Columbia Elepian Restoration

[Tehu]

Hi,
I just been lucky and find out a nice Columbia Elepian in the Montreal area. Traded against a barely playable, but complete Rhodes Mark II 1981 (Hell rusty, if you see my topics 2 or 3 months ago)
I decided to put some pictures here since there are barely no information on the net.

First of all, here's the Rhodes (Dressed like a Mark I)


Now here's the Elepian when it arrive

[Tehu]

Look a the control


First thing, I adjusted the ''timbre'' because it was almost just overtone. I regain a nice bassy ''rhodish'' tone. It's fun to see the ''hybrid'' system of Reeds/pickups (Wurly Reeds with Rhodes style pickups). So i'm not too lost for the adjustment.


The fist screw on top is for pickups distance, the one just below is for ''timbre'' adjustment (overtone or fondamental). Its really easy and fast to set, I found it more easy than the Rhodes.

[Tehu]

Then I cleaned all the keys and keybed. The keys system is very simple, no need to remember where you placed the key originally.

[Tehu]

Here's the hammer system




And yesterday I was able to take a passive signal out of the ''pickups harp'' to bypass the awfull preamp. So my goal is to be able to switch from passive to active.


The output signal is a little bit less than a Rhodes, but not too much. And i get just a little ground noise. I've also been able to set the middle/high register to sound almost like a Wurly, more test to come!

[vanceinatlance]

Thanks for sharing all the photos! There is very little info about these on the internet. It would be cool if we could hear some audio from it! I have been fascinated by the sound of the reed/pickup combo.

[Tehu]

I'll post a video demo soon,
The sound is very interesting! For now i adjusted it in a ''dirty'' way (Pickup as close as possible to the reeds) to be able to have a certain ''drive'' when playing hard.
Really close to a Wurly, but a bit different!

[Tehu]

Here's a audio demo of this Elepian,
As i said, I ajusted it to have more ''bark'' (Reeds closest to the pickups) So the sound is very ''dirty''. But i love that sound, so wurlyish. Preamp bypassed, so passive like a Rhodes stage.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e8kvx84wdrpvanw/TEST%20ELEPIAN%202015-12-02.mp3?dl=0

Thru a Ibanez UE-405 (Stereo Chorus, Analog slapback delay and compression)

I'm not a really good keyboard player, this demo is for demonstrating the expression of the instrument.

Thanks

[vanceinatlance]

 It definately sounds closer, to me anyways, to a wurly with your adjustments, but t still has its own flavor.
I have played a little with my maestro to try and get a little brighter sound, but the pickups are all coated in plastic and it seems to dampen the sound a bit. I am guessing it is coated to avoid a short to the high voltage rail with the tines.
I really like the sound combo of the rhodes style pickups paired with the reeds. Thanks for sharing!

[Student Rhodes]

Any place you can post this sound clip for those of us who don't have or want dropbox?
Thanks,
Ray

[vanceinatlance]

Ray, i don't have drop box either. I was able to downlad it directly by clicking in the upper right corner of the page. Hope it helps,
Vance

[Tehu]

Video of the Elepian, little improvisation using the MPC2500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2juT0DX4dtU&feature=youtu.be

[laberge]

Video of the Elepian, little improvisation using the MPC2500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2juT0DX4dtU&feature=youtu.be

wow this is one of the best sounding electric pianos I've ever heard. Almost like a super clean crispy Wurlitzer

[Phillip]

Very impressive voicing and nice playing. The Elepian sounds amazing. Thank you for posting.

[vanceinatlance]

The Elepian sounds pretty good through the Rhodie preamp. The voicing you have done sounds great! Nice playing and thanks for sharing!

[rhodesjuzz]

Sounds very good. It has a nice bite. Thanks for sharing this with us.....

[pianotuner steveo]

Wow, It reminds me of a cross between a Hohner Pianet and a Wurli. I love it!

You have a really unique EP there, I know there are more out there, but yours seems to be in great shape now that you've worked on it.

You should sample it somehow...

[Tehu]

Thanks for the replies!
I also love the sound, really happy with the setting!
(Simple to do btw, 2 screws for adjusting)

I've already done a multisampled soundbank for Ableton live, but I'll have to redo it, i didn't capture the high note dynamic well. But I already did 2 Wurlitzer (200A and 112), 4 Rhodes, 3 Clavinet, 2 Pianet.. with very good results!

Btw, there's a nice Elepian at 300$ in Québec City (Canada) right now
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-piano-synthetiseur-clavier/ville-de-quebec/piano/1129219862?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

[bourniplus]

I'd seen that Elepian in Quebec city many months (years?!) ago and hesitated. If it was still available I think I'd have to go get it. (It's an half hour drive from where I live). The ad isn't there anymore and I can't find it, it might finally be sold. I looked "elepian" and nothing comes up. Also looked "piano electrique"... I think they hadn't even put the word elepian in the ad, right?
Anyways, congrats on what you did with yours, and nice to see that one ended in the hands of someone who plays it and takes care of it. By the way, how heavy are they?

[Tehu]

Bourniplus,

Yeah, i spoted this in Quebec 2-3 months ago (I'm in montreal, it was in my favorite on the Kijiji apps) and now i can't find it! I was hesitating of buying, but it seemed very in good shape, almost like mine! But it wasn't categorized with any ''piano electrique'' or ''Elepian'', it was actually ''piano pour débutant''
For the weight, it's a little more than a 88 Rhodes, and fit in an ''hatchback'' car.

If you end up buying it, let me know, i could help you adjusting to obtain a good sound. Mine sounded like crap when i bought it, but with little tweak, you can have a real nice sound!

[jasonlim9090]

Wow this is informative and amazing. Share more with us! 

Cheers,
Jason
www.singaporepianohub.com

[Rumi]

If anyone knows of an Elepian for sale in Europe, please let me know!