# Clavinet
The Clavinet is an electromechanical keyboard instrument made by the German company Hohner that is, in effect, an electrically amplified clavichord: pressing a key drives a rubber-tipped hammer against a steel string, whose vibration is captured by magnetic pickups and amplified like an electric guitar's signal[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html). Designed by Ernst Zacharias, it was introduced in 1964 as an instrument for classical music, but its bright, biting, percussive sound found its real home in 1970s funk and rock[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php). Its defining recorded moment is [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder)'s "Superstition"[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designer and maker | Ernst Zacharias for Hohner, Germany; introduced 1964[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php) |
| Sound mechanism | Rubber-tipped hammers strike steel strings; magnetic pickups above and below the strings convert the vibration to a guitar-level signal[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html) |
| Keyboard | Most models: 60 keys, five octaves, F to E[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html) |
| Signature behavior | A yarn weave damps each string on key release, producing a naturally staccato tone with no sustain[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html) |
| Best-known model | The D6 of 1971, with 60 keys over five octaves F–E[3](https://www.smemmusic.ch/en/hohner-clavinet-d6-electric-mechanical-instrument-0) |
| Model run | Models I, II, L, C, D6, E7, and Duo, produced from 1964 into the early 1980s[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html) |
| Iconic use | Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" (1972)[4](https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/613705) |
## Origins and design
Hohner had built reed instruments such as harmonicas, accordions, and melodicas since 1857, and by the 1950s was experimenting with electronics in keyboard design[5](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac). Musician and inventor Ernst Zacharias designed the Cembalet in the 1950s, a portable amplified counterpart to the harpsichord that plucked the end of a flat metal reed and picked up the vibration like an electric guitar[5](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac). Two Pianet models followed, using sticky pads and later rubber suction pads to set flat reeds vibrating[5](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac).
Between the Pianet N and T releases, Zacharias invented the Clavinet. Its goal was to reproduce the sound of the clavichord, an instrument with delicate touch sensitivity but a thin, quiet voice, with a fuller amplified tone[5](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac). The National Music Centre describes the instrument as unique among electric pianos because it is strictly not a piano at all: it is an electrically amplified clavichord, and its plucked-or-struck-string lineage gives it an identity players and listeners treat as a separate instrument[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i).
## How it produces sound
Under each key sits a small hammer with a rubber tip. Pressing the key sends the hammer to strike a tensioned steel string against a metal surface; one source describes the striking arrangement, another records that each note has strings very similar to an electric guitar's, detected by an array of magnetic pickups[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html) • [4](https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/613705). Because the hammer sits directly beneath the key, the keyboard is fully dynamic: the harder the key is struck, the louder and more vibrant the tone[5](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac).
The instrument's characteristic staccato comes from its damping. A weave of yarn runs through each string, and the moment a key is released the yarn damps the string, so a note lasts only as long as it is held. This gives the Clavinet no sustain, which pushes players toward a percussive, jumpy style that cuts through a mix[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html) • [4](https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/613705).
Tone shaping is done at the pickups and filters. On the D6, six rocker switches control the sound: Brilliant and Treble engage a high-pass filter, Medium and Soft engage a low-pass filter, and the A–B and C–D switches select between pickups[3](https://www.smemmusic.ch/en/hohner-clavinet-d6-electric-mechanical-instrument-0). Pickup switch combinations notated AC, AD, BC, and BD give four basic tones, and players often pushed the output through guitar effects such as a wah-wah pedal before amplification[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html). The output is a guitar-level signal, usually amplified through a guitar amp[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html).
## The model line
**Early models.** The first Clavinet appeared in 1964 with a built-in amp and speaker system[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php). The Clavinet I carried the built-in amplifier, the Clavinet II added tonal filters, and the triangular, reversed-key-colored Clavinet L of 1968 is the rarest model[5](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac) • [2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php).
**Model C.** Introduced in 1968 with a white top and red tolex, the C gives each pickup two magnets, which the identification guide credits with a unique tone[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php).
**Model D6.** The D6 of 1971 is the model most people mean when they say Clavinet. Its woodgrain-applique case with black tolex hid improvements over earlier models: four tone switches for sound shaping, a sliding mute lever, and an [AC power](https://www.edgepedia.org/ac-power) jack[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php). The six-core pickup was cleaner than earlier designs[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i), and the SMEM collection record notes that the D6 offered greater musical versatility than the I, II, and C before it[3](https://www.smemmusic.ch/en/hohner-clavinet-d6-electric-mechanical-instrument-0). Original equipment included a gray tolex lid that doubled as a transport case, a plexiglass music stand, four metal legs, a tuning key in the form of a flat-head screwdriver, and a power cable; an optional "Foot Swell" pedal was simply an in-line volume pedal[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php).
**E7 and Duo.** The E7 of 1977 added better shielding, a noise filter in the circuit, a metal cover replacing the flip-top lid, a slider volume control, and a power switch; it is described as less attractive than the D6 but far more roadworthy. The Clavinet/Pianet Duo put an E7 and a Pianet T in one heavy unit, with electronic controls that split the keyboard into Pianet/Clavinet combinations[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php).
Development continued long after the instrument left the spotlight: a patent awarded to Zacharias in 1983 shows ongoing Clavinet work at Hohner nearly two decades after its introduction[7](https://www.soundonsound.com/people/ernst-zacharias-hohner-clavinet). One source dates the instrument's production run from 1962 to 1984[8](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-thought-hes-given-me-the-riff-of-the-century-the-classic-song-that-stevie-wonder-wrote-for-jeff-beck-but-ended-up-saving-for-himself), while the music encyclopedia entry places the models between 1964 and the early 1980s[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html).
## Famous recordings and players
Stevie Wonder is the player most associated with the instrument, and Hohner featured him in its advertising[3](https://www.smemmusic.ch/en/hohner-clavinet-d6-electric-mechanical-instrument-0). Which model played on "Superstition" is a genuine disagreement between sources: the Apple Logic Pro history says the D6[5](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac), while the Clavinet.Com identification guide and the OndaRock track survey both identify the white-and-red-trimmed model C of 1968 as the instrument on the original recording[2](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php) • [9](https://ondarock.com/miscellaneous/white-keys-clavinet/).
Other landmark uses include [The Band](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-band)'s "Up On Cripple Creek" (1969), the first time the instrument was played through an external effects pedal, a wah pedal[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i); [Billy Preston](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-preston) on [The Rolling Stones](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rolling-stones)' "100 Years Ago" from *Goats Head Soup* (1973)[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i); Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" (1975)[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i); Led Zeppelin's "Trampled Under Foot" and "Custard Pie" on *Physical Graffiti* (1975)[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i); and The Trammps' "Disco Inferno" (1976)[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i). John Paul Jones used the instrument extensively on *Physical Graffiti*[1](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html), and Fleetwood Mac's "You Make Loving Fun" on *Rumours* (1977) also features it[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i). Wonder's "Higher Ground" (1973) paired the Clavinet riff with the Mu-Tron III envelope filter pedal, a combination that made the pedal an overnight sensation[10](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/guitar-pedals/mu-tron-iii).
## Collecting and digital successors
Original instruments have appreciated sharply. A 2001 survey noted D6 prices reaching $2,000, more than double the new price 30 years earlier[11](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Electronic-Musician/2001/Electronic-Musician-2001-03.pdf), and Sound On Sound reports that a good-condition D6 fetches between £1,200 and £2,000[7](https://www.soundonsound.com/people/ernst-zacharias-hohner-clavinet).
Maintenance is the practical difficulty. The polymer rubber tips used in all models disintegrate over time, becoming sticky and eventually unusable; Hohner did not offer more reliable replacement tips until 1999[6](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i). Because Hohner staff involved with the Clavinet have retired or died, specialists such as Gert Prix at the Keyboard Museum in Austria hold much of the surviving documentation[12](https://www.clavinet.com/clavfaq.pdf).
For players who cannot source a vintage instrument, physical modeling has filled the gap: Modartt released a Clavinet D6 model for Pianoteq in 2010[13](https://www.modartt.com/data/download/press/press_release_2015_04_22.pdf).
## References
1. [Clavinet, Encyclopedia of Music, David Darling](https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia_of_music/C/clavinet.html)
2. [Hohner Clavinet Identification Guide, Clavinet.Com](https://www.clavinet.com/ident.php)
3. [Hohner Clavinet D6 Electric-Mechanical Instrument, SMEM, Fribourg](https://www.smemmusic.ch/en/hohner-clavinet-d6-electric-mechanical-instrument-0)
4. ['Hohner Clavinet D6' keyboard designed by Ernst Zacharias, Powerhouse Collection, Sydney](https://collection.powerhouse.com.au/object/613705)
5. [D6 Clavinet history, Logic Pro User Guide, Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsifbfa391d/mac)
6. [Hohner Clavinet I, National Music Centre collection](https://nmc.emuseum.com/objects/248/hohner-clavinet-i)
7. [Ernst Zacharias and the Hohner Clavinet, Sound On Sound](https://www.soundonsound.com/people/ernst-zacharias-hohner-clavinet)
8. [The classic song that Stevie Wonder wrote for Jeff Beck, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-thought-hes-given-me-the-riff-of-the-century-the-classic-song-that-stevie-wonder-wrote-for-jeff-beck-but-ended-up-saving-for-himself)
9. [White Keys and Black Keys: The sound of the Clavinet in 40 tracks, OndaRock](https://ondarock.com/miscellaneous/white-keys-clavinet/)
10. [How the Mu-Tron III became a vintage pedalboard icon, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/guitar-pedals/mu-tron-iii)
11. [Vintage Page, Electronic Musician, March 2001](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Electronic-Musician/2001/Electronic-Musician-2001-03.pdf)
12. [Clavinet.Com FAQ](https://www.clavinet.com/clavfaq.pdf)
13. [Pianoteq press release, Modartt, April 2015](https://www.modartt.com/data/download/press/press_release_2015_04_22.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical practice and theory › Instruments, theory, and world traditions › Keyboard instruments*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license