In 1942 piano teacher Harold Rhodes, then in the US Army Air Corps, developed a miniature piano for hospitalised soldiers to play. It was made from bits of old planes and became known as the “Xylette” or “Air Corps Piano”.
Some years later (1959) Rhodes and Clarence “Leo” Fender (of electric guitar fame) set up a joint venture to produce an amplified version of this wartime instrument. It now used vibrating metal rods (or tines) as the sound source and eventually evolved into the now... See More
In 1942 piano teacher Harold Rhodes, then in the US Army Air Corps, developed a miniature piano for hospitalised soldiers to play. It was made from bits of old planes and became known as the “Xylette” or “Air Corps Piano”.
Some years later (1959) Rhodes and Clarence “Leo” Fender (of electric guitar fame) set up a joint venture to produce an amplified version of this wartime instrument. It now used vibrating metal rods (or tines) as the sound source and eventually evolved into the now legendary Fender Rhodes electric piano.
