Need guidance on buying a Fender Rhodes Mark 1 73 from 1973

[Tonie29]

Hi everybody

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Rhodes Mark 1 73 from 1973 for sale online.
I've done quite a lot of research on the things to look for when inspecting it, so i kinda know what to look for in that regard.
The buyer says its in good condition (plays well, and in tune) although one leg is a little defect and the volume pot is crackly/noisy. he sells it for about 2100 dollars (located in Denmark)

The questions I have are the following:

Is it a fair price, given the info on the condition is true? I'm aware of the difference in price between US and Europe, so if any europeans have something to say about this, i would appreciate it!

Is there any specifics about the certain year that i should be aware of? i know there's been quite a lot of changes done to the product line througout the years, but have a hard time finding info about the 1973 models.

I've read the "Rhodes buyers guide" on this forum, but if anyone has anything to ad, shoot!!

I've attached a link to the advertisement and the translation of the info is following:

"Selling my old Fender piano has hardly been touched for 20 years - now it has to go. Got it up and set up - it still sounds good and still fine. However, the volume control needs some contact-spray. One leg must be repaired, as the height adjustment does not work. Some hinges in the lid on the box are slightly defective"

Link to advertisement:

https://www.dba.dk/elpiano-fender-rhodes-mark-i/id-1050103877/


Thanks in advance

Torsten

[Tim Hodges]

Cue comments about how cheap people bought their Rhodes 

Price wise I would try and knock it down to 12400kr on account of the leg needing to be fixed, the hinges being replaced and potentially any other problems you'll encounter when having it serviced. The piano looks in good condition, nice to see it has all the leg braces, legs, original pedal and the lid looks in good shape. One item not pictured is the case lid, does it still have it? 

The height adjustment could well be that the leg coupler plates have been removed so you'll need to account for £20 towards the cost of that.

I prefer the sound of the early to mid 70's pianos and they're more difficult to source around here (at least in my experience.) At some point you may want to lighten the action with a miracle mod but apart from that you should be good.

[mvanmanen]

1973 really produced some very nice pianos. I would be inclined to "rationalize" paying a bit above market value for such if that makes your decision easier. Besides getting an amazing deal on a piano that you ultimately are just not that big a fan of the tone of or needs tons of work is not a bargain unless you enjoy fixing them up.

That being said, I could not see any pictures of the inside to get a sense of the hammer tips, grommets, and whether there are any broken tines. Replacement tines do add up in price. I have found most of the early 1970s pianos really benefit from having their grommets ± hammer tips replaced which is not a huge job by any means but still is an additional cost of time and parts to consider.

Good luck with your decision!

[sean]

Buy it!  I think 1973 was a very good year.

These are the major differences from later years:
It will have half-wood hammers with square hammer tips.
It will have rounded-top Pratt-Reed fully-skirted white keys.
The black keys will have more angular front edges, rather than more nicely rounded edges.
It will have the split damper felts that look like tooth roots.
The action will quite likely be heavy or sluggish, so the miracle mod pedestal bump will help.
The key pedestals have their front edge beveled, but this portion does not contact the hammer cam.
The black rounded lid will be thicker than later years, and feel more like vinyl than styrene.
It still has the old-style small hinges on the back, doesn't it?
The sustain pedal is the nice old non-painted style with the original shape.
The sustain rod might have Rogers USA on the wing nut.
The control plate on the name rail is mounted about two centimeters to the left, so the output jack is about one key lower (it sits over the A instead of Bb)
The piano logos still have Fender branding.
The sides of the case and the lid are not sawed straight, they have the birds-mouth notch so the sides of the piano dip below the cheek blocks before they get to the front of the piano.

I would trade my Mark V to have my 1973 back in a heartbeat.

Sean

[Tonie29]

Cue comments about how cheap people bought their Rhodes 

Price wise I would try and knock it down to 12400kr on account of the leg needing to be fixed, the hinges being replaced and potentially any other problems you'll encounter when having it serviced. The piano looks in good condition, nice to see it has all the leg braces, legs, original pedal and the lid looks in good shape. One item not pictured is the case lid, does it still have it? 

The height adjustment could well be that the leg coupler plates have been removed so you'll need to account for £20 towards the cost of that.

I prefer the sound of the early to mid 70's pianos and they're more difficult to source around here (at least in my experience.) At some point you may want to lighten the action with a miracle mod but apart from that you should be good.

Right. Thank you for the help!Ii think im gonna try to bargain the price a little then. In regards to the miracle mod, is it fairly easy to install if you've never refurbished anything before? I will say I am a quick learner, but really I want to know if it's a "can't make it worse" thing to du, if you get my drift

And to everyone else, thank you for the help. I really appreciate it!!