Messages

Amazing video!!! Thanks Ben & Claudio!

@Ben Bove, if you read it : Can you explain us the settings you made on the 1973 stage at 37:31?
The Rhodes sounds great, very bright...
The tine and the pickup close to each other?
Have seen a JC120, is that the amp that you used on this Rhodes?

Thanks!

Whaooouh !!! Thanks a lot !!! that's exactly what I needed !!!

Thanks Alan !

I'm also searching for different felts used on Rhodes piano.
I need the key pedestal felt thickness, I read on the forum that a .08" is an average good thickness.
I need too the key bushing felt thickness, and I think that this one is thinner.
Could someone help me on that ?

I don't know where to find this stuff, I live in France and it's way more difficult than in US.

Thanks for your reply !

I did not open the amazon link and they say : 125'' Dia � 0.0625'' H � 10'' L.
So there's a part of the answer.
When the topic was created, it was difficult to not buy the parts but now in 2020, if I could know the average dimensions, it could be easy to 3D print them at different thickness.

And, you're right, every piano is unique, and maybe mine doesn't need the mod. When I got it, I dismantle it and began the restoration. So when it'll be finished I'll see.
But it's an early 1973 fender, so I think it will need the mod.

On another side, I've got a 1971 Buz Watson with the Marcel curve pedestal, it's unmodified and he's perfect. A bit heavier than my 77, but what a pleasure !!!

Thanks

Hi, could someone here give me the bump dimensions please ?
Thanks

WoW great ! Very nice piano !
Apart from the rail, everything seems to be original : piano and under flycase latches, hammertips, tolex, logos, legs, legs bag...
One crossbar is missing, right ?
What's the crossbar big bolt shape ? Round or like a star ?

Yes, change the bad pickup, use compressed air to blow all the dust (I'd dismount the harp assembly and all the keys, it's more efficient). It gonna take a couple hours in total max, but it's a good starting point.

After that, I'd try to find a new rail to eliminate the preamp and give to this rhodes its original look and sound.

Cool ! When you're home, send us some pictures

Problem solved !!!    A friend of mine gave me a #34 early 1973 tine (attachement). I cut it as a #35 and the sound is perfect.
The sound is exactly the same as the other tines. My piano is a late 71, early 72 so the tine is almost from the same era.

So, to answer to my topic question "How to save a bad tine?", if all is OK : tine tightened on the TB, cleaned, squared-off, good grommets, damper mechanism OK, hammer tip OK... Maybe, it's impossible to save it!

If the pickups are close to the tines it's normal to have a fat sound.
I think the rhodes's impedance is lower than a guitar, so it's normal too to have more juice with the rhodes.
A guitar has 6 strings, but with a piano you can play 10 notes at the same time + the ones you play with your sustain pedal... That makes the signal even fatter, and make your headphone amp overdrive...

The hammer tips are a big factor in sound differences between early and late models, it's a good thing to be able to compare a 72 with a 78 side by side, you'll get the best sounding to your ears.

The color on the tips represents the hardness, so yes, if they are slightly colored, they might be originals (if they are totally colored they are VV reissues).
Take a look on the 1st picture on this link : https://www.vintagevibe.com/products/fender-rhodes-hammer-tip-kit

Cool ! Did you like the sound coming from the harp?
Have you tried the 76 too ? Differences between the 2 ?

but in a large corner they literally had piles of interesting vintage stuff in really rough shape.

God bless America 

This kind of stores are pretty rare in Europe ! Some in Paris or London...

Keep us in touch

Tell us, have you bought the Rhodes ?

I sent you a PM

I made the tests and I think it's definitely the tine.

The bad tine is #35, and now it's squared off and clean.

I tried new bushings -> nothing
I swapped with the #36 tine, and the #36 in position of #35 sounds good.
I didn't put the #35 on #36 position, didn't want to screw/unscrew to avoid damaging the hole.

I think, I'm good for a new tine...

Yes, I thought about changing the tine position. I'll try as soon as possible !
Thanks

Like this it doesn't seem to be ugly !!

All I can say is :

- The harp was achieved the 22th week of 1972
- The piano leave the factory the 2x week of 1972
- It has been modified with a preamp, it explains the wires
- The keys seem to be in good shape, and they maybe are from the Marcel Curve pedestal era which is very good.
- Some grommets are bads and maybe stiff
- the tonebar plating seems to be good and not too oxidised
- Except the preamp, it seems to be original (little ground wire, RCA cable...).

I'd really go for this one, and like the others said : buy the 2 !

The lightest gear you can use is maybe a MacBook with a small interface, like an apogee solo and headphones...
If you find a Moog Modular on that room please let me know ^^

I think the best would be a good guitar amp to test them...

In the title, you're talking about 78 & 73 and in your topic 78 & 72, is it a 72 or 73 ?
Have you checked the stamps on the harp on each ?

The best answer I can give is actually a question : Have you tried the pianos ?
If yes, what's your favorite ?

For sure the 72 seems to be in bad shape, but sometimes, visually it's bad, but sonically it's very good.

I owned 4 Rhodes in my life, 74, 77, 78, 72, I still have my 77 and 72, and I prefer the 72, but it's my personal opinion... The 2 are perfectly adjusted, so it's easy to make an opinion. But in your case, maybe the 72 doesn't sound as it should...

Another thing, 72's are more rare, so usually more rated, and for me of better overall quality...

You really have to test them, because a 78 could be an excellent piano and a 72 a bad one.
I disliked my 78, hated my 74, really really like my 77, love my 72 Buz Watson.

I hope I helped you

G

I squared off the tine, now is perfectly square (picture).

But, it measures 60,9mm instead of 61,9mm (like written on my bedside topic https://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=9647.0). It seems to be better to have a smaller tine with the spring near the edge, so, will see (my rhodes isn't at home so, I'll maybe check next week... rrrrr).

I verified, it produced a D with the spring in the position shown in my picture.

Flag !!
I'm very interested !

Thanks for your answers !

I gonna try to square off, I'll be sure like that !
Tim, the tine is #35.
There's a sound clip on my first post, the google drive link.

Thanks

So there is, sorry me being lazy!

No problem ^^

Thanks for your answers !

I gonna try to square off, I'll be sure like that !
Tim, the tine is #35.
There's a sound clip on my first post, the google drive link.

Thanks

Thanks !

I gonna square off the tine to be sure, try with others grommets and I'll see.

I'm a bit ennoyed to change the tine because I don't know if it will change the sound...
I have changed some tines on later models but not on my 71... the tine is the tone generator, and the 71 sound is very specific so...

I just checked everything, and all is ok.

- tine doesn't touch the harp wood
- the bridle strap is ok
- the hammer tip doesn't touch the tine after the hit
- the damper works fine

Here's the pictures of the tine, what do you think ?

I'm searching for vintage analog synths, broken or working.

Here's a quick list:

- arp 2600
- memorymoog
- Jupiter 8
- Oberheim OB8, X, Xa
- minimoog model D
- Rhodes Chroma
- arp odyssey...

If you have something to sell, don't hesitate to contact me. I'm very serious and bored of seing Craigslist's scams.

Thanks

I know... I thought that it was a problem only for me because I had replies but it seems to be blank for you too.
When I logout I can see the topic. But when I log in, it's blank but I can see it when I press the REPLY button...
I contacted a moderator the first day I posted, but I had no reply. I wanted to delete it and post it again...

Edit : it seems to work again

Ah ok  I see now !
I don't think it's broken but I'll check too!

Thank you !! I'll check all that !
Effectively, I haven't thought about all that possibilities ! Tine touching the wood, hammer damping the tine...

For the grommets, I thought about, but they are all originals, all the notes have a perfect sustain, the 2 grommets of this note are identicals to the others so... but I'll try to change this 2 ones to see if it changes something.

Bridal strap ? Sorry I don't understand (I'm french), I tried to google it, but I only found wedding dresses ^^

Hi everybody!

I post here because I have a problem on one note of my fender rhodes.
If you listen to the sample, you'll hear the problem.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pDso46kCJmFI6b1wkIU1vzrKiWOs2FEz/view?usp=drivesdk

Note that all the others notes are perfects, so 70'ish.

Changing the tine would be the last solution, all the tines and tonebars are originals from 1972, and a new one will sound different of the fender era ones.

I dismounted the tine/TB assembly and the TB seems ok, I re-tightened the tine, left the spring, clean the tine with 000 steel wool, and nothing changed.

I noticed that the tine front edge isn't square and that the bottom is flattered, like shown in the picture.

Do you think it would be interesting to make the front edge square with a bench grinder (like I make usually on new tines to have a perfect finish) ? I read that a square edge is very important for the sound...
Do you think it can solve my problem or not ?

I'm hesitating because I don't want to grind too much and make the tine too sharper without being able to make it flatter with the spring...

Thanks

Cool thanks !! I'm not alone in this world !!! Have you heard my sample ? Your hiss was similar ?
Ok, I'll try the copper foil solution !!

Thanks Sean !

It's not a problem of compression, because on this sample I don't use compression.
In fact, the hiss appears sometime after 15 minutes on a session, and after, it's constant...
There's no variation on attack, decay or sustain of the note...

But, now I have a doubt... maybe is a hiss who appears on all my equipment, but I ear it because my Rhodes are the cleanest EPs that I have ! I'll check that !

Have you heard the hiss I am talking about on my record ?

For example, when I recorded this sample, everything was OK, but at a moment the hiss appeared.
It appears on my 2 Rhodes stage, even on my Roland JC or fender Twin... So that's why I was asking my question on the forum, thinking that it maybe was a known Rhodes issue...

I have several vintage keyboards and have no problem with... that's weird, because a Rhodes is so simple, compared to a preamped Clav or wurli...

That's why I use the High Z input of my preamp, using a DI put my high impédance signal to low.
I don't have problem with my signal level or something like that, my problem is the hiss audible on the second part of the sample I put on attachement.

Thanks for your answer !
But like I said, I use a UA6176 to record, and it has a 2.2MOhms built-in DI.
So the high Rhodes impédance is transformed into a line level signal when I record.

Hi guys !

I've got a problem with my 2 Rhodes. The 2 are 73 stage MKI, the first is a 77/78 model, the other a 71/72.
I'm a bit lost because I don't know if it really comes from the Rhodes or my gear.
When I plug a Rhodes it can be good or bad. After some minutes a bad hiss appears.
There's a sample on attachement. The first part is the good sound and the second was recorded few minutes later with the same equipment when the hiss came.
It was recorded from the rail output to an UA 6176 and in a RME UFX.
The hiss appears on my amps too, but much less noticeable than in the UA 6176 (here, the UA 6176 setting has high gain and treble boost).

Thanks

In France. But without eBay, Craigslist...

I had 4 rhodes in my life, 74, 77, 78, 71/72 Buz. W.

The Buz Watson is the best of all. The best sounding but maybe because I prefer the early sound.

The piano doesn't have any corrosion point, it's 99% original (rear VV logo, new RCA plug), and 100% complete. It spent is life very well stored, it maybe explains why it sounds great and why it didn't need an escapement or strike line mod.

No pedestal mod and the touch is perfect, because it has the Marcel curve pedestal (it's from end 71, early 72). My 77 has a lighter touch but it has the miracle mod.

About Buz Watson... I don't think the Buz. W pianos are greats because of Buz, but because of the era. Buz worked at fender factory at the golden era, so I think that's the reason why people say that a Buz Watson Rhodes can't sound badly. For sure, I don't say that he's for nothing, but another 70, 71 or 72 piano without the stamp will have benefited of the era characteristics (Marcel curve, wood hammers, type of tines, tonerbars), and will maybe sound as good as a Buz Watson...

Found! 

Hi, I'm agree with the two posts above! to me it sounds like it has a bad voicing and a bad tuning.

Sean, I don't know if you understand my request.

I want to buy a 1972 Buz Watson Rhodes stage... like my subject title say
I know him for sure

All is on the title ! The more original possible, restored or to restore.

Thanks

Thanks a lot for that reply ! I was searching for a tuto to do a yellow plating myself, and that's the link!

So you're agree with me that it's impossible to clean an oxydised TB without removing the plating?

I live in one of the biggest city in France, there're a ton of guys who make plating, and its impossible to find one that want to do this kind of job! That's crazy, they don't like challenges, changing tasks, helping a guy like me who wants to plate 73 steel bars... Sure that's not the same in US or UK...

So I'll make myself, like always..

No idea on how to clean TB without removing the plating?

Here's the result

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mGlsgZMvACxcDiROLsBgcSxPlYPJYPHP/view?usp=drivesdk

Hi ! I recently bought a 78' Rhodes stage. It was on an humid environment so the tines are rusted and the tonebars have the white oxydation.
I removed all the tine+tonebar assembly and tried a bunch of processes to remove the oxydation on tonebars but I can't find one to not leave the zinc coat.
I tried with the 0000 steel wool but in my case, the coating desapears... Platner made it and it worked so...

The best solution for me is to put the assembly 10min in white vinegar, after that the coating and corrosion leave instantaneously, and after I brush a bit with a 000 steel wool and all the assembly is shinny !

What do you think about that ?

You're welcome !
It worked well too on my clavinet C. The white paint on the wood was yellow and now it's white again (see the picture).

The best solution is to disassemble all, like that you'll can clean well the keys.
When I made the retr0bright on my wurlitzer keys I have protected the wood parts with a tape. At the same time I put the solution on a extra wood part to see if it could be damaged, and it made nothing to the wood part.
So I'd like to say that the wood will not be damaged, but it depends on the stain, varnish...

Little update!
Now I need :

- An ORIGINAL plexiglass music
- A front panel Tuning Cover with clavinet c logo.

HI
Peter Hayes sold it to me