The Electric Piano Forum

General => The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano => Topic started by: Swabian_Keys on February 17, 2019, 08:39:40 AM

Title: Sound Adjustment Advices?
Post by: Swabian_Keys on February 17, 2019, 08:39:40 AM
Hey,
I "refurbished" a rhodes mkI '79 about maybe half a year ago.
Since then i voiced it bit more harsh, to get some harmonics out of it.
To me it still sounds dull...

My chain is: Straight from the harp-> Roland Rubix44 Hi-Z Input-> Ableton

Now i made a comparison: https://youtu.be/b_G6Vi6-97c (https://youtu.be/b_G6Vi6-97c)

From 0:00 to 1:38 this is the straight signal from the instrument.
From 1:38 to 2:20 i used amplitube to emulate TwinReverb+ added Eq and Comp.
From 2:20 to 3:00                 -   /      /    -                       + Small Stone Phaser emulation. (Why does it sound so harsh?)

I think it sounds a little dull and muddy. What do you think?
Also compared to emulations, it sound pretty dark with less energy in the mids.
Except for the highest Pickups, which give harmonic destortion, becourse they're so close.
Somehow i like that uneven feeling.

I don't think  getting any typ of preamp will fix this?!
Just ordered the Behringer Copy of the SmallStone Phaser and the Boss Chorus-Ch1 copy, to get it a little out of the box.

I also attached the ableton and amplitube settings for transparency.

Let me know what you thinking.

Cheers :)


Title: Re: Sound Adjustment Advices?
Post by: pnoboy on February 18, 2019, 04:21:58 PM
A few things come to mind.  First what is the tine to pickup spacing, especially in the bass?  Second, I assume you've played with the voicing screws in the bass to bring out more overtones, have you?  What happens to the sound if you turn the bass control down?  Finally, many Rhodes sound tubby unless one puts a dip in the frequency response around 200 Hz, give or take about 50 Hz, depending on the amp and speakers/cabinet.  This issue is most easily tested by using a parametric equalizer.  What are you using for speakers and speaker cabinet?    BTW, what happens to the bass sound if you play ff?  At some point, you should hear overtones.  Rhodes pianos will almost always sound tubby without the right combination of frequency-response settings and an appropriate speaker cabinet.
Title: Re: Sound Adjustment Advices?
Post by: Swabian_Keys on February 19, 2019, 05:08:21 AM
Hey,
thanks for your time.

Quote from: pnoboy on February 18, 2019, 04:21:58 PM
First what is the tine to pickup spacing, especially in the bass?
I measured the Tine-Pickup distance. Starting from the Bassside with 3-4mm
distance. In the middle section they are a little uneven (to be equally loud)- about 2-4mm distance.
In the high note section it's about the same as in the middle section.
I made some pictures too, which are attached here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cieXlctDMni-3nCxqvDDRpDXBvHL3PdE?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cieXlctDMni-3nCxqvDDRpDXBvHL3PdE?usp=sharing)
Quote from: pnoboy on February 18, 2019, 04:21:58 PMSecond, I assume you've played with the voicing screws in the bass to bring out more overtones, have you?
Exactly, i set the tines hight with the voicing screw, so that the tines are just at the top end of the pickup.
But it wasn't that easy. Lots of notes didn't seem to work in all positions. So they are all quite uneven.

Quote from: pnoboy on February 18, 2019, 04:21:58 PMWhat happens to the sound if you turn the bass control down?
I took the signal straight from the harp, so there is no bass boost knob in between.

Quote from: pnoboy on February 18, 2019, 04:21:58 PMFinally, many Rhodes sound tubby unless one puts a dip in the frequency response around 200 Hz, give or take about 50 Hz, depending on the amp and speakers/cabinet.

Sorry, my englisch isn't that perfect. A dip at 200Hz and also at 50Hz? I'll try that!


Quote from: pnoboy on February 18, 2019, 04:21:58 PMWhat are you using for speakers and speaker cabinet?
I  use yamaha HS8, with a Twin Reverb Simulation of Amplitube.

Quote from: pnoboy on February 18, 2019, 04:21:58 PMBTW, what happens to the bass sound if you play ff?
I made a video once again.

https://youtu.be/VVnyTzWs-pg (https://youtu.be/VVnyTzWs-pg)

The Bass test is right at the beginning. First without cabinet or eq and at 0:48 starting again with the cabinet on.

I really dig the sound of Lonnie Liston Smith, like in this song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVnq0Qy20sM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVnq0Qy20sM)
The rhodes sits so good in the mix.
Title: Re: Sound Adjustment Advices?
Post by: pnoboy on February 19, 2019, 11:36:56 AM
3 to 4 mm  is too much space from tine to pickup.  1 to 2 mm  is better.  The best way to measure spacing is to put a probe of known thickness between the tine and pickup, while holding the probe accurately vertical.  A 1.5 mm flat stick stick of wood, aluminum, or plastic should work well.  Think of something shaped like a skinny tongue depressor.  The "bass boost" control in the stage piano is actually a bass-cut control.  The harp going into a hifi speaker like the Yamaha you mention will definitely produce a bassy, tubby sound.  An amp and speaker meant for musical-instrument use should sound quite a lot better.  Most of us use guitar amplifiers of one sort or another.  When I said 200 Hz give or take 50 Hz, I meant a notch somewhere between 150 and 250 Hz.  Adjust the voicing screw by ear, don't worry about the tine's exact vertical position, which is difficult to measure anyway.

If you don't use the front-panel controls on the piano, expect to need to turn the bass control on the amp down a bit.