Rhodes Mk8 Electric Piano, Black and Silver

Rhodes Mk8 Electric Piano, Black and Silver Overview

A truly iconic, rare and sought after musical instrument has been reborn. The Rhodes Mk8 electric piano boasts road-ready reliability and a host of modern features. This is the most complete and inspiring version of the legendary e-piano yet.

Sophisticated Style

With its sleek black and silver appointments, this version of the Rhodes Mk8 electric piano oozes the class, elegance and sophistication that you’d find on a vintage model.

A Legend, Reborn

The Rhodes electric piano is one of the most recorded and evocative instruments of all time, having appeared on countless classic recordings and favoured by a wide range of renowned artists. Icons such as Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, John Paul Jones, Ray Charles, Paul McCartney and Nicolas Godin have all been inspired by the Rhodes piano over the years.

The Real Deal

Like the beloved earlier versions of the Rhodes electric piano, the 8th generation is a proper electro-mechanical instrument that uses steel tines and pickups to generate its distinctive sound. All the essential components that give the Rhodes its magical sound have been improved, including custom-made damper combs, Alnico pickups with anti-slip adjustment and freshly-designed four-zone hammer tips. The result is the most reliable, responsive and dynamic Rhodes ever made, with a tone, feel and intonation that easily outclasses its predecessors. The sustain pedal has also been given a new lease of life, with its flexible and anti-slip integrated rubber mat.

Luxury Keybed

A huge part of the Rhodes Mark 8’s luxurious and expressive playing experience is catered for by the keybed, which is a Kluge Klaviaturen creation. Kluge Klaviaturen are part of the Steinway group and are internationally renowned for the extraordinary quality of their keyboards.

Made To Order

Each Rhodes Mk8 electric piano is lovingly built to order by Rhodes’ master craftsmen, using only hand-selected components. There’s no doubt that the Rhodes Mk8 is a premium instrument with serious prestige.

All Analogue Signal Path

The inherent sonic flexibility of Rhodes Mk8 allows you to conjure all the quintessential electric piano sounds and more without the need for any additional effects or outboard. Whilst the Rhodes Mk8 features upgrades and modern updates across the board, it retains a true analogue signal path - from the pickups to the output - ensuring that trademark lushness and warmth.

Shape Your Sound

From the pickups, the audio signal runs into a custom Rhodes-engineered Mk8 analogue preamp. This feature-packed preamp presents a plethora of sound sculpting parameters, including independent drive, 3-band parametric EQ, envelope (auto-wah), wah and Vari-Pan. The Vari-Pan makes running this electric piano in stereo nigh-on essential, as you can instantly attain that gorgeous panned Rhodes sound. With adjustable-rate/depth, four waveshapes to choose from (Square, Sawtooth, Triangle & Sine) and the ability to run the LFO into audio rates, the Vari-Pan vastly expands the palette of sounds the Rhodes Mk8 electric piano can achieve.

Lush Analogue Effects

Next in the chain is the onboard analog effects section, which offers an intuitive VCA compressor, Chorus, Phaser and stereo bucket-brigade delay. With these effects, you can design a record-ready Rhodes sound before your signal hits the mixing desk.

Comprehensive Connectivity

Rhodes have equipped the Mk 8 with a wealth of connectivity options. Output-wise, you have stereo 1/4" outs and balanced XLR outs. The effect send and return jacks give you the option to seamlessly integrate your favourite external effects. The send jack doubles as a direct output for the pickups, giving you the option to run the Rhodes Mk8 into another preamp. A handy headphone output is present for silent practice.

In terms of inputs, there are two expression pedal jacks that can be used to control a range of effect settings hands-free, including volume, pan rate, pan depth and wah. There’s also a USB port for installing future firmware updates.

If you’re looking for something with extra visual flair, take a look at the model that sports a Walnut base and transparent smoked hood.

The Rhodes Mk8 electric piano is the most refined iteration of the famed instrument so far. There is nothing in the hardware or software world that compares to a genuine Rhodes piano. These are made in incredibly limited quantities so be sure to pick this one up before it goes!