The Faux-Rhodes: Construction

Like many of my woodworking projects, the Faux-Rhodes was constrained by the materials I had on hand, if for no other reason than this: I'm cheap. I had a bunch of 1/4" plywood wall paneling that I'd gotten for free to build boxes for my shop, and some 3/4" hardwood plywood l had left over from a bookcase. After cutting everything to size and adding some curves and a pass-through to access the headphone jack and power switch, I clamped everything together to check fit.

The wood was free, but I purchased the red vinyl from JoAnn Fabrics in Santa Fe (1/2 off), which, even at full price, would have been cheaper than Tolex. The Jury's still out on durability, but after a year of pretty steady gigging I have no major tears in it, just some scuffs from sliding on/off my stand. Tolex is sold in a wide variety, and I lingered on the striped tweed and faux-snakeskin for a long time. However, I love the look of the plain red. The black top is a long piece of carbon fiber-look-alike sticker stuff I found at Autozone stuck to plywood; the pass-through on the end is the sticker stuff on flashing, riveted to the end of the case.

 The hardware was the biggest expense (other than the PX-3) and I got it from Reliable Hardware (http://www.reliablehardware.com/). I like the black hardware, and Reliable was one of the few places that sold it. I read some articles about building road cases that advised against painted hardware, but the box goes into a gig bag for portability so scratching the metal is not a huge concern for me. The black on red adds a nice contrast. The music rest was an afterthought, but the black material is the carbon fiber sticker stuff stuck to two pieces of aluminum flashing and riveted it to the wooden rest. The rest sits on the 2nd tier of my keyboard stand.

As you can see, there's room for everything, including a spot on the left end for the power adapter and all the cords that I could possibly plug into the keyboard. Since the Casio weighs in at 24 lbs, I estimate the total weight of the PX3 and the box at 30 lbs, which is lighter than the Roland FP-3 I used to have and a fraction of the weight of a Rhodes. All the cords route through the bottom, which doesn't seem like it would matter but it de-clutters the connection side of the piano, and gives the audience something to look at besides the manufacturer's logo, a bunch of cords, and whatever is playing the keys.

So, it turned out looking cool and working well. I firmly believe that stage presence has a huge effect on a live show. If the crowd digs your vibe (and your tunes don't suck), they'll stick around. The Faux-Rhodes adds to the vibe in The Affordables and the Craig Martin Experience, and it even fit in during a recent gig with the Los Alamos Big Band. It's turned some heads; Brant Leeper, killer keyboardist in Santa Fe who plays with Tiho Dimitrov, asked me, "what kind of keyboard is that?" (Last I checked, Leeper plays a Nord Electro-3, which fits his Hammond Organ focus well.) The stage manager at a benefit I played with The Affordables was visibly impressed with the functionality I had built into it; I can load in and set up in under 15 minutes and all the cords are there, ready to go. And of course my Mom told me I did a "great job on it."

There are a few things I'd do differently, but overall I'm happy with the functionality and the effect. What project should I tackle next?