info needed! 1971 fender-rhodes suitcase with 1974 harp

[copevt]

Outer shell is 1971 fender-rhodes suitcase piano, seventy-three

Part number on harp is 4tbi2574.  Very odd that this number ends same as harp date.  Cooincidence?

Harp is dated @ pick-up rail 2574 = 25th week of 1974,

Tonebar rail is dated................

Harp says Rhodes only, represents fender name drop late 1974- early 1975

1974 Harp with Rhodes only name means model is Rhodes-Mark-1 model years 1975-79
This means that it was produced in 1974 for sale as a 1975 model.??

Harp Serial # is 54042
On October 20th 2006, "sach" posts that he has just bought a fender-rhodes mark-1 seventy-three suitcase in manila, phillipines with serial number 54056!


if anyone has any info on how to research serial numbers please let me know!
I am very interested in "sach" blog from fenderrhodes,com forum on october 20 2006.  Sounds like he has the same piano and close serial number.  I cant find any responses though, so it may be a needle in a haystack.

[Ben Bove]

Hey!  The "4tbi2574" is probably slightly rubbed out.  Being a 73 the part number for the harp is "010254TBJ" in red, so it probably got wiped away.  The 2574 in Blue should be the pickup completion date by Turbo-Jet and not related to the part number.  

2574 would be accurate as far as the Gold Foil "Rhodes" only denotation.  On many pianos from late 1974, they had "Rhodes" badges and "Fender Rhodes" logos.  the badges seemed to be the first to change:



There probably won't be any finish date stamp on your 74 harp, they all seem to deteriorate away during this year.  This is the closest thing to a finish date I've ever seen on a 74:



So your harp seems all good.  The serial number is also good, there seems to be a hike in serial numbers - between the 30,000s and 50,000s for that year.  I've seen many 74s with a 54k serial.  

The 1971 part of the case though, where are you getting that info from?  Is there a date stamp inside the case on the left side, down between the tolex wall and the support block?  Or date on the key?  a picture could help if needed.

[copevt]

Hello Forum!

Yo  bjammerz, thanks for the reply!  I appreciate your time!  I have an update and a correction to my first post, anyone with info is welcome to post.

The 4tbi part number and 2574 date stamp are a single stamp, I thought I had seen the stamp twice.  There is no date on tonebar-rail.

Hammer heads are wood and 'rubber'.  I am dating the suitcase unit itself as a 1971 simply based on cosmetic appearance, factory knob placment, colors and trim, etc. I will look for the date on the tolex wall and support block.....results to come.  Piano is not in same house as computer...

Speaker stand and piano both have "Magic Music Machines, San Fransisco Califonia" stickers on them.  Does anyone know about M.M.M.??  The piano was retrofitted by M.M.M. in 1981 with a knob to the far right of face for "auxiliary treble".  1981 M.M.M. modification may have also included the harp replacement as well.  M.M.M. sticker on harp has date 1/9/81 followed by   #81-A/1-73-0 and the name Cheri Webster.

??  There is a circular  "inspected by" stamp on the near left corner of the harp.  Next to that stamp is a small number 174 with a 7 inside a circle.

I love and play this piano and will continue to try and learn about this machine and its history.  Anyone with clues or ideas or research suggestions please post response!!

[Ben Bove]

If you can post a few pics, I can probably tell the chassis year based on hardware keycaps and other misc things though it sounds like you know a bit yourself