This post is all about my Rhodes Mark V Stage 73 piano. But first, some background, if you please.

I must give credit to Will Ammons, good friend and keyboardist from my college band, for introducing me to vintage keyboards and organs, expecially the Fender Rhodes piano. Thank you, Will.

I was in high school when my mom was given a Fender Rhodes Mark Ib Stage 73 from a local school. This was before I knew anything about the instrument, and as a consequence it sat unused in our home., and eventually my mom and I gave it away to a local recording studio; a decision I came to regret.

I eventually purcased my first Fender Rhodes piano; a Mark 1b Suitcase 88 for $400. What a piano! I fell in love with the stereo tremelo. I later sold it to purchase a mint condition Mark II Stage 73 (with wooden keys) for $300. I eventually sold the Mark II as well. I was playing the EVP-88 Logic Pro rhodes emulator with a MIDI keyboard and thought that I should sell the Mark II, as some tines and pickups had broken. I thought that I would be as happy with the rhodes emulator as I was with the real thing. I was wrong.

After only one month of being “rhodesless” I decided to start looking for another one. I read up on the different models and decided to start looking for a Mark V Stage 73, but would also like to find a Mark 1b Suitcase 88. I knew it would be difficult to find a Mark V, and if I found one, I wasn’t sure how much it would cost. I placed 2 online WTB ads, one of which was on my personal blog.

After only a month, an email appeared in my inbox bearing the subject: “Rhodes Mark V Stage 73”

It read:

I have a Rhodes Mark V Stage 73 model that I don’t use. Everything works
and I rarely use it. Interested ?? and how much is a fair price ??

I could not believe it! It turned out that there was a gentleman in Baltimore, MD who saw my WTB and decided to write to me. Based on my previous purchases, I suggested a price of $400, to which he agreed. Over the next 6 months I saw two Mark V’s sell for over $4,200 on eBay. However, both of those were in mint condition, with the original documentation and replacement tines. I have seen them in fair condition selling for $1,500 – $2,500 on eBay. The selling price seems to dramatically increase ($300-$400) if the original optional stand is included.

The Mark V was in good condition when I got it, and I was able to tune it and clean it with success. I have had to replace about 4 tines, which I broke while playing it. But other than that, it has been very reliable. I plan on keeping this one for a long time.

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)