FS: 1974 Fender Rhodes Suitcase 88 piano - refurbished

[briank]

1974 Fender Rhodes Suitcase 88 piano for sale:


Thoroughly serviced with many hours of work recently put into it. Over 500 parts just replaced and dozens more cleaned and conditioned to retain its vintage character while being cleaned and shined up for its next owner. Great working and playing condition with much improved action and tone! Nothing sounds or plays like the real deal...period!

All original speakers, grille cloth and tolex. Grille cloth in very good shape with no holes or tears and only minor staining on the front. Tolex is decent for age and does not need replacing; however it does show light scuffing here and there particularly on cabinet tops and piano bottom, a few minor tears here and there were repaired over the years but no large missing chunks or visible nasty spots. When set up, this piano looks very nice: good enough for the studio, but the wear and tear areas aren't so pristine that you couldn't gig it if you wanted. Formerly owned by a school then studio kept since 2005, this has seen light use and is ready for its new home. Please note: pics were taken before final tonebar escapement and voicing adjustments were made.

The power cord and multipin are of course included, as is a box containing all the old tonebar screws and some additional spare new screws and grommets.

Recent work completed:

-Removed, cleaned and polished all metal cabinet hardware; screws replaced as necessary; noted rubber finish footer washers in good condition; removed, disassembled and cleaned all handles which are still in very good condition.
-Cleaned harp cover and all tolex, repaired a couple minor tears; noted previous minor repairs; replaced piano footer cups in suitcase with new grommets and reinforced that area with durable rubber matting as this is a notorious wear & tear area
-Cleaned & inspected speaker cabinet interior, speakers, amp; cleaned and lubed sustain pedal hinge for squeak-free operation; cleaned speaker spades
-Cleaned & inspected preamp components, wiring and soldering; noted electrolytic capacitor replaced in ‘05
-Cleaned and inspected piano wiring and electrical contacts
-Inspected and aligned dampers, noted dampers still in good condition
-Inspected keys, repaired one key; noted felts in good condition; noted hammer tips in good condition
-Replaced all action grommets, screws and washers with custom Vintage Vibe new-reproduction grommet and hardware kit; retained old hardware for spares; inspected tines and cleaned as necessary; noted tone bars in good condition
-Set tonebar escapement, adjusted pickups, tested and voiced all notes; confirmed functionality of all notes, knobs, switches and speakers; final testing and checkout before listing

The "get this outta my house fast" price is $1,600 FIRM and crazy fair!

I can accept all major credit/debit cards in person with Square. Due to local pickup, I will NOT accept PayPal. This is Local Pickup or I can deliver/meet within 100 miles of Oshkosh, WI 54901 for a nominal fee to cover gas--shoot a message with your location for more info on that. Due to size and weight, I will NOT ship this Rhodes commercially.

I've seen worn out jalopy Suitcase 88s sell for not much less than this and a rebuilt Rhodes from a well known electric piano specialist will set you back more than twice this price. Only reason the price isn't higher is that I need this out of the house sooner than later--don't miss your chance to get a very fair deal!


Serious inquiries are welcome--feel free to message me with questions or for additional info or pics.

 

[mjbphotos]

She's a beauty!

 

[briank]

Thanks very much for the kind words. This is a nice example, hasn't been gigged, the internal condition shows a pretty easy life. Many Rhodes of this age are pretty well used/beat up and will need plenty of maintenance caught up, but other than the typical tolex marks as seen in the pics, this one is a reasonably rare opportunity by comparison and has been caught up on age-related maintenance. The price is a crazy steal considering refurbs through the well known pro organ specialists will charge anywhere from $3k on up for one of like kind. I'm shocked it's still available. I've certainly had some interest, but it seems that people are still getting caught up from the holidays, finance-wise--I priced it mega-low in hopes of bucking that, but oh well.

I put this up on feePay for $1,999 which is still a very good price....but ebay really does kind of suck for local pickup items, as you all may know. Believe it or not I'd still rather sell it on a classified site for $1600. Get it while the getting's good, folks. I should have started this sucker at more like $2500...my loss will definitely be your gain. Just need it out of the house, I don't have the space for it anymore :/

 

[briank]

The forum won't let me edit my listing anymore (weird rule), but I am bumping this sucker to say that I am now willing to deliver or meet with a buyer within a couple hundred miles of 54901. If you've been interested but wished I'd drive a little further than the original ad stated, maybe this will help.

Really surprised this Rhodes is still available at this low price for condition! I probably should have started it at 2500 like everyone told me to Live and learn