Down the Rhodes: The Fender Rhodes Story Hardcover – Audiobook, December 1, 2013

Musicians of my generation grew up with the sound of a Rhodes piano and for many of us it holds a special place in our heart. This book offers something for both the veterans as it will bring back memories through the interviews of such legends as Chick Corea,Ramsey Lewis and many more as well as introducing the Rhodes legacy to the the newer generation of musicians.The accompanying dvd has not only interviews with some the people aforementioned but they also delight us with a performance on the Rhodes of some of their greatest hits.Some reviewers of this book have complained about the fact that the more technical aspect of the construction of the Rhodes is not sufficiently covered and indeed if you're expecting an essay on the engineering of the instrument, this is not the book you are looking for. The manufacturing side of things is discussed through the interviews of the managing people of CBS Instrument and bits and pieces of the more technical aspect of the production of the piano is revealed here and there but you will not find an in depth discussion about how the pick-ups were invented for instance.This book is about how this new invention called the Fender-Rhodes influenced the people interviewed in their music and how this musical instrument has shaped the music landscape of a whole generation and is still influential today.Ultimately, I personally hope that after watching the dvd and reading the book and if you have a Rhodes at home, your fingers will be tickling and you will rediscover this great instrument.

Being a jazz lover, I honestly feel that in many ways the Rhodes piano paved the way for a fresh batch of creativity that saved jazz from the doldrums. This book does a very good job in telling the Rhodes story and I'm glad to be able to witness a renaissance of sorts of the Rhodes even though via synthesizers the 'Rhodes sound' never went away. In the hands of masters like Hancock, Corea and Lorber and past masters like Zawinul and George Duke, the Rhodes is a thing of beauty. The book discusses many other Rhodes masters from many other genres of music and amazingly enough the Rhodes blends in to just about any type of music other than maybe classical. If you love the Rhodes piano I highly recommend this book.

Wonderful story about the invention of the Fender Rhodes electric piano . Featuring interviews with various musicians that have used it over the years. The book includes a DVD and music from some of the featured artist. I 've had my copy of the book already signed by Brian Auger, Jeff Lorber and Herbie Hancock

A nicely designed book on a topic that I really appreciate! I spent many years hauling and playing my Rhodes piano, and still have it. I'm sure this book will appeal to a certain niche audience, though the general public may not realize how much they've heard this instrument--especially during its heyday!I have only two small quibbles: One is that the interview are just too long. I simply couldn't get through all of them. A bit of editing might be in order if a second edition comes out. And I also wish the authors had included a few pages describing (and showing) the internal workings of the Rhodes. For those who have never opened one up, it would have helped make sense of what the engineers and technicians described.

It primarily covered the final years of the Rhodes and the artist input was outstanding. I would have liked to see more of Horst Absmann 's input but I know he was hard to get a hold of.It was an absolute pleasure to read

Everybody that is a musician and those of us that are not blessed to be a musician boy are mere lovers of music will enjoy this offering. Get it!Buck

As advertised

I was given a Rhodes 73 Suitcase by a friend who got it for free, and researched how to fix tine #39. I found Vintage Vibe, ordered a repair kit, a spare tine, a repair DVD, and got to work. I ended up with two of the 7710 cabs, the 73, and two 88 key models, and love how they each have a "personality" different from my others. These keyboards are beautiful, soulful, and if you learn how to repair them, it's as if you form some interesting "bond" with your keyboard. That doesn't happen normally.... of course, I don't try to repair my Yamaha MOXF8. There's nothing to repair - it either works, or I try to find someone to fix it, or buy a new one. Learning about Harold and the development of the Rhodes only solidified my feeling. This is a great insight into other musicians' feelings and approach to the instrument. The Rhodes makes you want to explore it and try to create music that is meaningful. Great DVD!

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Great book and DVD

Great book, great price, great delivery. As an importer/seller of old/vintage pianos into Australia, I have found out that the Rhodes pianos are still highly sought after, popular and well loved. Great book.

excellent