Messages

Hello,

I am considering buying a suitcase. I found an MK1 79 and an MK2 80. I read the difference is in theory only cosmetics between these two models. However I listened to them and the MK2 sound pretty similar to my stage MK2, while the MK1 sounds really like I would expect from... well... an MK1, more fat and sweet.

Is it true that late MK1 and MK2 sound the same? Do this apply also to suitcases?

Hello,

My Rhodes (MKII, wooden keys, 1980) has been repaired by a professional restorer when I bought it, and it has always been in good shape. I have a Twin Reverb Red Knob, a Crunch Master or a ME-25 Boss pedal for amplification. But the problems I report below stay the same with all of these amplification options.

I have never been happy with the sound really, and I am always playing around with eqing in order to find a good sound. . Don't know if it's the valves of the amplifier, or my ears, but my perception always change from day to day. And I am usually not happy.

Question 1: in particular, I find that one setting is good for "comping": I play a bass line with the left hand around the bottom two octaves, and chords with the right hand around the center of the keyboard. In this way it sounds absolutely gorgeous. Its really fantastic.  But if I start improvising, playing phrases on the upper octaves, then it sounds bad.
Or the opposite: good equing for higher octaves (less treble), but then when "comping" it sounds lacking life.
If I try settings in between, it does not sound great: actually it becomes not so nice in both departments.

Question 2: how does the pedal behave in a Rhodes? On my Rhodes if I keep it pressed for more than, say, half bar, the sound become kind of hollow, empty, thin. So I have to use the pedal with extreme care, because it strongly worsen the sound. Obviously I am not saying I would like to keep the pedal pressed as in a piano, maybe even over sevaral bars, but really I'd like to be able to keep it pressed for longer time. Is this how the Rhodes pedal work, or maybe there could be an issue on my Rhodes?

Sorry for my very late reply too.

All your suggestions have been helpful, anyway my main problem has been sorted following Rob A suggestions about the signal to noise ratio 8my gain was way too high).

Obviosly, wihtout a preamp, a bit of noise is still there, but nothing compared to the "storm" it was happening in the beginning.

Newbie learned! Thanks

Well, go to know the two braces look identical, and there is no right and left one.

Still, dont understand how to mount the left (looking at the keyboard) one.  :oops:

Hi,

I have a Mark II since few months, and I never used its leg braces.

Now I decided to mount them but I have a problem: the leg brace mounted on the left tends to fall off the back leg. Thi is becuase it fits in to the back leg from its "front", so it slips off (differently than the leg brace mounted on the right, which fit into the back leg from the "back", and therefore it is firmly "anchored").

Basicaly, my two leg braces looks exactly the same. Is this correct? Or is it supposed to be a left and a right one? In these case I received "same side" legs.

Or am i making some mistake in mounting the leg braces?

So.. approved that the famous 4 digits code can also be 3 digits!

By the way, who turbojet is?

amazing!! just bought new Rhodes, had the same issue after bringing it back home.. so I made a search in this forum (sticky key) and found the previous post..

I very carefully lean the piano, and... voilat!... no more sticky keys!

hope it will keep working fine for a while now...

Anyway, in this case, what you think it is the technical problem inside the keyboard? how to fix it properly?

How many Mark I and Mark II have ever been built?

thanks! really clear explanation.

Hi,

I would like to achieve that Jamiroquai sound and I am planning to get an Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress stompbox.

I am confused about which model to buy: Electric Mistress Stereo, Electric Mistress Deluxe, or simply Electric Mistress (I guess this is the vintage version)?

I would like to avoid the expensive vintage version, so among the newly produced which one I should go for? Or in order to get the Jamiroquai sound I specifically need the vintage one?

Again me, a newbie here.

Is the Rhodes a mono instrument, as well as a guitar, right? So am I supposed to plug it into the mixer in a mono channel?

I am now using it through a Pod xt, which has a stereo output. Does the Pod make the mono signal become stereo?

Also, I have a Small Stone phase shifter. It only has one in and one out, so it is a mono effect, right?

If I will use a preamp, will this also make the signal become stereo?

At the moment this wavey hiss is pretty loud and the effect is nearly not usable. When I do not play notes it sounds like a "swosh" sound effect from a keyboard or sampler!!!

I have lots of cables very close to the mixer and effect. I also use a POD xt. Maybe spreading cables around could help? Is it normal the hiss is so loud?

I was also thinking about that , but no sign of a worn away 0 at all. It really is a 3-digit code.

About the rest of the piano, it definitely looks original.

So, to summarize, did anybody see those 3-digit codes before?

I have another issue with my small stone: it works fine, but when the volume is enough high it makes an annoying noise, a kind of wavey hiss, which "oscillate" at the speed of the "rate".

Is there a way to reduce this hiss?

It definitely should be 6th week of 1980.

But what about the 3-digit code? Did you see anything similar before? Could this possibly be a fake?

Yes, it should be like that.

But my doubt is about the three digit code. The example in the "Big Help Pages" is 0978: they used 09 to indicate the 9th week. In my case the first two digits should be "06", and the whole code 0680.

What do you think?

Hi, I just bought a Rhodes Mark II Stage.

I am trying to find out in which year it was made.

The harp production start date code on the tonebar is 3 digits (black ink), not 4! It is 680.

The harp production end date code (also on the upper right hand corner, just under the Badge) is 0904.

On the right hand of this code I can also see another black ink stamp: its a circle and  "FRR 15" is written inside it.

Sorted!

....very sorry...I simply didnt plug the cable firmly into the mixer....  :oops:  :oops:
:oops:  :oops:  :oops:  :oops:

now it works well!

Well, the Small Stone is brand new.

Its possible its not working, so I will bring it where I bought it and check whats wrong with it.

thanks for your help

Hi, Im a newbie.

My set up is currently:

Rhodes > passive Mixer > KRK VXT-4 Monitors (active)

I tried to connect a Small Stone (between the Rhodes and the Mixer), but it does not work. Do I need a preamp to use the Small Stone?

Also: I have the chance to use Infinity Beta 50 speakers. Do you think it will sound better than the KRK monitors? I need an amp to use those speakers: will it work also with the Small Stone?

So, summarizing: if I want to use both the Small Stone and the Infinity Beta 50 speakers, do I need both an amp AND a preamp, or only one amp?

Hi,

I own a Mark II Stage and I am going to buy a Small Stone and an Electric Mistress. I heard that the old issues are analog and the new ones are digital, is this true?

How big is the difference between the vintage and the new issues in terms of sound?  

Is it really worthed to pay 2 times or more for the vintage version?

So, better a George Dennis GD 125 Tremolo or Dunlop TS-1 (now MXR M159)?

Any difference from the old TS-1 and the new version labelled MXR M159?

Also, is there any difference between "tremolo" and "vibrato"? I get confused...

HI, I fall in love with the rhodes sound!

I have a Casio Privia, and its electric piano1 is an approximation of the Rhodes sound. I also use as plugins: Lazysnake, Mr Ray22 and rhodes sampled sounds on my Halion sampler.

I was now trying to get closer to the sound I really like. In particular i am aiming to the sound called "sunlightglasses" from this page:

http://www.fenderrhodes.com/history/effects.php

Which virtual plugins should I use to achieve this sound, or at least to go a bit closer to it? Do you think an hardware preamp is a must, or shall I try with some tube plugins to begin with? Which one?

Thanks