So, what is this Rhodes?

[Alan Lenhoff]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FENDER-RHODES-SPARKLE-TOP-STAGE-73-1965-/231084507390?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

A "Jetson's"-style student Rhodes, chopped and sprayed with sparkle paint?

Alan

[Ben Bove]

It's actually one of the earliest student pianos, they were sparkle gold.

[Alan Lenhoff]

How cool!  Looks a lot better than the avocado green ones that followed. Thanks for the info...

Alan

[Student Rhodes]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FENDER-RHODES-SPARKLE-TOP-STAGE-73-1965-/231084507390?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276

A "Jetson's"-style student Rhodes, chopped and sprayed with sparkle paint?

Alan

I saw that auction.  The thing is missing the pre-amp, and the legs which housed the sustain/damper mechanism.  It's also be drilled here and there.  I noticed that it appears to have had the controls on the right side of the piano.  I think I've only seen them on the left side.
Ray

[kphlx2000]

The model that sold on eBay was the first gold sparkle student piano models with dual pedestal, sustain pedal/rod and preamp controls on the right side of the piano (all missing). The previous owner of the piano added quarter inch outputs on the side of the harp top to hear the piano. These are rare and hard to come by.

Kenneth

[Student Rhodes]

I'll tell you what it is... Mine!
Just working out the shipping, then it goes into the line of my Rhodes projects.
Obviously it's missing pieces, which means I'll have to scour the earth, or make it another custom piece.
Ray

[voltergeist]

Sweet!  Congrats, Ray!  I love the aesthetics of that model.

[Student Rhodes]

I've seen one up close, and they're very cool.  In a sense, less stylistic flair than the later Student Models but quite unique.

My tech has one in his shop right now, so I'm gonna get out the camera and tape measure to get a diagram of what the base should be like.  He's holding a single pedestal model, and the one I've bought originally had the twin legs, so I'll have to extrapolate a bit.

Thinking I'm going to have someone fab something at a metal shop, rather than do a wood or fiberglass thing, but I'll have to get a good look at the original before I decide what's gonna go into it.

Ray

[kphlx2000]

Can't wait to see the finished product. Congrats on the find. I've been trying to find that particular model for years. But every time I find one, I never have the doe. By the way, is the guy with the single pedestal model at his shop selling it? Please let me know. Also, does it have the original preamp installed? Let me know.

Kenneth

[Student Rhodes]

The ebay listing is probably gone, but what I purchased was essentially the top half of the first photo.

Though I'm not going to be finishing it for quite a while, I was lucky enough to come across an actual base for this model piano (65-66 Gold Sparkle Student Model) and brought it to a metal shop to replicate the design.  He took a bunch of photos then I returned the stand to the owner.  So, working off his photos and measurements he's completing the stand in the next two shots.

I should be able to pick it up the finished fabrication at the end of this week.  I'll need to take bring him the piano top to ensure we have the legs properly aligned before final assembly.

Going to have the poles chromed, and the base painted to match the Gold Sparkle of the piano.  Most likely will have the top re-sprayed as well.  Not sure we'll be able to get such small flakes as was used on the original, but the final product should look great. 

Then to deal with the grooved tear drop hammers... Any suggestions?

Ray

[voltergeist]

That looks like it's going to be kick-ass, Ray. 

Vintage Vibe is selling brand-new full sets of sparkletop felt hammers (for a princely sum, of course).

Otherwise, if they're not grooved too badly, you can sand them out as described in the service manual.  I sanded out the hammers on my sparkletop last week.  Wasn't too difficult.

[Student Rhodes]

Okay, just got some parts for the Gold Sparkle Student Model back from chrome plating.  Sorry about the poor quality, as I took these on my crappy phone. 

Had to have the guy who made the base fabricate a sustain pedal as well. It's polished aluminum.
Originally this piano had a rather crude and ugly wedge-shaped damper pedal, which I thought could be improved by emulating the pedal from a Stage model.  I'm now having second thoughts about whether curves work with such an angular base, but what's done is done.

You can also see the slender chrome rod that connects to the pedal for the dampers.

Now these parts join the piano in the 'ol storage space because it's going to be a while before I get the thing painted.  In the last photo you can see the metal plate that covers the hole from the old preamp.  I'm going to have that filled with new fiberglass, then move a Peterson preamp to the left side.

Thinking I may forego having a control plate and just go with knobs, as found on a Wurli.

It's going to be a while like I said though, so my mind may change.

Ray

[Ben Bove]

Now there is some legitness.  haha very cool it looks great.

If you do decide on a faceplate, I've had great success with Front Panel Express though it's been a year or two now. 

[Student Rhodes]

Hey Ben,
I'll check them out.  Though I'm not even sure if I want to keep the music rack on there. 
If I could find a vintage Sparkle Top logo (large and/or small), I may just go with that.

I'm going to have the gold paint be a little brighter than what's on there.  It's actually on the brownish side of the gold spectrum.  Probably a result of the green base paint.  With all the new chrome popping, it seems a shame to put such a dull gold on it. 
Ray

[voltergeist]

Looks great, Ray! 

[voltergeist]

Hey Ben,
I'll check them out.  Though I'm not even sure if I want to keep the music rack on there. 
If I could find a vintage Sparkle Top logo (large and/or small), I may just go with that.

The front lip of the piano is the same wood as the music rack, correct?  I think you'd lose something aesthetically if you removed the music rack wood from the cover, since the two pieces kind of tie together.  My student model doesn't look right without the wood strip on the harp cover- it needs that wood accent.  I don't have the plexi for it, but plan to keep the wood regardless.

Is the base chromed, or are you painting the base?  (Hard to tell if it's chromed or bare metal in the photo.)

It's going to be a great-looking piano, at any rate.  Compliments to your fabricator, too.

[Student Rhodes]

Voltergeist,

The base is bare metal.  It's going to get paint to match the top, as done in the '60s.

You're probably right about the wood rack.  A fresh coat of light tung oil to make the lower wood frame pop might make me keep the rack.  I'll certainly get a look at it without the rack, and have the option to put it on after.  I normally like to keep stuff as original as possible, but going through all the trouble to make the base kind of gives me a little license.

I'm even considering putting a mid '70s action and perhaps harp in it, as I have extras.   I played an original with Raymacs and was really disappointed in the tone.  I'm not against Raymacs.  I've heard some sound great.  It's just the Gold Sparkle one I played wasn't happenin'.

Ray

[voltergeist]

I'm even considering putting a mid '70s action and perhaps harp in it, as I have extras.   I played an original with Raymacs and was really disappointed in the tone.  I'm not against Raymacs.  I've heard some sound great.  It's just the Gold Sparkle one I played wasn't happenin'.

The gold sparkle is basically a sparkletop action and harp, no?  I would strongly advise against changing out the harp and action.  The tone is more dependent on the setup than the tines, so a bad sounding gold sparkle is probably due more to the piano being set up poorly and/or worn out and in need of TLC.  Putting 70's action and/or harp in it would remove a lot of the character and value of that very rare instrument.  The action in the sparkletop is pretty good, too, imo (at least the one I've got)- even without the bump clips.  VV sells full sets of sparkletop wood/felt hammers, too, if yours are beyond salvation.  I think if you put your effort into restoring the original harp and action you'll be glad you did.  Otherwise, it would just be another Mk1 in a fancy package.

[Student Rhodes]

Yes, I'd like to keep it original, but a MK I in a cool package isn't a bad second option.
I'd be thrilled if I could get this thing to sound as good as your Sparkle Top.

In other news.
Took the top and base to the auto paint guy who did the Sparkle Top 88 harp cover you see in my avatar. 
The top has holes that need to be filled, including the pre-amp access hole, and it has stress cracks that are going to need to be sanded down and re-glassed before the painting can begin.   It's going to need a lot of clear coats to have a smooth finish over all the metal flakes.  Bottom line, a thousand bucks.  Yikes! 

Already spent:
$600 for the piano
$150(IIRC) to ship it from Florida
$450 to make the base, legs, aluminum pedal, sustain rod
$200 to chrome/polish the above parts
$100 for Peterson pre-amp to be installed and most likely get a rebuild

And it's still going to have to be gone through:
Needs the hammers salvaged if possible, or replaced with new/reconditioned tear drops, or later neoprene tip hammers

Install Peterson pre-amp, which will mounted on the left side.  This will be tricky as I'm thinking it's going to have no face plate (Wurli style) and there's not a lot of room for the top to pivot while putting on or taking off.   I think I'm goint to have the DIN jack remounted out of sight, under the piano.

Then it needs all the standard stuff any neglected Rhodes needs -- clean, set strike line, escapement, replace worn felts, service dampers, lubricate, voice, tune as well as replace a few burnt key caps.

All that's probably easily another grand.

I think that'll come to about $3400?

This was a huge mistake.  I think my wife would be less pissed if I had an affair.

[voltergeist]

For projects like that you've got to assume a 'whatever it takes' kind of attitude, or not even start.  I've got about $2500 into that sparkletop, and the only labor I paid was for replating.  So I'd say you're in the ballpark of what one should expect for restoration of that piano.

I think there's a good chance you could get your money back selling it when it's done (if you were to sell it), and quite possibly more.  That's an extremely rare piano, and it will be really nice when it's done.  If turns out that it sounds and plays as good as it looks, it would be in the exclusive company of very rare pianos in excellent condition.  I don't think the value will hold with a Mk1 harp or hammers, though.  I would guess its value would be cut the value in half if it didn't have square tonebars and teardrop hammers. 

The only way your project would be a waste is if it wasn't finished, or if the square-bar harp and teardrop hammers were removed. 

If there is a special place in hell for people who part out rare and viable pianos, then there's a special place in Rhodes heaven for the people who restore them.   And there are much less worthy ways to part with $3400 than restoring a rare and beautiful electric piano.  That piano will probably be making music long after we're both gone thanks to your efforts.

If the outflow of cash is getting to be too much, I'd recommend working on the harp and action.  That work is more about labor than parts, so you can be moving the project forward without hemorrhaging cash (if you do the work yourself, that is). 

I don't think I've ever done a project that cost less and took less time than I would have thought before I started. 

So chin up, and keep up the good work! 

[Student Rhodes]

Okay... The glacial progress on my (1966?) Gold Sparkle student piano continues.

Attached is a pic of the piano base and the new air shock seat with matching base that I had fabbed at a local metal shop.  The pic is pretty grainy, as I have a cell phone that's almost as old as the piano.

I decided to make the base for the seat match that of the piano, which has delayed the fiberglass shell and steel piano base going to paint, so they could all be done at once.  Also needed to work out the damper pedal mounting mechanism to avoid damaging the paint later.

Not sure if I've posted this tidbit before, but I've decided to put a '74 piano under this shell.  This required some chopping of the harp frame and key bed to fit it under the shell, which is slightly smaller than a Silver Sparkle Top version.

I debated keeping the piano original for a while, but I decided since my White Suitcase model has Raymacs and felt hammers, I already have that sound in the bag.

http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=8772.msg47101#msg47101

I'm keeping the original piano action etc. for parts and/or future project.

I figured this gold piano with Torringtons and flat top keys would be nice.

I'm actually hoping to come upon a '72 harp somewhere, but if I don't I can be fine with the '74.  I've got a line on a '72 pickup rail, but I'd love to have some of the earlier Torringtons like I have on my 88 Stage. 

I'm going to have to wait a month or two before paint, as money is pretty tight right now.

Still haven't decided what I'm going to run the Peterson pre-amp through.  Do I make Gold Sparkle satellite speakers?  Or would that be too much gold? 

Is there such a thing as too much gold sparkle?

Ray