Dyno My Piano type case mod.

[jus]

I've decided that I'm going to cut the lid of my case so I have a flat top to keep put things on(like the dyno pianos) I'm just wondering if anyone has done this themselves, and has any tips.

Thanks a lot,
Justin

[Ben Bove]

It should be an easy straight cut across the case.  I haven't done it myself, but in seeing dyno lids they're cut, then ends black-taped.

Also, they installed a silver strip just under the lid where the gap would be between the round cover and the case lid.  Mainly cosmetic, I don't see it being strong enough to help with stabilization across the middle.

Lastly, the 2 cut pieces are hinged together with the later-style 2 lip hinges.  I believe they're riveted through the metal strip as screws are too long and stick through.

I'm sure there are better pics but this one is handy:

[Michael]

I've decided that I'm going to cut the lid of my case so I have a flat top to keep put things on(like the dyno pianos) I'm just wondering if anyone has done this themselves, and has any tips.

Thanks a lot,
Justin

I'm in the same boat.  I'd really like to have that flat top option.  If you look carefully at old pictures of the Dyno version, there's a metal guard of some sort covering the front.  Any ideas what this is fellas? would it be possible to replicate? was that the shielding?

There's literly one or two posts in the archives if you search, but most people seemed to have built there own instead of chopping the top.

[jus]

It should be an easy straight cut across the case.  I haven't done it myself, but in seeing dyno lids they're cut, then ends black-taped.

Also, they installed a silver strip just under the lid where the gap would be between the round cover and the case lid.  Mainly cosmetic, I don't see it being strong enough to help with stabilization across the middle.

Lastly, the 2 cut pieces are hinged together with the later-style 2 lip hinges.  I believe they're riveted through the metal strip as screws are too long and stick through.

I'm sure there are better pics but this one is handy:

Thanks a lot, that's pretty much what I had found, but I didn't want to miss something stupid.

Michael, I've thought about building my own(and almost did), but I figured that if the dyno guys thought it was a good idea to do it, it probably was. Also this way will be a lot easier than making one from scratch.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out, I'm going to be busy from now until probably after christmas, so at the latest I'm looking at doing it then.

[Rob A]

Something to consider: it can be somewhat uncomfortable to play a second keyboard that high up.  Think about how your setup works and whether you can comfortably hold your arm that high long enough to get the good out of this.

If you don't play for hours at a time, then never mind.

[jus]

I'm actually more doing to put my laptop on top of, so there wouldn't be a ton of use out of the stuff up there. I've tried having a keyboard on top of it how it is, and I'm either way too high for the rhodes, or way too low for the keyboard on top of it. Thanks for the heads up though.

[axg20202]

The metal strip along the front is to give the lid some rigidity - the main surface of the lid is not very thick and would not take the weight of a keyboard without it once you cut the front side away.

Have you considered making a new lid yourself and then splitting that rather than cutting up your original lid? I have done this and it worked very well - not difficult if you have a jigsaw and a router to round the edges, and cheap to do. Just use your original lid as a guide (subtracting a few mm's for the tolex). If you make a mistake, you won't be suddenly in the market for a new lid, you just start again. You can cover it in tolex after it is cut, but it's also an opportunity to have a funky lid covered in something else. For the supporting front metal piece, use a length of alumunium  L-angle cut to size. You can buy the latching hardware quite easily.

EDIT: I used 18mm thick wood for the sides, front and back, and 9mm thick sheet for the top surface of the lid. This matches perfectly with the original. I also included a leg/brace compartment using the 9mm stock - again, it looks excactly like the original.

[Spaceduck]

Here are a few more pics of one, if it helps. I saw this & thought about doing it also, but couldn't bring myself to make that 1st chop  :oops:

[Ben Bove]

Oh it's for a laptop  :shock:

Laptops have a great tendency to bleed off sound that is picked up by the Rhodes pickup chain.  If you put a laptop directly onto the harp cover for example, you'll hear the high-pitch digital squeal.  I'd make sure with your case down and your Rhodes powered up and running, with a set of headphones check that resting your laptop just on the case wouldn't create a lot of unwanted hiss.

You might have to build a lil' table for it or figure out how to use an iCurve ontop.

[vicvega1972]

This thread is old, but FYI: The metal is an aluminum angle (L) rail which can be picked up at any Home Depot. The connections are riveted (or you can use screws/bolts). It is a worthwhile mod if you want another keyboard on top, and it is extremely strong due to the aluminum rail.

John

[leon-]

Ok, I have a Mark I 73 key model. Its 1972.
Going to take a saw to the case in the next day or so.
But if any of you have done this before - could you let me know where you made the cut. I mean how many inches/cms away from the edge. Im going to measure it myself as well - but would be more comfortable with at least a rough idea of where to cut. I just want to make 100% sure I get the measurements right and don't end up cutting it wrong.
thanks
Leon.

[The Real MC]

You don't need to cut your lid.

Back in 1978 I rotated the lid 180 degrees (short lip facing me) and made a pair of adapters (for lack of a better word) that secured it in place using the existing latches.  The pic below shows the light colored "adapters" with the lid supporting a deep combo organ:

http://www.analoguediehard.com/studio/keyboards/mike-stage-1979.jpg

[leon-]

Ingenious !!

I'll give this a try - I have some spare wood lying around.

many thanks.