Topics

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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 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

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

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?

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!

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?

Just realised my piano came without the connecting brackets that connect the two wooden parts of the harp. Do I need these? VV don't appear to have them but it they look as though they could be fairly easy to make. Anyone tried?

Just changing tone bar screws and grommets for brand new ones (and cleaning up tines and tone bars in the process) and when I try to unscrew the old screws 6 of the first 14 (i.e. a lot) are shearing off. I'm doing it gently, by hand, but they just seem incredibly soft and weak. It's mainly the ones that are bent that seem to break. Now the ply that the screws go into (wrest plank?) have sheared of screws which are proving to be very difficult to extract. Boring out the screws with a metal drill so far has not worked as the drill just drifts into the wood. Anyone else had this happen and is there a solution?
Cheers

Oliver

I'm just about to install new felt hammers on my Rhodes and the kit I got from VV cryptically includes a tube of superglue and a tube of industrial strength adhesive (as supplied with the new dampers.) I say cryptically because there is no mention of which glue should be used.

Have looked around and cannot find anything about which glue I should use. On the VV installation video it shows them using superglue but these are for neoprene hammers. Also, do the wood core hammers require a different glue from the felt ones?

Thanks for advice.

Oliver

Just built a little jig to try and rewind some of my 19 dead pickups. VV told me that they might be the 1970s north facing magnet types. Can these be replaced with later south facing magnet types or do I need to keep them all the same?

Also my first pickup wire snapped with just a few turns left (well maybe 100 or so) Can it be soldered back together?

Thanks!

My hammers are quite grooved and the wood core ones will definitely need re-felting but I remember someone saying once that I could simply turn my felt hammers around and use the backs as fronts, as it were.

The cost of new hammers is pretty low so I wouldn't be doing it to save money particularly but I wondered if

a) my hammers were too far gone to do this and
b) is there anything intrinsically better about original felts than replacement ones.

Thanks!

Other than the quality of the plug and that fact that they don't lock is there any reason I couldn't use a standard male to male 4 pin din lead instead of the the $50 leads?

They're a whole lot cheaper...

https://www.stagedepot.co.uk/essentials/signal-data-cable/midi/stagg-high-quality-4pin-din-male-4pin-din-male-midi-cable?sku=ST-SMD6&gclid=CjwKEAjw3drIBRCOwfC-_qqyjQ8SJADvoWQpsRMjenhvoOLN_dQQDPNErbse1lIuFU6H_D8XceTSVBoCsJbw_wcB

The pre amp on my Rhodes has a 5 pin socket on it. I'm presuming this is not original? Can I use a VV 5 pin power supply or are the voltages different (5v and 24v)?

Is there any way of testing this unit to see what spares I need (if any) and indeed if it's even worth fixing.

Many thanks

Oliver

I have just removed 19 dead pickups from my 1969 Rhodes which (reading other posts here) probably isn't too bad. I noticed the wiring of the bottom 10 pickups were in a zig zag pattern and not in there parallel 6's as the rest of the harp is.
Why is this? Many thanks O

I have just removed the hammer and damper assembly from my piano (1969 Suitcase) for cleaning. On returning I discover that the hammers do not fall all the way back to their resting position but 'clonk' on their respective hammers.

There was a shim underneath the hammer/damper assembly when I took it off and I have replaced it now but it would seem I need to shim  this up even more so the hammers clear the keys on return.

Just seems a bit weird when it was OK before. Any ideas?

Oliver

Not sure if this has been covered before but my lid doesn't fit very well on 1969 suitcase top. It's seems ok on the front and sides but drops down at the back further than it should.

It is cut away almost completely from end to end at the front and given that this 73 came with 88 keys I wouldn't be at all surprised if the lid was from a different beast

I bought the above piano in pieces in 2011. I am now attempting a restoration it but seem to have fallen at the first fence.

From the attached photo you will see the pins in the front rail are not evenly spaced making it impossible to fit the white keys. The keys I received with the piano I believe came from different instrument as there are about 90 of them (!)

I presume all white rhodes keys were similar in that the holes for the front rail pins are in the middle of the keys (left to right) and so the corresponding pin rail should similarly be equally spaced.

The rail doesn't look tampered with so it's all a bit of a mystery to me. The only option I believe I have is to remove the pins, fill in the old holes and drill new ones in the correct places. All other pins (balance rail, black key pins etc) seem to be in the right place.

Any info would be gratefully received.

Oliver Sheen