Rhodes Mark VII
Rhodes is back!
Finally my Rhodes Mark 7 73A arrived and I have to admit that thomann.de did a great job during the whole procedure. They kept me informed all the time and when it was shipped to my address I received a SMS that it is on the way. They are not by accident one of the biggest - and best - internet shops in Europe.
My Rhodes arrived without the legs although it was mentioned on thomann’s product description page. I contacted them via e-mail and within hours I received a phone call in which a solution was suggested I agreed to. Very well done and very pro. Do not like to imagine what would have hapened if I ordered the Rhodes via klangfarbe.at.
What about the Rhodes? There are many postings and rumours in the net. Lots of stories about poor craftsmanship and bad experience, painting a negative picture. Frankly, until my Rhodes arrived I was not sure whether my decision to order one without having the opportunity to test it was a wise one or not. Probably at the beginning they had some problems with their first instruments, but I cannot confirm them. At least not for my Rhodes Mark 7 73A.
beautiful design - Rhodes Mark 7 73A
To avoid any misunderstanding, if this Rhodes would have come from Yamaha or any other big Japanese or one of the German companies, the build quality would have had a higher standard and preciseness. You can easily see this when you have look at the edges or the glossy finish, or some of the keys. But this is more of seeking for the needle in the haystack. To give you a clear statement concerning the build quality and avoid any misunderstanding - it is good,… very good, but not excellent. Every key is working fine, like all the electronical parts. Really no reason for criticism. There are some statements coming from people who probably never really tested it or even own one.
As a proof I have made - as usual - some photos. More you can find on facebook, by clicking the following link.
Rhodes Mark 7 - inside
Lots of discussions are about the sound of the Rhodes, to which Fender Rhodes it compares the best. It is to long ago for me to compare it therefore I avoid any statement concerning this point. But be assured, it sounds like a real Rhodes. The keybed and action in my opinion is different, but again, it is to long ago for me to give a serious statement. But from my point of view I can clearly say - I would definitely not purchase the AM version. The CP1’s action is much better and to me of higher quality. By the way, as we are just talking about the CP1. I am now surprised about the quality of the Fender Rhodes samples in Yamaha’s new digital Stage Piano. I disagree with reviews in which is stated that they are not authentic or lack character. Now that I have the Mark 7 standing next to the CP1 I even love my Yamaha piano more then before. Only thing that I still do not understand is the price of the CP1, especially compared to its smaller brother the CP5. The poor FM section and boring old DX sounds cannot be the explanation.
The Rhodes Mark 7 73A, active version with Pre-Amp and Equalizer is the first mechanical instrument I know. I will came back to that latter. The Pre-Amp is good but I will compare it to the Pendulum Quartet which is known to be a very good one. The EQ in my opinion is very good and adding a lot to the sound. Frankly, I had to realise again how different analogue EQs sound and behave compared even to very good digital alternatives. I am glad to have decided for the active version as I do not need an external EQ any more if I am playing somewhere outside. One piece less to carry with me… and believe me 40kg are a good reason to avoid any additional board.
Funny experience I made when I mounted the sustain pedal. Being used to plug in a Sustain Pedal I made a completely different experience with the Rhodes, surprisingly ;). In this case it was fun to identify the right point. First I installed it in a way that the upper keys played sustained notes. As I usually play in the mid and lower region did not realise immediately, but then suddenly when I was playing in the upper part the keys sounded sustained although I played staccato. Hm? Yes. …. a small modification with the sustain pedal and this was fixed. It is really quite easy although I did not really succeed when I was reading the manual. This is probably due to the fact that I am not experienced in manual reading. In reading general, .. yes, a bit, but reading manuals? … haa ! Do you know anyone reading manuals?
Rhodes Mark 7 73A - active version with Amplifier and Equalizer
What about the sound? This is easy to answer and can be done by just using a few words. It cannot deny being a real Rhodes!
With some EQ treatment you can get different characters but in all cases it sounds - surprisingly - like a Rhodes. The upper region has a bit the character of a childs “glockenspiel” especially when the sustain pedal is used. A bit, I wrote, do not over estimate these words.
One thing surprised my and increased my adrenalin concentration. Suddenly there was a very strong hiss. I tried to reduce the high frequencies of the equalizer internally and on my mixing board… but without any real success. What surprised me the most, was the fact that it was not there on the first day when I played it. Solving the problem was quite I easy. I just had to turn off my MacBook Pro which is standing on top of the Rhodes and caused the hiss.
To make it clear and avoid any misunderstanding. I do definitely not regret having bought this musical instrument and would do it again. Hope to get inspired by its character and record a lot without MIDI and any quantisation ;):
+ sound
+ design
- hiss (putting a laptop on top of my Rhodes causes hiss)
Rhodes Mark 7
Viewed 2487 times by 555 visiters
Voxbox Front
