Messages

Is there any database with which to determine when a specific Clavinet was produced?

Ben,
I want to get my father the Blu-Ray version with the book. When I go to the site you have several sellers listed such as Amazon. Which one do you recommend?  I try to avoid Amazon if possible, and I want to make sure you get the most cut.


Eric

Wow, thanks. I'm located in Arkansas.
I purchased my 206 for around a hundred bucks. It plays better than my 200a, the speakers sound good, but the cabinet is rotten and it is just a bump away from a nosedive. It isn't safe for my son, and I really don't want to chop it.

shoot me a pm and we will work out the details.


Thanks again,
Eric

Does anyone have a Wurlitzer 206 speaker cabinet they want to get rid of?

Hear a side-by-side comparison of two classic tape delays treating a Micromoog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz0ICtXISXE


Chorus Comparison of the Roland DC-50 and RE-301 with a Synthesizers.com oscillator (simulated beat frequency effect):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5VgnbuXF50


MTI Tubes preamp with a Hohner D6 Clavinet (distortion):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dxRr_-k_uY

I have a Moogerfooger Phaser and a Version II Small Stone (1977).  The Fooger is nice on a Rhodes but I wasn't so happy with it on a Wurlitzer. The phaser has it's own characteristic that it brings to the sound as opposed to enhancing the signal of the instrument. Rather than having a Rhodes sound that's phased, you get a phaser that happens to have a Rhodes running through it.

The EXH Small stone actually works much better with both pianos but it has less headroom and some of the note disappear on a certain part of the sweep.  Despite this I would still go for the Small stone for the EPs than the Moog any day.  Even though this is vintage, it seems as if the vintage units cost the exact same as the new ones. It's just a matter of which you'd prefer.  There is some swoosh associated with this pedal also. I think it needs to be recapped and cleaned up, but even still it is the weapon of choice on the electric pianos.

Thanks,
I have asked him to open it up and maybe tomorrow he will get me some. The good news is that he got it dirt cheap he says....so I'm assuming it still needs the standard hammer tips, damper felts, key pedestal felts, and let's hope he doesn't break a reed.  I don't know if theres ANYONE in the Philippines that can service those things.

I think it's a Wurlitzer style reed with Rhodes style passive pickups.

I'm hoping Olivier Grall will chime in on this one.

Friends,
A buddy of mine in the Philippines snagged one of these beauties and asked me if I knew anything about it. I have never even heard of these before, and he is looking for info regarding a sustain pedal.
Maybe some of you here know where I can find some info?

I'm going to scour google in the meantime.

Kind Regards,
Eric

So I got a clav, and the A/B switch wasn't working. By that, I mean that when only it was engaged there was no sound. I removed the LHC and stood it upright for pictures. I rested the LHC on the wood block it was supposed to rest on....it wasn't seated perfectly, I just rested it there really perhaps on top of the wires.  I began to really work the A/B switch back to life. Really switching it about as fast as I could back and forth....it came back to life.

When I rested the LHC on the wood block, I heard a popping sound. When I moved it, it made another popping sound. I heard this sound through the speaker. After I reassembled everything, the A/B switch worked but the Medium and the Soft switches won't change the sound anymore.

I'm wondering if I might have blown the caps or something.

Can anyone tell me a way to test this with my multimeter? Where should I put the leads and on what setting?  Of corse I realize if I am asking any of these questions, I have no business asking but I'd like to at least be able to verify if the switches are bad.

It still plays with all switches forward though, which is as good enough sound as any on the D6.

Eric

Friends,
Well, I'm proud to say that I'm at the end of a long journey in Rhodes Repair (I hope this is the last time we need to deal with it). So I have this '71 MKI Suitcase Seventy-Three that is technically owned by my father but has been in my care for years and is the one in my avatar.. At some point in the past he took it to a studio, and they hooked it up somehow, did something and got magic smoke. One of the channels in the amp was blown.

Many years later the tremolo stopped working, it buzzed and made random static sounds, so I began my search for a good shop. I'm in NE Arkansas so theres not a lot of options around here.

I was contacted by Tim at RetroLinear and when the time was right, I mailed him the preamp, transformer and both amps. We got them back very recently and I have to say I am extremely impressed. The Rhodes is fully functional again, the tremolo works again, both channels are working and I have to say that it is insanely quiet.  We also drilled a few more holes in the rail and added an effects loop to the preamp. We installed a Vintage Vibe Faceplate and I have to say I am tremendously impressed with his customer service and his attention to detail and his professionalism overall. 

If you haven't sent anything off yet, consider Retrolinear.


So, since the end of Last year I acquired a Wurlitzer 200a. I had never played one, and I posted about my ordeal and the 200a was supposed to be a package deal with a different Rhodes. I bought the Wurlitzer not thinking I was going to like it very much, but I fell in love with the bark of the bass. I have always been a Rhodes man, perhaps I was just bias because I grew up with this one, but I was beginning to think that the Wurlitzer had overtaken my love of the Rhodes. I acquired a 206 for a steal and I was about to make the switch to the WUrlitzer camp.....until I got the electronics back from Tim. The Rhodes is still king in my book, even though it's a she, but that doesn't matter. Especially after the repairs, it is the only instrument that takes me to another dimension with the sound.

This was a project my father and I decided to do together and it provided us a way to get a little closer over it, and it made me feel really good to see how happy he was with his old rig. 

So thanks, Retrolinear for breathing new life into this Rhodes.




Eric

The VV cap has more of a mirror finish than the originals, even with nicotine stains, as far as I can tell. I think the original latches are made of a metal that is more dense than the remanufactured ones also. That is their faceplate though, which I think looks good.

It was the conical shaped inner cap. I swapped them around and it's on now finally.

I assume that the inner and outer caps may have been glued together since there is no shaft for the outer cap to fit snugly on? There appears to be residue where the two should meet. The round outer cap has the dot on it and it just spins freely.

So I ordered a volume knob replacement from VV, and it isn't fitting on the split shaft of the potentiometer. The semi circular halves of the shaft seem to be too big to fit on either side of the wedge contained within the volume cap.

Has anyone experienced this and do you have any solutions for this?

Eric

I'm sorry to hear about your story, but I would sure demand my money back.

Friends,
This is how my Hohner D6 was shipped. I hope that the moderators will consider making this post a sticky because I really have to say that my friend may have provided the clavinet playing community with a better solution than keyboard carriage. If one goes to clavinet.com and reads the FAQ, even they will recommend keyboard carriage. My friend and I discussed this and he convinced me that the best way to go forward was to build a crate.

Here are the plans for the crate. I don't know exactly how the box may have differed by the time it reached it's final form though.


Here are a few shots:



The crate had a hinged lid, opened by 5 simple to remove screws. The clavinet was wrapped in high density foam and bubble wrap. The crate was also packed with other pieces of packing material, and the clavinet was tightly in place, surrounded by much protection. The crate had handles cut on the sides for easy (as possible) portability.The crate was then wrapped in a cardboard box, marked which side should be upwards (shipped as the third picture shows) and where to cut.  The total packaging weighed 148 lbs. just shy of the Fedex Max of 150 (150 and it would have shipped freight and cost over 200 bucks.)  Now he didn't tell me the full cost of shipping or for the material, but I think he was being very generous asking for only $150 dollars considering everything that he did for me with this transaction. He did not detune the strings, and it shipped from New Jersey to Arkansas and arrived safely and in tune.

I got the clav in perfect shape. I will post pictures of it as soon as my flickr account resets and allows me to upload more (probably after the first.

Today is the first day I've seen the pics of your crate, OZDOC.


Eric

The 535q is awesome on the D6.

Eric

What was your impression of the crybaby? I ordered the 535q, and I have yet to receive either the clav or the wah, so I'm just twiddling my thumbs in the meantime.

Okay so I couldn't really get any kind of straight info from KC about any kind of protection from damage during shipment (worst case scenario) so what my friend and I have decided to do is to build a crate. So he took possession of the clav, and will wrap it in high density foam, followed by bubble wrap. He is building a box and will fill the box with peanuts and then wrap the box with cardboard.

I'm just curious as to what you guys think of this method. He bought the wood today and I'm sure he will take pics of the process and I will post them here and then when I receive the unit I will film the unboxing (or decrating) and see how everything looks.

What do you think?

I haven't called UPS Freight yet but Keyboard Carriage told me that it's 250 bucks and it might take a month.

Has anyone ever used them before?

Lots of good suggestions everyone, thanks. And I'm happy to say that I am the receiver rather than the shipper.

Thanks again and I will probably find out more tomorrow.

E

I know this topic has been beat to death.
I'm thinking UPS Freight or Keyboard Carriage. It's going from New York to Arkansas.

I don't want to have a box full of a pile of dust and strings!

What do you guys think?

Eric

Thanks, Michael.
I got the VV pads, and they are smaller than the originals, but higher than what is left. I didn't know if there was like some alcohol or acetone that was necessary to remove the old goo, though I have never tried. I included some pics of mine to show what they look like.
Oh I notice you have 2 clavinets, haha well I thought I was going to be able to announce that I had one tonite but I lost the bid.
Eric

Micromoog, freshly restored also, but that's an old picture.

I got some vibration pads for both of my Wurlitzers and I was wondering how I should install them. By this I mean is there some sort of process that I need to do to totally remove the old rotten ones or can I just put the new ones on in their place?

Thanks,
Eric

Okay,
I removed everything down to the base of the piano vacuumed it out and put everything back together. I reset several of the flies that had fallen out of place. I also managed to get back keys 40-51 or so that were previously unresponsive.

I notice now that several keys seem to have a buzz like the reed shifted. I would have assumed that they were all pretty tight. This happens with the power off as well. Will shaking the action assembly cause this to happen?

I also have a lot of buzzing coming from the amp and I BELIEVE all of the ground leads were put back in their original place.

WHat do you think? I can shoot a short video if necessary. If I touch the harp, some of the amp buzz goes away, but it is still way more than before.




So she's getting there, but not without a fight.

Please do not randomly turn screws until you learn their function. If it was fine before, that will not help.

That's some wise advice there indeed.  I shamefully admit being guilty of this on the capstan screws, then saw this and laughed to myself.

Edit: I previously quoted the wrong post, sorry Steve (the post I quoted made it look like I was being condescending).

Thanks very much! Yeah I have the videos....I watched the repair video over a week ago and forgot about removing the damper.

Now I can proceed!

Thanks again,
Eric

I could not find a phillips screwdriver with a small enough diameter to squeeze in between the whippen assemblies to remove the action at Sears. Can anyone recommend the proper tool?

I'm trying to remove the entire action assembly from the 206 so I can vacuum it out.

I assume this will also work for the 200a as well?

Thanks,
Eric

Id just like to have a D6 but yeah this looks too cool.

Im sure whenever they get around to that Wurlitzer clone, that would be interesting also.

Wow.....looks and sounds great but I imagine this costs a small fortune.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=480779331959470&set=vb.311868813434&type=3&theater

Yeah, I don't think that I'm going to mess with it, but I'm royally pissed about it.  It is mostly covered by the cheek blocks but not 100% invisible.

There was no guarantee that a replacement rail that I got was going to be in any decent shape.

I do thank everyone for the tips though. I can't wait to take and post pictures of the modifications to the electronics.

Eric

Yeah I talked to VV the other day and the guy I spoke with didn't really seem to want to go to any great length to help me out.  He did say they might be manufacturing them in the future though.

I haven't filed a claim yet but I figured that if they did pay for the claim, UPS would want the original rail, and if the rail that I would acquire from another place was just as beat up as mine or more, maybe it wouldn't be worth it.

Plus theres the issue that I'm having holes drilled  because the preamp and amp are getting restored, and I didn't want to put that on hold too much longer.

Heres a video showing the Electronics, Reeds, and keys.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOyauvKVeKc&feature=youtu.be

Eric

I got it in my studio today. Theres some rotting and mold on the bottom of the cabinet, so thats the source of the wobbling. It wants to do a face plant.

Please take a look at these pics and give me some advice as to what I should do in regards to the cabinet.

Did you see that guy on TV who had a vintage Gibson Les Paul flattened by Delta?

Yeah I guess I should consider this lucky, as much as I think it could have been prevented.

Eric

I officially loathe UPS, gravity, centrifugal force and whatever else resulted in this.





You guys think this will be covered up by the cheek blocks?


Eric

The big block on the back where the AC plug meets the cabinet.....does that come out? It sure seems loose.

What do you guys recommend? is it more economical to convert it to a 200 or to restore it like it is?

It seems like some screws need to be tightened in places, it is very wobbly like it wants to tip forward. Is this normal?

Eric

At least I have my Theremin!

I'm thinking about just swapping the keys from this with the 200a I purchased a few months ago and then trying to maybe sell this one.

When I purchased the initial Wurlitzer, I didn't know that I would fall in love with it, since I prefer the Rhodes...or I used to. I was initially thinking maybe I could do an even trade for a clavinet.

This sounds brighter than my 200a for sure. Who knows what I'll end up doing. I know I need to take this one totally apart and vacuum it out.

I'll post some more pictures of it when I get it here. It needs love for sure.

She is mine for fifty bucks plus an upright bass bow.


I didn't get a good shot of the front of the console though...I was in a bit of a hurry.

The gunk on the keys will wipe off. Maybe one keycap is cracked. The knob heads are there...one of the shafts is broken.

Eric

Edit: Heres a link to see what it sounds like and to see the electronics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDTH_Sos29U&feature=youtu.be

I'm really considering it. When I say TLC it needs A LOT. I will post some pictures later on this evening to see what you think.

The console is worse than the top. All the keys work, the reeds are there. The sustain pedal works. THe action needs regulating. I gather that the vibrato was nonfunctional on this model. I'm going to check it out in a few minutes and maybe end up getting the thing. The headphones I gather are the original factory phones also.

I feel that this is really one of those things that I shouldn't pass up.

Eric

It's beat up a little....needs some TLC. Does anyone think it's worth it?

The keys are in a little better shape than on my 200 I recently picked up. The reeds sound like they wobble a little. Tremelo Knob doesn't necessarily work off the bat (the knob might be broken..but it feels like the pot is turning inside the chassis). The console is wobbly, but there are some vintage headphones in there also. The guy wants a hundred bucks.....I bet I can talk him down from that. I think all of the notes played and the sustain pedal works.

Eric

Friend,
I'm not pretending to be a keyboard player, but I thought I'd share a Phaser Comparison for the good folks here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt7g7hAUjS0&feature=youtu.be

Eric

I'm sorry to learn about this. I did not know Mr. Hayes, and I don't recall if I corresponded with him directly, but Speakeasy was the first business I contacted with questions about the Rhodes several years ago.

My regards to his family and friends.


Eric

I finally got the Wurlitzer to my apartment last night.

Alan sold me a power cable. I plugged it in and everything fired up nicely. Theres not a lot of buzz from the speakers, the tremolo works. For the most part it is in tune. Today I'm going to hook it up to the board and see how it sounds. 

Eric
Rhythmicons

I've been checking ebay for two months. He said "that exact same model, in worse condition" went for 1500. The day he called there was exactly one for $570.

Who knows? Especially since the Janus Mark II Suitcase 73 was on there for like what, $599? I think the guy is just being a douche.

At least the Wurlitzer is out of their hands. The money reserved for that Rhodes will go into restoring the electronics in my Mark I.   Soon, I'll be going to fetch them both from storage in a week or so and can post pics/video of them!

Thanks for all your help, it was quite valuable.

Friends,
Well, Im resurrecting this thread only to announce it is officially no longer worthy to continue. You can see how long it's been since i inquired about the price.

The guy at the music store said "repaired or unrepaired, the price is still going to be the same...$1500 for the Rhodes".  According to my friend, that is what it is going for on ebay right now.

Im going to pick up the Wurlitzer the first week of September. I got it for 350 bucks with tax.

Eric

Ken,
Thanks for the reply! I actually saw the keyboard stand you sell to put another keyboard on a Rhodes roundtop, posted a link to it on the Moog forum.

Will the original if rebuilt last as long as a new one? I had my eye on that Vintage Vibe preamp, but I am seeking advice on the best way to move forward. I wasn't interested in the amp swap program I have seen offered before by another vendor.

Both lightbulbs in the preamp are active, except when you engage the tremelo, one won't light. So probably a transistor in the vibrato osc? Also it has some leaky caps.

The suitcase amp right channel module is blown. The left one functions normally.

Eric

Also, Im curious as to whether or not you would rebuild the preamp you have or buy a brand new one.

What are your thoughts or experiences with Speakeasy?