1981 Rhodes Mark ll Stage 73 Piano
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.พ. 2025
- This is the first Rhodes I restored, my father's graduation gift to me in high school. I gigged with it for years and a pair of Leslie 60 tone cabinets. When Vintage Vibe appeared and you could get parts, the process is not so daunting. Ironically I had to harvest pick up from a Rhodes 54 that had been given to us and had been sitting in the garage unused for a long time. This had many failed white pick ups, so I took them out of the 54. When the pick ups became available on eBay (guys were learning how to re-wind them) I restored the 54 with the exact same process, replacing most everything and eliminating the RCA jack. I was proud of this one, because I took everything I had learned playing it on a gig and in a band and applied it to the voicing. Tone down the lower notes not to interfere with the bassist. You have to choice HOW to voice it, the tone and volume of each and every note up and down the keyboard. The stock settings changed over the years from the factory, and different years and models sounded very different. Still I think this is my favorite, but I have learned to appreciated the "Bark" of the Mark ll when you play it hard and overdrive the tones. As for action, there is no question this is the best. Nothing ever had to be done to it, except all of the damper felts fell of at one time a few years ago. There is no side to side key wiggle at all. I had to install "Bump Mods" on two of the others, and so you don't play them like an acoustic piano. This one more so you can. Other than an intermittent dead short I get and have to bang the wooden harp, this one plays the best or easiest. It would make the best gig instrument if you were playing quiet cocktail music. It has been sitting up in this bedroom for a few years and not getting played much, so I decided to check it out. I played up and down the keyboard and notes had fallen out of voicing being too loud or uneven with the harmonic content between the fundamental pitch and the octave overtone. AGain you have to choose how you want to voice it, and it is not done with a scope. You need EARS and fingers. They key is to get the notes to resonate as strongly as possible but also listening to your chosen ratio. I spent some time trying to fix this the last few days, and it seemed way out of spec. But it is wood and flesh and gets banged and moved and screws can turn and pick up can move. I think I made an improvement to its eveness and musicality. Just a quick test to see how I faired.
Sounds great!
Plus I am using Shure air shock mounts for the mikes, which eliminates noise from the floor and stands. Need more of these.
Haul that piano to one gig and you will be a sax player, flute or trumpet player. I just travel around with this boat anchor in my car. Man that sucked so much.
What would be best is to have a steady weekly gig at a club or restaurant and keep the instrument in one place. Lock it up good in between. Like a B-3 at a jazz club. By the way I am a trumpet player. And Yes I hauled this exact piano the in back of a '69 VW bug through college. But I understand your point.