mk. II harp cover for mk. I 88?

[wanderingjew]

I find myself running out of space in my studio. To that end, I'd like to put my Wurlitzer 200~ e.p. on top of my rhodes.  :twisted:

I'm afraid to do this with my mark 1 harp cover, so does anyone know of a source of a 88 key mark 2 harp cover?

[funk5]

Most likely ebay, or maybe some of the parts suppliers/restorers will have them (more expensive).

As a related question will either a 73/88 mark ll flat cover fit on the mark 1 round cover?  Any differences in the mark 1 harp cover through the years, how about the name rail?

[Rob A]

There was also a flat top made for Mark I pianos, I have one.



A Mark II top has more of a cutout along the front. It sits in a lip on the back side of the namerail, unlike a Mark I.

I don't think there were differences of note in the rounded tops, but the namerail went from having a wooden insert (got one of those too) to just being a pure aluminum extrusion somewhere a long the way--no change with how the top would fit though.

[james]

Hey Rob, can you send me pics of that flat top harp cover when it's out of the piano?  I've been trying to track some down for the site, but you don't see these transitional deals show up that often!

[Rune W]

Isn't the Wurli 200 too heavy for the harp cover? I think the best way is to make a Dyno-modification (flat top conversion) to the top lid.

http://www.fenderrhodes.com/history/dyno.php

[Rob A]

Hey Rob, can you send me pics of that flat top harp cover when it's out of the piano?

Will do.

[Ben Bove]

It's unfortunately not a very nice/clear picture, but here was one I had for a while before I sold it.  It was a '78 meaning that it was a factory retrofitted top, according to the Rhodes ad also at the bottom.










Rhodes ad talking about buying a Mark II top for your Mark I:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1979-Rhodes-Mark-II-Stage-Suitcase-Models-Keyboard-Ad_W0QQitemZ270317475139QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

[BJT3]

Speakeasy's got one.....

http://www.shopspeakeasy.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=15496e451c2cb98/shopdata/0070_Fender+Rhodes=99+Parts/product_details.shopscript?article=0145_Flat-Top%2Bfor%2BRhodes%3D26trade%3D3B%2BPianos%2B%3D28SE-RFT%3D29

[Ben Bove]

Yes these will probably work relatively fine for a medium-weight keyboard, but the problem is there is no center support like on the factory retrofits.  In the pics above, you see around the center and right side there's added support when the top is installed contacting the back of the rail.  This stops the bowing in the middle.

[BJT3]

So your saying the Speakeasy replacements don't have the same support in the center as the factory spec'd MarkII lids for the 88?

[Ben Bove]

Can't say for sure on speakeasy's as I haven't seen it, but the center support would help.  As you can see from the factory retrofits that the top went all the way down to the namerail in the center.

I've slapped a factory Mark II lid on a Mark 1, and they bow slightly in the middle and also show a gap in the namerail - Mark II namerail has an extra lip so it's a bit taller.  Can't say for sure if it's the same problem on these remakes, but I guess if you had a keyboard that was long enough to be over the entire flat top, the 4 corners would hold it up better than a round lid.

[james]

Speakeasy did a mod of the Mark II mold so that the front lip actually does reach the top of the Mark I namerail, but it doesn't go any farther than that.  Their cover also has a support screwed onto the rear that keeps the cover from sliding back and forth, since the Mark II's is at least 1/2" less deep compared to the Mark I round top.  I've been using it without any problems, but I wouldn't trust it to hold hundreds of pounds of gear, even though they claim it is constructed with stronger plastic.  There's still no support in the middle.

BTW, the '79 Rhodes ad for the Mark II flat top has a Clav in the pile but not a Wurli.  And the Clav is covered up by the other keyboards so you couldn't play it anyway!  But I'm willing to bet that if you were able to put a heavy keyboard on top with the weight distributed evenly across the entire harp cover, it would hold up.  Maybe somebody with a Mark II and a Wurli 200 would like to experiment?

[sean]

I would bet ten bucks that it wouldn't last six months.

The ABS plastic flat-top might be able to hold the weight of a 56-lb Wurlie 200 in a steady-state well-controlled situation just fine.
(and if you buy one from SpeakeasyVM, you would ask them specifically if their top is designed to support a Wurlie.)

H O W E V E R ...  
(cue ominous tuba and timpani "duh duh duuhhhh" sounds)...

Even in a studio, I expect there will be an occasion when somebody gets the "great idea" to move the keyboards for better ergonomics, or they get too energetic during their favorite wurlie lick ("Jerimiah was a bullfrog, C, C#, CRACK!" DOH!), or they tilt up the Wurlie to see where the pedal connection would go if it wasn't blocked by the Rhodes, ....

I just think it would be all to easy to turn out ugly.

I would never think anyone would expect to put their Wurlie on top of their Rhodes in a gigging situation, because you can't guarantee roadies (or your buddies and bandmates) will actually understand the delicacy of the situation.  They are used to stacking wooden boxes on top of wooden boxes, amps on amps, etc.  They are not normally asked to stack heavy stuff on light delicate stuff.  There will come a time when the Rhodes top doesn't survive the gig.


It will cost you less to make a DMP-like shelf-supported-by-triangular-blocks (even if you make it pro-studio-pretty) than the cost of an ABS flat-top.  If you don't have a woodshop or tools, your drummer's friend knows a guy who might do it for fourty bucks and a sixpack.

But, after all my rambling, you know what I can't stop scratchin' my head about?  I can't imagine being willing to play my wurlie without the sustain pedal.  

Sean

[Ben Bove]

I would agree.  And actually George Duke does as well, he had a metal top formed for his suitcase 88 instead of plastic.  

You might be able to get away with stacking the wurly ontop with pedal, if you custom-built 2 longer rear adjustable legs and got an extra long sustain pedal cable, so you could let it partially hang off the back?