Fender Rhodes

ICBM

I know this is bending the rules a little so I apologise in advance .

An old friend of mine who I used to play in a band with is thinking of selling his Fender Rhodes. I know very little about them other than the basic way they work (I once fixed it I think, something to do with one of the pots), and I'm guessing they are probably still sought after by recording studios and possibly other people who don't have to carry them anywhere since I remember it weighed an absolute ton! Ironic considering they were originally designed to be a portable alternative to a real piano...

I have no idea whether it's still in good working order or not - it was, but not far off twenty years ago and as far as I know he won't have used it since - or exactly how old it is or even which model.

Are there any Rhodes experts here?

Or is there anyone who might be interested in it for a *fair* price - whatever that is, on inspection? I'm sure he would be interested in sensible offers.

Bearing in mind that it's in Edinburgh and shipping is very much NOT an option.

I can see if he can give me any more details and/or pics. In the mean time, what questions do I need to ask him?

NPP

Sorry can't help really - I'm a massive fan of the Rhodes sound and once thought it was a good idea to buy our band's singer's Rhodes off him and tried to learn to play it (unsuccessfully). Having moved house with it twice the only way I found I could eventually get rid of it was to give it to my brother as a Christmas present. He still has it, a number of house moves later, and cannot play it either so your friend might be in a bit of a difficult situation. That said, I still love the sound of them ...

Phil_aka_Pip

Lovely sound. I was asked if I'd gig with mine, I said only if you dismantle it, pack it, carry it out to the van & load it, set it up at the gig, and do all the reverse operations to get it back in my studio. Otherwise it stays put.

It stayed put.

EDITs #1 and #2

I gave £250 in 1989 for mine. I couldn't tell you what they're worth these days. Mine is a Rhodes MkI 73 key Stage Piano. I thought it was not  a "Fender Rhodes", but Wikipaedia suggests it is, because Fender bought the Rhodes company in 1959, CBS took it all over in 1965, and the 73 key MkI was made between 1970 and 1979. 

ICBM

I love the sound of them too, and my first thought was also to buy it… but I really don't have the space or the talent. There's a Rhodes setting on my daughter's Yamaha digital piano which I can tolerate, anyway.

In fact, the Rhodes only did a few gigs with us before being retired in favour of a digital piano, even when we were twenty years younger and fitter, and lightweight digitals weren't as good as they are now. To be fair, I also replaced my 100W 2x12" Marshall Club & Country combo with a Studio 15 at about the same time, after I worked out that I was only running the C&C at about 15W… although I never did get completely happy with the sound of small amps.

Phil_aka_Pip

I have the space but not the talent however I have made up a few good tunes while sitting at it

EDIT I'd lurve a Blackface Twin to play it through, but it's OK direct into my Studiomaster Series 5 desk

ICBM

By a very odd coincidence, having not seen it for about 15 years, the Traynor MkIII - essentially a Twin copy with EL34s - he used has turned up for sale in the shop too! Definitely the same amp, it had distinctive end handles fitted and I had modded it in a particular way to be more useful for keyboards.

Do you want it?

Sambostar

Surely you mean Jackson?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl8pOS6eJ6s&nohtml5=False

Phil_aka_Pip

ICBM said:

By a very odd coincidence, having not seen it for about 15 years, the Traynor MkIII - essentially a Twin copy with EL34s - he used has turned up for sale in the shop too! Definitely the same amp, it had distinctive end handles fitted and I had modded it in a particular way to be more useful for keyboards.

Do you want it?

woss financial damage?

ICBM

£499 I think - I'll check. Shipping it would be a major issue though.

Phil_aka_Pip

It would. The price seems reasonable though for a good nick piece of kit.

Thing is, I can't justify it. Not only could I not gig with it (for reasons alluded to in a previous post), I can't see a requirement for a 100W combo in my music room at home.

Winny_Pooh

£499 is a bargain depending on condition, they go for upwards of 700 to 1000 for a clean MkII to 1200 up for a good Mk I (depending on its playability, early ones don't have the keybed mod & wooden hammers that are more prone to warping etc) 

I owned a Mark II (black panel, flat top) for 5 years and have done basic work on them.

Things to check are if all the notes play clearly through an amp and if they keys all play ok. Then you can remove the lid and check the rubber tips of the hammers for wear and the condition of the long skinny "tines" that the hammers hit.

Pics pics pics

ICBM

No - that's for the Traynor amp .

But that's very useful information regarding the Rhodes, so thank you .

He thinks it's an early 70s model. I'll see if I can get him to send me some pics.

BigLicks67

Not sure this is helpful, but a mate of mine had a Wurlitzer (similar to a Rhodes) and sold it for £400.00 years ago despite it needing work and having 2 dead keys, so I'd imagine £700- £1000 is achievable.

Winny_Pooh

BigLicks67 said:

Not sure this is helpful, but a mate of mine had a Wurlitzer (similar to a Rhodes) and sold it for £400.00 years ago despite it needing work and having 2 dead keys, so I'd imagine £700- £1000 is achievable.

Wurlies are worth a bit more as less of them were made, they also use a totally different design more akin to keys hitting harmonica reeds vs a Rhodes where the pitch of the note is determinted by the tone bar above the struck tine. 

thecolourbox

I'd also be very interested to know what these go for in the real world, as I have a family friend who has one who used to play in a country band, and she has often implied she'd be happy to sell it to me but I've only ever seen them go on eBay for over a grand which I'm not really able to justify. She does tend to say stuff like "I'm sure we could work something out" but I've never got anything further than that to give me any sort of idea how much would be fair as I don't want to rip anybody off.

IvisonGuitars

I sold my Mk 1 Stage 73 for £800 a few years ago, it didn't have the original lid (which is why 1 got it cheap) but I made a new one and it sounded great. Would have loved to have kept it but couldn't really play it!

Sold it to a studio. I believe they are still fairly desirable as long as it has all the hardwear (legs, pedal and bar) with it.

TimmyO

I love both the Rhodes and Wurlitzer sound.

When I am (inexplicably) rich and famous, my studio will have one of each. Not that I can play them. 

thecolourbox

A Mark II has popped up locally (in brum) for £650, it is apparently from 1980. Judging by some of the prices quoted as potentially reasonable above, am I staring at a bargain or a recipe for disaster?

I am a pianist more than a guitarist really so would be able to use it but just not sure I have the space...

ICBM

I'm not actually an expert on them, but as I understand it that's a good price if it's all in working order, but not necessarily if it's not - they can cost quite a bit to fix. Each key has its own mechanism and pickup, so if more than a few need adjusting/repairing/replacing it can get expensive quickly.

Ché

Interested but alas I'm too far away. If it's got a flat top it's an MKII which have a brighter tone with a sharper transient than the MK I's which have a curved top. I tend to prefer the MKI's tone but MKII can hold an ashtray which was the quintessential secondary role of any musical instrument in the 70's

Winny_Pooh

Thats a pretty decent price. Testing is straightforward. Play all the keys plugged into an amp and check they all ring ok and damp ok when you release the pedal. Then play them harder and check they still play cleanly. Then lift the lid and check for obvious corrosion and condition of the rubber hammer tips (mild divots are ok, breaking rotty is not) and damper felt (discolouration ok, rotting or hardness not).

Should be in decent nick as it's a later mkii (if not abused). Only if it's not working does diagnosing fix/value get more complex. 
Check it has the sustain pedal and all the legs.