does anyone have/play a fender rhodes piano...

I would easily spend 400 for a vintage Wurly or Rhodes in VG+ shape, but I've never seen one listed on craigs for even half that price.

Or if it's listed in that price range, it usually had a qualifier like "missing keys, missing mallets" or the common and ominous "NEEDS WORK."

See, this is what I mean (from craig's today):

It is in fair condition (it could use to have a few tines replaced, needs to be tuned). It has the original lid and legs, as well as the original sustain pedal. The pedal is not working at the time being...

I don't know anything about these keyboards so it'd be incredibly hard for me to judge if it's really in "good" shape or not. Unless it was super cheap (this one is listed at $600), I can't stomach the risk.

well, i got my 54 for 300$, but it was sort of under special circumstances and not thru craigslist. not full size, also. I think it depends on where you are a bit. I sort of like how much of a pain in the ass rhodeses (es?) are, it is the only instrument that i own that i love but also feel a certain amount of spite towards.

i don't know keith, they're not THAT hard to fool with, and a decent tech can do quite a bit, I would say check it out and gauge the situation if possible. replacement tines aren't that difficult/expensive to come by these days. but i wouldn't buy it blind by any means.

my dad sort of collects them, so i grew up with two in my house. they've got a great sound, but i don't really see what all the commotion is about..

Nickalicious said pretty much exactly what I would have said about the tone. Apart from a lot of the '70s fusion players who used a Rhodes, the EP sound on most old records is actually a Wurlie (or even earlier, a Pianet).

Has anyone ever tried to open a "re-issue" line with this keyboard?

I read recently that the Rhodes supersite got a cease-and-desist from some guy who owns the Rhodes trademark and is thinking of building them again. But there's no way that a new Rhodes will cost less than a few thousand dollars. It's a very complex mechanical instrument with tons of moving parts.

If you can't afford the space/cost/hassle of the real thing, the various plugins available are pretty damn close. In fact, I'd venture to say they sound "better" in a lot of ways as it's like having a bunch of different sounding but perfectly maintained keyboards. Or if you need it for live shows, the Electro is the obvious choice.

Does anyone know about a Yamaha electric piano? I saw one a while back at a music shop. It was a bit larger than a Rhodes suitcase but was a real piano! It was kind of shocking to play it (unplugged) and hear this muffled piano-in-a-box sound come out. It must have scaled down strings inside or something.

Like the Yamaha CP70 and CP80?

http://www.cathedralstone.net/Pics/CP70B1.jpg

I fell briefly and tempestuously in love with Charlotte Caffey playing one of these in the "Head Over Heels" video.

Oh yeah, that must have been it. There was a bunch of other crap piled on top and around it so I didn't realize how deep it was. It makes a lot more sense now!

I dont know about making a rhodes keyboard again, you see the Digital Keyboards and Pianos can actually produce a authenic rhodes sound with all the nuances of the original piano.

I'd recommend a Hohner Pianet - much more portable & cheaper. If you have Cubase or other VST software, there's a great free download here:

MDA E Piano

I use it on recordings all the time:

A recording