Calling 1974 and 1975 owners. I need a serial number ASAP

Started by Skiroy, December 30, 2015, 07:19:25 PM

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Skiroy

Hey guys I been wanting a 1975 wooden hammer rhodes for years and may have found one. Unfortunately there is no 4 digit number stamped on it or it got wiped off. I only have a serial number on the golden sticker. Can someone please post there serial numbers for 1974s and 1975s?

Its only says Rhodes on the front, not Fender Rhodes. So if it is not a Frankenstein then it has to be a late 1974 to early 1975 because it has plastic/wood hammers. But I have a late 1975 plastic hammer suitcase. I want to drop the harp into mine but it has to be exact 1975.

Student Rhodes

In addition to hybrid hammers, an original "pre-plastic hammer" '75 Rhodes will have wood harp supports.

You'll also have the smaller, less robust hinges and four of these latches...

http://www.vintagevibe.com/collections/fender-rhodes-parts-hardware/products/rhodes-late-style-latches?variant=899452923

If it's a Stage model up through about mid-September, the piano would most likely have an aluminum damper pedal that hasn't been painted black.

I'm not absolutely certain, but it seems that if the harp has the gold foil sticker, it's most likely a piano produced before the change over to all plastic hammers and aluminum harp supports etc. 
Most '76 pianos I recall seeing use the black rectangular "Rhodes" stamp on the upper right corner of the harp. But again, I'm not certain, so there's a high probability there are some late '75 - early '76 transitional pianos that have plastic hammers and a gold foil sticker.  That said, I've never seen a hybrid hammer Rhodes that had the block "Rhodes" stamp on the pickup rail.  But who knows, maybe such a thing exists, though such a piano may be a "Franken-Rhodes."

Actually, that there's no clearly visible date stamp on your piano leads me to believe it most likely an original, hybrid-hammer Rhodes.  These particular '74-'75 Rhodes pianos often had a green date stamp, usually on the right side of the pickup rail, which was more susceptible to being wiped away.  I know that by the time the plastic hammers, aluminum harp supports, large hinges, black damper pedal, thicker key tops, and two-latch shells were fully incorporated into production, Rhodes was using a black ink stamp for the date codes and TBJ number that were much more resistant to being wiped off.  I suspect there's some kind of lacquer or clear finish on the harps from this era that assist in preserving the date/Rhodes stamps as well.

However, there still exists the distinct possibility that all of this info I've spent the last ten minutes typing may be completely worthless, as I don't actually own a Rhodes that was made after all these changes.  So, these are merely my observations from having seen many plastic hammer Rhodes in person, and in photos.  Be sure to take all that I've said above with a healthy dose of "this guy's head is up his ass."

Alan Lenhoff

My '74 Stage:

Harp assembly date:  23rd week of 1974
Final assembly date:  26th week of 1974
Serial number: 36679

Has Fender Rhodes logos on exterior, but Rhodes-only logo on the foil serial number sticker.  Hybrid hammers, wooden supports, unpainted pedal, flat-style keycaps.

Alan
Co-author, "Classic Keys: Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music"

Learn about the book: http://www.classickeysbook.com/
Find it on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1574417762/

1965 UK Vox Continental;1967 Gibson G101 organ; 1954 Hammond B2; Leslie 21H; Leslie 31H; 1974 Rhodes Mark I Stage 73; 1972 Rhodes Sparkletop Piano Bass; 1978 Hohner Clavinet D6; 1968 Hohner Pianet N II; 1966 Wurlitzer 140B; 1980 Moog Minimoog Model D; 1983 Roland JX-3P; 1977 Fender Twin Reverb; 1983 Roland JX-3P synth; Vox AC30CC2X amp.
(See the collection: https://vintagerockkeyboards.com/ )

mvanmanen

My '75 Stage:

Final assembly date:  31st week of 1975
Serial number: 46136

Has Rhodes logos on exterior and on the foil serial number sticker.
Hybrid hammers, wooden supports, unpainted pedal, flat-style keycaps.

cheers,

Michael
Wurlitzer 200a
Wurlitzer 145
Fender Rhodes (1966, 1971, 1975)
Hohner Clavinet Pianet Duo
Hohner Clavinet D6s and C
Hohner Pianet T
Hohner Pianet N and Combo Pianet
Hammond B3

Skiroy

It seems like all the late 74s and early 75s are similar. I know this has to bee one of those but I am trying to see if it is the 75 more so. Thats what I need. Are there any differences between the late 74 and  early 75 to look for. Hammer or tips shapes maybe. I need a serial number for a latest 74 or earliest 75.
Keep the serials coming please.

Skiroy

Quote from: mvanmanen on December 31, 2015, 10:46:11 AM
My '75 Stage:

Final assembly date:  31st week of 1975
Serial number: 46136

Has Rhodes logos on exterior and on the foil serial number sticker.
Hybrid hammers, wooden supports, unpainted pedal, flat-style keycaps.

cheers,
This one has a serial of 45115.
If I can get a serial number  of a very late 74 and its before this it should verify a 75
Michael

squarebubble

Nov 1974 with s/n 40504

Rhodes on the rail and gold foil Rhodes serial number sticker on the harp. Hybrid hammers and wooden harp supports.

Skiroy

So that about a 4000 difference over a 5 month time period. So from 40504 in november in would think 45117 would be at least 2 months to put it in early 1975.

What week in November?

Silvestre

#8
Hello, everybody,

My first post...

I own a Rhodes (Stage 73) since the beginnings of November of this year. Plastic and wood hammers, flat key pedestal, all wooden supports.

If I remember correctly (I had to CLEAN...), stamped under the left side cheek block there's: "8 dec 17 1974"

The serial number on the sticker placed on the treble side of the tone/tine wooden support is 44005

Just "rhodes" on the name rail and on the sticker... and elsewhere, I guess (... the logo in the case, for sure).

The four digits number stamped on the treble side of the pickup wooden support is 4974... the longer code is unreadable

Hope you find it helpful

Sorry for my english... I'm from Madrid (Spain)

EDITED: It also has an unpainted sustain pedal


Skiroy

Any very early 75s. This makes me second guess that its deffinately a 75 now. Damn.

Alan Lenhoff

I don't mean to make this more difficult for you, but it  has occasionally been suggested by posters on this site that Rhodes serial numbers are not always a reliable indication of production dates.

Look at this thread:  http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=3622.0  On it, you'll find at least two serial numbers listed that are EARLIER than on my '74, but clearly have later production date stamps and later features, including the Rhodes-only logo and aluminum harp supports.

It's possible that these were "Frankensteined" pianos.  But Fender may also have been careless about using the serial number plates consecutively. It seems quite likely that some harps may have been swapped between pianos long after they left the factory.  But would someone actually transplant an early serial number sticker on a harp that was produced later? Seems unlikely to me.

Alan
Co-author, "Classic Keys: Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music"

Learn about the book: http://www.classickeysbook.com/
Find it on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1574417762/

1965 UK Vox Continental;1967 Gibson G101 organ; 1954 Hammond B2; Leslie 21H; Leslie 31H; 1974 Rhodes Mark I Stage 73; 1972 Rhodes Sparkletop Piano Bass; 1978 Hohner Clavinet D6; 1968 Hohner Pianet N II; 1966 Wurlitzer 140B; 1980 Moog Minimoog Model D; 1983 Roland JX-3P; 1977 Fender Twin Reverb; 1983 Roland JX-3P synth; Vox AC30CC2X amp.
(See the collection: https://vintagerockkeyboards.com/ )

squarebubble

If I remember rightly it was 8th November, but don't quote me on that. The date stamp was inside the left cheek block so I'm not gong to be able to double check it for you.

Skiroy

any serials for 1975 with plastic hammers.
Are there any differences between the late 74s "with Rhodes" name vs early 75 with wood hammers.?

Stangee

My Rhodes has a 1976 harp stamped " 6 76" and "0961" on the rails. The serial number - printed on a golden sticker - is 84482. I'm still not entirely sure whether the rest of it is indeed a 1976 piano retro-fitted with Mark II optics or a hybrid but as far as your question goes, that golden sticker seems to still have been in use in June 76.


ImNotDedYet

38251 on the gold sticker on the harp
3744 stamped on the side of the rails
3574 stamped on the back right of the harp under another un-distinguishable number

Ben Bove

The serial numbers don't do a good job of sequentially dating pianos.  You can get a rough estimate in a year, but there's no way serials match up through the weeks of production.

Supposedly, pianos with serials "over 50,000" were to be all plastic hammer models, but I've seen plenty of 50k+ hybrid wood pianos.  It's just not a system that you can more closely date beyond a 6-month to year of production.
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