Messages

1

The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Replace Hammer Tips Wurlitzer 200

« on: January 12, 2019, 01:37:41 PM »

Sean, The whole hammer assembly is different from the hammer tips. Yes I saw those.
These are all used parts. I think I bought the last of the NOS hammer assemblies many years ago, and if I remember correctly, the hammer heads (tips) were not included.

JtheM, I did not find those, but I see that you did. Note that they don't have any treble hammers. I am 90% sure that these are used, but I'm sure they are in great condition, or else they would not sell them.

To the O.P.,
I would suggest this: If you have to buy other parts from them, buy a handful of the mid section hammers. (Due to their minimum shipping cost, it would be better to combine with other parts)
Heat the base of the old tips with a soldering iron to loosen them. Reglue some of these carefully,making sure alignment is correct top to bottom and side to side. See if that changes the tone. I would leave a few old ones in place next to some new ones to see if they sound different.

In other words, don't spend a ton of money on these tips until you are sure that they will make a difference. Unless you have seriously defective bass hammers, I don't think it would be cost effective to change those. ( IE, motheaten, broken, etc)

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Replace Hammer Tips Wurlitzer 200

« on: January 11, 2019, 04:54:31 PM »

I just looked at their website. I saw NO Wurlitzer hammer tips listed anywhere, new or used.

3

The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Replace Hammer Tips Wurlitzer 200

« on: January 11, 2019, 04:49:01 PM »

No, they are used. Where would they get NOS from?

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Replace Hammer Tips Wurlitzer 200

« on: January 10, 2019, 01:47:52 PM »

If it works fine, there is no need to replace them. They are a pain to replace, and it really only needs to be done if they are broken off, or the felt has completely worn away.
It doesn't matter what Wurlitzer hammers look like, it matters what they sound like.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Any replacement tips you find to buy are USED.

5

Parts, Service, Maintenance & Repairs / Re: Rhodes strange sound on attack

« on: January 10, 2019, 08:33:59 AM »

It could be weak/almost dead battery in the preamp, it could also have to do with voicing. ( tine to pickup alignment)  Are the free ends of those tines above the ends of the pickups, like way above? Are the pickups too close or too far away?

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Solutions for a squeaky pedal?

« on: January 02, 2019, 07:41:36 PM »

It could be where the rod touches the pedal too....

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Solutions for a squeaky pedal?

« on: January 01, 2019, 03:08:00 PM »

You have to really search to find the exact point where it is squeaking. Lube like WD-40 will only be a temporary fix.  It's usually at a pivot point, which would require a grease more than an oil. Check where the pedal attaches inside its housing, or it could be the long aluminum bar inside the piano (at the ends) that the pedal rod pushes. Sometimes it's where the rod touches the aluminum rail, which would call for a thick piece of felt, but that will eventually wear away. Acoustic pianos use a thick piece of leather in similar spots, but leather too wears eventually.

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Hammer height

« on: January 01, 2019, 07:21:03 AM »

No, not normal, but they are rarely ever perfect from the factory, then add all the years of who knows what was done to it. You need to check what is going on at the key pedestals. If you can't read the numbers on your keys, number them with a pencil on the wood from left to right and remove them all. There may even be debris lying on the "keybed" (inside on keys) under the keys that have higher hammers, but I don't think so since they look pretty level.

My guess is that they may have poorly done miracle mods, or other incorrect pedestal felts, or something that could cause the erratic hammer line.

9

The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Price of 200A When New?

« on: December 19, 2018, 07:47:08 AM »

That sounds right to me. I’m pretty sure just the piano didn’t go above or much above $600.

10

The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Question regarding glue on miracle mod

« on: December 19, 2018, 07:45:41 AM »

I’m pretty sure PVC-E is no longer made. Contact cement works for the felt, but can be messy.

11

The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Restoring and removing keybed outside the case

« on: December 19, 2018, 07:43:57 AM »

I agree with Sean. Working on a Rhodes outside of the case is vastly different from working on a grand piano action outside of a piano. You need the case to do this work. There is a jig for grand pianos but not for Rhodes to set action parameters outside of the piano. Plus, you need something to attach the harp supports and the keybed to, so it’s much easier to leave it in. Maybe remove it to clean out the case, then put everything back before working on the action and harp.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Wurlitzer 214, all keys ring (press damper pedal)

« on: December 15, 2018, 08:17:46 AM »

I’m really confused by this. When you press the pedal, all notes are supposed to ring out. What is the issue exactly?

13

The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Price of 200A When New?

« on: December 15, 2018, 05:14:47 AM »

Do you remember what year he bought yours, Doc?
Something tells me $1000 included the case.
Unless the $599 was in the early 70’s...

Wow, keyboards were expensive then! I think I made around $2/hr in 1978 !
That explains why I only had my first model 700 then, bought at a used furniture store for $80.
That was a 40 hour paycheck!!

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Leveling a Harp

« on: December 14, 2018, 08:18:39 PM »

I’ve done that too in the past. Rubber washers are good too.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Price of 200A When New?

« on: December 14, 2018, 08:17:11 PM »

A friend of mine worked in a music store when they were still made and seems to remember them being $599 MSRP towards the end.
Can anyone else verify this?

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 700 disassembly questions

« on: December 12, 2018, 05:07:57 PM »

Pretty close to me.. but I don’t work in MA...

17

The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Leveling a Harp

« on: December 12, 2018, 05:04:35 PM »

Just remember the shims need to be insulators since the harp has voltage in it. Rubber, plastic, etc. not metal

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Escapement Adjustment Post Miracle Mod

« on: December 12, 2018, 04:58:44 PM »

That sounds cool, but it would be hard to find the sweet spot without cutting the track (slot)  into the pedestal first... pretty hard to move if you make a mistake.

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Escapement this far off?

« on: December 12, 2018, 04:55:07 PM »

It sounds like you are missing harp shims. You can use cardboard front rail punchings if you have any. You can use metal washers if you don’t. This is the easiest thing to try first.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: My $20 Wurlitzer bench

« on: December 07, 2018, 03:26:54 PM »

Looks awesome, but it would collapse if I sat on it!

Lol

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: First and Last pickups dead - Overvoltage?

« on: December 03, 2018, 06:26:52 PM »

Maybe, but doubtful. Pickups just open up for no apparent reason. It happens on Fender guitars and basses too!

22

The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: noisy tine problem

« on: December 03, 2018, 06:25:41 PM »

Try swapping that tine/tone bar with one neighbor and see if the problem stays on the same key or switches with the tine. Don’t alter the tuning, just swap and test. I’m betting it switches with the tine, which could indicate a problem with the tine itself.

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: What Rhodes has the “smoothest” sound?

« on: November 23, 2018, 02:26:24 PM »

Mellow tone comes from the type of hammer tips used, EQ, and setup. The tone (voicing) can be altered with set up, so it is adjustable to a point by the user without spending any money. Does the MKII have wooden or all plastic keys? I personally would stay away from the all plastic keys.

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The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Noisy Rhodes Sitting on top of Hammond

« on: November 21, 2018, 08:18:49 AM »

Try adding a ground wire to the chassis of the Hammond and grounding it to the ground screw on the wall outlet (as long as it is a properly wired 3 prong outlet)
Just be 100% sure there is no stray voltage on the Hammond chassis first.

That solved a hum issue I had with an old Wurlitzer.

25

Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Moving CP-70 in the cold

« on: November 11, 2018, 06:59:40 AM »

They are not affected quite as drastically as an acoustic piano because they don’t have a soundboard. You may experience some notes drifting a little, but that can’t be avoided. Every CP-70 owner should learn the basics of piano tuning and get a tool and a couple of mutes. Tuning the entire piano is a whole other issue, but touching up a few notes is not that hard. You just have to be very sure you are tuning the string you want to tune and not one next to it to cut down on accidental string breakage. You especially don’t want to break a bass string.

Note to all CP-70 users, if you ever break a bass string, do not throw the string out. A piano tuner may be able to splice it. If not, they NEED the old string to send to a factory to duplicate it.
Also, avoid touching copper strings with your bare hands. Perspiration and skin oil can ruin the tone.

26

The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: paper band around sustain pedal? What is this?

« on: November 11, 2018, 06:51:26 AM »

You can send pictures to Cormac Long (moderator) and he can post them for you. I can’t picture it in my mind...

27

The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 700 disassembly questions

« on: October 23, 2018, 01:41:01 PM »

I believe it was standard- I think it’s 12”. Just remember the frequency range if a Wurlitzer is roughly 55hz - 2100 hz (plus overtones)
You don’t need a speaker that reproduces 20-20k....

28

Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Mellotron mkii

« on: October 21, 2018, 01:42:13 PM »

Musiciansfriend, lol

I misread this, I thought you were looking for a new memotron...

29

Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Mellotron mkii

« on: October 19, 2018, 09:19:15 PM »

Try ebay or Musiciansfriend...

30

The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 112/140 Hardware Sizes

« on: October 19, 2018, 09:17:14 PM »

possibly #6 x 1 or 3/4
#10 is definitely too big.