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Hey y'all,

I'm working on chopping a 1978 suitcase 73 down to 49 keys to gig with. The suitcase was missing speakers and the amp was broken. I've chopped everything and it's back together.

The part I haven't tackled yet is the pickups. It had a bunch of dead ones to start so first I need to test them. Am I correct that you can just measure resistance with a multimeter to see if the pickup works?

The second part is, how would I go about wiring them together? Because I know wiring patterns are important and there's no information on wiring patterns for 49 keys.

Any help or advice is welcome!
Wesley

Hey everyone,
I'm working on chopping a student Wurlitzer 214 and was almost done but I ran into an issue. Got everything out back together but now the output is crackling really bad. It wasn't messed up before the chop so I must have done something wrong. I did put an 8omh resistor on the speaker wires. Does anyone have advice on how to fix this before I have to go and buy a new amp? Thanks!

Here's a video of the issue:
https://youtube.com/shorts/3_GLNDtlbhM?feature=share

Edit: I found a good deal on an original but good condition amp so I'm just going to replace it. Hopefully that fixes the issue.

Hello again,
I'm back with more questions after purchasing my second Rhodes yesterday. It is very beat up on the outside but the harp is in great condition (besides being 50 years old - needs to be adjusted and voiced). Needs re-tolexing, it's missing some handles and a logo, and the harp cover is cracked. All easy enough fixes, I'm just glad it has almost zero rust and only one broken tine. Needs some action work too. It is a 13th week 1972 and seems to be a suitcase top without the speaker cab. The interesting thing is that it has "Buz Watson" stamped on the harp, and according to VV, Buz only stamped stage models. I'm fairy certain its a suitcase because the bottom of the case's wood is thinner than my stage and the sustain pedal hole is different (see pic) and it has a preamp. Has anyone heard of a Buz Watson Suitcase? I don't know if it matters much, but VV made it sound like Buz pianos are more sought after than other years or models. Mostly just asking out of curiosity.

A few other questions:

Is there any way to test the preamp that only has a 4 pin connector output without buying a power amp like the ones VV sells? I'd like to figure out if it works without spending $150-250 on a power amp.

Is it worth trying to find a speaker cab to pair with it or should I just fully convert it to a stage model? How hard are the cabinets to find, or is it possible to build one myself?

Is there any way to make the key noise quieter? It's not a problem if I'm running the amp loud but I'm not always able to crank the volume at home.

For re-tolexing, does anyone have an opinion on buying precut vs rolls? The precut is much more expensive but I don't know how difficult it is using the roll of tolex.

Thanks for the help again, you guys are super helpful
Wesley

Hi everyone,

I just got my first Rhodes about a month ago and have finished working on it. It plays nicely now and sounds decent but I'm looking for amp to improve the sound. Right now I'm playing it through a Studio V3 tube preamp and a Champion 100, both of which I already owned. I'm not in a position where it is logical to spend $1000 on a twin reverb (which I couldn't push above 1-2 on volume in my house) so I'm wondering what I can do to get a better sound. The champion sounds muddy for my liking and I can't EQ the low mids out while keeping a clean full sound. The effects are also terrible.

Here are the options I have compiled - I'm having a hard time deciding:

- Keeping the tube preamp and the Champion but adding an MXR 10 band EQ and maybe some effect pedals
- Upgrading to small fender tube amp such as the hot rod deluxe or blues junior (around $500)
- Vox Tonelab - I've heard good things about this but I can't find the vintage keys edition
- An amp sim on my computer - I would prefer hardware but it's still an option

I'm leaning towards the Tonelab but there is almost no info on it paired with a Rhodes. It's small and affordable. It has a nice effects section too. Does anyone have experience with the Tonelab and is there a best model for the Rhodes?

Thanks for the help
Wesley

First, thanks to everyone on this forum for the posts and information. It helped me know what I was getting and the value when I picked up my first Rhodes. I found a good deal on a 1978 Mk 1 73 and picked it up a couple days ago. It is in great cosmetic condition but it hasn't been servicing in a long time if ever. I can't find anyone locally who services these so I'm going to do what I can even though I have no experience. All the keys and pickups work, no broken tines, and it's in tune. That being said, the action could use some work and I'm sure it needs new grommets, hammer tips, damper felts, etc. The issue with the action is that it is not sensitive to light key presses. I'm guessing this is due to the key escapement but there could be other issues. Is key escapement a difficult thing to adjust for a beginner? I watched Vintage Vibe's video on it and it seems doable. One issue is that my model has metal harp brackets (if that's what they're called) where as the video's are wood. There is a thin piece of wood (1/8 inch) on top of the metal that I could trim down or totally remove but I don't know if that's okay to do. The distance from the hammer to tine when the lowest key is fully pressed down (but not to aftertouch) is about half an inch. Beyond the action, I am planning on getting Vintage Vibe's refurb kit to replace the grommets, hammer tips, and damper felts. After that I will voice and tune. Last question, I'm confused about what tonebar escapement is and how to do it. I've seen a couple vintage vibe videos where they put a measuring block under the tonebar and tighten the screw to that height. Is this necessary and if so what height is it? Any advice on these procedures would be greatly appreciated, especially figuring out the key escapement. I can attach pictures if anything wasn't explained well. I also might have been confusing because I don't know all of the parts and their names. Thanks for any advice!