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Hi,

I could buy this for about 600 Euro. I am very attempted to get it ;-)
It is a Rhodes MK 80 but it is digital and build buy Roland.

I cannot find other details about the action other that it is very good and very heavy.
Has this wooden action like previous Rhodes?
Is it good as a Masterkeyboard?





Estimated age: 20 years.
Max polyphony is specified as 16, but only 10 for Piano sounds. Now listen to this sound:

http://en.sevenload.com/videos/A6034t0-Rhodes-MK-80-Digital-piano

The original Rhodes action seems similar to Kawai actions, but has longer keys:

It has the SK6 oil damped action...I think this was very well liked at the time. Snazzy (whom we all miss!) and who owns Steinway D and had an Avant Grand highly rated the action and thought it better than modern Roland actions.

The product is a contemporary of the Roland RD-1000 (which I own)...built like tanks and if cared for probably still has life left in it. I think the RD had a different action though (wooden). The sounds are the contemporary Structured Adaptive sounds from Roland I believe...not very like a real Rhodes but extremely expressive nonetheless. The two electric pianos on the old RD-1000 are just fantastic in my opinion.

Cheers,

Steve

Ok, thanks. If its not wood, then I am less interested. Then its not for me.

Peter

Steve, both the RD-1000 and MK-80 shared the same action, you say?

Do you know if the SK-6 was a collaboration between Roland and Rhodes
(Fender)?

Cheers,
James
x

Roland had owned the "Rhodes" brandmark at this time.
They made this in own responsibility.
However, Mister Rhodes was disappointed that they made the Rhodes digital and bought the brand back, some time later.
He was 90 and died shortly after this.


best,

Peter

Peter, thanks for the information.

I expect die-hard EP fans don't really consider the MK80 to be a 'real' Rhodes, but it's certainly a historically interesting instrument!

Cheers,
James
x

Yes, exactly. It has the Rhodes Name on it but it is a Roland.
Without doubt a fine instrument but it is a Roland, not a Rhodes.

I hoped it had the wooden action. I was more interested to use it as a Masterkeyboard than to use the sounds.

best,

Peter

Yeh I'm one of those die-hard Rhodes fans and I own and owned a couple of Mark 1 Stage Pianos, a Mark 2, and a modified stage to suitcase. I have played the Roland Rhodes MK80 and yeh it ain't the real McCoy. However it is very expressive and has it's own unique tone. It has a very good plastic key action and actually is very enjoyable to play. However, it is heavy and the sounds are quite outdated and not varied. If you like the SA EP sound get an RD700GX(F) or NX or the ARX-02 for the Fantom. In each of these boards you have the option of selecting an SA EP type sound, plus you get realistic Acoustic pianos (GXF or NX...SuperNatural AP) for less weight than the MK80. But yeh if you're a collector of keyboards it is a nice addition to have.

I wasn't sure about the details of the SK-6 action although it is definitely a Roland thing (not jointly developed with Rhodes) and was certainly fitted to their more conventional higher end DPs...I've heard good things about this action. The old RD has very long wooden keys..I've opened mine up in the past and I should've taken a picture I guess as there's nothing that comes up if you Google image search on"Roland RD-1000 action". It probably has significantly longer keys than the current Kawais, a truly great action, delightful to play. But not very piano like in my opinion so key length may not be the most significant factor.

I was under the impression that real Rhodes actions are pretty horrible and far inferior to the Wurlitzer EP200 action.

I think I remember reading an interview with Harold Rhodes and he was horrified by the (Roland) Rhodes MK-80. But I think it's probably a pretty good instrument in its own right.

Cheers,

Steve