Electronic piano

Electronic pianos work similarly to analog synthesizers in that they generate their tones through oscillators, whereas electric pianos are mechanical, their sound being electrified by a pickup and then amplified through an internal or external amplifier.

An exception is the range of instruments made by RMI in the United States from 1967 to approximately 1980, which was used by Genesis, Yes, Deep Purple, Elton John and Rick Wakeman (Reid 2001).

These early electronic pianos (including the RMI) are not velocity sensitive in that, like an organ, they do not vary their volume based on how hard or soft the keys are played.

I found this very restricting, especially since any bum-notes are played at full volume, no matter how lightly you brush against them" (Tony Banks, quoted in Reid 2001).

The first electronic grand piano was produced in 1979 and patented in 1981 by Wilton Decker of St. James, NY.