Messages

Thanks Steveo

Does anyone know anywhere in the UK that will remagnetize Rhodes pickups? I have at least 2 that aren't dead but don't pass the "screwdriver sticking to it" test.

Other than that is there an effective way to do it yourself?

Thanks

Thanks CJ Am really happy with the look of the Rhodes on the K&M stand as the legs on that splay out in not a dissimilar way to Rhodes legs. Two 22m rubber feet were all that were needed to keep it in place and stop it slipping around

I'm currently restoring a 1969 suitcase top and have replaced, hammer tips, bridle straps, dampers and dampers arms. On the Fenderrhodes.com website it says to set the top E escapement at 1/16" and bottom E at 1/2". Bottom E is indeed at 1/2" escapement but top E is also 1/2" (not 1/16" as recommended)

I have quite a lot of lost motion and I'm thinking if I lower the right hand support to give less (1/16") escapement the damper won't lift off the top end at all. If I shim the right support in order that the damper lifts off the escapement goes upto almost a whole inch!

I realise that I do need to tweak my dampers somewhat but is 1/2" escapement across all the hammers acceptable?

IS there any information on how to use the Vintage Vibe rebushing kit? I've looked and looked but to no avail. I can't believe there isn't a video for it

I have seem some  that cover rebushing acoustic piano keys and it looks as though without the correct expensive tools it would be very fiddly and take an age (it would take a long time WITH the correct tools)

I have tackled all the other restoration jobs with no problems but this one is foxing me.

Thanks both for such detailed replies. After pricing up legs, flanges, plates ect it was coming out at nearly £500 inc delivery! I have a K&M 18950 adjustable stand which I'm currently using so perhaps I should get over myself and use that.

The problem I've had is that the piano slides about on the stand which periodically prevents the sustain pedal working properly and is obviously not acceptable. I'm getting around this by putting rubber feet (similar to the glide feet you get on a suitcase) but that will fit snugly into preformed holes in the K&M stand. It doesn't look too dissimilar to the "splay" of stage legs but the purist in me would prefer real legs or even the original speaker it came with.

I'll post photos when done. Cheers

This may have been covered elsewhere but I couldn't find it.

I have a 1969 suitcase top and want to add stage legs. I know the base of the top is too thin to add the leg flanges directly and i really don't want a separate stand.

Has anyone had any experience of adding the "missing" thickness (which I presume is about 1/2") to the inside of the suitcase base? I thought I could glue 1/2" plywood on the inside inbetween where the main "skeleton" of the piano is but I realise this will have to be two separate pieces and might not be strong enough to stop the base flexing in the middle.   

I should say that this is very much a Frankenrhodes as the keys (90 of them...) which came in a bucket when I bought it didnt fit the keybed so must be from a later instrument so there is no desire particularly to keep it pure.

Sorry for the late reply. Thanks I will try that. TBH in the meantime its been behaving itself

yep will try thanks

Thanks I will. I bought the item second hand so not sure if they'll be interested in covering it...

I have a suitcase top and a Vintage Vibe 4 pin power supply which has worked fine cup until recently.

It now exhibits a crackling sound (mp3 attached takes a few seconds to come in) There is also some slight distortion and lower level coming from the left channel when playing the piano.

Anyone any ideas what this might be and how to fix?

Many thanks

Oliver

I have an issue with  my hammers. I have replaced the pedestal felt and installed miracle mod. When playing at a normal volume the hammers strike then fall back as they should but when I play hard the cam of the hammer seem to get stuck on the back of the pedestal. When holding down a key after a hard strike (with the cover off and the harp up) I can push the hammer back to its proper position but there is some resistance (not much) and the sound of the hammer gliding against the felt.

Do I need to use some sort of lubricant or is it not set up right?

Many thanks

Oliver

A Fender Procrastinator.......my favourite guitar

I ended up buying one from Electric Keys in the UK. Got her back and did a basic tune up before Christmas haven't been able to stop playing her long enough to do any more tweaking. Absolute joy to play. Untreated (as yet) felt hammers sound so incredibly sweet. Tremolo on Peterson pre doesn't go as slow as I remember the one on my last 1978 Rhodes but sounds much more 'human' and less 'robotic' than the Janus. So very playable and dynamic especially adding a small stone phaser. It's like having a new baby

Just waiting to get my pickup rail and Peterson pre back from being refurbed. This will be the first time I have heard it since buying it in a very sorry state in 2011 from Andover

Indeed I am

Thanks guys. In all probability I'd leave the same effects plugged in (tube pre, phase, space echo) wouldn't need to unplug at all.

My mark 1 is from 1969 and therefor does not have the accessories 1 and 2 or effect loop. I have seen the VV video on making an effects loop for this but I wondered if there was any advice re mounting the jacks?

There isn't a whole lot of room to the left of the 4pin output and I'd have to drill out the front rail something I'm happy to do but just wanted to get the benefit of others experience who have already done this.

Thanks for any advice!

Oliver

Ah. I do have it on top of a Hammond but still get the same thing when isolated (say 4-5 feet away) is this not far enough?

I have my Pianet T plugged into a Art Tube MP to give me a bit more volume and there is a noticeable hum/buzz coming from it. This is still there when plugging in the Pianet directly but obviously its quieter. Thinking it might be an earth loop I have tried earthing the output  in all the ways I usually do to alleviate earth hum but to no avail.

Is there something else I can do to cure this?

Thanks

Oliver

Thanks for all this great info and fab pictures of the Beatles

Thanks for that in depth reply. It did seem weird that my piano would have tunes that had been cut too short and now I think about it I probably haven't put the correct tuning springs on. I think I may some more. Once again thanks for great advice

Oliver

Some of my tines are almost impossible to tune. Even though they maybe the same length as others they are quite a bit higher in pitch. I can't move the spring far enough down towards the end to get the note low enough. Is this a sign that the tine is dead or corroded in some way?

Also what it the optimum length of the tine/position of the tuning spring? I notice you can buy tines cut to length but is this strictly necessary when it will be tuned with the spring?

Cheers!

I wanted a pianet t that sounded like an N. I thought that if the reed/pad situation was the same then I could plug into an external pre amp (with similar tremolo to the N) then it would be the same. Are the pickups different? And if so does this have an impact on the sound? If I can't easily make reeds/pads it might be a false economy and I should perhaps just look for an N.

Damn I thought that might be the case. A whole set might prove to be uneconomical although I do I have a set of 'T' reeds to sell/swap. How hard would the reeds be to make I wonder?

I have two Pianet Ts, one of which I bought as spares for the other. I now find I have one fairly pristine T and one, although not perfect, still eminently playable.

I was sat at my gig last night and the thought occurred to me to try and mod the old one into a Pianet N. I realise I would have to change the reeds and pads to start with but what else could I do and would it be worth it? I'd love to know anyone else's thoughts on the feasibility of doing this.

Was there anything special about the pickups on an 'N' that would stop a 'T' sounding like one?

Cheers

Oliver

Fender Rhides

I have a feeling I am going to regret putting felt hammers on my '69 suitcase as there seems to be a heck of a lot of hammer hardening to do and ultimately I am trying to get the sound of rubber...

There seems to be a few different types e.g. black square, black angled, coloured angled, coloured square...

Can anyone cast any light on how these all differ in practice?

Thanks

This could be a great new story line for Breaking bad...

cool will get on it

Thanks for replies. Still not sure about re attaching the harp pivots. If the strike line has been moved presumably you need to drill new holes for the pivots in the wooden harp supports  as the old ones will be now out of position?

Just putting my harp back on supports and trying to set strike line.

If the harp support brackets are attached how are you supposed to move the harp to get the best strike line, and if they're not attached when the correct strike line has been achieved are you supposed to drill new holes in the harp?

For the record M5 tee nuts will fit the Vintage Vibe handle bolts

As I understand it, Patrick, you can get a much less "attacky" tone with felts rather than neoprene hammers

Brown is the new black...

Well I like original black - it's classic. But to be honest if I were going to go off piste with it I'd probably have (in this order):

Black sparkly
Brown Alligator skin (not real, obv)
Brown Western
Blue snakeskin

I wonder what size the bolts are that VV supply with the handles?

Ah thanks that's very kind but I've ordered some from Amazon arriving tomorrow.

I am right in thinking that they are M4 size?

Thanks Tim

These are the nuts that fit inside the piano sides that the bolts that hold the handles on screw into.

Replacement ones aren't provided with the hardware kits form VV so does anyone know what they're called? I'm sure that if I had the name of them I'd be able to source some here in the UK?

Cheers!

When I say replaced tuning springs all I meant was I'd taken them of to clean up the tines and tone bars and hadn't put them back on yet.

But, yes, it would seem without that extra mass of the tine spring on the end of the tine, the screws/grommets/tone bar springs introduce enough interference to stop the tone generator vibrating freely.

Very acceptable although I'm sure more could be got by adding mass (clips, magnets...)

I had no idea that the tine springs were such a deal breaker. Without them the notes in the upper register sound staccato!! Try taking one off and see what I mean. I didn't want to put my harp back together with them sounding so bad but now I'm quite confident that I have a least as much sustain as before, and could probably squeeze a little more out of them.

I owned a 78 suitcase in the early 80s and didn't know a fraction about them as I do now. It's almost a prerequisite to owning one. If you don't know how the thing ticks you're not going to get the best out of it.

I have just replaced the tine springs (after cleaning the tines and toners) and it has made the WORLD of difference.

I had no idea that as well as for tuning purposes the springs were for adding mass (and therefore sustain) to the tines.

You live and learn...

Have swapped a few sets of screws, washers and grommets out with no discernible improvement. The good sustain seems to go as soon as the screws are added to the grommets.

Grommets only = fine
Grommets and screws = sustain disappears

The screws are quite snug in the grommets but no more so than the original screws which look identical (in size, at least) and it comes a son surprise that they have the same effect on the sustain.

I tried a thinner screw which when inserted in the grommet (with the tone bar not installed) didn't reduce sustain. As soon as I screwed it in - sustain disappeared.

Troubling...

Is there a recommendation of what size magnet/pulling weight to use?

For the sake of clarity can you confirm that the escapement screw and spring are the ones nearest the tine and the voicing screw is the one nearer the keys?

Presumably the more you can isolate the tone bar/tine from touching anything the better. When I held smallest tone bar/tines lightly between two fingers on the tine block there was a very respectable degree of sustain. Is it unrealistic to expect the same amount when it is mounted on the harp?

I'm using VV screws and grommets which look identical in size to the originals (those that didn't shear off...) They're not exactly a tight fit but you could call them "snug" Would you advise trying thinner screws on these? Am happy to experiment if that's what it takes.

It appears to me that the screws are in some way "shorting out" the tines and preventing them form vibrating freely which is a real shame as they sound amazing held in the hand.

After installing new grommets and screws my upper tones lack an awful lot of sustain - there seems to be even less than before I replaced the old, brittle grommets. The tines and tone bars themselves are fine. By holding the generator assemble by the tine block and plucking the end of the tine I can hear a pleasing amount of sustain. This is still the case after fitting the new grommets. The sustain dramatically decreases when I put the screws through the grommets.

I'm using the original springs. Could it be this?

All sounds great, Ben. Can't wait to get her fired up

I guess that must be it then. I had a 1978 suitcase from new which I believe and the later model of pre-amp (and a different kind of tremolo) which I also loved. But I've heard that the Peterson is better?

Anyway mine is pretty knackered so it needs a good overhaul.

Thanks Pnoboy. Yes I'm kinda skeptical about the hammers myself but its my first Rhodes (apart from the 79 suitcase I had in the 80s and sold for £150...) and I want to hear how it sounds. Although it's a suitcase top there is no speaker so will be going straight into my desk for recording. I have high hopes for the Peterson pre amp...