The tide is coming back in! …Or is it going out? What’s best for riding that dream wave anyway? ? ?
I can’t say we get much surf off the shores of Lake Michigan here in Chicago, but I’m sure this beauty will be closer to the surf down in its new home in Australia… Anyway, here is a glimpse of the custom (1974/1975) Surf Green Rhodes Mark I Stage 73:
And here’s an even deeper look at the instrument, thanks to our good friends at Reverb.com:
Following on the heals of our last Sea Foam Green Rhodes, this Rhodes was distinguished with a slightly more glossy lid, which I think played really well. The hardware just seems to work best with a little rust and patina against the surf green tolex, so once again we kept that as relic’d as possible in order to maintain the vintage surf vibe.
Super important noteworthy noting: In reaction to some wonderfully gear-nerdy facebook comments, we’ve decided to refer to this one as “Surf Green,” since it is closer to what Fender referred to as “Surf,” as opposed to the last one that some thought was inappropriately referred to as “Sea Foam…” Sure, fellas, this might be accurate to a Fender color guide from the 1960’s, but if you ask any painter or designer to distinguish between “Surf” and “Sea Foam” and they are going to roll their eyes at you… Just saying… Let’s enjoy this beauty without splitting hairs on color names!
One of my favorite features of this Rhodes was the custom “tiger oak” cheek blocks, that give a somewhat ripple affect to the wood that plays well with the surf theme!
^Looks even better in person… Sorry for the cell phone camera quality!
That, and the custom Sustain Pedal to match the harp cover…
