It’s a bit ridiculous but I have 14 keyboards! Over the years, I’ve collected various keyboards and MIDI tone modules as projects demanded. Mostly, the gear was bought for the specific project but then rarely used afterwards.
My rig includes a 1974 Rhodes 73-key Stage Piano that I had refurbished a few years ago; it plays better than when new. Similarly, I have a 1973 Wurlitzer Electronic Piano that was also refurbished and upgraded with a new amplifier that expanded the vibrato function; it’s been a friend since high school! There’s a Korg Digital Piano and a Yamaha Clavinova Piano as well. Somewhere in storage there’s a Yamaha stage Piano and a little Casiotone MT-10.
For synths, I have a Korg Polysix with the memory expansion & MIDI upgrade; a Yamaha DX-7 II; a Roland Juno D8; a Micro-Moog synthesizer; a Kawai K-11 synthesizer; several controller keyboards and half a dozen MIDI modules some dating back to the 1980s.
I used to have a beautiful Yamaha upright, a Hohner Clavinet, an ARP Odyssey synthesizer and a Hammond B-3 with a Leslie speaker but those were sold years ago.
There’s a terrific book titled, “Down The Rhodes,” that traces Harold Rhodes’ development of his keyboards following WWII and his history with Fender/CBS. It also has numerous interviews with keyboardists who made the Rhodes famous including Herbie Hancock, Chick Correa, Dave Grusin, Ramsey Lewis and others. Most of these interviews are also on YouTube. Here’s Donald Fagan:
As I’m semi-retired, I’ve been divesting myself of equipment. At my peak, I had two complete recording set-ups and mostly that gear was all gifted to new homes with either professional friends or to students. My wife wants me to get rid of more gear but “these are my friends” as Stephen Sondheim wrote in a totally different context, (see Sweeney Todd).
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