Rhodes Restoration

The Fender Rhodes is a legendary instrument and one of the most utilised and adored electric pianos of all time. Its electroacoustic timbre has become ubiquitous within almost every style of music and has led to many hardware and software emulations although nothing quite compares to playing an original.

We have two original Fender Rhodes Mark 1 Pianos at ESP; a 1976 model and a 1978 model. We’ve had them for 15 years and 6 years respectively and they are some of our most requested instruments with previous clients including Marcos Valle, Ramsey Lewis, Theo Croker, Taylor McFerrin and Bill Laurance. 

However over 40 years of gigging had left its mark on our 76 model and the piano was in a need of a little TLC. Our good friend and go to piano specialist Colin has been working on restoring the piano and we can’t believe how good it has turned out.

The 1976 model Rhodes before restoration.

The original case was painstakingly restored by stripping off all the tattered paint and Tolex. It was then repainted and recanvassed with new Tolex. A new badge matching the original Rhodes logos were attached and all the internal mechanisms and wiring were also restored. To finish of the project the keyboard itself was tuned and recalibrated. It has never looked better and we are delighted to have it available for hire again.

Suitcase stripped back on left and then with its new Tolex cover on right. 

New badges.

This is just one of many restoration jobs that ESP has undertaken over the years. We have refaced many amps and drum kits and we regularly service all our instruments, backline and DJ Equipment to make sure that everything that is sent out on hire both looks the part and is in perfect working condition.

This is a service that we can also offer to our clients so if you have any instrument or amplifier that is in need of restoration contact us at info@esp-musicrentals.co.uk. Also if you would like to be one of the first people to hire the newly restored Rhodes don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Fender Rhodes 1976 Restored to its original glory.