Product: Hohner Clavinet C
Price Paid: US $450 used
Submitted
04/30/2002
at
02:44pm
by
robert
Email: timefly at timefly<dot>net
Ease of Use
:
8
It's pretty simple when it's working right. Plug it in or pop a battery in, turn the volume knob and make noises. It's not totally clear to a new clavinet user what the two switches do exactly, but you figure it out by messing around.
Features
:
4
This is one of the earlier Clavinets, so it doesn't have the complex pickups of the later D6 or E7, not as much flexibility with the sound. No sustain pedal, as with most other clavinets, one audio output. You can use a 9 volt battery or wall wart power supply (I guess 6 volt is recommended for some reason? If yours doesn't come with one, check the net).
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
8
If it weren't for the VERY NOISY output, I'd give my new Clav C a 10. It's funky, responsive (think Superstition), and remarkably fun to play. Run it through a wah pedal and it's instant funk soup. Love the action, seems like it could be delicate though. I'm going to experiment with shielding the preamp when I have some time, I saw a guy who cut the noise on a D6 with additional shielding.
Reliability
:
6
I just got it, so I'll have to guess. It's built pretty heavy, but the hinges are a little beat so I'm a little nervous carrying it by the handles. In the back where you'd screw the legs in, it's stripped out, so I can only use the front 2 legs, and since my sense of balance isn't nearly that good, I just set it on an X stand while I look for replacement hardware. This instrument is from around 1968, so no matter what you're probably going to run into dust, worn out hammers and easily broken strings. Easy enough to open and work on, though. Seems basically tough, I'm bringing it to a gig tomorrow (with or without the broken low Eb).
Customer Support
:
8
Clavinet.com and speakeasyvintagemusic.com both have parts like strings and hammer tips, and clavinet.com even has updated humbucking pickup replacements if your pickups die. There are a couple of guitar strings in mine from when strings broke, and for what I use it for, there's not enough difference for me to care. If I break a couple more strings, I'll probably bite the bullet and redo them all. Overall, it's nice to know that there's some support out there even if it's not from Hohner.
Overall Rating
:
8
The price on clavs is going up, and for a usable instrument in the New York City area, I got a good deal. So far I love it, but I haven't used it enough to develop a bond with this particular model - if it were lost or stolen, I'd definitely replace it with another clav, but for me I got a model C mainly because they're so much cheaper than a D6 or E7, so what I'd replace it with would depend on market prices for the various models. For the money, it's a great instrument.
