Learning more about the Rhodes Mark V (Mk V)

What follows is information about some specifics of the Rhodes Mark V. Most of the technical information was written on the Mark I and II, probably because these far outnumbered the Mark V (of which only a few thousand were made).

I wanted to list some information on the Mark V here on this site so that other Mark V owners can learn more about their instrument. Eventually, I’d like to start a Fender Rhodes registry, where owners can register their Rhodes pianos. I think it would be neat to track where all of these Rhodes pianos are today.

Here is some information I’ve gathered on the Rhodes Mark V:

  • Using high-speed photography, the Rhodes engineers had discovered that the original damper design caused an initial snap-back when the key was struck, “kissing” the tine lightly and dampening the overtones before coming to a resting position. The new dampers behaved correctly when depressed, allowing the tines to ring more freely.
    (http://www.fenderrhodes.com/models/mark5.php)
  • [Fender Rhodes Stage Pianos] were manufactured until 1984, at which time the Fender Rhodes Mark V Stage Piano was released (only about 4000 Mk Vs were made).
    (http://www.speakeasyvintagemusic.com/fender_rhodes_electric_piano.htm)
  • Less than 2000 Rhodes Mark V were made before the Rhodes factory in Fullerton closed down in 1985. …. The Rhodes Mark V differs from the the Mark I and Mark II models with a better action design where the hammerthrow has been increased to two inches which in turn gives the piano added dynamic capabilities. They also redesigned the dampers to mute the tines better.
    (http://www.vintagebua.no/?page=products&categoryid=55)
  • The final Rhodes electric piano was the short-lived Mk V in 1984, which is thought to be the perfect Rhodes due to portability, and tweaked design that avoids key/hammer bouncing. The Mark V Stage 73 was the last piano to be manufactured before the Rhodes Works shut down in 1985 never to reopen.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_piano)
  • According to inventor Harold Rhodes, the Mark V was “the best Rhodes ever built”. The sound of the Mark V offers improved clarity in the upper range, better consistency of tone in the low range and increased sustain compared to earlier versions of Rhodes pianos.
    (http://www.clavia.se/nordelectro/sounds.htm)
  • The Mark V is lighter (~100 lbs). The stand is a vast improvement over the original legs. They made really improvements in how the hammer hits the tine. The damper works much better than the original. The action feels better.
    (http://www.musicplayer.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=017425;p=0)
  • Rhodes Mark V: According to Harold Rhodes,the brilliant inventor of the Rhodes piano,the Mark V was “the best Rhodes ever built”. Compared to earlier models, the Mark V offered a lot of new features, such as improved clarity in the upper range, better consistency of tone in the low range, an all-new action, extending the hammer stroke length by 23%, and a rugged, light-weight enclosure, which reduced the weight of the piano by 35%. The fact is, the sound of the Mark V offers increased clarity, and sustain over earlier versions of Rhodes pianos. The new action increased the dynamic range, which also offered new harmonics.
    (http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM03/Content/Clavia/PR/New-Piano-Sounds.html)
  • Parts specifications not documented by a drawing, were documented by a model or reference part (The hammer cam curve design is an example of this aspect. I still have the model for the Mk V cam curve).
    (http://www.fenderrhodes.com/news.php?year=2001)
  • The MkV was released in 1984 and here we see the fruit of all the ideas and discoveries made by techs at the Rhodes-lab. Harold himself had been constantly trying to improve his instruments, and had found a soul-buddy in Steve Woodyard. Harolds way of singning-off was by letting Steve “do his thing” and use all possible knowledge and experiment with a radically altered instrument. The MkV is mainly an instrument that has been made much smaller and lighter in all aspects as well as it’s more modern design. The mayor improvment technically, however is that Mr.Woodyard managed to increase the hammer stroke length. This gives the MkV a much more dynamic response and after redoing the damper mechanism, it turned into a great instrument wich is a pleasure to play.
    (http://www.freddan.biz/html/models.html)
  • In 1983 William Schultz (head of CBS) buys Rhodes, and the year after we get the Mark V, Steve Woodyard’s baby. If you get rid of the heavy wooden case (Finnish birch wood I think), and use as light materials as possible, plus you manage to peak precision, among other things increasing the hammer travel distance by 23%, maybe there’s still a market. The Rhodes Mark V was a very good instrument, maybe the ultimate Rhodes. An estimated 3-4,000 were made during two years. Three Mark V’s were even made with MIDI: Steve Woodyard has one, Chick Corea and John Novello the other two. They are impossible to put a price on.
    (http://www.fenderrhodes.com/history/narrative.php)

11 Responses to “Learning more about the Rhodes Mark V (Mk V)”

  1. Alice Fosdick says:

    I have came across a Mark I Rhodes piano,, I just wonder how much these pianos are worth now..It was found in Montana at
    an old school. I now hane it and souds wonderful and is in fair condition. I just wodered if these were still used and how much they might be worth.

    Alice Fosdick

  2. Joe says:

    Alice,
    Congratulations on your find! The value depends on many things, and among those things I think these are most important:

    -Condition. It sounds like it is in fair condition, which can be expected with such an old instrument.

    -Model. You say it is a Mark I Rhodes piano. These essentially came in two types: Suitcase (with a speaker cabinet underneath) and Stage (supported by 4 legs). The Suitcase model typically sells for more.

    To answer your question, I believe a Mark I Suitcase in fair condition would sell for anywhere from $700-$1000. I also believe that a Mark I Stage in fair condition would sell for $500-$800. A Rhodes in “good” condition could be expected to sell for $200-$400 more.

    Good luck! I’m glad you are playing it.

  3. Alice Fosdick says:

    Thanks for your response..i got the piano tuned yesterday and i
    really don’t think i will let it go anywhere..the sounds is awesome
    i was curious about it though,, i appreciate you writing me back..it is a suitcase tho and we plug in to a amplifier..it sounds great…thanks again….alice

  4. Eric says:

    Hey there. Nice Site!

    I am a Mark V owner and agree that it is the best! However, the cost of upkeep is starting to bother me, especially when there are Virtual Instruments that do a very good job.

    So, while I truly love this Rhodes, I am considering selling it. Can you recommend a place to find its value? Do you think it will increase in value if I were to keep it?

    Thanks!

  5. Joe says:

    Eric,
    Thank you. I enjoy learning about the Mark V. Glad to hear that you are enjoying yours. Indeed, there is a level of cost in upkeep. Just recently I had to replace two tines and a tuning spring. Luckily, I have about 30 spares from an old Rhodes that was scraped for parts.

    The Mark V’s value, in my estimation, will increase with time. I assume that, over time, Mark V’s will (unfortunately) be parted out, or otherwise destroyed, meaning that there will be fewer each year.

    I believe that the Mark V will become a very rare collector’s item in the Rhodes line of pianos. For this reason I believe that, yes, it will increase in value over time.

    I have seem Mark V’s sell for up to $5000 on online auction sites (eBay). But have seen one sell with Buy It Now for $750 – a case where the seller may not have known the actual value. Of course the condition, and original stand, effect the selling price. I estimate that the original Mark V stand adds about $400 to the selling price on eBay.

    Can you send me some pictures of your Mark V? I’ve been thinking of starting a Mark V registry for us lucky owners!

    Thanks, and take care.

  6. Jason says:

    Nice site with great info.

    I guess I am one of the lucky few who have the Mark V. I purchased it at a flea market in Bay City, MI about a year ago. I believe I gave 400$ for it. It did not have a sustain pedal, as the owner could not find it. It did come with the original stand. Its in almost perfect shape. The clarity from the mid and high range are amazing. The piano does have a few bad spots, as there are two notes that give a buzz, and the low end – maybe the last 10 keys – are pretty muddy. Also half of the butterfly latches were broken off.

    I’m desperatly trying to find a place to service it, but havn’t had luck in the mid MI area. I can send pictures and recordings if you’d like. If you have any cleaning, or routine service tips, that would be great. I have no plans by any means to get rid of this guy.

    Funny to think, I only looked in the local flea market classifieds, because I didn’t want pay shipping on ebay. It only took me 400$ and an hour drive to have my rhodes.

    thanks for the info, hopefully more people will find it.

  7. Joe says:

    Jason,
    Fantastic! Yes, that sounds like a /great/ find!

    My mark v had uneven keys, but not that bad. Also it was missing the bottom 3 latches. I was able to replace the latches fairly easily, and I was able to level the keys very easily.

    I would LOVE to get pictures and a sound clip of your mark v. You know I have been making progress on the mark v registry….a place for us mark v owners to showcase our treasures to the world!

    I’ll think of some routine servicing tips and post them here soon.

    Take care,
    Joe

  8. aj says:

    I own a mark V and a mark I :)
    Great site with lots of good info by the way. I can’t seem to find the mark V stand on ebay or anywhere else, is this rare?

  9. Joe says:

    Thanks aj.

    Yeah, the Mark V stand is very rare. I think this is because they were sold as an option to the Mark V. Many people just used a different stand when they bought the Mark V new.

    Here are some threads on the fender rhodes supersite regarding the Mark V stand:

    http://www.fenderrhodes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1377&highlight=stand

    http://www.fenderrhodes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1233&highlight=stand

    Thanks for stopping in!

  10. Venus says:

    I have a mark V Rhodes and it is in excellent condition. I think I will hang onto it for a long time. I am the origional owner and I have taken very good care of my piano. It has all of the origional parts with the stage stand and case. Who knows maybe it will increase in value. I hope so….

  11. Sean says:

    I own a Mark V stage 73. It was the first keyboard I ever purchased, when I was 16, in 1986. I think I paid $600.00 at the time, but I can’t quite remember. Everyone thought I was nuts at the time; when I acquired a Hammond organ shortly after, they were convinced of it.

    It’s served me well over the years. I play very hard on it, for some reason, so I’ve broken a few tines here and there. I’ve found stacking other synths on it also causes buzzes and wears them down, too.

    My keys, unfortunately, got a little warped (if anyone has any recommendations on repairing this, please do let me know). I lived overseas for a time, and it was stored in a non-climatised garage for two years. Otherwise, it’s in great order, and it still plays very well indeed. Most people who listen are positively moved by the rich and pristine sound.

    I’ve been tempted to buy the Speakeasy suitcase vibrato unit/tube preamp rack. I’ve heard that it sounds absolutely gorgeous.

    In short: I love this instrument, and I’ve never regretted buying it (it’s absurd now to think that people preferred a dx7). I’ve had it for 21 years now and it’s given me enormous pleasure.

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