The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and responding to a keystroke by striking a given point on a tensioned string, and was designed to resemble the Renaissance-era clavichord.
Clavinet
The Clavinet C
The Clavinet D6, the most popular model, was introduced in 1971.
Stevie Wonder playing a Clavinet D6 in 2006
The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras.
Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents. Vibrations are transmitted through the bridge(s) to the soundboard.
1977 unfretted clavichord by Keith Hill
The "Lépante" fretted clavichord, Musée de la Musique, Paris
Tangents
Detail of the Clavichord at Museu de la Música de Barcelona