keyman_sam Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 ....5 dead pickups? It seems that other than that, it works great. Are the pickups easy to fix? (40 bux on ebay for 5 pickups?) is it worth for 300 USD? Dont follow me....i'm lost too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Does it have legs? Sustain pedal and rod? How is the tolex? It sounds like a beater to me. I wouldn't pay $300 for a beater. I've paid a bit more for some that are in terrific shape. The pickups are wired in series. I don't know what is involved in replacing them. I've owned many Rhodes over the years (still have three). I've never had a dead pickup. They are passive. There's not a lot to them. If I were you I'd be more interested in the restored Clavinet C that just popped up on the Houston Craigslist. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyman_sam Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 I dont know much about clavinets, (or rhodes for that matter), but generally, i'm interested in playing rhodes vs. playing clavs. I thought 300 was a good deal for a almost-workking condition rhodes. Dont follow me....i'm lost too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 No top? Five dead pickups? What happened to it? Pickups shouldn't go bad unless they've been subjected to humidity. Of course, if the top is off the Rhodes and they've been physically messed up, that's a different story. It makes me ask the question, how's the action? Have you played it or just seen pictures of it? I dunno. You may be able to replace the top and the pickups, but this Rhodes sounds like it's seen better days. Good luck, Tom "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 I agree with sheep man. No telling what the action is like, whether it's clean inside or has water damage & the like, or has been dropped & stuff. A piano where the case top is missing AND has broken pickups -- that rings alarm bells. On the other hand, $300 is cheap for a Rhodes an pickups are easily replaced. If it's playable and you're handy, chances are you can turn it into a nice instrument, assuming the keys aren't too warped. Keys are warped a bit on lots of old Rhodes. As long as the keyboard is reasonably even (by real piano standards, not by digital piano standards), and the inside isn't terribly corroded, you should be fine. The pedal alone costs $150 to replace, or $60 if you want an "ugly pedal", which looks like it would be very uncomfortable to play. (Check "rhodes pedal" on ebay.) The pedal rod is just a Rogers hihat rod, so it's easily replaced. Legs look like they're running $150 as well. You can get a nice clean Mark I or II for about $800, last I checked. here\'s an ebay listing expiring in 3 hours for only $500, and it looks a lot cleaner inside than most that go for $800. I can tell instantly from the bright color of the copper on the pickups that this piano spent its entire life inside, and no tears in the tolex means it wasn't gigged. (The color of the pickups is a real good clue to how much humidity it's seen over its lifetime. If it looks like new copper, you're more likely to see problems in warped keys from too LITTLE humidity.) You can see a little unevenness in the key tops, but that's typical for this age piano and can be fixed. (In pianos that saw too much humidity, the keys can twist, and you can't fix that except by replacing the worst keys. I bet these are all straight and realigning the keys is a typical simple tech job.) I bet this goes up considerably in the last minutes of bidding, unless folks are put off by the missing legs. If I wanted to acquire a Rhodes and didn't already have one, I'd be bidding on this one for sure. I'd say it's worth $800 even without the legs, being so clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Originally posted by learjeff: here's an ebay listing expiring in 3 hours for only $500, and it looks a lot cleaner inside than most that go for $800. Um, Jeff? I think the reason they're suggesting the Clav C is that it's probably a good deal/investment. You could always sell it.... A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Hey give me 5 minutes to notice the typo, OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyman_sam Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 Ok, here's the ad i was talking about (with pics) : http://austin.craigslist.org/msg/220668408.html Dont follow me....i'm lost too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Buy it, fast. The pedal and legs are worth nearly $300. Note that the leg braces are missing, but they're replaceable. Too bad the case top is missing. BTW, the missing lid is called a "case top" or "lid". "Suitcase" means something entirely different for Rhodes. It means it comes with a big amp & speaker cabinet that sit where the rear legs would be (front from audience viewpoint), with a pedal sticking out the bottom. If you don't want to spring for new pickups right away, you can steal the ones from the top 5 notes, which aren't used a whole lot on Rhodes anyway (by most players). Simple solder job, and they're just screwed on with hex heads. If you know how to wield an iron, you're golden. Even it it turns out to be crap, it's pretty much a free parts box, and there are plenty of Rhodes to be found with missing legs and pedal. That's if you're serious about wanting one, and won't gig with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 Originally posted by learjeff: That's if you're serious about wanting one, and won't gig with it. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyman_sam Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 Ok, thanks for the info jeff. Like i said, I'm ignorant about rhodes and clavs and B3s (well pretty much everything there, doncha think? ). I'll check it out. I've not soldered anything in my life, but my mom is a electronics engineer, so she should know. Dont follow me....i'm lost too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyman_sam Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 I wont gig with it. Thats fo shure! Dont follow me....i'm lost too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moog_Man Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 no cover can be bad if you plan to gig with it. however if you wanna fix it up it could be fun. I wouldn't take it outa the house though, you really need a lot of protection for these babies. Depending on how the rest of the condition it is in, you could be gettin ripped. After you spend money on pickups and stuff it could be worth just to buy one in good working condition; there are a lot and ebay, and if you can find one close to you then no $300 shipping charges! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyman_sam Posted October 15, 2006 Author Share Posted October 15, 2006 That one IS close to me. Dont follow me....i'm lost too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted October 15, 2006 Share Posted October 15, 2006 No way he can be ripped off if he gets what's pictured, because, as I said above, the pedal and legs alone would cost you $300 to buy on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dementedchord Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 $300 is a steal dude do it... the pickups may not be bad... they rarely go bad... probably just a solder job... BTW the hard part if they are bad is adjusting the volume relitive to the rest... sure loosening the thing is easy enough but they tend to change when screwed back down... and voicing them which adjusts the angle that the tine approaches the pick-up... done by playing with both the screws that hold the tine and resonator bar down and a second screw that deals with the angle... good luck nice find... "style is determined not by what you can play but what you cant...." dave brubeck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmymio Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 The pickups can certainly be bad and they can be replaced but if one is unexperienced, it can be a PITA. Sometimes you can get lucky and a hot soldering iron can bring "dead' pickups back to life. I don't understan "demented"'s point about adjusting the volume and tone. If you can install the pickups, the adjustments are an afterthought. Write back if you have a problem. JP-former tech, Dyno-My-Piano 1935 Mason & Hamlin Model A Korg Kronos 2 73 Nord Electro 6D 61 Yam S90ES Rhodes Stage 73 (1972) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dementedchord Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Originally posted by jimmymio: The pickups can certainly be bad and they can be replaced but if one is unexperienced, it can be a PITA. Sometimes you can get lucky and a hot soldering iron can bring "dead' pickups back to life. I don't understan "demented"'s point about adjusting the volume and tone. If you can install the pickups, the adjustments are an afterthought. Write back if you have a problem. JP-former tech, Dyno-My-Piano you worked for Dyno... cool... i was a tech myself for around 15 yrs.. had a couple of mods i liked to do... anyhow the comment was based on the interactivenes of the distance for the pickup to the tine and being able to voice the instrument by adjusting the tension on the retaining screw and the angle adjust screw holding the bar assembly... yes it's an "afterthought" but to make it playble seemed to be necessary and often a big PITA... YMMV... "style is determined not by what you can play but what you cant...." dave brubeck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmymio Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 My feeling is that even a complete novice can get the tone and volume in the ballpark by visually trying to set the tonebar and pickups similarly to the adjacent keys. Any finetunig can be dome aurally. As for replacing pickups....I just replaced 6 in a client's piano and it is by far my least favorite repair. JP 1935 Mason & Hamlin Model A Korg Kronos 2 73 Nord Electro 6D 61 Yam S90ES Rhodes Stage 73 (1972) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moog_Man Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 No way he can be ripped off if he gets what's pictured, because, as I said above, the pedal and legs alone would cost you $300 to buy on ebay. Well if the rest of the piano is ok, maybe it would be a good grab. I didn't realize feet and sustain pedal/rod were included, my fault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 OK, thanks for pointing that out, jimmy. I'm running on memory (my Rhodes is in the attic at present) and I can't figure out why it's a hassle, but I also can't quite remember exactly how the pickups wires are connected. I know they're all in series but other than that my memory fails me. IIRC, the pickups are simply held by the one hex screw, right? So, other than soldering, it should be simple. I never found the adjustment very hard to do, roughing it in visually and then checking the sound and maybe moving it a bit so it's like its neighbors. But I've only made minor adjustments to mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trill Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 What is it about the Rhodes?, I walked into GC tonight and right there by golly (not Sven) was a clean Mark 1 in good workimg condition with the sustain pedal for $399.00 . Complete with lid ,legs everything, mushy action. And boy was it fun to play,and boy did I want to drop 400.00 right there . Knowing full well I would never take it on gigs, I have the Electro 2 . Knowing full well I would have to tune it ,care for it ,possibly repair it "A one trick pony, but ohh how it turns that trick with pride." Paul Simon I walked out ,summoning all the gas evasion strength in my body. I just wonder how much longer I can stay away. It would be great for a fun in the studio. Of course whoever had it before probably thought the same thing before he traded it to GC. Speaking of one trick ponies,Have you ever heard Richard Tee play the Rhodes on that song by Paul Simon...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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