Ron Mael

Ron Mael played the RMI Electra-piano on Sparks' "Kimono My House" and "Propaganda" albums. The piano intro of “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both of Us” is characteristic of the RMI Electrapiano sound.

Over the years, Ron Mael has played numerous synths, keyboards and computer-based instruments — Moog's Polymoog, Roland's JP-4 and JP-8, the Wurlitzer electric piano and the Fairlight CMI, to name a few — but his workhorse favorites have been the Yamaha CS-80 (produced in the late '70s) and the sleeker S80 (introduced in 1999).

Over the years, Ron Mael has played numerous synths, keyboards and computer-based instruments — Moog's Polymoog, Roland's JP-4 and JP-8, the Wurlitzer electric piano and the Fairlight CMI, to name a few — but his workhorse favorites have been the Yamaha CS-80 (produced in the late '70s) and the sleeker S80 (introduced in 1999).

Over the years, Ron Mael has played numerous synths, keyboards and computer-based instruments — Moog's Polymoog, Roland's JP-4 and JP-8, the Wurlitzer electric piano and the Fairlight CMI, to name a few — but his workhorse favorites have been the Yamaha CS-80 (produced in the late '70s) and the sleeker S80 (introduced in 1999).

Over the years, Ron Mael has played numerous synths, keyboards and computer-based instruments — Moog's Polymoog, Roland's JP-4 and JP-8, the Wurlitzer electric piano and the Fairlight CMI, to name a few — but his workhorse favorites have been the Yamaha CS-80 (produced in the late '70s) and the sleeker S80 (introduced in 1999).

Over the years, Ron Mael has played numerous synths, keyboards and computer-based instruments — Moog's Polymoog, Roland's JP-4 and JP-8, the Wurlitzer electric piano and the Fairlight CMI, to name a few — but his workhorse favorites have been the Yamaha CS-80 (produced in the late '70s) and the sleeker S80 (introduced in 1999).

Over the years, Ron Mael has played numerous synths, keyboards and computer-based instruments — Moog's Polymoog, Roland's JP-4 and JP-8, the Wurlitzer electric piano and the Fairlight CMI, to name a few — but his workhorse favorites have been the Yamaha CS-80 (produced in the late '70s) and the sleeker S80 (introduced in 1999).

Sparks' most recent project is a live album, Two Hands One Mouth, focusing on their stripped-back touring production of the same name, which involved the Maels appearing on stage with just one Motif XF8 keyboard — the back panel of which bears the word 'Ronald' spelled out in the distinctive Roland font — set on a simple piano patch.

You can clearly see the Minimoog that Ron Mael is playing throughout this video.

"There was a kind of haunting quality to the RMI with the Echoplex. Real tape delay gave it a little of a wobbly feel. That sound, these days, you can approximate it, but to get that thing, you need the old gear. I'm not a big collector of vintage gear, but I kept that Echoplex, 'cause it's just such a beautiful machine.”