Dyno-My-Piano Rhodes Made for Sonny Burke

[Robapov]

Hey all,

I have been a lurker here but finally got myself a rhodes. I also recently sourced a Columbia Elepian console piano !

This rhodes was in storage for nearly 20 years and will need a little work. Found in Southern California. Rhodes and dyno additions all dated 1979. Thought to share photos with you all.

Photos on my Google drive
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-hXKMYSKEuOqXVpi51ciFjl88sHiFi-A

It has preamp, chorus, tremolo, chopped top and insulated cover and balanced outputs with xlr options.

Anyone have experience with the Tri-stereo tremolo? I have not found much about it online.

[drpepper]

Wow! That is beautiful piano!

Does it all work?

[Robapov]

Wow! That is beautiful piano!

Does it all work?

I am bringing it to get serviced in about one month. The keyboard is smooooooth but I do not have any power source at the moment. I could get one from Vintage Vibe or something but I am going to wait until I bring it for servicing. For now I have the Elepian piano to keep me company. I am beyond excited to get this up and running though. Everything looks clean inside besides a bit of corrosion on the harp that will need to be taken care of.

[jimmymio]

Very likely that I worked on that piano when Dyno-My-Piano was in SF. (Prior to their relocation to Burbank.) However I only worked on the mechanics and someone else handled the electronics. To the OP- send me a PM and I can try to hook you up with the designer of the Tri Stereo Tremolo.

[jimmymio]

This is from Barry Carter re Robapov's Rhodes:

Several things: Yes I am familiar with this piano I designed, built and installed all of the electronics.
First off, I see no power supply and connecting the wrong supply to the power input will either not work correctly or worse blow every thing up!
Second: a correct tone & volume and tuning is absolutely necessary.
Next: The EQ will need re biasing of the field effect transistors and possibly some new capacitors. The Tri-Stereo Tremolo  probably could use bias adjustment of the four channel voltage controlled amplifiers.
All in all, to power up this piano with out correct voltage and electronic alignment is a really bad idea, not to mention without proper tone & volume and probably damper adjustment this piano would not perform as great as it really is.

[gjjr13]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and beginning to research and learn about a dyno-my-piano Rhodes with arched top from 79' that I picked up recently. Mine is happily running off of two batteries, it has the preamp with EQ, flat top, shielding and basic chorus. I'm using a TRS 1/4" to dual TS 1/4" out of the single output I see and that works fine into a stereo DI. Mine must have been a suitcase originally since it doesn't have legs or threads for legs. It does have a sustain guide cup which must have been added. An initial question I have is did any dyno's still use the suitcase speakers and amp or were they all designed to become stages? Thanks for reading!

[jimmymio]

At DMP we definitely worked on suitcase pianos and did not encourage anyone to try to convert it. Probably the main reason is that the bottom of the case on a suitcase model is thinner than that of a stage model. The suitcase piano is meant to be placed on a firm bottom (like the suitcase speaker cabinet). If it is placed on legs, and I have seen people make this modification, there is a tendency for the top to flex. This makes it  unlikely to hold any adjustments and could lead to other issues.

Over the years, many suitcases have been "converted" into stages. My advice would be to use some kind of stand that firmly supports the keyboard across its entire length, like the original speaker bottom did.

[Robapov]

Hey! Thank you SO MUCH for this!!

I have not powered it up at all. It is going to LA Rhodes for work before I do anything to it!

I will relay everything you wrote to the technician

Super appreciate it. Excited to bring it back to life, hopefully done correctly it will all function as properly.

Should be done by end of year or soon after.

This is from Barry Carter re Robapov's Rhodes:

Several things: Yes I am familiar with this piano I designed, built and installed all of the electronics.
First off, I see no power supply and connecting the wrong supply to the power input will either not work correctly or worse blow every thing up!
Second: a correct tone & volume and tuning is absolutely necessary.
Next: The EQ will need re biasing of the field effect transistors and possibly some new capacitors. The Tri-Stereo Tremolo  probably could use bias adjustment of the four channel voltage controlled amplifiers.
All in all, to power up this piano with out correct voltage and electronic alignment is a really bad idea, not to mention without proper tone & volume and probably damper adjustment this piano would not perform as great as it really is.

[Robapov]

Very likely that I worked on that piano when Dyno-My-Piano was in SF. (Prior to their relocation to Burbank.) However I only worked on the mechanics and someone else handled the electronics. To the OP- send me a PM and I can try to hook you up with the designer of the Tri Stereo Tremolo.

Yo I missed this message originally. Sent you message. I need your help and knowledge!!