Clear Harp Cover

[acbarnes]

Does anyone know of anyone who makes see through clear harp covers, I have bright nickles all the tonebars and it would look wicked with a clear har cover

[Rob A]

No, but I can tell you how I'd go about making one. I think this can be done fairly cost effectively. Short version: bend a top yourself using acrylic sheet and a heat gun.

1. Get the profile you want the top to have, either by tracing the ends of a top, or creating your own.
2. Using that as a template, cut four or five replicas of that profile out of 3/4" (18mm) plywood, particle board or whatever else you have lying around to make a bending form. A jigsaw or bandsaw would be needed (preferably a bandsaw to make them all in one cut). A friend with a shop could handle this pretty easily.
3. Make a bending form by attaching your profile pieces to a couple pieces of 2x4 or other cheap available wood so that you have them spaced out across the length of your top.
4. Get a sheet of 1/8" acrylic sheet (polycarbonate will work but will also cost more) from your favorite supplier and cut it to the needed dimensions (score with a utility knife and snap is fine with thin stuff like this).
5. Using a heat gun to carefully and slowly warm up your sheet, bend it over your form until you have the curve needed. GO SLOW! But once the acrylic gets hot it will become nicely workable. You could probably use a Mark I top as a form, but you'll have to fine-tune the fit a bit afterward since the acrylic would be curved a bit larger.
6. If you really felt like ends were necessary, you could use a router to transfer the profile (I'd get the profile of your finished top after bending) to some pieces of acrylic, then glue them to the ends using either Weld-on #3 (best) or modeling cement of the water-clear kind (next best) or acetone (least best). It just takes a bit, but you will want to clamp things together for gluing and be careful. I'd probably skip making ends, or make them out of another material (wood would look sharp).
6a. Now that I think about it, a couple nice pieces of wood would look slick as ends and you could route a channel that your top would slot into, then epoxy it into place.

If you feel a compelling need to have one and don't want to DIY, I may be persuaded to fabricate one since I have the shop and stuff.

[Rob A]

Now that I think it over, a flat top would be even easier to fabricate since you could just put a couple right angle bends into the sheet using a plain old board as the form, skipping steps 1 and 2 altogether. If you left the ends off, you could have a little slop in the measurement even and still get the top to fit because the acrylic will flex somewhat. If you leave the ends off, it would only take about an hour to make the thing.

And a flat top would show off the innards better than a curved one too--less distortion, or the distortion would be confined to the bend area.

Plan B would be to buy a flat top and insert your own acrylic window, but I think this is actually easier and is not a destructive mod.

[acbarnes]

Thanks for all the info, I like the idea of bending the acrylic and bonding in some end pcs, I will let you know how I get on. It will look awesome with a clear top, just finished the fender smooth blonde tolex too and a full key restoration, looks like a new pin. The alternative was to go with a gold sparkle look by painting the existing Mk1 cover, that looks great too but the clear top will be unique as I haven't seen it done before.

[keysandslots]

Someone had a clear bodied Rhodes in the 80s, I think it was George Duke, although I can't find any reference to it.  When I was in a showband around that time I considered doing the same, and putting lights in it (tacky, I know, but it was a disco showband), and I'm fairly sure I wouldn't come up with an idea like that by myself.

Randy

[acbarnes]

OOOhhhh, sounds extremely tacky, LED's n'd stuff,
I want a classy glass top kind of look with the blonde and all nickle hardware, the harp is a work of art since I had it all replated, recond all the pickups and put all new srews etc in, seems a shame to cover it up with a black plastic cover.
Just commisioned a local company today who are going to handmake me a clear harp cover to match the Mk1, It will have a gold "Seventy Three" original badge on too....hopefully will look how I imagine it....I will know Friday when I get it back

Cheers for the interest, lets hope nobody commisions a "disco" version...

[paulb]

Prince was the one who has a clear Rhodes Suitcase piano.  It was talked about some in the post "Prince on Jay Leno" from the archives.  

PaulB

[jus]

Paul is right, it was prince, and I believe it was made by either Harold himself or someone immediate to him if I remember correctly. I'd search for it and there might be some more info about how they did it.

[Mark II]

Paul is right, it was prince, and I believe it was made by either Harold himself or someone immediate to him if I remember correctly. I'd search for it and there might be some more info about how they did it.

yup, prince.
I think it was Carol, Harold's daughter, who said that  Mr. Rhodes' sons, Harold jun. and Dave, did the Rhodes pimp job for Prince.
edit:
http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=3390&start=6
edit2:
http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=3390&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=26

kind regards
Mark II

[dnarkosis]

In the late 70s / early 80s it was indeed George Duke. There is a picture of his rig with the plexi-harp-cover in an issue of Keyboard Magazine. If I have it, I'll post a pic.

[Rob A]

From the archives:


and also (not George):



See also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nkUnV-Zav0

:shock:

[keysandslots]

Thanks for the pics Rob.  I may be getting old, but not quite old enough to confuse George Duke with Prince.

Randy

[Michael]

Mark Ramos-Nishita has one also.  (And a clear Hohner d6)

[paulb]

Obviously there is more than one Rhodes out there with a clear finish.  No one would mistake Prince (or his keyboard player) for George Duke, I was just offering that Prince, most definitely, has had a clear Rhodes for years!  Paul

[geyster]

Hey guys, check this out, impressive job, most impressive, wow:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Rhodes-Piano-Mk1-Stage-73-fully-restored_W0QQitemZ130283140859QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Keyboard_RL?hash=item130283140859&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

[jus]

Am I the only one who thinks the clear tops look ugly? I mean that is a sweet rhodes, but I've never found the harp assembly to be that aesthetically pleasing.

[sean]

Ah.  There is no accounting for taste.

To each his own.

I love playing with the harp cover off.  I like the look a lot.  
I have no affection for the flat-top Mark II cover at all, however, I adore the round top cover.  So for me, I like the cover off the Mark II piano, and the cover left on my Mark I.

I think the clear plastic harp cover is a cool idea, but I would have to withhold judgement until I can see one up close and see how I react to it.

I love the idea of nickel-plated tonebars.  Love it.  Cool.

[Rob A]

I like the idea of holding the gold badge down with a little plexi cover.

[geyster]

Am I the only one who thinks the clear tops look ugly? I mean that is a sweet rhodes, but I've never found the harp assembly to be that aesthetically pleasing.

Same here! For me the original MK1 with the round top is from far the sexiest of them all !
And to tell you the truth I find this Rhodes on ebay really ugly in this blonde tolex and with the clear harp cover...But it's still an impressive job!! :shock:

[tomnardozza]

you have to watch out with 1/8" because the slightest tap (especially after it's been heated and formed, and even more so in cold weather) will crack it and get you really pissed!!   1/4" is harder to work with, but is better for durability.  i did the top of my porta-b hammond with 1/2"..it looks really cool

[acbarnes]

hey geyster, this is my pano, i got the clear top back tuesday, it is now up for sale on ebay (the whole piano), took me a year to restore this, pleased you like it.

by the way the clear top is tough and is the exact shape of the original, the factory made a great job. I have also finished the original cover in gold with sparkle flakes and laquered it, this goes really well with the blonde and gives it a much more vintage look, i took my inspiration from some pre CBS models and then added a twist with the bright nickle finishing

Thanks AL

[jus]

That's really cool acbarnes. Don't get me wrong with what I said before, I think is a very well done piano, and I think I'd absolutely love it with the gold sparkle top, but the clear just isn't for me.

I've always thought it would be really cool to do a mark I like a fiesta red piano bass. Cream tolex, wood namerail and cheekblocks. I hope to have the money someday soon to redo another rhodes.

[acbarnes]

I agree that would be really cool, especially the wood cheekblocks, I considered wood sides for the clear top but having the gold top as an option as well made me decide to go all clear, the problem is that getting a rhodes with all the original parts and nothing missing is becoming increasingly difficult, there are a couple on ebay now but they are £1200+ for a completely untouched instrument, as you will know if you completely refurbish these it costs a lot of money, especially with all the special plating, the key restoration is really time consuming too.....and mind numbing...

happy hunting and def should do the piano bass look..

[dnarkosis]

Keyboard Magazine October 1979