontinued.
The Electrapiano also featured other sounds - harpsichord,
organ, lute and other variations - but, like the main piano sound,
these were also unrealistic and rarely used being rather thin and
weedy.
The Electrapiano was very popular with many prog-rock
bands of the '70s. Probably the most famous user was Tony Banks
of Genesis and you can hear it in abundance on many of their albums
most notably, perhaps, in 'The Carpet Crawlers' from their album
'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway' where it provides a rapidly arpeggiated
backdrop throughout the whole song (in those pre-sequencer days,
his fingers must have ached when they performed that one live!).
He was also known to put it through a fuzz box when duetting and
trading guitar licks with the band's guitarist, Steve Hackett. Other
users include Rick Wakeman, Dave Greenslade and others all of whom
(presumably) appreciated it for the sound it makes rather than as
a substitute for a real piano. |
