The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano. How it works, a short history, and why it is fantastic.

[BootinUp]

[CincyDem]

1. It and a Hammond B3 were the most amazing keys I ever played.

Completely different feel and return but a nice stacked combination.

Those were the days…

[ProfessorGAC]

4. I Had A Rhodes

For a few years.
The Kustom introduced the K-88.
88 key weighted piano keyboard that used analog circuits to run John Chowning's FM synthesis method to create a true piano sound.
It sounded more like a real piano than anything that didn't have actual strings. Never went out of tune.
They put a tone control on it so I could roll off highs to make it sound closer to a Rhodes. Not identical, but it could do piano sounds the Rhodes could absolutely not do.
I traded the Rhodes with a guy who had a Boogie Bodies birdseye maple guitar I wanted.
I found a bit of fault with the Rhodes action on rapidly repeating notes. The "bounce" of the keys made me hit the next note with the key still on its way up or, even worse, on its second bounce going down.
I went digital around 1990 and didn't miss either the Rhodes or the Kustom.
My dad owned a Hammond, but he had the H series, not the B or C. Still a fine instrument but lacked the growl of the B-3 through a Leslie 147.

[CincyDem]

5. I ran my B3 through a pair of 122s. They spun up a little slower that the 145, inho. And I liked that.

Agree with you on the Rhodes action. Stuff like Spain was pretty much the outer edge of what I could eke out. There’s a honky tonk section in Karn Evil 9 that never worked on a Rhodes. I ended up using a Honer Clavinet for it that was passable.

All that’s gone now but I still have a Yamaha P-500 that I love for its feel. Not a Steinway but one of the better piano actions out there…again inho.

Btw…fun to run the Rhodes through the 122s. Kind of a Doobie Bros “Another Lonely Park” sound.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Ultimately, I Ended Up With...

...an Alesis QS-8.1. I had an Ensoniq SQ-2 on the second tier.
I has 4 MIDId tone modules in my rack. So, 6 total instruments. I stayed with that for the last 11 years that we gigged.
I still have the Alesis. Still the best weighted action I've ever played on an instrument meant to be moved. I think it's even better than the Nord, which is all the rage now.
I've played a Yamaha Clavinove with a fantastic keyboard but that this was made for a home or business to be set up & left there. Wouldn't be anything I'd want to move gig to gig.
The best synth action I ever used was the DX-7. But, I replaced it the the SQ-2 for the other 12 keys & bought a TX-802 for the rack, so I still had FM tones on my pallette.
But, since I don't perform, I really don't use any of it. If I want to play piano, I've got the genuine article for that.

[AZJonnie]

2. Rhodes and Clavinet are my two favorite keyboard sounds

I'll listen to pretty much anything that uses either one

As an aside, the piano line on Soul Kitchen doesn't sound like a Fender Rhodes to my ear, sounds more like some kind of organ

Riders on the Storm, otoh sounds exactly what I expect a 73-key Rhodes to sound like

I could be totally wrong what's actually played in both cases but I don't *think* so.

[BootinUp]

8. I think it is an earlier Piano bass keyboard by Rhodes in Soul Kitchen. nt

[AZJonnie]

9. Oh, yeah, there's a bit of a bassline in Soul Kitchen now that I listen again

I'm not as familiar with a Rhodes Bass sound so no reason to doubt that part could be one on the bassline. Just meant the main, kind-of stabbing keyboard sound playing the main melody line, the tone is not one I associate with a Rhodes, though maybe there could be effects that change the sound to make it sound like that? Not any kind of experts on keyboards really (though I have my share of guitar knowledge), just jabbering .

[PJMcK]

3. My collection of vintage keyboards

It’s a bit ridiculous but I have 14 keyboards! Over the years, I’ve collected various keyboards and MIDI tone modules as projects demanded. Mostly, the gear was bought for the specific project but then rarely used afterwards.

My rig includes a 1974 Rhodes 73-key Stage Piano that I had refurbished a few years ago; it plays better than when new. Similarly, I have a 1973 Wurlitzer Electronic Piano that was also refurbished and upgraded with a new amplifier that expanded the vibrato function; it’s been a friend since high school! There’s a Korg Digital Piano and a Yamaha Clavinova Piano as well. Somewhere in storage there’s a Yamaha stage Piano and a little Casiotone MT-10.

For synths, I have a Korg Polysix with the memory expansion & MIDI upgrade; a Yamaha DX-7 II; a Roland Juno D8; a Micro-Moog synthesizer; a Kawai K-11 synthesizer; several controller keyboards and half a dozen MIDI modules some dating back to the 1980s.

I used to have a beautiful Yamaha upright, a Hohner Clavinet, an ARP Odyssey synthesizer and a Hammond B-3 with a Leslie speaker but those were sold years ago.

There’s a terrific book titled, “Down The Rhodes,” that traces Harold Rhodes’ development of his keyboards following WWII and his history with Fender/CBS. It also has numerous interviews with keyboardists who made the Rhodes famous including Herbie Hancock, Chick Correa, Dave Grusin, Ramsey Lewis and others. Most of these interviews are also on YouTube. Here’s Donald Fagan:

As I’m semi-retired, I’ve been divesting myself of equipment. At my peak, I had two complete recording set-ups and mostly that gear was all gifted to new homes with either professional friends or to students. My wife wants me to get rid of more gear but “these are my friends” as Stephen Sondheim wrote in a totally different context, (see Sweeney Todd).

[BootinUp]

7. Thank you for sharing your experience and background.

I will see about watching vid, looks interesting as I really like Fagen and Steely Dan. I was never given the chance to play a Rhodes keyboard but I sure like the sound.