Post your Rhodes pics and its story

Started by Ben Bove, January 18, 2006, 03:29:12 PM

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ADVENTmrp

OK, here are my pics. It's a Mark I Stage 73 Fender Rhodes. The week/year is very hard to see, but it's either 3874 or 3974...I can't really tell the first two numbers. Bought it from a friend of mine who has toured with Meat Loaf and Yes.

It needed a little TLC as you can see in the "before" pics, and since I'm a complete Rhodes newbie, I sent it over to Vintage Vibe for the attention it needed. They did a terrific job, and were very kind and very helpful. I had it re-tolexed (I don't have a case lid, so there wasn't much to do). Also, new felt, new hammer tips, the Miracle Mod and a backcheck were installed. They also replaced three tines and fixed the two keytops, set the escapement, new grommets & screws, tuned it, cleaned it up, etc. Oh, and they epoxy'd the scratches in the harp cover, then primed it and gave it about 3 coats.

As it didn't come w/ the legs or braces, I had to get them off of ebay .

It looks, plays and sounds great now. I absolutely love it. Played it well into the wee hours last night.

I tell ya, the Rhodes is certainly not a cheap date, but she really puts out...  ;-)

Before shots:
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/OldRhodes1.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/OldRhodes6.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/OldRhodes5.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/OldRhodes4.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/OldRhodes3.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/OldRhodes2.jpg

After shots:
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes1.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes2.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes3.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes6.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes11.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes12.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes7.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes8.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r73/adventmrp/NewRhodes9.jpg

Sorry I don't have shots of the harp before it was serviced...I didn't know enough to think of taking shots of it back then. Anyway, enjoy!

- Mark

Ben Bove

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Peacefrog35

I will keep an yeye out for a cabinet.  I saw one on ebay last week,but wasn't sure if it was the right one and the seller didn't know.  I started to ask here,but you know how that is when you post an auction...people swarm all over it. lol
I do love the original look of legs.  If I could find a table stand that was chrome, I'd be happy until I get the bottom cabinet later.  As it is...I'm almost glad I didn't have to worry about moving a speaker cab.  The piano itself was heavy enough as it is.
current gear:
1965 Fender Rhodes Gold Sparkle Piano Bass
1965 Fender Rhodes Gold Sparkle Piano Bass
1962 Fender Rhodes white top piano bass
1966 Fender Rhodessilver sparkle piano bass
1968 Gibson G101 organ
1966 Vox 301H wood key conitnental
1968 Vox 301E Continental
1967 RMI 300A Electra-piano and Harpsichord

Fred

Do not install leg flanges! The plywood bottom of any suitcase Rhodes is too thin... The top of the flange will interfere with the keybed frame!
Head Designer of the Vintage Vibe Tine Piano
Collector
Electric Piano Technician in New Haven, Ct.
(203) 824-1528

Peacefrog35

Thanks for the info Fred.  Are there any table stands that are aluminum or chrome that have a similar look as the legs?  I've only seen black talbe stands.

Maybe this isn't the thread for all of my questions.  Sorry guys!


Edit: I jsut purchaesd a nice table stand.. doesn't look like the original,but has the original feel with the chrome extensions coming out.  It will work jsut fine and give plenty of support...and cheap to boot. Problem solved.

I just dropped the piano off this morning for full service...I can't wait to get her back.
current gear:
1965 Fender Rhodes Gold Sparkle Piano Bass
1965 Fender Rhodes Gold Sparkle Piano Bass
1962 Fender Rhodes white top piano bass
1966 Fender Rhodessilver sparkle piano bass
1968 Gibson G101 organ
1966 Vox 301H wood key conitnental
1968 Vox 301E Continental
1967 RMI 300A Electra-piano and Harpsichord

kiwizz

Quote from: "ADVENTmrp"Hey kiwizz -

Nice pics....looks great. Did they have to prime the top first before they painted it?
Just curious...

- Mark

Hi Mark,
Thanks. Yeah. The guy at the shop said he needed specific prime from Toyota for this color.

How're the Miracle Mod and backchecks working? I'm interested in getting them done too but not sure if they would make much difference...
1977 Stage 73
Mk 2 Stage
Korg BX3
Wurlitzer 200A
Moog LP Stage
DX5

ADVENTmrp

kiwizz wrote
QuoteHow're the Miracle Mod and backchecks working? I'm interested in getting them done too but not sure if they would make much difference...

They both have done a lot of good in the case of this piano - the back checks especially. I think some keys still need a bit of tweaking here & there, but that's easy to do at home now. I would definitely recommend both procedures if you have the opportunity. The MM really lightened up the action quite a bit and is quite a common modification on Mark I 's from what I understand.

I do have a tine or two at the low end that whenever I hold down the key for a few seconds it vibrates so widely that it hits the tines on either side of it and causes a brief springy metallic-like sound. Anybody know how I can remedy this easily? Or should I take it back to Vintage Vibe?

Thanks,
- M

Ben Bove

It's very difficult to get a perfectly working lower register like that.

Fact being, the tines are so long that they often don't vibrate in a perfect up-down range.  They're often swinging to the side, colliding with tines, pickups, tonebars, sustain rail... etc.

You could take it back to V V but they would probably have the same trouble as it's the parts.

You can usually rectify by spreading pickups out more, getting tonebars out of the way, and check if it's the sustain bar - hit notes with the pedal down.

The way to fix a wavy tine is either to replace it, perhaps if it appears bent you can rotate the spring around, or to tilt a hammer tip or the whole tonebar mechanism.  Usually the wavyness comes from the sweet spot of the tine being at a certain angle.  You can see this by plucking a tine with your fingers at different angles.
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ADVENTmrp

Thanks for the heads up, bjammerz. Appreciate the time you took to answer the question.

It's a pretty obnoxious sound when holding down keys 5 or 6, so I'll see what can be done by tinkering. If it's too big a problem, I'll talk to Chris @ VV about it. I was thinking of having the Quadrapuss installed at some point anyway, so maybe I'll just have him look at it while it's there.

Thanks again!

Best,
Mark

kineticturtle

I recently sold my beautiful MkII with the painted green top and bought a wurly, which I have been adoring.

Then, the night before last, lo and behold, a cryptic craigslist ad, something to the effect of "Rhodes with amp: This rhodes is not currently working but could be beautiful if brought back to life by the right person. $100"

I guess I was the quickest on my feet, so here it is. I've got it in pieces all over the place, of course.

So far it looks to be a '71 suitcase with a long history of failed modifications, as you can see in these photos. It looks like at some point someone took out the original 4-pin interface and tried to install 6-pin XLR in it's place. Independently, someone tried to turn the keyboard section into a stage rhodes... there are these strange holes cut in the bottom of the instrument with sunk nuts installed... It was also autographed by he whom I assume to be the defacer...

The good news is, the harp looks relatively untouched. One tine (the lowest) is missing, but the wiring looks untouched. All the keys look great, and I THINK the action is in quite good shape. We'll see!

Anyway, this should keep me distracted for awhile. :)




Spookyman

A picture from my fully restored Stage Piano 73. And some other stuff that sounds also good with a Rhodes Piano.

Under the Nord Stage and Juno 60, you can see the pedals that are used with my piano : booster/overdrive, compressor, 10 band EQ, phaser, and stereo tremolo.

Fender Rhodes Stage 1971
Fender Rhodes Suitcase 1973

goodhonk

i received two suitcase models in a trade recently.  i was told one is a '69 and the other a '75ish.  they both play well, but need some attention.  i was hoping to sell the mid 70's rhodes and fix up the earlier model.










Ben Bove

Yes the one without the accessory jack - it's around 69 or 70 because it has a red felt lining on the lid (though always missing)

I don't believe they stamped the front of the harps with a date like your '75, however two ways to figure out - unscrew the wood harp and flip it over, probably a stamp date on the underside.  If not, worst case you can unscrew the front rail and lift out the lowest one or two keys.  The key manufacturer usually stamps the keybed completion, so if it says "may 1969" then figure a few months later than that for sale of keybed to Rhodes and installation at factory.

The 69/70, does it have full teardrop shaped hammer heads, or white cube felts?  (the part that strikes the tine, not moves away from it)

Awesome!
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goodhonk

the hammer tips look like they have been replaced with rubber square tips.  here's some pics of the inside.






ADVENTmrp

Hey Spookyman -

That's a great pic and some very cool stuff (w/ a Leslie yet!), but that must be a wiring nightmare when gigging out. I've only got two keys and a few pedals and still barely have enough time to set up shop before the performance. (Then again, we seem to be playing more festivals, where one has to share the stage w/ many other bands. Maybe we're going about it all wrong, but prog-related venues aren't that easy to come by.      :wink:  )

Anyway, great shot and nice toys!

- Mark

Spookyman

Thanks ADVENTmrp !

It's not a nightmare...I like to do it ! But i need 20 - 30 minutes to install everything correctly. The pedal board helps a lot, all the pedals are allready cabled, so it's going quite fast to connect the stage piano (mono jack) to the pedal board, and then stereo output from the Tremolo to the mixing desk.

Last year, we had about 20 gigs. This year a little bit less. But we are playing funk, with brass section, 2 singers, percussion, drums, bass, guitars, etc...and of course some vintage keys.
Fender Rhodes Stage 1971
Fender Rhodes Suitcase 1973

darryl77

This is my Mark V (pd $2300 CAD).  The story goes like this....  Like everyone, I've always dreamed of playing a MKV.  I've had a MKI stage 73 since 1996 and have been in love with the Rhodes sound since. I've been buying Rhodes' here and there, fixing them up and finding them good nurturing homes.  

I have had no history with the MKV.  I have never played one, or even seen one in real life before this one.  I've only seen some blurry pictures on the internet of the MKV running into the woods or heard accounts of people being abducted by a MK V, but until recently was convinced that this keyboard was just a myth.  

I've been checking ebay and kijiji for the last 10 years looking for a MKV and have always been discouraged at the fetching prices of these rare beauties.  I had pretty much given up on trying one, let alone owning one until last week when my boss, Alex phoned me up and told me of a MK V at a music pawn shop in Toronto.  From the picture on the website, it was missing the stand, pedal and pushrod, but the condition of the actual Rhodes was excellent.  The next day, Alex (who has a mint 73 Stage MKII)  had told me to take the afternoon off to get the Rhodes.  So I called the pawn shop and told them I'd be down to try it out and if everything checked out, I would purchase it.  

The drive to Toronto was two hours away, and the pawn shop closed at 7PM. I decided to leave at 3:30 PM which would get me there at 5:30 - plenty of time to give the Rhodes a good test drive and make sure it was what I wanted.  But who was I kidding?  My mind was made up before I even left!  Anyways, as always, I got slammed with a ton of traffic, and I missed a few exits because of construction, and ended up in the 'hood.  I dodged some gunfire, smacked some hoes, and by the time I found my way out, it was 6:50 PM and I was kind of freaking out.  I didn't know if the guy at the store didn't think I was coming and that he would just sell it to the next guy in line.  I couldn't believe that 10 years of searching for bigfoot  would boil down to a traffic jam.

Just when I thought I wouldn't make it, the traffic parted like the Red Sea and I flew into downtown and arrived at the pawn shop at 6:55.  I said hello, and ran to the back of the shop and did a quick chromatic scale up the keyboard.  It sounded amazing. The action was absolutely incredible.

I signed the bill and they packed it up and closed the shop.  I did not get a chance to talk to them and find out where this came from, who owned it, or any history at all.  Thats my story.

http://www.thelotustheory.com/rhodes/IMG_2649.JPG">
http://www.thelotustheory.com/rhodes/IMG_2653.JPG">
http://www.thelotustheory.com/rhodes/IMG_2654.JPG">
'84  MK V - Stage 73
'77  MK I - Stage 73 (X2)
Yamaha CP-70B
Bunch of analogs
http://www.ktotheb.com/blog">Words Of Wisdom

Tehu

Wow!
Amazing setup!

My ''lil'' mark 1 =P
(And a cousin, a Pianet T)





A ''mod'' Fender Rhodes logo, i put my name on it, just for fun
(made with Soldworks 2009)
Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 88 1977, Wurlitzer 200a, Columbia Elepian 713, Yamaha CP60M, Hohner Clavinet D6, Baldwin CW-8-S, Roland VK9, Roland RS101, Roland SH1000, Teisco S100P, Yamaha SK15, Siel Orchestra 1, Sequential Six Ttak, Sequential Prophet 2002, Behringer VC340, Behringer MS101, MPC2000XL, Roland SBF325, Roland RE-201, Roland MPA100, Leslie 710

Ben Bove

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ADVENTmrp

Ok, so now I'm bitten AND infected.

After picking up my first Rhodes (see specs below in my sig), I thought about getting a Mk II, but was just in daydreaming stage until a friend of mine made me aware of a friend of his that was looking to unload his Rhodes.

As I'm still relatively a newbie, I'd like a little help from one of you pros. I'm not really sure what version this one is...I'm a bit confused. All I have at the moment is my memory to go on, since I only had a brief look at it this past weekend and unfortunately didn't have access to a camera.

I believe the week/year was 2579. The rail was silver w/ just the Volume and Bass Boost knobs on it. It only had a mono out and both the rail and the rear of the kybd said "Rhodes," NOT "Fender Rhodes." It was a stage 73 with the hood of a Mark II (flat top), which is why I'm a little confused. Is this a Mark I or a Mark II? Can anyone be of help?

Apparently this Rhodes has been pretty busy...it has gigged with Jaco Pastorius, The Bee Gees, Chuck Mangione, as well as having been used on a broadway show, I think. The flight case has some stickers on it, telling some of its story. I'll see what other info I can get and post pics when I get it home - assuming I pick it up this week.

Aw, who am I kidding...we all know I'll be picking this baby up. It sounds pretty killer and the harp looked like it has been well-cared for - nice & clean. $400 is a steal (I think) for this one in its present condition.

Would appreciate any assistance identifying the version...I know it might be hard w/o any pics. I'll post them as soon as I can.

Thanks,
Mark    

P.S. - My apologies if this is not the proper thread for this type of request.

Ben Bove

Sounds like a deal!

Well they released the flat top in 1980 on the Mark IIs only.  However, they did offer to factory retrofit your Rhodes with the flat top for a price.  So very likely, someone who just bought their Rhodes in 1979 with round top had it upgraded.  If it has the Seventy Three or Eighty Eight logo on the right side of the harp cover, then it was an upgrade (the Mark IIs had the logo on the rail, not cover.)
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ADVENTmrp

Thanks, bjamm -

I got my hands on it the other night (surprise, surprise! - lol ) and will post some pics and some details very soon. Thanks for your quick reply...
(thumbs up)

All the best,
Mark

martin

Quote from: "Tehu"Wow!
Amazing setup!

My ''lil'' mark 1 =P
(And a cousin, a Pianet T)





A ''mod'' Fender Rhodes logo, i put my name on it, just for fun
(made with Soldworks 2009)

What `re the extra 2 knobs for???
'77 stage rhodes mark 1>'60's selmer pa100sv>Nord Stage 2>Dexibell vivo s1>Roland RD800>auturia drum brute>moog minature>waldorf streichfett>1x12 fane twin cone speaker>smartlight pa>2xhz speakers>selmer pa100>Samson Auro D210 active pa cab>bose s1>stuff and things pa>

Tehu

a Homemade Dyno-ProEQ

I did'nt have concentric knob, so I put it like this!
Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 88 1977, Wurlitzer 200a, Columbia Elepian 713, Yamaha CP60M, Hohner Clavinet D6, Baldwin CW-8-S, Roland VK9, Roland RS101, Roland SH1000, Teisco S100P, Yamaha SK15, Siel Orchestra 1, Sequential Six Ttak, Sequential Prophet 2002, Behringer VC340, Behringer MS101, MPC2000XL, Roland SBF325, Roland RE-201, Roland MPA100, Leslie 710

The_Cause

I got my Mark II Stage off Craigslist, pretty simple. It was clean on the inside, but has rust and corrosion on the times and pickups...I've got about 1/3 of the way through cleaning the tines. It's in tune though, and I'm getting the Vintage Vibe refurb kit. I just can't see spending $4K CAD on a MK7 Stage...I got a Rhodes, Wurlitzer 200, and Hammond XK3 for that price!

S

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz329/The_Cause2010/IMGP4769.jpg
1977 Rhodes Mark 1 Stage Piano

The_Cause

Hahaha...is that the one from Paul's Boutique?


Quote from: "darryl77"This is my Mark V (pd $2300 CAD).  The story goes like this....  Like everyone, I've always dreamed of playing a MKV.  I've had a MKI stage 73 since 1996 and have been in love with the Rhodes sound since. I've been buying Rhodes' here and there, fixing them up and finding them good nurturing homes.  

I have had no history with the MKV.  I have never played one, or even seen one in real life before this one.  I've only seen some blurry pictures on the internet of the MKV running into the woods or heard accounts of people being abducted by a MK V, but until recently was convinced that this keyboard was just a myth.  

I've been checking ebay and kijiji for the last 10 years looking for a MKV and have always been discouraged at the fetching prices of these rare beauties.  I had pretty much given up on trying one, let alone owning one until last week when my boss, Alex phoned me up and told me of a MK V at a music pawn shop in Toronto.  From the picture on the website, it was missing the stand, pedal and pushrod, but the condition of the actual Rhodes was excellent.  The next day, Alex (who has a mint 73 Stage MKII)  had told me to take the afternoon off to get the Rhodes.  So I called the pawn shop and told them I'd be down to try it out and if everything checked out, I would purchase it.  

The drive to Toronto was two hours away, and the pawn shop closed at 7PM. I decided to leave at 3:30 PM which would get me there at 5:30 - plenty of time to give the Rhodes a good test drive and make sure it was what I wanted.  But who was I kidding?  My mind was made up before I even left!  Anyways, as always, I got slammed with a ton of traffic, and I missed a few exits because of construction, and ended up in the 'hood.  I dodged some gunfire, smacked some hoes, and by the time I found my way out, it was 6:50 PM and I was kind of freaking out.  I didn't know if the guy at the store didn't think I was coming and that he would just sell it to the next guy in line.  I couldn't believe that 10 years of searching for bigfoot  would boil down to a traffic jam.

Just when I thought I wouldn't make it, the traffic parted like the Red Sea and I flew into downtown and arrived at the pawn shop at 6:55.  I said hello, and ran to the back of the shop and did a quick chromatic scale up the keyboard.  It sounded amazing. The action was absolutely incredible.

I signed the bill and they packed it up and closed the shop.  I did not get a chance to talk to them and find out where this came from, who owned it, or any history at all.  Thats my story.

http://www.thelotustheory.com/rhodes/IMG_2649.JPG">
http://www.thelotustheory.com/rhodes/IMG_2653.JPG">
http://www.thelotustheory.com/rhodes/IMG_2654.JPG">
1977 Rhodes Mark 1 Stage Piano

Fogflip

Not much of story i wanted a rhodes after dreaming of the amazing sound  they make then about a day later one popped up on craigslist at a great price and wahla. The second rhodes the older one in the pic i scooped up for a deal today i know i dont need two but they are so freaking amazing my voyager has been getting not as much use as it should lately. only time will tell if i will sell one of the suitcases. they both need some tlc on the outside otherwise they work and sound ggggrrrreeeeattt!


BREWGUITAR

http://s824.photobucket.com/albums/zz162/brewguitar/?action=view&current=1.jpg&newest=1  

Long ago, I joined this site.  And was going to post pics of my Rhodes. They shutdown for some reason, and I was unable to post them. I have returned just recently, to find some info. On satellite spkrs. And  
Found that it has grown to have thousands of members. And many postings of their Rhodes and its story. Then it shuts down again!  And again! WTF :?:  DONT LIKE THIS OLD FORUM!!!  (and, thanks for deleating my old post of this...WHATEVER! )   *#@&*! :roll:

I found my (1974 Mark 1 stage piano)  while I was doing some electrical work for some friends. (Back in 1996). I was putting in a new circuit breaker box in their basement, and walked by a storage area and noticed two anvil cases (satellite speakers) and a large tolex covered box (the piano). Being the gear junky that I am, my first thought was "must be musical equipment!"  so I asked them what it was... they said it was their cousins elec. Piano, that he played and toured with some jazz unit. So, I asked if he wanted to sell it, and he said he wasn't playing in that band anymore, and did I want to buy it. So I basically got the thing in exchange for about 8 hrs. of work! Or , $200 bucks!   Turns out to be a 73 key elec. Piano with a set of satellite spkrs. (In anvil cases).  It was in near mint condition! The only thing I had to do was dust it off & tune it up!

Tim Hodges

Great to see you again Brewguitar! :-) I've posted up your super satellite scans in the Fender Rhodes Piano Section.

Cheers

Tim
Bristol Electric Piano
UK

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TaylorandClaire

If anyone can tell me anything about this piano I'd be really interested.
My hubby was given this as a gift from an avid fan of his then band, he plays keys as well as many other instruments.
We've had it hidden away in a massive cupboard in the house. After dragging out two damaged drum kits, four boxes of Hallowe'en decorations, a Christmas tree and the regular bits and pieces we use to gig with we got to this, we've decided to sell it on Ebay (much to my disappointment) as we've no room for it and it should be loved and played.

[/img]




Spookyman



Monday evening, i was recording in a studio in Switzerland for a Nu-Jazz Session. Took my Stage Piano including a Reussenzehn Suitcase Preamp. And also some other "goodies" like a Minimoog, Roland SH-2, Roland HS-60 (e.g a Juno 106 with speakers).

It's always a pleasure to record with a good recording equipment (Semrau Broadcast Desk, with vintage Telefunken, Siemens, Neve, UREI, Tube-Tech and API Preamps and compressors...).

And there is one month, with a little more folks.



My stage piano is waiting for the TRamp from Jens Lüpke (Taste und Technik...). This wonderful suitcase preamp should be ready in fall 2010...
Fender Rhodes Stage 1971
Fender Rhodes Suitcase 1973

timothyjpreut



Story: Buddy of mine gave it to me for $300 plus some piano lessons. He said I could do it more justice than him. He has a Hohnet and a CP-70, so this was excess for him. He text me one day out of the blue: "You want the rhodes? its yours, we can work out everything later..." I responded with "HELL YA!!".

So, it's been in my room for a few days now, looking to get a pedal, top and a strobe tuner to make sure it is in tune properly, sure sounds like it is though. Everything works great. I have always used Rhodes patches(software synth or hardware synth) for my music, now, well I don't anymore :)

Been inspiring me to play a lot more. Feeling so happy :)

solyaris

Hi all

here photo-story (as a blog) of my complex repair:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042940&id=1169037408&l=e46cea71c5

sorry, it's in Italian laguage.

During repair I recorded yesterday this: http://solyaris4.altervista.org/rhodes-1.mp3
in the clip you can listen a sort of static/ground noise  that appear and disappear apparently random:
last night  I probably discovered the reason: there are pick-ups' screws not correctly tighten up ...

giorgio

solyaris

#333










Manzarek

There is my Rhodes MK I Seventhy 1971 plugged in a Sattellite Amp, i only have the slave unit but it give enough gain for my house playing. Sound very awsome, smooth and round.


And the rest of my stuff

Wurlitzer 200


Vox Continental Mk I Wooden Key with a Silver Sparkle Piano Bass


My Gibson G101


My Vox Super Continental


My Korg BX3 with a handmade stand, plugged in a Leslie 825

jimbo

Got this a few years ago. The price was too good to pass up ($75.00). I am not sure but I think it is a mix between a suitcase and a stage.
If anyone can shed some light on this I would appreciate it.






solyaris

improvising...
just a sound check of restored rhodes;
two tracks overdub,
passing rhodes through a Digitech TSR24 delay patch programmed by myself.

http://solyaris4.altervista.org/dumpeddelay.mp3

Quote from: solyaris on November 22, 2010, 08:49:40 AM


sledge-mk1

New guy here, just got my first Rhodes piano a few weeks ago. I've gotten an insane amount of useful info from these forums already. This one's a 73-key stage mark 1, from 1976 according to the harp stamp. Plastic hammers, wooden keys, pedal included and a Stagg table stand serving as legs.

I've been making electronic music for quite a while and always wanted one SO bad, ever since listening to A Tribe Called Quest as a teenager.. I recall someone else on this thread had the same story btw.. So anyway, was I exited to finally get my hands on one of these..!

I live in Finland and haven't seen too many Rhodes pianos for sale around, so I got mine from Klassic Keys in the UK, klassickeysgb.com. They also had the option for custom paintjobs and as soon as I realized I could actually get one in ferrared, I knew it was the piano for me hehe.. The service from Klassic Keys was really good also, emails got answered in an instant etc.

They added the suitcase preamp to this, so it's got stereo outputs (VV cheek block mod I think) and the vibrato effect. This one also has the miracle mod installed, I don't have experience of other Rhodes pianos but I really love the "fast" feel of the keys.

The delivery guys did screw up, and had this stored in their van in a vertical position (argh!) instead of flat so there were some scratches and I had to replace a couple of dead pickups but now it's finally in full working order, whoppee..

The condition is just great apart from a small hole in the front rail, so I put that C-badge on top of it. A small metal badge I got off Ebay over a painted guitar plectrum, to give this thing a bit of a finishing touch haha. :D

I have been playing a bit of keyboards and am a huge jazz fan, but admittedly my playing skills are still at a beginner level - so I'm really going to be playing this thing a lot to improve!

And of course, here are the beauty shots.. It was a gorgeous sunshine as you can see hehe..
















Rhodesman88

Quote from: Tehu on January 26, 2006, 11:28:15 AM
There's my 1980(?) Rhodes Mark 1 Stage Piano(lot of work to do), i paid 200$CAN for it 1 months ago. i'll make restoration inside(tuning, adjust..) then outside (brand news hardware, logos etc..) for now he didn't get the perfect sound, but it'll come!! in 4-5 month i'll post other pictures to show  all the work!

Nice Rhodes Stage...but I think it is older than 1980.  By 1980 the Mark II was in production.  Check on the upper right corner of the harp...there should be a 4 digit number in black.  The last two digits will be the production year; ex. 4777  would be 1977,  2676 would be 1976.

Rob

hammondking

1977 Rhodes Home Piano





Picked this up for a song just outside the city (I live near Vancouver BC), sold as-is because the power switch had stopped working.   A tech had looked at it and managed to pull all the wires off the switch.  I re-soldered the wires and cleaned the switch contacts (I'm sure that was the original problem) and voila! 

I also have the music stand and bench (not pictured).

The harp etc. are all pristine.  I'm the second owner - the original owner worked for the Canadian distributor for Fender during the 70s, and bought this for his daughter's piano lessons back then.  She played for 2 years and basically it hasn't been touched since then.  He says that there were only 10 of these sold in Canada.  I know there's been some discussion here about whether these are truly rare, from that I would say they certainly are here in Canada, dunno about the US.

A few scuffs here and there, but otherwise it works perfectly!  (I might have to replace the switch at some point). 

Rhodes Stage 88
Rhodes Home Piano
Clavinet D6
Nord Electro 3 73
Korg SV-1 73
Nord C1

"Never under-estimate the bandwidth of a station-wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway...."  (Tanenbaum)

The Real MC

#340
Another sparkletop piano surfaces!  Terrific sound, but needs some TLC.

http://www.retrosynth.com/~analoguediehard/studio/keyboards/fender_rhodes/


jd11193

So this is my recently purchased 1978 Fender Rhodes 73

Seems to have an interesting history, was originally purchased as a Suitcase Piano back in '78 as evidenced by the preamp

But somewhere along the line was converted into a stage piano with the original Rhodes case for the bottom and legs. There was no sustain pedal included, but for $400 I didn't think it was too big of a deal.
Here's the date stamp and serial.

And lastly the tone bars to give you an idea of the condition


willstring

alright- i've been meaning to do this for a while now; here are some pics of my setup.  i play the rhodes for the, well, the rhodes sound.  everything else i use my laptop for.



LGnj

Here are pictures of my two Rhodes. The first is a 1972 73 key stage. The second is a 1984 Mark V, with stand and sustain pedal. The Mark V had been dormant in someones spare room for 25 years, a great find.

magnetb0y


I bought my 1975? Rhodes Mark 1 88 Stage Piano recently locally on Ebay. Internally it is in near perfect condition.
The top has a couple normal scratches, but it plays perfectly and very very nicely kept over the years.
I've wanted one for a long time. Only thing missing is one of the rear legs is missing the screw metal foot which I can't seem
to locate, looked many websites and nobody sells that alone and I'm almost certain it's a 75 but my stamp is small 0852 above serial and my serial is 44195,
the indication is that it is a Rhodes so after 74 but still has wooden hammers so pre 76 so that's how I determined. If anyone has any more info
for me on the age or locating a rear screw leg foot let me know. Oh I attached some of my other keys and I think if anything next I want a Wurly 200.
:D

Ronny

1982 Yamaha DX-7
1982 Suzuki Omnichord :)
1981 Korg CX-3
1968 Hammond T-212 (BI leslie and B3 stage 1 mods)
Newer Yamaha P-85
Newer Yamaha YPT-310

1975 Rhodes Mark 1 88 Stage Piano
1982 Yamaha DX-7
1982 Suzuki Omnichord :)
1981 Korg CX-3
1968 Hammond T-212 (Built-in leslie and B3 stage 1 mods)
Yamaha P-85
Yamaha YPT-310


rick_shezz

Hey all!

Got my first Rhodes yesterday.

Always loved the sound, but always just tried to emulate that sound with a motif/logic but I have the real deal now. It's a Stage Mark 1 73.

Plugged it in, sounds great, the action on the upper register is a little "clicky" but other than that.... its great. Taking it for a run tomorrow night on a gig.

Couple questions, I plan on using some effects for some gigs but probably an all-in-one pedal such as a Boss ME 70. Any used one with it? Pre Amp on it sound good?

I also plan on using an XK organ with it. Is it cool to sit it on top with some sort of rubber mat or blanket?


Suggestions welcome?


Bravo

#347
Greetings...

I'm from Vancouver BC, and three years ago I was scouring the world of the internet to find a sweet Rhodes, and what popped up?  A Mark V in perfect shape, bought in '85 for the kids to learn to play on, but they lost interest.  So it sat in storage, in Edmonton.  For those not familiar, that's about 18 hours away.  I payed $1800 for it.  It was totally worth every minute of the drive and every dollar spent.  I play it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb.









Cheers!
Rhodes Mk V, Nord C2, Memotron, Moog Slim Phatty, Moog Little Phatty, MicroKorg XL, Hammond XK3C, Hammond M3, Leslies 860/760, Fender Deluxe Reverb

Tee

#348
I love these pianos and looking to add to my collection models that I don't already own. 
The line up...
1968 Fender Rhodes Student Model Mustard Yellow Fishtail
1969 Fender Rhodes Student Model Mint Green Fishtail
1973 Fender Rhodes Piano Bass Silver Sparkle (R.I.P Ray)
1973 Rhodes Eighty Eight Suitcase
1977 Rhodes Seventy Three Stage Model
1980 Rhodes Seventy Three Suitcase
1984 Rhodes Mark V
1972 Wurlitzer 200
Yamaha Motif XF8
Moog Little Phatty

pastorwayne

 I have a question... First a little background. I purchased a 74 Fender Rhodes Stage 88 along with a 78 Fender Twin Reverb amp that were previously owned and put in storage by fusion drummer Billy Cobham. Billy had put them in storage sometime in the early 80s. I'm not sure when he acquired them but they somehow became the property of the storage company near New York City around 1984-85. My question is, who most likely played this Rhodes with Billy? Any thoughts?