Fender Rhodes MK 1

Throughout the late 70's the Rhodes Mark I Stage Piano and Suitcase Piano continued to be produced in 73- and 88-key configurations, with the Suitcase Piano continuing to use the FR7054 80W Peterson amplifier until 1977. The Piano Bass was still available during this time, though it did not sell nearly as well as the Suitcase and Stage models. As in previous generations, the Piano Bass shared the same appearance and internal components as the full-size pianos.

Design changes began in 1976, with the first being molded all-plastic hammers to replace the half-wood/half-plastic style that had been used since the teardrop hammers were phased out around 1970. The Neoprene hammer tips were replaceable as in the previous generation, but the underside of the hammer cam was completely flat (not curved) and the felt that was normally glued to the key pedestal was placed on the hammer itself. The resulting action was not ideal, and a second generation of plastic hammer combs with the original curved cams and pedestal felts was quickly phased in by 1977. It is unclear whether the 1976 pianos have a higher incidence of tine breakage, but this has been a recurring complaint in recent years. It may have been due to a bad generation of tines delivered to the factory, an artifact of the poorly-designed action, or both.