Czerny: Hundert Übungsstücke, Op. 139, No. 7 Allegretto

I started using a more reliable camera, although I don't think the quality is quite as good.  Also, it bothers me a little that while this is exercise number seven, it's predominantly sixths.

Czerny: Hundert Übungsstücke, Op. 139, No. 6 Allegro vivace

The Moody Blues' Hohner Pianet

Back in March, Denny Laine posted an early picture of the Moody Blues:

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A post shared by Denny Laine (@dennylaineofficialpage) on Mar 11, 2020 at 6:12am PD 

I was very surprised to see Mike Pinder playing a Hohner Pianet (although it could be a Cembalet; it's difficult to tell without seeing the range of the keys).

While these don't seem to be the original legs (they're at a sharper angle, apparently to raise the Pianet higher for easier playing while standing), the spindle style does indicate that this is a Mark 1, C, or CH model.  The cord coming out of the bottom shows that the connections are underneath - an-other identifying feature of these models.

I have The Magnificent Moodies (this specific re-issue, which includes a few bonus tracks), the only album that this incarnation of the Moody Blues recorded, but the Pianet doesn't appear in any of the songs.  Pinder always uses acoustic piano.  Later, the mellotron was his keyboard of choice.  As far as I can tell, then, he used the Pianet only for live appearances and only very early in the Moody Blues.

Handel: Minuet in G major, HWV 521

From IMSLP

Manfred Mann's Hohner Pianets

As far as I can tell, Manfred Mann had at least two Pianets.  Here's a picture dated 1964 of the band with the Pianet Mark 1:

[source]

The identifying features here are the spindle-style legs and the screws on the panel just above the keys.  On the Mark 1, these screws are vertical:

Mark 1

unlike on the C and CH, where they're horizontal:

Pianet C

There are a few pictures from 1965 of Mann with a Pianet, and the shade of the wood seems to match that of the instrument above, but it's difficult to be sure.  It might be a different instrument.

On Thank Your Lucky Stars

On Top of the Pops

An-other of Mann's Pianets is easily recognizable by its multitude of scratches and distinctive chip in the finish.  Most of the pictures I've found of it are from 1964, and since the two pictures above are from 1965 and feature a fairly clean-looking instrument, this is obviously a different Pianet.

At the Marquee Club, 10 August 1964

For the longest time, I was confused by the connections on this Pianet because they're on the right side of the back panel.  The Mark 1, C, and CH models had the connections underneath the instrument, and the N model had the connections on the left side of the back panel.

About a month and a half ago, I finally figured it out (I think).  On the early models of the Pianet (up until the N), the player could control the volume with a knee lever, similar to some pump organs:

[source]

Since Mann stacked his Pianet on top of his Vox Continental organ, this method of volume control was obstructed.  Apparently, Mann's Pianet was modified so that he could control the volume with a Vox pedal, just as he did with the organ.  In the picture of Mann above, one can see that the jacks on the two instruments are identical, and in this picture, the Vox logo is visible on both pedals:

[source]

While I can't confirm any of this, it would account for the connections' being on the back panel rather than underneath the instrument.  It seems a bit odd though that Mann would have one Pianet modified so that he could play it simultaneously with the organ and still continue playing an unaltered instrument too.

According to some sources, Mann also used the Hohner Cembalet.  Evidently, this is what's heard on "Do Wah Diddy Diddy."  The Cembalet lookt very similar to the Pianet (the most obvious difference is that the Cembalet's range was C to C where the Pianet's was F to F), so while I think all of these pictures show Pianets, I might have mistakenly identified some of them.  The instrument in the first picture at least is definitely a Pianet; its keys end at F.

It seems that Mann used the Pianet live much more often than in the studio.  I'm incredibly confused by the band's discography and can't find any sort of definitive guide to it, so I can't even estimate how much of it I have in my collection, but of what I do have (seven albums [four U.K. versions and three U.S. versions], two live at the BBC albums ['64 to '66 and '66 to '69], and seven U.K. EPs), I think the Pianet appears on only three tracks:  "It's Gonna Work out Fine" and "Untie Me" on the U.K. version of The Five Faces of Manfred Mann and "The One in the Middle" on The One in the Middle EP.  As a side note:  the electric piano on "Did You Have to Do That" (on the Groovin' with Manfred Mann EP) sounds like a Wurlitzer to me, but I may be wrong.

For what it's worth, I think the Cembalet appears on four tracks:  "5-4-3-2-1" and "Cock-a-Hoop" on the Cock-a-Hoop EP and "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "Can't Believe It" (only at the end) on the Groovin' with Manfred Mann EP.

---&---

Addendum (6 September)

Lately, I've been wondering if the battered instrument seen above could actually be Mann's Cembalet, so I did some more research.  I found a video where the group mimes to "Sha La La" on Shindig! (it's an unofficial upload but available in a playlist on the official Manfred Mann YouTube channel), and it proves that this instrument is indeed a Pianet.  At the beginning of the song, the range of the keyboard (F to F) is clearly seen:

The camera then swings around to show the same distressed finish (plus a new chip) that matches what's seen in the pictures above (although it's a bit difficult to see because Vickers and McGuinness are standing in front of Mann):

Here's an-other picture from Getty Images for comparison (look for the chips above the "Vox Continental" logo):

[source]

Czerny: Hundert Übungsstücke, Op. 139, No. 5 Allegretto

Czerny: Hundert Übungsstücke, Op. 139, No. 4 Andantino