Well we were just talking about it the other week there and low and behold, today a genuine Mark 1 Fender Rhodes 73 has been brought into the store to sell on for a client. It's an ex-hire instrument and has just been serviced so it is in excellent working order. The legs have seen better days (looks like they have been welded a few times though they still screw in and out ok) and the pedal is present.

Now I am seriously thinking about buying it, but I haven't got a price for it yet, as the hire business owner didn't drop it off himself. Any advice on what you guys think it's worth for me, and is there anything I should be wary of?

buy it, buy it, buy it!
Wholesale ... in fair condition - $400-600
Retail $750-$1200 .... clean it up, tune it up and voice it so the tines sound like pretty bells from heaven!

Thanks dave,

I hoped you'd come back to me. I appreciate it. Thanks for your help. I'll let you know how it goes!

John

Hi John,

Not sure if you've checked this site, but lots of good information on buying, and the care and feeding, of a Rhodes.

http://www.fenderrhodes.com/forum/archives/

I sold mine a little over five years ago.

Good luck,

Ian

Thanks Ian, that looks like an excellent forum with a mine of information. I know little about these really, so this will be very helpful. Already I have found that not all the legs are present as the cross-bracing bars are missing.

Thanks again

John

My favorite setup over the years had my Honer D-6 on it's own legs with the Rhodes on top of it (hanging over the back) and I used the front legs of the Rhodes in the rear, so they could extend and keep the piano level. It was the perfect standing height, which I prefer to perform at. The top of the Rhodes was flat for the synth-du-jour ... back in the 80s, it was a Juno 106, then a JX10.... those were the days!

Dave, your Rhodes had a "flat" instead of the curved top?

If it does, perhaps someone (maybe you?) replaced the original top with a flat one that was available via third party; either that, or it was a much later model (1979-82). I had to put some rubber wedgies under my synth when it was sitting on the Rhodes, because of the curved top.

Mine had the original curved top (a 1974 model), and actually, pretty well the original "everything", which is probably why I got such an excellent price for it...as they say, they are only "original once".

And, like Hammond B-3s, there are "good" Rhodes and "bad" Rhodes of every year as no two pianos were ever alike. I was lucky with mine, as at the time of purchase, I didn't know much about them, but I managed to get a "good" one.

Actions are the best and the worst feature, and a poorly set-up Rhodes can be a nightmare to play and record.

I'd say if John knows of a dedicated Rhodes player or at the very least, someone who is quite familiar with setting them up, to have a look at the one he's buying before laying out his hard earned moolah.

Some can never be set up properly, especially if they've had any water damage.

Ian

Ian,
I was managing a music store during those Disco days, and I had ordered a new top for an older piano. It did come with the curved top, but that was a nightmare for stacking. I became quite comfortable with making my own tone and action mods and except for electronic repair, I think I can take apart and reassemble the entire piano. I love tweaking the harmonics to take out the muddiness that they sometimes had. My Rhodes was always a staple of my sound, as it is today, in digital format!

I got pretty good at adjusting mine as well...I got very tired of lugging it around, and it mostly just sat in the studio, so when I got an offer I couldn't refuse, I sold it. The guy who bought it was ecstatic, as it was mostly all original (one control knob was replaced with a repro), and in excellent condition, including the legs and other hardware.

I still use that type of sound a lot, but, as you say, in digital form, which also offers more options such as transposition, easy effects chaining, and much more stable tuning.

I honestly do not miss it, other than it being a keepsake of sorts, and sometimes, like other relationships in life, it's best just to move on and chalk it up as experience.

Ian

I use to miss mine ... (sold it to buy a bed when I got married) till Russ sold me his "extra" suitcase!!!!
Now I have the Suitcase in my bedroom (irony??), and the Electro3 in the studio - I'm all tremelo'd up!