Suitcase Opinions Please

[WurlieNewbie]

Hey guys. I've been looking to buy a Fender Rhodes Mark 1 suitcase for a while now -- hopefully a 1974/5 or below since I dig that sound. However, I just saw a listing for a Rhodes Mark 1 suitcase made in early 1977. Before I make the long trip out there to play it, just wanted your opinion on that particular year for Rhodes pianos. I understand that 1976-77 was a transitional year for the piano and lots of good and some not very good changes were made. Any thoughts on those pianos and what to expect? Is the sound of a Mark 1 early '77 gonna be closer to a Mark II or the Mark I? Thanks for any thoughts!

[AA]

I'm sure someone else can chime in with more experience, but I've had 1 early 1977 stage and I wasn't the biggest fan, I'm pretty sure they all have felt on the back of the hammer cams which can be annoying to remove if you want to do a proper bump mod, and the side supports seemed to tall for my liking, which unlike the early wood ones can't exactly be cut down, you can remove the particle board shims, but that will only do so much, I've seen this issue mentioned before with this era but it's possible it's not on all of them, and if you like a larger escapement it should be fine, it only bothers me because I like to set it as close as possible.
As far as differences in tone I think it'll probably be closer to a late model due to the hammer tips being the same, on mine at least I found the sustain character to be in-between the early mk1 and mk2, and tonally closer to the later model, I think the voicing and setup do most of the heavy lifting but to me at least, in every example including the 2 I own, the early models have a more complex tone. The best way I can describe it is that the overtones on early models are more saw wave like/ sharper, and the late models have more of a low pass filtered sound on the overtones, the 1977 I had seemed to be more like the filtered sound of the later models, this is regardless of voicing.
If it's a good deal it's probably worth checking out, if you need the early sound I'd try and find an early one. The difference is not huge, but it is significant enough that it might lead you to disappointment if the sound you really want is that of an early mark 1.

[The Real MC]

I owned three Rhodes since 1978 - a stage piano from 1973, stage piano from 1977, suitcase sparkletop from 1967.

The piano from 1977 was my least favorite.  Had the felt on the hammer cams which made it hard to play.  No amount of tine adjustment would get any good tone, it was always dull.  No better straight off the harp.  If you want the tone of the 1974/75 pianos, then pass on the 1977 piano.