Post your Rhodes pics and its story

[Tee]

He played with a number of players but one that sticks out in my mind around 1984 & 85 would be Herbie Hancock.  For me it would be fun just to think or know that it was possible for Herbie to have at least played it. My 1973 Eighty Eight Suitcase was said to have been owned by Billy Preston.  It's in very good condition with original tolex at  95.9% and whether it was or wasn't it's still fun having it anyway.   

[pastorwayne]

Herbie Hancock? Interesting possibility. Also, Billy Preston was great for sure! Yeah, no matter who played these Rhodes before... now it's our turn

[Ben Bove]

Cobham played a lot with George Duke, but I'm sure all these guys had their own rig... I know a lot of musicians had instruments on hand.  So though he wasn't a pianist, he could have very well just had a Rhodes out of necessity.

[pastorwayne]

Makes sense too... I know a guy who lives in my town who knew Billy Cobham back in the day. He said that Billy was an extremely talented musician who could play multiple instruments. He also said that Billy arranged his own songs for his band too. He also said Tom Coster (also from Santana) could have played it. I wish I could find a picture of it somewhere. It has an XLR out that was added to it back then. So I think I could identify it in a picture.

[mojito]

Hey guys,
Just bought my first Rhodes.

It is a VGC Stage 73 Mark 1... One owner from new, purchased in 1979.

It needs some minor work inside. Light rust on the bars, and one rubber foot missing.

All other original bits are there... Legs etc.

Heres a few pics!

[Alan Lenhoff]

Looks great. Congrats!

I love my '79 Rhodes Stage.  With the factory pedestal bump, the action is fantastic. Enjoy it!

Alan

[David Aubke]

Congratulations mojito.

Seems like there's always the one or two tone bars that are completely oxidized while all the rest have remained in decent shape. Three of the units I've disassembled have been that way.

[mojito]

Thanks guys... It also has a few sticky keys to sort out, so will be on here for advice

[pastorwayne]

Here is a picture of the XLR out mod on my Fender Rhodes Stage 88 that was owned by drummer Billy Cobham. I think the mod was done by Magic Music Machines in San Fransisco. (no longer in business) Their business card is taped to one of the legs. Next to the the card there is a piece of masking tape that says "Billy Cobham re J.M." (John McLaughlin ?) It's a really nice sounding Rhodes (aren't they all and is a blast to play.

[Tee]

That's awesome PW and a great story behind the Rhodes.

[pastorwayne]

Thanks Tee! I really enjoy

[AFeastOfFriends]

Here's pictures of the '71 piano bass I got Tuesday. It's in pretty nice shape. It suffers from bouncing hammers (and therefore bouncing dampers) and is missing an entire damper arm. It also needs new hammer tips. It has the dyed ones, and they're all really grooved. It didn't really receive that much playing, so they must have just worn down really fast.

Although, it has great action and nice tone. The bass sounds way better than my 88 bass. It's fast, punchy, and powerful. And the sparkletop only has two scuffs. It also somewhat smells like smoke, but I haven't had a keyboard yet that didn't smell like something.


The guy I bought it from was an older guy who had been in local bands all his life. He used the bass for a little while but decided it was just too heavy and bought a Micro-Korg synth to do bass instead. The piano bass sat in his closet buried under some stuff until he took it out to stick on Craigslist a week or so ago.

[jean-papa]

a few pics of my stage73:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115155801831460433127/RhodesPics

[pastorwayne]

Jean, Nice videos of you playing... very good!

[mattia salvi]

my seventythree rhodes mk2, my roland JC77 and me

[pastorwayne]

That is probably a great amp to play your Rhodes through. I'll bet the stereo chorus is amazing!

[oliisfullysick]

heres my little collection of keyboards

[David Aubke]

I don't think you could have found a more appropriate chair for your command center.

[Alan Lenhoff]

Great collection! Thanks for the photos  (not only because I love seeing great vintage keyboards, but also because it helps me with my wife).

("See, I'm not the only guy who has a room full of vintage keys.  And he has even more than I do...")

I'm thinking that if you get rid of that couch -- who needs a couch? -- you could fit a few more in.


Alan

[pianotuner steveo]

Nice guitars too...what is that one between the SG and the green Strat?

I like the looks of it.....

[oliisfullysick]

Great collection! Thanks for the photos  (not only because I love seeing great vintage keyboards, but also because it helps me with my wife).

("See, I'm not the only guy who has a room full of vintage keys.  And he has even more than I do...")

I'm thinking that if you get rid of that couch -- who needs a couch? -- you could fit a few more in.


Alan

haha, It all started a couple of years ago with a wrecked 54 that had been sitting in a flooded basement. Havnt been able to stop buying vintage keys since then...... Dont intend to buy anything else until I move out so hopefully the couch will stay, but you never know what will come up for sale.... somethings may be worth sitting on the floor for.. haha

Nice guitars too...what is that one between the SG and the green Strat?

I like the looks of it.....

Its an Australian Maton MS500. Amazing guitars and pretty underrated, easily comparable in quality to my Gibson Sg custom at a fraction of the price!

[A-L]

This is the second Rhodes I've bought. It is a 1975 Mark 1. I bought this one last week for $480. I couldn't resist taking a look at it and after noticing the great shape it was in internally and the beautiful action, I bought it. The tines, tone bars, dampers and hammers are in great condition. The name rail shines and all the hardware was included even the pouch for the legs which I've never seen before.




this is my first complete full restoration. I plan on a new tolex, painting the harp cover (obviously) solidifying the wiring and getting the keys to shine again.



back to work...

[Xk3smith]

My very first Fender Rhodes a 1975 Mark I.  Bought this from a shop online.  I think I overpayed, but there was nothing wrong with it at all.  Bought it in 2003.  Paid about $550.  She need a little work now, mainly felts.

[Xk3smith]

My 1982 Mark II.  I play this one every sunday in church.  Bought it from a friend for $400.  A church gave it to him for FREE!!!   

There are some rusty tines and pickups, but she still plays like a champ!!!

[Ben Bove]

Well if you felt you overpaid in 2003, I think you're fine in 2012 with it! 

[martin]

just got this for £450 ($714) needs a lube, and the bit that holds the sustain dowel needs glueing, apart from that plays well!

[yorgatron]

Howdy all!

just got a '77 stage a couple of weeks ago, cheap, but needing work.



as you can see there were a number of broken keys.



so I took them out and glued them back together. one of the black keys had the top broken off (I tried to buy another one from Vintage Vibe, but for some reason I can't access my account from when I bought some hammer tips for my Duo awhile back) so I carved a new top out of a piece of hardwood and spray painted it black. I installed it as the lowest F# since I figure I won't hit it all that often down there.
I used silicone spray on the felts, even though the action wasn't stiff.

http://www.myspace.com/video/yorgatron/rhodes-test/108615141

I think it sounds pretty good. I watched a bunch of the Rhodes repair videos and read a lot of things here, so I know that it's in pretty good shape otherwise. next project will be to reinstall the damper and rig some sort of pedal. I don't intend to do any cosmetic restoration, except for adding some black tape over the torn tolex on the back, like you see Elwood tearing off Ray's suitcase 88. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN5V-6yCbpg

[Clavier]

Though about 20 keyboard instruments have come and gone from my setup in the past 5 or so years, I still have my Rhodes. It's a Mk1 Suitcase Eighty Eight with Torrington tines and (iirc) the Peterson preamp. I bought from a Guitar Center, believe it or not, and paid $600 out the door. It's actually in better condition than the photos show. It had spent it's entire life in the spare room of a childless home. Currently, I'm using it with a Twin Reverb most of the time. The Prophet-5 has it's own amp.

[yorgatron]

^ nice! always thought I would like a suitcase, but I have plenty of guitar amps to plug into.

to add to my earlier post, for those of you that like to keep track of these things, my Rhodes was built in the 50th week of 1977 as seen here;



all wood keys with white plastic glued onto the tops and fronts only.
it has felt on the hammers, which are all plastic.
there is no bump on the pedestals.
the rail has a "Rhodes" logo, but the Volume & Bass Boost knobs have a Fender "F" logo.
it also has only one early style latch on each side, like this;



of course, it may have been modified or had parts cannabalised from other pianos over the years.

it still needs some work, but the action is smooth, the keys are level, and the voicing is pretty close to what I like, although a little more "bark" would be ideal.
all in all a pretty good piano, if you don't count the missing legs and pedal, especially for the price.

[spradders]

I've uploaded the pics from my recently started restoration, here:
http://spradbery.com/blog/

1976 Stage 73, Mark 1.  Needed a new lid and a complete strip-down / rebuild including new tolex.  It's ongoing....!

[spradders]

OK... it's just about finished!! New pics here:
http://spradbery.com/blog/?page_id=104

Restoration pics here:
http://spradbery.com/blog

Taster for you:


Go on... tell me you like it 

[The Real MC]

Man that's a lot of elbow grease.  Looks great!

[David Aubke]

Congratulations spradders. I'm a traditionalist and insist on original-looking Tolex all around but that red interior definitely has a classy look to it.

[spradders]

Thanks Shadetree keys - I am mostly a traditionalist but I was also a bit tight on cash when I bought the tolex! I think the red looks great although no-one ever sees it anyway.  The purple harp cover was a tougher decision, but I had to do something to the original cover because it was in bad shape; I never would have got the original texture back so decided to do something a little different :-)

Thanks for the advice along the way, not sure if you noticed my new fibre-board harp support rests, 3.4 (ish) mm just as you told me!

[David Aubke]

I just finished up a 1973 Seventy Three.

http://www.shadetreekeys.com/1973-seventy-three-mk-i-32766/

[Tim Hodges]

I just finished up a 1973 Seventy Three.

http://www.shadetreekeys.com/1973-seventy-three-mk-i-32766/

Superb job, your woodworking repairs are top notch. Out of curiosity what method did you use to clean up the pickups? It looks like you've been using erasers!

[David Aubke]

Out of curiosity what method did you use to clean up the pickups? It looks like you've been using erasers!

We sell those at my day job as "Fret Erasers".
https://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Polishing_and_abrasives/Fret_Erasers.html


I just use them on the pickup tabs. For the magnet slug tips, I use Simichrome with a felt wheel on a Dremel.

[Tim Hodges]

We sell those at my day job as "Fret Erasers".
https://www.stewmac.com/shop/Fretting_supplies/Polishing_and_abrasives/Fret_Erasers.html

Excellent, I've tried using metal polish to no avail so I'll definitely give these a go.

Thanks!

[Dote]

OK... it's just about finished!! New pics here:
http://spradbery.com/blog/?page_id=104

Restoration pics here:
http://spradbery.com/blog

Taster for you:


Go on... tell me you like it 

Great job! It looks fantastic!

So you simply used steel wool on the tonebars to get them shiny again? Or did you have them replated. I guess the bare metal would start to rust rather soon.

Did you sand down the lid so that the texture was gone before spraying or did you just rough up the surface and then spray?

Dote

[spradders]

Hi - thanks.  I polished the tone bars on a polishing wheel (a buffing thing).  I guess the bars may rust although hopefully it won't get wet again!  I sanded the cover before painting it to remove all the bad scratches and the texture; I wish I'd done a bit more sanding because it's still quite textured in places where the cover is dimpled.

[David Aubke]

If you don't want to re-plate the tone bars, I've seen it suggested (and tried it myself on the leg brace plate) to spray a couple of coats of clear lacquer over the bare metal. I'm afraid even atmospheric humidity may be enough to cause premature corrosion on untreated metal.

[AFeastOfFriends]

I would definitely put something on the tonebars. Humidity varies with location, but when I was sanding my harm frame to paint, I had to wait 4-5 days before I could finish. In that time a thin coat of corrosion had already started building up, and i had to sand it all over again.

[Black Pearl]

OK... it's just about finished!! New pics here:
http://spradbery.com/blog/?page_id=104

Restoration pics here:
http://spradbery.com/blog

Taster for you:


Go on... tell me you like it 

Great job on the resto. certain to look amazing both on stage or in the studio...

[Julian]

Hi Everybody,

I've just registered with this great site, I'm from North Devon, UK. I've recently adopted a very well used Mk 1 88 Stage piano. Whilst it plays OK (ish) It's had a hard life & appears (to my uneducated eye) to have been repaired/fixed many times. I'd really like to give it a full resto but not sure if I have the skills or time. I'd be really grateful for any feedback or opinions!

If I may I'd like to ask some specific questions about this piano, should I start a seperate thread?

Thank you all in advance.

Kind Regards

Julian

[tompisa]

Just got my 1978 Mk1 from Ebay in Germany , combined with 2 Janus1 cabinets.  Its first Hand and not played since 25 years.

Will have to do some finetuning (some Keys and tines) but overall I am very happy with the sound  it produces right out of the box.

The combined Janus Twins are very powerfull but subtle enough combined with the built in stereo- vibrato . For me its just a majestic instrument. 

[Julian T]

First post and an introduction! I've just acquired my 3rd Rhodes. The last two were both mk1 suitcases from 76. I've been rhodes-less for the last 15 years, and I was looking around for one. Couldn't afford a full refurb, and living in Spain, I was going to have buy sight unseen so wanted some one with a good rep who  would sell me a piano repaired but not refurbed. I cam across http://www.klassickeysgb.com/ in the UK who had a 5th week of 78 suitcase. I agreed a (for me!) really good price with a list of what Doug would do - in the end did a whole lot more than he said he would and i got a really good piano - odd bits need doing but it plays like a dream. Got it voiced nice and bright with a hint of bark when I dig in -

I'll be asking some questions later about some bits and pieces I want to do... oh and Doug will be/is importing vintage pianos into the UK I think - not related in anyway just  a very happy punter

[The_Cause]

This is my '77 Stage Rhodes with the legs and pedal - no braces. I picked it up for a grand and got a Wurlitzer 200 for free. Sold the beat up 200 for a grand!

I just need to find braces for it - this is my 4th Rhodes, the best was a '75 Super Satellite 88, but alas the action was pretty heavy.

The feel of the '77 is great, I did add for $10 my own version of the miracle mod using Plastruct. Works great!

[okdk]

Here's my Stage 73 from what I believe is 1974, there is no date stamp.  It was really beat up looking, tolex all ripped up, some wood missing from an edge of the case, and all the corners were barely connected.  However the inside was pretty decent, everything worked, just some stuck keys and minor stuff.  I leveled the keys, turned some of the square hammer tips around, changed some felts, added miracle mod, tuned it, new hardware, and of course fixed the case and picked out this sparkle blue tolex.  I almost went for the sparkle red, but changed my mind last minute.  The tolex came out pretty nice

[Tim Hodges]

Here's my Stage 73 from what I believe is 1974, there is no date stamp. 

Agreed on 1974, those Fender knobs I've only seen on that year.

[The Real MC]

Here's my Stage 73 from what I believe is 1974, there is no date stamp. 

Agreed on 1974, those Fender knobs I've only seen on that year.

I only saw knobs like those on one other piano and it was a silvertop.  Those knobs were used on the infamous solid state guitar amps of the late 60s.