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Messages - theseacowexists

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1
Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Pianet CH Radio Circuit and Pickups
« on: November 04, 2021, 07:37:54 AM »
http://hohner-pianet.com/hohner_pianet/pianet_ch.html

There are service manual scans on this page, and the English section gives a description of how the radio circuit works. Not sure if this will help you, but there it is.

2
Parts, Service, Maintenance & Repairs / Re: Hohner Pianet N Voicing, low output note dilemma
« on: October 27, 2021, 07:48:40 AM »
Nice work! Yeh, I've resorted to leaving the lid screws off of mine, you never know when a pad might need to be changed.

How do you find that the temperature affects it?

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Parts, Service, Maintenance & Repairs / Re: Hohner Pianet N Voicing, low output note dilemma
« on: October 26, 2021, 07:28:56 AM »
Is the rod bent further downward than it's neighbors? I've found that if it's bent downward so that the resting position is lower than it should be, the reed will not be picked up by the pickup as strong as it should be, even if it sounds fine acoustically (instrument off). The pad needs to just rest on the reed, not push it down.

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Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Maestro 612p Dead Reed
« on: August 04, 2021, 10:14:38 PM »
This popped into my mind again for some reason. Did you figure anything out? Are you sure that the reed isn't touching the pickup, even just slightly? That could choke the reed. It does look awfully close in your video.

5
Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Pianet T Reeds - where to source?
« on: August 04, 2021, 10:10:39 PM »
Is there any rust or corrosion on the reeds? I found that clavinet.com's "eurotool" (just a fiberglass brush, can probably be sourced elsewhere) was really good at cleaning up the surface rust/corrosion and improved the tone of the reeds.

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Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Pianet T Reeds - where to source?
« on: June 18, 2021, 10:26:20 PM »
Those reeds are pretty hardy. Do you have any that are actually broken? If they're just quiet or having trouble holding pitch, there are things you can do before resorting to replacing them.

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Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Maestro 612p Dead Reed
« on: May 26, 2021, 07:27:10 AM »
Try rebuilding the solder pyramid. If that doesn't work, order a new Wurlitzer 200 reed. As far as I know, they're identical, but just to be sure, measure the reed and check with them before you order.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Wurlitzer 200 hum and power consumption
« on: May 25, 2021, 08:13:05 AM »
I've worked on a few 200 series amps now. At first I enjoyed the challenge of bringing them back to life. But the more of them I worked on, the more it seemed that the effort put into them outweighed the result. You can rebuild the entire amp and it will still be hissy and hummy. The next time someone brings me a 200 I'm going to strongly suggest just getting the RetroLinear amp. One client specifically requested that amp, and oh boy is it magical. I'm definitely in the camp of replacing the original 200 amps now.  The tone is spot on and the noise floor is practically nonexistent. Worth every cent if those things are important to you.

Yes, you are right about those power resistors. They get VERY hot.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Wurli sighting in a new Lowe's ad!
« on: May 25, 2021, 08:02:45 AM »
You can't have a sustain pedal, it would just get in the way of the trunk!

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Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Maestro 612p Dead Reed
« on: May 25, 2021, 07:25:39 AM »
Have you tried striking the reed with something like a plastic pen, instead of the hammer? Does that make a difference?

11
Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Cembalet N issues
« on: May 24, 2021, 01:44:34 PM »
You're welcome! Wait til you use it in stereo...send both outputs to two different effects chains and amps...ambient heaven.

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Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Cembalet N issues
« on: May 22, 2021, 04:07:50 PM »
That tone switch is the secret weapon! It technically gives you six different tones - the 100mV and 300mV sockets each send out three different tones. I only came across this recently. I almost exclusively use the 300mV output, and didn't hear much variation in the tone switch positions, so I took it out to take a look at it. The filter board actually lives in the cheekblock where the switch is, and was shorting out against the copper foil tape I had lined the entire case with. Removing that gave me the three distinct tones on 300mV and three distinct tones on 100mV, the latter of which I didn't think worked at all before!

Interestingly, the filter board is labeled as "Cembalet & Pianet filter", but I've never seen a Pianet fitted with one of these!

13
Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Cembalet N issues
« on: May 21, 2021, 11:38:46 AM »
Ground every single one. On your problem ones, check that the gap between the reed and the pickup is clear of any debris. It could even be a stray fiber from the felt damper causing the issue, make sure there aren't any hanging off the damper.

14
Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Cembalet N issues
« on: May 18, 2021, 01:34:31 PM »
Yep, the copper tape has conductive adhesive!

If the tape helps, I would leave the felt dampers alone for now.

15
Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Cembalet N issues
« on: May 18, 2021, 11:47:39 AM »
This is how I ultimately ended up doing it. Ran a strip of tape all along the keyshafts, attached to the foil that lines the case at each end. There is enough slack between each key shaft to allow each key to move freely and not tear the tape. From there, there is a little strip that runs up from the screw that attached the plastic plucker holder to the keyshaft to the copper damper holder.

Found a short video of the last time I had it open:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_cmAqDtWK0

The strip that runs along the keyshafts is kinda hidden, but you can sorta see it hiding behind the plastic keys.

16
Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Re: Cembalet N issues
« on: May 18, 2021, 09:01:07 AM »
I've had luck with grounding all the copper damper holders with a long strip of copper tape.

Check this video out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6613DKfF83E

I know this is a Pianet, but there is a brief moment in this video that shows how they grounded each of the key shafts with copper tape. Just apply the same principle to the damper holders, and make sure that the ends of the copper tape are grounded to a spot on the chassis.

There was still occasionally some of the noise that you described, and I finally silenced it by replacing all the felt dampers with homemade foam dampers. A soft, open cell foam will do the trick. Nothing too heavy.

17
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 120 model, not far off
« on: April 08, 2021, 09:31:05 PM »
Awesome. Have fun!

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 120 model, not far off
« on: April 07, 2021, 12:28:18 PM »
The original fuse holder would have been in the hole that's next to the mains socket. Probably broke at some point and someone replaced it with a more conventional mount. I wouldn't worry about it. I would, however, worry about that electrical tape. Whatever connection that is covering should probably be redone with some heatshrink, or just replacing the entire length of wire. It's hard to see which wires it's associated with, but I'm guessing it probably is the wire that was spliced in to reach the new fuse location.

Have you worked in a tube amp before? Do you know how to discharge the capacitors before working on it?

19
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 120 model, not far off
« on: April 06, 2021, 07:47:38 AM »
If I remember correctly, yes, that white one is the "death cap" in this amp. Have you got a picture of this modded fuse holder?

20
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 120 model, not far off
« on: April 05, 2021, 02:02:42 PM »
Judging from the cheek block, it looks like yours might have the 700 amp in it. The giveaway is that your pilot light is a jewel with an incandescent bulb behind it. The 120 amp has a neon pilot light. They're the same amp, but there is a significant difference in the wiring to the cheek block. Does your speaker plug into a socket on the amp, or is it wired up to the cheek block?

https://www.tropicalfishvintage.com/s/wurlitzer-700-schematics-diagrams.pdf

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Other Keyboards & Software Synths / Pianet T Pads Too Sticky
« on: March 04, 2021, 11:38:53 AM »
Seems that any issue I've ever come across with Pianet T pads is that they aren't sticky enough to do the job. I've finally encountered a Pianet with pads that are so sticky that they have trouble leaving the reed! At least in the first octave. They appear to be the clavinet.com pads. They do eventually release, but not as immediately as they should. Repeated key strikes bring it back to normal, but let the key sit for anything more than a few seconds, and the pad will stick on the next strike. Even swapping pads from upper octaves does not change this. I've done the usual procedure of cleaning the reeds with alcohol and the pads with soapy water, and still no difference. They feel extremely sticky to the touch even after washing. The reeds do have a light amount of rust on them, and it doesn't seem to make a difference if the pad rests on a 'clean' or rusty part of the reed. Full disclosure: this Pianet is actually part of a Pianet/Clavinet duo - not that that should make a difference.

22
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Wurlitzer picking up radio stations
« on: February 19, 2021, 07:16:33 AM »
We put a new volume pot in it and everything's back to normal. Go figure. He might have broken the old one when he tried lifting the lid with the knobs still attached as soon as it got home.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: Wurlitzer picking up radio stations
« on: February 13, 2021, 07:19:44 PM »
Yeh, and he just bought the house so he didn't really like that suggestion...

Who knows if the receptacles are properly grounded. Using a cheater plug made no difference, so I wouldn't be surprised.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Wurlitzer picking up radio stations
« on: February 13, 2021, 05:44:36 PM »
This is a new one for me. Been searching the internet to see if anyone else has had this issue, to no avail. Maybe someone here has had this happen to them?

I just fully rebuilt a 200 for a friend of mine. Fresh caps, resistors, new reed bar shield. It sounded great here when he came to pick it up. Clean signal, low noise floor. Until he took it home to his studio and it became a radio. Radio signals coming through as strong as the piano signal. I suggested moving it to a different spot to see if that helps, and it seems that there were some spots in the house that were a little better, but not by much. I took a look at it in person today, and it really was pretty bad. Re-tightening all the ground screws seemed to help, but it also seemed that dang near anything I touched would have a different effect on the noise. Even how close we stood to the piano seemed to affect it. He asked if I could line the lid with copper tape, so we did that and connected it to a ground screw, and that helped a little bit more. So it's more acceptable now, but still noticeable. When he got this thing, it didn't work at all until I rebuilt the amp, so we have no idea if it had this issue before, and the only other place we've heard it working properly without any radio interference was at my place. I did point out that he unfortunately lives less than a quarter mile from some massive radio towers.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 200 Series Transistors
« on: January 27, 2021, 08:45:09 AM »
Awesome, thanks!

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / 200 Series Transistors
« on: January 24, 2021, 07:36:51 PM »
Does anyone know what the original transistors in the 200 amp are? The schematics only give "Wurlitzer Part Numbers" and I can't seem to find the actual specs on the originals or equivalents.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 140B Vibrato Noise
« on: January 11, 2021, 06:41:36 AM »
I removed all the wiring for the phono input and the external speaker, and that got rid of the clicking and thumping, and lowered the overall noise floor! Not like we were going to use jacks those anyway.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / 140B Vibrato Noise
« on: January 09, 2021, 04:15:59 PM »
Anyone ever encounter a thumping or clicking noise from the vibrato on a 140B? The noise starts as a clicking noise, and turns into more of a thump when the pot is at 3/4, which is when the vibrato also kicks in. The one I'm working on has both that won't seem to go away. Amp rebuilt, new preamp transistors, grounded socket added, volume and vibrato pots replaced, vibrato bulb replaced with LED/resistor mod from a Vintage Vibe video. The original incandescent lamp was shot when I got the piano (a lug had snapped off from the base of the bulb). I didn't discover that until after I had rebuilt the amp - then I did the LED/resistor mod. Same thing happened before and after that. The only thing that seems to kinda work is grounding lug 3 of the vibrato pot, but that only stops the noise when the pot is fully off.

VV video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKYInz0le5Y&t=191s

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 146b Hot Resistors
« on: January 06, 2021, 08:08:32 AM »
That's what I had hoped. The smell was more disconcerting than the heat. Thanks.

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The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / 146b Hot Resistors
« on: January 04, 2021, 09:17:05 AM »
Is it normal for the large wattage resistors to get really hot? Specifically #s 13 an 16, 220ohm. I mean like smells-like-a-hot-glue-gun and yikes-ouch-to-the-touch hot. The amp was just rebuilt, so these are brand new resistors, and the voltages on all the transistors check out.

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