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

It's all in the origin of the sound. Rhodes sounds more "bell/vibes-like" because the sounds are created by mallets striking metal tines. The Wurly, on the other hand, the mallets strike wooden reeds, and thus you get a reedier, woodier sound. Also, because of the physical mass difference between the steel tines of the Rhodes and the wooden reeds of the Wurly, the Wurly will distort MUCH more easily by playing harder.

Has anyone ever tried to open a "re-issue" line with this keyboard? I would love to own one (and I don't care if its authentic), but they are all very, very expensive in the secondary market. I mean, Fender has about 7500 different versions of the '57 strat...

really? I see them all the time on craigslist for like 4-700 bucks, and I know they generally hold up real well. I'd imagine it's a similar thing w/analog keyboards in that the cost of creating production facilities/producing the components/parts again would far outweigh any possible profit.

also, having never owned a wurly, can you get in there to fuck with the action/edge/tuning like you can with a rhodes?

Clavinet > Rhodes.

It's all about "Superstition."

Yes you can! I'm not very familiar with Wurlys though, I don't know anything about tuning 'em or replacing hammers or anything.

On the re-issue front, the least someone could do is put out lines of keyboards working off the same electromechanical principles but with modern (lighter) materials or with better stabilization for the elements, so one could carry a nu-Rhodes around without breaking their back or ruining the tuning.

x-post, I think the ultimate keyboard ever is the Hohner Clavinet/Pianet combo. It's got tines AND strings AND you can mix between 'em!

i have wanted a nord electro for a while. although i will probably never get it - just too spendy. but i think the rhodes sounds you get out of that are just incredible, and without the squeaky clankety sustain pedal.

i sold my 88 suitcase last year, which was kind of sad but i just didn't have the space for it anymore. plus the thing is monumentally heavy which makes it a pain

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