Rhodes Classic MK8 — an electromechanical piano rebuilt from the ground up

Name: Rhodes Classic MK8 - Elektromechanisches Klavier
Brand: Rhodes
SKU: 57001
Price: 12594.26 EUR
Availability: InStock

The MK8 is not a reissue or a tribute — it is an instrument designed from scratch with new components, featuring a spruce wood keyboard and fully analog electronics. For those who know what they are looking for, and don't want to make excuses for a plug-in's sound.

Overview

For decades, the Rhodes was a working tool — not a museum piece. The MK8 answers the question of what this instrument would look like if it had never left the production line: the same mechanical principles, different materials, a higher standard of craftsmanship.

The spruce wood keyboard, manufactured by Kluge Klaviaturen GmbH, gives pianists a dynamic control that no plastic keybed can replicate. The weight, resistance, and hammer escapement point — everything calculated for modern playing requirements.

The built-in preamp designed by Cyril Lance (former Moog Music engineer) is a complete sound-shaping module: from subtle EQ to characterful drive. The MK8 works without a computer, without plugins — just plug in a cable and play.

Key Features

Kluge spruce keyboard — 73 keys (E8–E80) with an oak and beech frame. Precise mechanics and balanced resistance give full control over the dynamics of every strike.

Alnico pickups and precision tines — hand-tuned alnico pickups with anti-slip adjustment. They deliver the characteristic "bark", bell-like tones, and consistency across the entire register without losing the midrange.

Tri-band EQ with sweepable midrange — ±15dB range, resonant mid filter, envelope follower for an auto-wah effect without additional pedals.

Vari-pan with 4 waveforms — from classic tremolo to audio-rate modulation approaching ring-mod. Depth and rate assignable to an expression pedal.

Analog effects section (VCA + BBD) — VCA compressor, stereo bucket-brigade chorus, phaser, and delay. True bypass, dual expression pedal inputs.

USB MIDI I/O + 5-pin DIN MIDI Out — high-resolution key tracking, polyphonic and channel aftertouch, multiple sustain modes.

Preamp as an instrument

The MK8 preamp was designed by Cyril Lance — an engineer who previously worked at Moog Music. This is not a regular volume knob with EQ.

The analog signal path handles a sweepable midrange controlled by a pedal or envelope follower (wah and auto-wah without additional gear), drive with saturation, and a vari-pan capable of audio-rate modulation — meaning effects close to a ring mod. On stage and in the studio, you operate everything with one instrument, with no latency, no drivers, and no third-party plugins.

Specifications

Keyboard: 73 keys (E8–E80), spruce wood, oak and beech frame, Kluge Klaviaturen GmbH

Sound generation: precision steel tines and Rhodes tonebars

Pickups: custom-wound alnico, anti-slip adjustment, flat heads

Preamp: true analog; volume, drive, envelope; tri-band EQ ±15dB; sweepable midrange with resonant filter; vari-pan (4 waveforms, audio-rate modulation)