Ernst Zacharias

{{Short description|German musician (1924–2020)}}

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Ernst Zacharias (21 June 1924 – 6 July 2020){{Cite web|url=https://www.schwaebische.de/landkreis/landkreis-tuttlingen/trossingen_artikel,-ein-genialerentwickler-_arid,11251176.html|title = Ein genialerEntwickler| date=28 July 2020 }} was a German musician and engineer. In the 1950s and 1960s, he invented various electro-mechanical musical instruments for the German musical instrument manufacturer Hohner, including the Cembalet, the Clavinet, the Guitaret, and the Pianet. The Claviola, a modernisation of the sheng and the Harmonetta, a mouth-blown concertina-keyboarded instrument, was also invented by Zacharias. He additionally invented the Electra-Melodica, the first commercially produced wind synthesizer. DEPATIS lists 90 patents by Ernst Zacharias for Hohner, including plastic recorders and watch and clock mechanisms.