Fender Rhodes anyone??

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TaxMan88

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Okay guys and gals, here's the deal. I WANT A FENDER RHODES, and, unfortunately, they stopped making the damned things. (WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??) Does anyone know of a place (that place that all vintage keyboard fans dream of) that is trustworthy and that I can buy an 88-key Fender Rhodes from in good to excellent condition? I know, I know, I'm asking for a miracle, but if it exists, I want, no . . . NEED to know about it. ;) I'm reluctant to buy one from ebay. I'd like to find a place that deals exclusively in stuff like what I'm looking for. Do you all understand what I'm trying to say?? LOL.

Also, does anyone know of any tonal difference in the different models of Rhodes?? I've looked at a MARK I 88 Key Stage Piano online and was wondering if the different "MARKs" sounded different.

Thanks in advance for any help you may give!

--Tax :D
 
Tax, I'd also been looking for a long time when finally a friend saw one in the local paper and told me I'd better pay the $500 and stop bitching about it :) It's not an 88, but I can't imagine really getting that much out of the lower/higher ends. Mine is the stage piano which is the piano portion (incredibly heavy-I can't fathom the 88) and the also heavy pre-amp/amplifier unit it sits atop. It's an old unit that has some buzzes that appear and dissappear mysteriously and the tremelo circuit is very loud and you can even hear the pulse (square wave tremelo shifting L to R..) when it's off so I sadly may have to disconnect it for recording. The early model stage piano's also a bitch because the pre-amp for the piano is integrated in the huge amp, so in order to play it without the amp you have to buy an aftermarket $90 pre-amp made special for it.

It sucks that the prices are so inflated, but you see them all the time on ebay and if you see a deal you might as well suck it up and buy it. Before you go buying though you should also consider if what you really would prefer is one of the Wurlitzer e-pianos. They're lighter, simpler mechanically inside, action is easier on the hands - the Wurlies get that Zombies edge much more easily and I think are more diverse sounding - richer timbre. Also the most common models are very portable and have a simple instr-level 1/4" out and simple sine-wave tremelo built in. basically the Rhodes is more "piano". Big, heavy, furniture piece with a clean, but nice tone.
 
yes wurlizer.!!!!!that is the way to go.i remember about 10 years ago,everyone i knew had that wurlitzer at their house,studio,wherehouse,there were so many around.no one ever even paids attention to them.yet i have always loved them.they are a lot lighter,and get a more distinct tone than the rhoads,like the beginning of i am th walrus,and the solo to i'm down,anyway,they seemed to have disappearded off of the planet.and no one knows where they went.at one point ,all the vintage equipment was tooo inconvenient,in the way,a hassle.the new sampling era made everybody think that the new wave of sampling synths could do the job of 10 old school different keys.so everyone "upgraded" to the smaller lighter keyboards,and abandoned their obsolete hammond b-3's ,their hohner clavinets,their rhoades stage 73's,their wurlitzer electric pianos.the only obvious thing to do was wait ten years and make it all so"vintage retro" jack up the prices,and cause musicians to rethink their concept of what reasonable and fair prices are.what'S My point?i don't know that i really have one. i just like to ramble on and bitch about things,it's true.read everyt thread with my name posted,hee ha ha,that might not be true.i am just trying to learn off of other players,engineers,producers,and types of the like.but try to find a wurlitzer.and if you can pay under $500 you might be lucky.i am amzed that a rhoades was found for $500,then you describe the technical problems and i understood.here's a thought;certain high schools musical education classes used the traditional wurlitzer electric as a teaching tool,they used to have them lined up at least 15 of 'em.i bet if you researched and hunted them down,you coulds find that great deal.sadly, music is the first thing to go when the budgets for education gets cut,so,i am willing to bet there are plenty of schools out there with some great equipment,and they would be more than happy to sell them or donate them.a bass player in my old band got his first upright from a high school ,and they let him have it for nothing.let's all do it!!scour our childrens schools for vintage musical equipment!!!!!
 
Well, I sucked it up and bought one. :)

Well guys, I got one off ebay. I must admit that I got lucky. I got it for 330 bucks and there's NOTHING wrong with it. It's absolutely perfect in every way internally. The outside is perfect as well. The only thing is that it's missing one leg and the sustain pedal. NO PROBLEM!!! The sustain pedal can be built with scrap wood and the leg is a minor problem.

It's a MARK I Stage 88. Built in December 1976. Weighs about 150 lbs. Not too bad for such a big keyboard. And you see I'm really a piano player, so a "piano" board is really what I needed. I've had it for only a day so far and I can't stop playing it. I really did get lucky. Hope all you vintage Rhodes fans can run across a deal like this one.
 
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