Hohner Pianet N

The Pianet N came with a hard carrying case, and assembly is fairly simple - a couple of big knobs hold the legs to the case, and four smaller knobs hold the crossbrace between the legs. This is a simple keyboard; the only options one has to consider is off/on and tremelo. Personally, I found the tremelo too slow to be of much use. It can be lugged by one person, for short distances.

The action is a bit strange. One has the sensation of breaking through thin ice, and attack seems more important than pressure while playing. As I mentioned before, the tremelo (at least on mine) was very slow and was of limited use.

The undistorted sound of the Pianet N somewhat resembles a harpsichord. What I found interesting is that, under certain circumstances, a weird but pleasing effect can be accomplished through feedback. I've only experienced this in larger rooms, and at high volume. I've also fed it through a fuzzbox, and it's a unique sound I've never heard elsewhere. This only works well for single-note solos, as chords tend to dissolve into a sloppy mess. I've used my Pianet N for everything from weddings to dances; obviously, it's not a first choice for Chopin, or anything requiring sustain. Bach sounds great on it. The keyboard is not especially sensitive, and seems to be more a matter of speed of attack than pressure (IMHO).

This is the bugaboo of this instrument. If you find one, be prepared to deal with sticky pads that have torn loose or lost their stickiness. Also, it's prone to going out of tune and, I've been told, the remedy is to drip solder on the offending reed, then patiently file it off until it comes back up to the proper pitch. Not a project for the impatient! I'd say it's a quirky, interesting instrument, but not one on which to hang all your hopes. This being said, it never crashed on me. One other thing - it doesn't have a conventional fuse, the 'on' light also functions as a fuse. If you have a dead Pianet N, try replacing the lightbulb.

I bought my Pianet N in '72, sold it in '76. Would I buy another? Hmm... probably not. Do I regret having bought it? Not at all. It requires a different technique than an organ or acoustic piano. By today's standards, it's laughably low-tech, and the response and tone of different notes can vary. It's an instrument with a distinctive sound (remember the intro to "Joy To The World" by Three Dog Night?, has a lovely walnut case, and is very simple to operate. A niche instrument.

The Pianet N is probably the most well-known model of Hohner's unique Pianet series of electric pianos, with its distinctive triangle-shaped folding top. Like many other electric pianos, it is relatively simple to use - controls are limited to a mains (power) switch and a tremolo on-off switch. There is a connection for a volumer pedal which originally came with the N, but these pedals are somewhat scarce. Otherwise, it's a keyboard that you basically just plug in and play.

The Pianet N has 61 notes, from low F to high F, and is touch-sensitive due to the unique action of the keyboard. striking the key releases a sticky leather pad from an accordian reed, causing it to vibrate. The problem is that the foam which attaches the sticky pads tends to dissolve with age, so Pianet pads for all models except the black-tolex T model tend to need to be redone unless they've been in a controlled environment for most of their lifetime. The stciky pads themselves can very often be reused; indeed, just a bit of effort to clean any build-up off of the surface will usually bring them back to the proper stickiness. I've managed to find some old-stock pads which are still usable, and I've also replaced the foam with ordinary weather-stripping type material on defunct pads, and the "new" pads can work just as well as the originals with a little TLC. But it's clear that this unusual and somewhat rickety tone-production system is integral to the unique sound of the instrument. The tremolo is very subtle, but does add a nice movement to the sound. There is only an on/off switch; there is no speed or depth control for it.

The pre-T model Pianets hasve a very distinctive sound; anyone familiar with the Zombies, Help!-era Beatles, Soft Machine or mid-1970's King Crimson will be familiar with the Pianet's "clanky" tone. The N model in particular has been compared with the Wurlitzer 200, but it has a slightly richer midrange tone, largely becase the reeds are much thinner and are "plucked" much more gently than the hammer action of the Wurlitzer. However, it is somewhat less dynamic overall than the Wurlitzer as a result - for example, striking the keys harder only makes a small tonal difference after a certain point. Also, due to the age of the pads and reeds and other intangible factors, often certain notes will be noticeably louder or softer than others. I've played 3 different Pianet N's, and all of them had varying degrees of "dead notes". In some cases, this may be more than just a pad stickiness issue - I have had one N with a low F# which was almost totally dead even when struck very solidly, so be sure to check out the pickup if possible. Often notes in the upper range will exhibit a metallic overtone quality, which seems to be part of the pickup's formant quality as well - this is generally part of the overall sound of the Pianet. Assuming the instrument funtions adequately, it works well in most of the same types of music as other electric pianos, with its own, very interesting, twist.

The issue of the sticky pads is the greatest problem with the reliability of the N. However, there are one or two adventurous souls out there who are willing to create new pads (so far there are no retail business who are doing this, however). If DIY is your thing, replacing the foam and using the original leather pads as I described earlier is a very effective solution, provided that you actually have the original leather bits! Other than the pads, the pickup does seem prone to odd problems as well. But generally if you can get it to work, it will work well for quite a while after that. I'm hoping to gig with mine soon and find out how well it stands up to regular use.

Hohner does not support its older keyboards, and unlike the Clavinet, for which a number of manufacturers make replacement parts such as strings and strikers, the Pianet hasn't developed sufficient interest to warrant full manufacture of parts such as the pads. It's really too bad, becuase I'm sure many of them would be very useable again with a nice new set of pads. Who knows how many otherwise perfectly good Pianets are languishing in someone's basement just because the pads have dissolved!

I happen to love the Pianet sound, and am very happy to have finally found one that works about 80% well without having to go through too much trouble. Having owned a Wurlitzer previously, I do wish the Pianet was a bit more reliable and consistant overall, however. If you find one, be prepared to spend some time (and/or money) getting it up to speed. But when you do, and you've been looking for that "She's Not There" sound as much as I was, you won't regret it!