Greetings everyone.
I'm a new member. My name is François, from Belgium. I just recently bought a 1980 Stage 73 mkII with wooden keys. Such a lovely beast !
Overall it is in good condition. It plays and sounds good but I would like to tune it to my liking.
It was fully checked by Rhodes Italia in December of 2006.
I have taken the piano apart for inspection and there are no bad news apart from 3 dead pickups and some mild corrosion on the tone generators.
Some of the grommets have known better days, some screws are bent (some tonebars move left or right when voicing). I have ordered the necessary parts and plan to replace them.
In the bass end some of the tines oscillate in a figure of 8 pattern, I'm going to try the heavy spring trick. We'll see..
Hammer tips, dampers and key bushings look good to me. My guess is : they were replaced in 2006.
Key dip is good, I just have to level a couple keys.. Escapement seems to be within the specs although I have planned to experiment with that and with adjusting strike line.
Something weird I have noticed :
the action noise is consistent throughout the key range, except between keys 56 to 67, where the attack noise is significantly louder and clacky.
I have noticed it corresponds to the damper module for keys 56 to 67.
What I don't understand is that the damper module for the next octave is identical (same part number) but it does not make that noise... Weird, isn't it ?
Does any of you have an idea what might be going on here ?
The damper module in question is not loose. I have checked.
One other thing, I have taken the name rail apart to give it a good clean (vinegar, soap, baking soda). It is clean but there are some ugly spots that I can't get rid of (see picture). Would anyone have a recommendation on how to go about this? I'm not sure I can get rid of them. I Have read on the forum that a member used aluminium paint when restoring and Mk1 name rail. What do you say ? Worth the trouble or live with it ?
Anyway, thanks a lot for your help/opinion/advice. Really looking forward to receiving all the parts and getting the job done, so I can give this baby the love it deserves.
Cheers,
f
I'm a new member. My name is François, from Belgium. I just recently bought a 1980 Stage 73 mkII with wooden keys. Such a lovely beast !
Overall it is in good condition. It plays and sounds good but I would like to tune it to my liking.
It was fully checked by Rhodes Italia in December of 2006.
I have taken the piano apart for inspection and there are no bad news apart from 3 dead pickups and some mild corrosion on the tone generators.
Some of the grommets have known better days, some screws are bent (some tonebars move left or right when voicing). I have ordered the necessary parts and plan to replace them.
In the bass end some of the tines oscillate in a figure of 8 pattern, I'm going to try the heavy spring trick. We'll see..
Hammer tips, dampers and key bushings look good to me. My guess is : they were replaced in 2006.
Key dip is good, I just have to level a couple keys.. Escapement seems to be within the specs although I have planned to experiment with that and with adjusting strike line.
Something weird I have noticed :
the action noise is consistent throughout the key range, except between keys 56 to 67, where the attack noise is significantly louder and clacky.
I have noticed it corresponds to the damper module for keys 56 to 67.
What I don't understand is that the damper module for the next octave is identical (same part number) but it does not make that noise... Weird, isn't it ?
Does any of you have an idea what might be going on here ?
The damper module in question is not loose. I have checked.
One other thing, I have taken the name rail apart to give it a good clean (vinegar, soap, baking soda). It is clean but there are some ugly spots that I can't get rid of (see picture). Would anyone have a recommendation on how to go about this? I'm not sure I can get rid of them. I Have read on the forum that a member used aluminium paint when restoring and Mk1 name rail. What do you say ? Worth the trouble or live with it ?
Anyway, thanks a lot for your help/opinion/advice. Really looking forward to receiving all the parts and getting the job done, so I can give this baby the love it deserves.
Cheers,
f