Messages

Hahahaha tres ingénieuse!

So true. In the end it's all about the way you play. Herbie can make a casio sound great!

The patch is good, but it is closer to chick's sound than what I've used to hear from herbie. Thin sound

Thanks for the research on the EK-10, sean!

I am restoring a mark 5 right now, "from the ground up". So rewiring was a consideration for me. But reading the thread I think I will go with the original wiring for now..

Emiel

Emiel -

EK-10 service manual:  http://www.fenderrhodes.com/pdf/mark3-service-manual.pdf

According to the EK-10 service manual, they put shields between the pickups.  You can see them in the photos you linked.
I assume this was to prevent the adjacent pickups from generating enough signal to trigger ghost notes from the electronic voices.

The first page of the manual tells how the signals from the pickups were grouped into the ribbon cables:  
Ribbon cable 1 carries  signals from all E's and Fs.
Ribbon cable 2 carries  signals from all F#'s and G's.
Ribbon cable 3 carries  signals from all G#'s and A's.
Ribbon cable 4 carries  signals from all A#'s and B's.
Ribbon cable 5 carries  signals from all C's and C#'s.
Ribbon cable 6 carries  signals from all D's and D#'s.

There is a paragraph on page 11 that describes how the individual pickup signals are routed:  "The signal is sent through mixing resistors R4[01-12] to [transistor] Q4 or Q5.  The amplified signal is sent [via ribbon cable connector C/P2] to the op amps on the mixer on the namerail."  On the mixer PCB that is on the namerail, the sound from the pickups is sent through [op amp] U3A/B (page 17).  (Then on page 12... "The signal from each of the pickups is also sent to an active rectifier and amplifier..." to create the envelope for the electronic voices.)

The result of all this means that each individual pickup is connected individually.  Dead pickups do not affect any other note.

Remarkably, I think this setup is still humbucking!  If you look at the schematic on page 24, the pickup signal that is coming in to connector P1 on pin 7 and pin 1 are from adjacent pickups.  As long as these two pickups are wired with one hot signal from the front and the other hot signal from the back, you will get EMI noise cancellation.  

If you look the second photo, you will notice that the purple and grey wires feeding the ribbon connector come from adjacent pickups (the fourth and fifth pickups from the right in the photo).  These two pickups are indeed wired with opposite polarity!  Cool.

Here is the photo again:  

Sean

He is great!

Nice!

it's a rhodes, but I think as light as possible. they even sawed away the tonebar-wood, used the lighter wurli bottom, and designed a custom cover. (and adjusted a few more things ofcourse)

I'm convinced it sounds 100% rhodes, but (much) less weight.

starting with a 1?

please do not tell us the price you paid for it. please spare us.

that is what I did! I just taped some padding on the rhodes top, with some gaffer tape. too simple.

Sean, I think the EK-10 is wired the same way as rob's example? I mean the phase canceling is the same way you described... I guess.

Try one of the joemeek products, or the BSS products, for preamps. Never worked with them, but heard a lot about them.

Is a line6 fx pedal an option for you? One has to like the sound of it (modeling) but it offers a lot of possibilitys, and I think it is very suitable for your kind of music....

If you want a real good rig, start with a preamplifier with 2 or more parametric eq options. Then you can add what you want in the signal chain, or when recording, use plugins.

Also bass fx pedals sometimes work better then guitar pedals, because of the lower frequency area the Rhodes is in.

@rob a: I will look into the mx200 again. Maybe there is something I miss seeing.

@cormac: wow!!! Yes I am working very hard with my band, and it is heart warming to know that people (of all ages ) like it!

By the way, the Rhodes recording on the album "trinta" was done this way: Rhodes mk1 1977 --> REDDI --> Studer 16 track tape machine --> Neve Mixing desk.

It was done in the Supow studios in Cologne, Germany.

does anyone know how the ek10 is wired? series of one?

the mpx1 http://www.lexiconpro.com/product.php?id=14 is really the entry level of good reverb in my opinion. although the mpx200 sounds good, the hissing prevents me from using it!

My preamp by the way is the MindPrint EnVoice. directly taken from the harp, it is completely hissfree. then the signal is line level, and goes into several moogerfoogers (phaser, analog delay, lowpass filter) and then to the mixer. the really cool thing is that moogerfoogers accept line level, so that the hissing is being reduced to a minimum.

hey there

I found the mx200 is noisy, even on the S/PDIF. that is why i don't use it anymore. the plate reverb preset is very good for the rhodes though.

Better! What and how did you manage that SICK paintjob on your moogerfoogers??? Awesome.

I see..
it's the evolution of the hammer I guess it kept going more and more a-symmetrical! (cheaper and cheaper production process?)

Still I don't know if it influences the sound produced. I don't think it really does, but who knows

check here for a great article about the EK-10:

http://www.majorkey.com/mk2/EK10.html

[http://www.majorkey.com/audio/track2.mp3]

wow this is really cool, Harold Rhodes talking about the Rhodes history. I got this from the Major Key website:

...Listen to Harold Rhodes share a bit of Rhodes history in his own words, reminiscing about the Fender Rhodes mobile piano teaching lab and reflecting on personal experience and philosophy behind his piano teaching method.

http://www.majorkey.com/audio/track2.mp3

*These Major Key series of recordings are from John McLaren Jr.'s private collection. Unauthorized duplication or distribution is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2010 Major Key©.

is there a mark V service manual?

I am completely rebuilding a mark V here. so I want to go trough key height, key dip, harp placement, etc...
the mark 1 and the mark V are different in a few places, the balance rail is more towards the hammers, and the hammers and dampers are differently shaped (that's it isn't it?) So do I need a mkV manual is the real question..

can someone (multmin?) please fill in the list on the start-post?

cool!

yeah that is my thought, the molding process maybe demands this shape of the hammer. the hammer in general is thicker and sharper edged on the right side, so it is maybe to compensate that little difference that the action part is thinner on the left side.

What you really want is a moogerfooger.
http://www.moogmusic.com/moogerfooger/?section=product&product_id=5

The 'spikes' are under good control with the resonance knob. I play with one, it is really amazing. Also when you hook up a simple tsr volume pedal, it becomes a foot controlled wah!
I found it worth my money.

congrats! really nice. a lot of efford went into this I guess!

I go myself the quadraphonic recordings too, wow amazing how that sounds! it is not that hard panned quadraphonic style, but more spacy all around the listener. nice.

thanks, but that is not what I meant. I think I was unclear in my post. My question is: Why is the action part of the hammer THICKER on one side opposed to the other side of the hammer?

Why is the hammer of a rhodes shaped differently on the left and right side? is this intentionally? On the right you see a mark V hammer, and on the left a Mark 1 hammer.

welcome to the netherlands! how do you like it here, since you moved?

Yes! the rhodes action is a simple version of a grand piano action. it is also different from any other electric piano action i know of, so it feels kind of unique!

hey danny, do you have a few of those hammers left?

blue hammers!

I am planning to plate my markV tines and frame. chrome or nickel, I have not decided yet. the material is very rusty right now (a big shame to the previous owner) so I want to sand it. Do i have to make a super-shiny surface for the plater?

nobody knows about the mk7 hammers?
I guess there aren't any mk7 spare parts around on the internet...

I think your top ones are supposed to be green
does your colour sections match my list (or sort of?)

but what kind of rhodes (year, mark) do you have?

edit: it was also sometimes difficult to check what colour the springs have (had).

Hey everybody.

I just removed all the tonebars from my MKV, and I came across 3 types of springs, Orange, Red and Green.
The order of the springs? well, not clear to me! there is a sort of an order, but it is messed up sometimes.

8-21 Orange - orange (pickup side - keybed side)
22-64 Red - Red, with somtimes orange springs in between( ???why )
65-70 Green (only one hole per tonebar here)
71-80 Rubber

Can someone with a mark V please check his rhodes for the spring colors?
I wonder how the colors relate to for instance MK1 versions

I don't think anyone is making the hammers. maybe a MK7 hammer fits? I heard a rumor it was the same thing... not sure.

and: I also want the MKV manual!!!!!

I am going to take my newly acquired MKV harp apart this week, so I think within a few days I can tell you where what goes!

My serial:

801742 (2584) Emiel van Rijthoven, Utrecht, the Netherlands