Rhodes MK 1 Suitcase

I bought this from a friend for $200 when my daughter was 2. Now my granddaughter is 2 and I'm restoring it for her. She has a little Casio to make noise with, but she really loves "Goompa's real piano."

If you want gadgets, look elsewhere. This is a true, authentic electric piano, not an electronic device. The amp will blow the neighbor's windows out.

Listen to Bob James, Theme From Taxi. Watch The Blues Brother. Ray Charles plays mine in the music store. This has hammers. It has feel. It has expression. If you want noises find something else.

After nearly 20 years of lugging this around, storing it, thrashing on it, and playing it constantly, I'm finally going to do a once-over on the insides. Needs a few pads, and the emblems finally broke off. Other than that, nothing. I'm not thinking twice about sinking $100 into it. It'll be there for my great-granddaughter's second birthday.

The company kind of doesn't exist. I Googled "Rhodes 73 parts" and found several sources and LOT'S of enthusiastic hard-cores. It's like a classic car. Yeah, you have to tinker with it, but you GET to tinker with it.

This is in my will. It will never be sold, and if it got stolen the guy better hope the cops find him before I do. It is in my collection of other classic instruments (too many to mention.)

If someone asked me to place a dollar value on it I couldn't. It's a priceless piece. If you're lucky enough to find one, keep it! I'm not sure I'd pay $1400 for another one (Just saw an ad) but I'd be hard pressed to pass another one up in the $500 range.

Turn it on and play. Not much else to do.

But when you start playing, expect a workout. I have to say this: The action on the three of these I've played was just a pain. Most keys require some major muscle, though some are heavier and some are lighter, making it difficult to play consistently. Add to that the weight and bulk factor, and you REALLY have to want to play this machine, because it will wear you out.

Solid-state amp and a pile of 12" speakers. Volume, EQ of sorts, sustain pedal and tremolo. Beyond that you're on your own.

The Rhodes sound is very cool, no doubt about it. Unique, soulful, sweet. Can be overdriven if you max the amp and beat the keys hard enough. Rembember folks, this is more than analog. This is amplified acoustic. The thing is a hammer board that bangs on little tines. It's like a big keyed xylophone.

Yeah, it's a great sound.

Well, it's pretty solid, but it WILL go out of tune and will also need the action tweaked from time to time. (Not that it matters, because it will still be sub-optimal.) Not a maintenance-free ax.

HAH! Ha-ha-ha-ha . . . .

Picked one up at a pawn shop in the '90's and it kicked around for 10 years. Tried to love it. Finally gave up and traded it (and some scratch) for a Hammond A-100, and used a synth for the Rhodes patch. You see, the Rhodes sound can be emulated almost perfectly. In my opinion there's no reason to suffer the pain of the original anymore.

This is not true of some classic sounds (like the Hammond, which when linked to a Leslie can simply NOT be duplicated, or even get decently close), but it is with the Rhodes. It paved the way, but in my opinion you should go with the new, more versatile and LIGHTER technology to get the same buzz. And these are crazy expensive - - The power of collectors and nostalgia I guess. I don't know, nor have I seen, a single performing musician that bothers to carry one. If somebody gave me one for free I'd just sell it - - it's really not worth having around.

Turn on the amp and play.

The only effect is stereo tremolo/pan, but it can easily be played through any guitar effects for great results.

That vintage rhodes sound... gotta love it. This thing just soaks you in warm, smooth 70's vibes when you play it. The suitcase always had a more warm, rounded sound then the stage, but if you run a cable from the piano to another amp or mixer for recording, you can get that stage sound. With a little chorus and eq, the famed "dyno" sound that graced many classic late 70's-80's recordings (eg: Earth WInd and Fire) is also possible.

This thing is the epitome of durability.

Rhodes is obviously out of business, but parts can be obtained from majorkey and speakeasy vintage, and the repairs are pretty intuitive. Most of my repairs were done (by myself) with info I obtained on fenderrhodes.org.

If it were stolen, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another. However, since the piano and speakers collectively weigh about a ton, I don't think anyone would bother. The bottom line is that, while the Wurli has some great sounds, the Rhodes, properly eq'd, can sound like a wurli, and has a lot more musical capabilities.