Fender Rhodes Mark 7 sighting
To hell with the iPhone, this is the gadget I want: Mark 7 Rhodes piano. The specs have got me excited as hell, I can’t wait to hear this thing. It’s a true electromechanical piano, like the old school Mark I and II, not electronic like the Chroma.
This will be the axe to have. Too bad they don’t list an exact weight. Here’s what they do say:
All Rhodes Pianos True Rhodes Electromechanical Designed
9 new models featuring state-of-art-design and Mark 7 technology
Three different sizes: 88-, 73-, and 61-key sizes in passive, active, and active MIDI configurations
Light, transportable, hi-performance neodymium speaker systems
Volume controled front to back Speaker Platform
Lighter overall weight
Mark 7 technology
Modular format
Passive-to-active capability with MIDI
Pre-amp with hi-performance 3-band equalizer
Tremolo and pitch bend
Wood keys and key bed
LCD screen
Ventilated humidity system
Mark 5 action design
Dual-panel USB ports
Custom Anvil cases
New stand design
New pedal design
Safety locking system
Headphone capability
Durable custom and soft-touch finishes
I grew up playing a Mark II stage 73. I bought myself one when I got out of high school and modified the bejeezus out of it. I consider myself a qualified Rhodes tech even though I’m not really trained as such. I have rebuilt a few for people and know most of the worthwhile tweaking on the old time models.
Damn, if I ever do get back into playing professionally this is the axe I want. If any of y’all find a sound clip, let me know immediately. Meanwhile, pics and more Rhodes love here: Rhodes Super Site forum.
Here is link to more pic’s. I sold my Rhodes in 83. Dumb move.
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2007/01/19/namm-gallery-the-rhodes-is-back-in-all-its-retro-glory/
This is link to Keyboard mag forum re: Rhodes.
http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/18/t/021247/p/4.html
Comment by 7notemode — January 20, 2007 @ 9:17 am
It’s interesting to me that only one of the ones in the pic has a pitch bend wheel. It may be that only affects the MIDI out, and doesn’t whammy the actual tine sound (I really don’t see how it could, although digital magic is probably capable of it).
Comment by Rob — January 20, 2007 @ 10:24 am
Video clip of the NAMM concert is up: http://www.rhodespiano.com/namm_info.htm
I could live without Lorber’s solo. George Duke was KILLING. I think David Benoit was bummed at having to follow that, but he held his end up pretty damn well. He was playing the passive version, and it didn’t seem to suffer compared to the active units that the other guys had. I think a different tune could have showcased the axe a lot better. And really the overall production values on that video were awful. It really sounded like ass–I hope that wasn’t because the product sucks. You’d think they could have yanked a decent mix off the board. Hi-fi audio and zero video wold be a lot better to sell the piano.
It starts to come clearer that these must just be Mark Vs in shiny cases with some updates to the electronics. Not so revolutionary. Maybe they’ll push down prices on the vintage units. I’ll happily mod the case and electronics myself.
Comment by Rob — January 25, 2007 @ 10:35 pm