Rhodes Mark 7

[Hard2Hear]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

So you are saying we might actually see this thing before the world premier of Chinese Democracy?

lol, dropped yesterday

[denishach]

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who owns a store and has been trying to get a handle on the rhodes issue for me. Good news is, I got a price. Bad news is, for the standard New Rhodes Mark 7 76 note version, (lowest end) the MSRP is $5400.00 CAD!!! So $4192.04 USD!!!! It's pretty ridiculous and I'm afraid I can't afford one :(...
The Small Amp that you can add to it is $4800.00 CAD MSRP. This sucks guys!

-Denis

[RedTuxedo]

My full Suitcase 88 in near mint condition and a most creamy sound just went up in price by a whole lot!!!!

I bought it for $150. Don't even think of making me an offer.

[Farshad]

Originally Posted by denishach

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who owns a store and has been trying to get a handle on the rhodes issue for me. Good news is, I got a price. Bad news is, for the standard New Rhodes Mark 7 76 note version, (lowest end) the MSRP is $5400.00 CAD!!! So $4192.04 USD!!!! It's pretty ridiculous and I'm afraid I can't afford one :(...
The Small Amp that you can add to it is $4800.00 CAD MSRP. This sucks guys!

-Denis

For those who do not have the real thing, the sampl libraries/emulations seem to be the way to go then. For that price in this excellent economy ... this kinda reminds me of the Korg Oasys ...

[GYang]

Originally Posted by denishach

Good news is, I got a price.

Better news would be to see them in shops

[RKrizman]

I think you're going to have to actually play one to see if it's worth the money. Rhodes had so many iterations, and so few of them were special.

This one better be damn special.
-R

[GYang]

Originally Posted by RKrizman

I think you're going to have to actually play one to see if it's worth the money. Rhodes had so many iterations, and so few of them were special.

This one better be damn special.
-R

Word thumbsup

[goldphinga]

Are Rhodes there? Anyone seen or played a Mark 7 ?

[Mind-Over-Midi]

Put me down for a bump.

[TC5]

Originally Posted by Upawholestep

My full Suitcase 88 in near mint condition and a most creamy sound just went up in price by a whole lot!!!!

I bought it for $150. Don't even think of making me an offer.

Yeah at that price they are making the original Rhodes that much more desirable...

$150 for an 88 Suitcase? That's just sick... what year was it made?

[Jazzooo]

I wouldn't pay that kind of money for the new ones...but lemme tell you, playing them is a gas. I sat down and didn't get up for 20 minutes.

[Mind-Over-Midi]

Originally Posted by Jazzooo

I wouldn't pay that kind of money for the new ones...but lemme tell you, playing them is a gas. I sat down and didn't get up for 20 minutes.

Thanks for posting! Ok, so they are there and from what you are saying, I can assume that they sound pretty good. How much are they asking for these? Are they giving any ETA on these yet? Thanks.

Bill.

[Tomer1]

It doesnt take 1\10 of the price to manufacture this thing and I dont see how much R&D was needed to develope it.
Who needs midi anyhow, just give us a relayable rhodes built by todays technological and mechanical standarts.

2500$ would have been great but 4K ? If I had that kind of money I would look for a used grand.

[Mind-Over-Midi]

Originally Posted by Tomer1

It doesnt take 1\10 of the price to manufacture this thing and I dont see how much R&D was needed to develope it.
Who needs midi anyhow, just give us a relayable rhodes built by todays technological and mechanical standarts.

2500$ would have been great but 4K ? If I had that kind of money I would look for a used grand.

Me that’s who, I would really like MIDI controller capability on my new, modern, Rhodes, thank you. I’m certain my clients would get a kick out of it as well. Not trying to be funny but I really don't understand your comment, a used grand won't sound anything like a Rhodes, so do you need a Rhodes or not? So the asking price is 4k? Thanks!

[Infa]

Ok so where are they ? And where can you get one ? Its been extremely too long to even excuse a company for this.

Started hearing about them in 2007, ....then this thread in 2008, and now this thread is already a year old !!

What gives ? Who got some info on where you can officially buy these or see them physically in a local store ?

Also, anyone got a opinion on what color and finish they like the best and why ? I can't see the pictures that great to make out the difference of the "Road Touch" vs the "Glossy". But the Glossy looks kinda cheesy to me. Road Touch looks almost like a flat mat type finish, but I can't make it out exactly, it also looks like it might have a bit of rough texture to it similar to a Oberheim finish.. ?? No ?? what do you all think ?

Also, is it true that the midi functions are only to send out and not to receive ? That kinda sucks... I like midi alot, but I will FAR from be using this board as a midi controller, so all I would like is midi receive from it.

Can someone clarify if indeed they will be making "updates" to it for us to update it through the midi in ? If so, then it seems pretty important to get the midi version one then just for that... (correct me if I am thinking wrong) - I mean does this mean the others will not be "update-able" ?

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Infa

Also, is it true that the midi functions are only to send out and not to receive ? That kinda sucks... I like midi alot, but I will FAR from be using this board as a midi controller, so all I would like is midi receive from it.

It is a mechanical device. What would it do with midi receive? I suppose someone could turn it into a player piano, but that would VERY expensive, and pointless i.m.o.

[goldphinga]

Originally Posted by Infa

Ok so where are they ? And where can you get one ? Its been extremely too long to even excuse a company for this.

Started hearing about them in 2007, ....then this thread in 2008, and now this thread is already a year old !!

What gives ? Who got some info on where you can officially buy these or see them physically in a local store ?

Also, is it true that the midi functions are only to send out and not to receive ? That kinda sucks... I like midi alot, but I will FAR from be using this board as a midi controller, so all I would like is midi receive from it.
?

They arent for sale yet but will be in a couple of months from what i know. It takes a lot of r&d to make a new Rhodes. There were lots of inherent problems with the old ones (inconsistent quality control, bad tines, bad actions, heavy etc) and they are labour intensive to build and set up perfectly which they need to be.

I commend the Rhodes team for taking on what i deem to be a very difficult task. Improving and refining a classic design whilst making it lighter, more playable and so it sounds just as good if not better.

For a start picking the correct metal for the tines so they are strong enough and sound great must have been a task in itself, then retooling the factory, training, etc, not to mention a considerable amount has been shaved off the weight (something that was never acheived in the past and is a key feature of the mark 7) midi out is added (you could never have midi in on a mechanical device like this without stupid expense) a slicker and more precise action and so on. This is a huge task to get right from what i understand anyway...

Rhodes showed the concept new pianos at Namm over the last few years to get user feedback and have taken the time to get it right and its paid off from what ive heard!
Yes its taken a while but im sure these new pianos will be worth every penny and i for one cant wait to get my hands on one.

[vudoo]

They arent for sale yet but will be in a couple of months from what i know.

That's exactly what they said back in 2007 '' It'll be ready in a few months ''...now 2 years later still no news from the company, countless emails sent with no replies even my local dealers have no clue what's going. What a joke !!!
Imagine, having to deal with this company for after sale support :-(

[goldphinga]

They are coming..right now they are building up inventory to ship.

[Infa]

Originally Posted by goldphinga

They are coming..right now they are building up inventory to ship.

Thanks for the answers guys.

But I feel vudoo's statement. And we all should really. Sure I understand taking the time to get it all right, (better than Digi does for us right ? LOL ) - Hell take 10 years to make sure your product is FLAWLESS -- I agree, thats fine... BUT be a real company and ANSWER YOUR EMAILS AND KEEP IN CLOSE TOUCH WITH ALL DEALERS AND SIMPLY EXPLAIN WHAT IS GOING ON is all you have to/should do.

Its simple. give us the bad news that it will still be some more time before release. Then give us a rough date. If you break that date, thats cool, give us another date then... and so on, but point is, is professionally STAY IN TOUCH. Its the professional thing to do.

And honestly I wont buy from them unless they release a contact number for customer service. That is a ridiculous trend that is KILLING the professional customer service idea of a good company lately. I understand now they don't want to post their direct number on their site (even though they should so they COULD answer questions) due to too many people calling with lame questions... BUT by release time, they BETTER post up a official company phone number and act like a real business or that looks very bad on them.

They are this new company (in a sense) hyping this great new (in a sense) product.
They got a website, they want us to be excited... it looks great !! We are.. So, in reality they SHOULD hire at least 1 person strictly dedicated for answering emails and phone/dealer support and questions as of last year !!! That would shine alot better on the future of the company. Plus make us all feel more comfortable about how this company's character is. To me, they are already making a BIG mistake as far as that is concerned. The way it is reflecting on the company of how they will treat the public (potential customers) is NOT good.

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by vudoo

That's exactly what they said back in 2007 '' It'll be ready in a few months ''...now 2 years later still no news from the company, countless emails sent with no replies even my local dealers have no clue what's going. What a joke !!!
Imagine, having to deal with this company for after sale support :-(

I don't think you can make that comparison. It takes a long time to bring a new product to market, and it really is a new product, even though it is based on a previous design. That doesn't imply that support for the product couldn't be top notch.

[Trp]

I don´t get why people would wait for this at this price point. You can get a rhodes in good shape for 1200, then have it overhauled by a specialist to make it phantastic for a few hundreds more. That way you can have the action just the way you like it, have the sound finetuned to your liking (the degree of "bell-ness" for example) and have it tuned the way you like it (I like mine to be tuned to 442Hz).

If you want to have it active: There are many people that build in amps. But I prefer an Avalon U5 anyway. So for the price of the Mk 7 you can get the real deal in phantastic shape, finedtuned to your liking and throw in a U5 and a Fender amp.

Also midification of rhodes has been done for years.

[goldphinga]

Not the same when you can have it all in one box thats lighter and properly set up from scratch and brand new.There are a handful of great Rhodes around from the 70's to 80's but many very average and beat up ones that need complete rebuilds. 9 out of 10 Rhodes that i tech out are dogs. Some can be pulled back to fine health but its a big job and there are only a few techs that are up to this thankless task.

The Mk7 is very appealing to me. I love the look and the sound is spot on from the few clips that ive heard. Also it will have a warranty, there will be spares available, built in pre etc. Its all been optimised at the factory and thats a lot fewer tuning and tweaking headaches for someone like me that just wants to play and the sound be consistent everytime. Not that my mk1 suitcase has ever let me down but ill never take that out of the studio its a diamond of a Rhodes.

When the Mk7's come out ill sell my mk2 gig rhodes and use the Mk7 for session and gig duties.

I still love my mk1 suitcase and mk2 stage but a mk7 is something that i dont mind waiting a bit longer for especially Rhodes is so central to my sound.

[Trp]

Originally Posted by goldphinga

N.There are a handful of great Rhodes around from the 70's to 80's but many very average and beat up ones that need complete rebuilds. 9 out of 10 Rhodes that i tech out are dogs. Some can be pulled back to fine health but its a big job and there are only a few techs that are up to this thankless task.

I don´t think it´s that hard to find a rhodes that is worth to be worked over. And in Germany there are at least three techs (Rhodes - Wurlitzer - Clavinet - Reparatur - Service - Taste und Technik for example) that do a great job at customizing and finetuning them and restoring them to great shape.

And the production run of the Mk 7 still has to prove itself IMO.

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Trp

I don´t get why people would wait for this at this price point. You can get a rhodes in good shape for 1200, then have it overhauled by a specialist to make it phantastic for a few hundreds more.

New stuff does have its appeal though, if properly re-issued.

As soon as my ship comes in,

Rhodes Mark 7
Moog Voyager
P-8
Mellotron

etc.

All new.

[dergerd]

Hey everybody

I followed the discussion with great interest, since I'm one of the quite unsatisfied pre-order customers of the new Mark 7 (ordered in September 2007)

I had the chance to play the prototypes at the trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany. And I talked to one of the engineers. When I asked him about the shipment, he assured me, that the first shipment would leave in November 2008, he said "you'll have your intrument till christmas". (that was in May 2008). He also told me about the difficulties to "get it right" and I understand that the rhodes is a rhodes and has to sound and behave like a rhodes. So they probably get a lot of "advice" on whats wrong.

To make it short, of course I haven't got it, yet. I really hope that the february date ist correct and that they finally start delivering, since they make no effort in communicating with their customers, even phone calls are not answered, no NAMM updates on their website, no email updates - nothing.

This is all really annoying, although I probably won't be paying as much as future customers in store.


bye - Gerd

[The MPCist]

This whole waiting thing is a bit disheartening.... There is only so long people can be excited about something before the opposite starts happening. Rhodes should be more active and communicative to their potential clients and to the dealers representing them. The whole 'in a few months' talk has been heard for over a year.

It's annoying.

I'm sure it'll be a good product when it finally ships but their company needs to rethink their PR and CS strategies......

[Trp]

I don´t think they have distributors besides Yamaha for Japan, yet, do they?

I´d be surprised if they start to ship next month, at least to Europe.

[Trp]

And considering the weight: The Mk7 is only about 10kg lighter, right? But it doesn´t come in a road case. So for touring you need an extra road case and in the studio weight doesn´t matter.

[Thebassist]

I'm not usually one to sh*t talk but....

F*CK THAT.

fenderrhodes.com has alot of dirt on this.

3k+?

Sounds like someone was getting stoned during business class. Supply and demand, sucker! Small demand for a relatively obscure product (readily available second hand for peanuts,) plus back breaking prices equals fuuck!!!!!


FWIW a great quality suitcase just sold near here for 750. Even with refurb, it's 1/4 of the price of the "new" one, which doesn't even come with the speaker bottom.


I cannot say how disappointing this pricepoint combined with the continued vaporware
vibe is. Way to rape music history, buddy.