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Messages - zjokka

#1
yes tis!

It hasn't been online for so long. Jens deverves heaven for this. So many people on this side have asked for the schematic. there seemed to be a consensus among the techs that this secret shouldn't be passed on? don't know.
eg
http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=1340

In the Rhodes Yahoo groups the patent docs are published in the files section, but it takes a lot of effort to bring that down to a workable schematic. This really helps a lot but i noticed the values of some polarized caps are missing

So many versions of the Dyno preamp exist, I've even seen one with ICs.

ZJ
#2
if you remove the top, you can play the tines with your fingers and be really freaking.

I love a lot of what Jarretts done, but this is a bunch of st :shock: ned out crap. just takes a lot of balls.

i might blow your top, but I prefer keep keep mine ON the Rhodes.

zj
#3
Do you get enough headroom at 9V? I thought all Rhodes preamps were at least 15V (even saw a dyno on 22V if i'm not mistaken)

do you have some soundclips?
would you be willing to sell just an unsoldered board or share the pcb layout?

j
#4
I've heard some good stuff about Robert Kreuzer's bass preamp:

http://www.albertkreuzer.com/pics/el/pre/schem/preamp_sch21.gif

you might want to build any bass preamp if you run it at 15V for more headroom. 9V pedals/fx just don't have a enough headroom and sound compressed.

zj
#5
Can it be done?

Have had so much info from this forum when I was restoring my Rhodes, but now it's up and running. thanks still. As I am playing guitar in my current band, attention fled towards other fields....like guitar wiring and: making stompboxes.

Information a-plenty on the internet on how to make your own booster, fuzz or whatever, because these are of the simplest circuits around. Component count around 10. Even tremelo's are fairly basic. And what's more, old or less old, schematics, fora and info galore.

Like I said, I haven't been around lately, but when I read the forum everyday, there was little in depth information on active Rhodes circuits around. I stood amazed at the booster boxes sold by renowned Rhodes techs but never tried one. I don't have any electronic knowledge at all, but learned a lot from guitar wiring (passive) and am starting to put my first steps in active electronics.

so, to the point, I am surprised that the Dyno-My-Piano preamp schematic isn't on the web. But there probably is a good reason for it. I read that the company ceased to exist, so I wouldn't make any commercial difference (i think..). I suppose the techs still performing this mod, replicate a dyno board they own or once copied?

I still couldn't prevent a internet community to devise their own Pimp-My-Piano preamp and publish their findings?

How did i get this iday? Ebay!

But this is some crazy stuff: 3 x 9v: this cannot be necessary. Or is it? Was the original 27V then? So many questions

I hope I didn't step on dangerous ground.
thanks still for taking the time to read this.

zjok
#6
Screwing the tone bar on very tight is not a solution, rather it might indirectly be the problem. Try replacing the grommets (rubber washers), they are the key to sustain problems. Often, fierce tightening of the tone bar migh cause the rubber to get squashed and dead.

hope this helps,
zjok
#7
I know I read it somewhere, just don't know where. There's an interview between D'Angelo and ?uestlove on the D'Angelo Website but I didn't find it in there.

So, from memory, then:   :lol:

D owns a Mark I Stage 73 Rhodes, post 1975, which he uses in gigs
But on the revolutionary Voodoo album, the Rhodes you hear is Stevie Wonder's  :shock:  88 Suitcase, which just happened to be sitting in the Electric Ladyland studio when they went there to record.

no s**t. but will keep on looking for that link until i find it.
greetz
zjok
#8
hi. try taking the rod out again. if the notes don't sustain as before the pedal installation, you probably installed the rod too tightly or made it too long. the rod should touch but not push it up too high, otherwise your pedal is always 'down' so to say..

hope this makes sense.
zj
#9
Amps, Effects & Recording Techniques / about bass boost
September 14, 2004, 12:04:38 PM
the first is correct. bass boost open = normal, bass boost closed (0) just cut down on the bass. how could it be otherwise considering that the rhodes is not powered
#10
hi there,

had the same question in my head, and I don't think it's really as easypeasy. Hit the searchengine and paint job fora.
Here's what I found: if you want something like the silver top harp cover, you have to do a paintjob similar like on the DeLacugo Guitars. So, I would hit the paint shop and say: I want a finish in 1/64th" and finer metalflakes and glitterflakes with holographic flakes added for additional effects. I would like a silver transparent urethane, topcoated with a rock hard polyester clear topcoat. And something to get a mirror smooth finish, please.

As I said, I no expert, but it seems you put on one layer, throw on the flakes and put a finish on top.

In fact, almost off-topic, this one. But still, I haven't seen a real silvertop yet, and I can hardly believe they did above whole process on the silvertops. Maybe you could hand in your harp cover at the local body shop...  if it's a good one.

Stay in touch if you've tried it. Some real issues to fix on mine before I get to the aesthetics

zjok
#11
Vintage Rhodes Sustain Pedal on ebay

stated that it belonged to a Mark II, but as far as I know the MI and MII pedal are exactly the same. 5 listing days left...

good luck!
ZJ
#12
Hi

Also looking at a Tolex job for my Mark I Stage 73 and checked out the Vibroworld site. Possibilities enough!

I was wondering if anybody has experience as to what width and length is required to cover a Stage 73. Widths vary: 42" - 48" - 55" and there are currently a lot of 'leftovers' offered on ebay (search 'tolex yards') but only 3 to 4 yards long.

thanks for checking this,
love the forum
ZJ
#13
HI there,

Thinking to go the same way and was looking for more feedback on this modification before going ahead. Did found this site providing some more pro-backcheckmod info. It's in fact about midi-fying a Rhodes, but still...

http://www.oceanbeach.com/ches/daves_gear/rhodes.html

You need backchecks. The action on a Rhodes is, well, funky. One of the places Harold Rhodes saved money was in in the escapement mechanism. If you take apart your Rhodes (something every Rhodes owner should do), you will see that when you press down on a key, it basically yanks on a weird little strap which causes the hammer to fly up and hit the tine. The problem is that when the hammer falls back down, it yanks on the strap and causes the key to bounce.  (...) The addition of backchecks will go a long way towards cleaning up any sloppiness the action of your Rhodes might have. I bought mine from a piano repair supply house; sorry it's been so long I've lost the address. They shouldn't be hard to find. Buy ordinary upright piano backchecks. If given a choice for stem length, go with the longer stems. Hopefully the photos and diagram are clear enough. You basically want to mount the backcheck in a location so that when the key is at rest, the backcheck felt rests against the back of the hammer. A drillpress is nice to have, but I made a simple jig to hold the keystick, and I drilled mine by hand using a cordless drill. The backcheck should be positioned in such a way that it supplies enough pressure (friction, really) to catch the hammer after it strikes the tine, but not so much pressure as to make the note harder to play. The exact drilling location isn't super critical because you can easily bend the backcheck stem to adjust the tension.

hope it helps, it kinda convinced me..

zjok
#14
The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / power
July 20, 2004, 04:30:36 AM
hi,

maybe this topic is already on the way to an answer

http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=79

hope it helps - not a suitcaser myself

greetz,
zjok
#15
hi all,

after months of investigation and reading, I bought a Rhodes 73 Mark I Stage Piano from '77. There were some problems I was aware of (3 highest tones were dead - but clearly a pickup problem).

arriving back home and trying it out I marvelled at the sound, but also discovered that there was a hidden problem I didn't notice when I bought it: the damper bar that's pushed down by the rising sustain pedal didn't have the left pivot pin which keeps the whole bar in place.

So what is in fact missing is the damper release bar pivot pin (in the service manual) or damper release bar pivot (number 8 in the user guide) . Luckily I could temporarily fix it by just putting a screw in, but I would like a decent, more professional and stable solution. I checked Major Keys and their resellers, but don't find the Pivot Pin. Neither do I find the dimensions/type of the pivot pin in the service manual.

Can anybody help me as to what to use to best replace this part? After all it is a simple 'pin'.

thanks so much in advance.
zjok