Messages

Would you play mainly with headphones? If so, then do you really want onboard speakers?

If you're looking for more sounds and MIDI capability, I'd say there are better options for much cheaper than the P255. The Casio PX5S comes to mind.

Hi Steve, I own a P255. I bought it to "upgrade" from my P80. When I A/B'ed it with the P115 (or was it P105?), I remember prefering its action and speaker system, which can be a nice addition in certain very low volume gigs. As for the samples themselves, I guess in theory the P255 should be the winner, but IMO there wasn't a huge difference. Actually, while it might be more realistic than the P80, when I compared them I found that the old P80 had a certain "in your face" / "cuts in a mix" aspect that I don't find in the P255.
When I compared it with the equivalent but cheaper Casios with onboard speakers, I much prefered the P255.

Hi Dave,
I can't tell, since my MkI didn't come with a case lid.

Maybe you could dovetail the four sides together, and glue/screw that to the top part?
Martin

Hey guys, I thought I'd share how this project is going.
The sound hasn't changed much, except that I put new pickups and wired them in series instead of parallel. I've covered the exterior with a mahogany veneer, I've yet to apply a finish. As you can see I made some "levers" to activate the mute and the sustain. I still have to make some kind of front panel and a keyslip.
The instrument had its first car ride today and should be used on a gig tomorrow!

I'm not aware of a pedal that does this, which doesn't mean there isn't one. There must be a way to do it with a plugin/software, so you can at least hear the result.

I don't understand what kind of out-of-tuneness you're looking for. Shift the whole thing up or down? Layer an off-pitch signal with the original for a chorus effect? Having a kind of pitch bend joystick?

Well done, sir!

Hi there, interesting project!
If I understand your drawing correctly, it looks to me like at the moment of impact, the hammer won't be in a "almost perpendicular" motion relative to the tine, which means a less-than-ideal energy transfer. Just trying to bring some constructive criticism!

Also, as it's been mentionned, the action of the Rhodes is one thing that's often complained about. A tine piano with an action similar to a grand would be pretty awesome IMO.
Another thing that I'd like to see incorporated in a tine piano: a mute stop that partially mutes the tonebars.

Good luck and keep us updated,
Martin

I've sometimes thought of adding onboard tremolo to my MarkV using a DIY pedal I made some years ago, but I'm glad I never did it, and I don't think I ever will.
Keeping your Rhodes "stock" has its advantages:
-no need to modify the namerail
-you have a good reason to try many pedals!
-no need to worry about batteries, unless it's a true-bypass setup - which can also have its own problems

Just my 2 cents
Martin

Turn up the volume.

I have had a chance to play quite a few different clavinets and noticed some to be quite microphonic side-by-side to my own. What causes this? Is it a hard or easy fix?

Why fix this? Seriously, and this is just my opinion, a certain amount of microphonics is desirable. (If you use a lot of overdrive that's another story.) Just my 2 cents.

Interesting! Do you have pics of your amp? Also, are there guitar amps on the market that have a tweeter?

I don't see how the bump mod would significantly affect tone. Different hammer tips definitely can. I've replaced some of the tips on my MkV to get smoother transitions between the different sections, I made a thread about it a few years ago.

This amp seems to have stereo tremolo.
http://magnatoneusa.com/products/traditional-collection/panoramic-stereo/
There must be others but I don't know about them.

There was a thread a few weeks ago about a company who makes an amp which, if I recall clearly, replicates the bottom part of a suitcase Rhodes. That thread might have been on Keyboard corner though.

Thanks Ray,
I've tried to attach pictures directly in the post but can't find how...
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Am7UqYdhEMpY0DdW-2g678tDc01_
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Am7UqYdhEMpY0Do8WIe20ZHQ7iA0
https://1drv.ms/i/s!Am7UqYdhEMpY0DmVslL42daf78n9
These are all the pictures I took. Someday I'll get a decent camera.

Thanks guys. The strings are regular electric guitar strings, 49 of them, one per note. The basic design is very close to the square pianos of the late 18th century. No escapement, no backcheck. I realise that with bare wood hammers, the attack is very snappy, a bit on the clavinet side. If I want to make it more rhodes-y / CP80-ish, I'd have to cover the hammers with felt or leather. Maybe for the next prototype

Are you planning to apply tolex on the case?

I don't have any experience with tolex and read it's kind of expensive and not that easy to install properly, so I was thinking about a hardwood veneer to cover all the exterior sides of the plywood and the edges. But I'm open to suggestions!

Hey guys,
I've been working on this project for a few weeks. At first I intended to make an electric clavichord, but in the meantime I got myself a real clavinet, so I decided to make a piano instead. It still has a long way to go before being gig-worthy, but anyhow, I just uploaded a little video, I thought I'd share this with the EP community.
Best regards,
Martin
https://youtu.be/CrXiU48pr8U

You know Ernst?! How cool is that!
Could you ask him whether a Clavinet could take the added tension of thicker plain strings?!! 
(see this thread http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=9397.0)
Heheh just kidding.

Or maybe not.

I stumbled on this article about Ernst Zacharias and his inventions, some of you guys might enjoy it.

http://www.soundonsound.com/people/ernst-zacharias-hohner-clavinet

Sorry if it's too obvious, but, battery / power?

Awesome, thanks vortmaxx. Now I just need to find the motivation. I still think it might be easier with bars instead of tubes, though not as sturdy...

Thanks for your answers.
Indeed it would mean more wear on the tips. I might just put a few .012 for the lowest plain strings, see how it sounds and monitor the wear on the tips. (I can definitely hear the shift from the wound strings to those tiny 008's.) I can't tell for sure whether the strings are original, they look good with hardly any oxidation. The yarn is the original color, so either it's all original or maybe the yarn was re-used.

Hi everyone,
I've been the owner of a model C for a few months, used it on a gig for the first time last week and had a blast.

I can't help but think that thicker gauge strings would give more tone and sustain. If the plain strings went from 008-009 to, say, 012, and maybe 015 for the lowest plain strings, that would make playing melodies more convincing IMO. What do you think? Could the harp take the added tension??

Has anyone made leg braces? My MkI doesn't have them and I've been thinking it might not be too hard to make some out of aluminium bars.

I'd seen that Elepian in Quebec city many months (years?!) ago and hesitated. If it was still available I think I'd have to go get it. (It's an half hour drive from where I live). The ad isn't there anymore and I can't find it, it might finally be sold. I looked "elepian" and nothing comes up. Also looked "piano electrique"... I think they hadn't even put the word elepian in the ad, right?
Anyways, congrats on what you did with yours, and nice to see that one ended in the hands of someone who plays it and takes care of it. By the way, how heavy are they?

As for your question, my answer is I don't know...
IMHO, backchecks, if the job is well done, are a desirable mod. They can reduce bounce and improve dampening especially on hard staccatto blows. Sometime ago I bought a kit from VV intending to install it on my MkV, which I use on gigs regularly. I tried one backcheck on one key; the backcheck required some modification (bending) to work properly on my MkV. That key bounces less than the others. If the original keys bounce about three times (say, one big bounce, one medium, and one small bounce), the backchecked one bounces about twice (one medium and one small bounce).
However I never found the motivation to do the rest (and find a way to bend them properly so the job looks good) and in the meantime I got myself a MkI, so I might keep the backchecks for the MkI. If anyone has ever installed the kit on a MkV I'd sure like to hear about it.
Also, I would really like to see a video of a Rhodes, without backchecks, that does NOT bounce.

Couldn't you plug the holes and have it re-drilled? Or have someone with a press-drill do it.

it is a good idea to at least level the hammers across the compass

I must ask, how do you level the hammers in a Rhodes?

I would also voice the Rhodes without the wah. As others said you can compensate with eq or by modding the wah. I added a pot to my crybaby so I can make the "full on" position less agressive.

I say "why not?"

I've never tuned a Wurly, but I believe there are similarities; the reeds of an accordion or melodica are tuned by filing either end of the reed, making it sound higher or lower.

No need to buy the full version for "hobby" use. The demo version is fine and it's completely legal, it just pauses for two minutes every 14 notes. However I'm not sure if the demo is available on Mac.

I've used Tunelab for a Rhodes and it worked well. In fact I've also used it to tune my melodica and my accordions. You can select different tuning curves from "default" (no stretch at all) to very stretched curves.

Hey everyone, I thought I'd update this thread. I ordered some yellow and white tips from Vintage Vibe, and put yellow tips up to D# an octave above middle C, and then white up to the wooden cores. The harsh attack is gone and the transition is smooth. (Although when you really pay attention you can still hear the difference between yellow/white.) With the attack more under control, I've set the pickups a bit closer to the tines, and the Rhodes really sounds great now.

A video might help to troubleshoot your problem.

Are you sure you put on the right kind of hammer tips for notes 1-23?

Welcome on the forum, enjoy your Rhodes!

New grommets and the miracle mod are a good idea.

Even if they were over-engineered, I'm thinking "some" over-engineering can be good...

My Mark V has yellow until D# above middle C, then three "soft/black" (E, F, F#) and then "hard/black" from G until the wooden cores. The three "soft/black" sound very similar to the yellow tips, it starts to get clunky at G. As far as I can tell there are no white tips at all in my Mark V.

The transition between red and yellow is at F/F# below middle C, between black and wood at C/C# 2 octaves above middle C.

I assume the Retrolinear tips have to be special-ordered as well, they don't seem to be anywhere on their site.

@Student rhodes: No I'm not concerned with keeping the original voice of the Mark V (in that range of the keyboard). The obvious transition to the harsh attack of the harder tips is really annoying to me. While the action is vastly superior, I secretly prefer the tone of older Rhodes.

Thanks for the replies,
Goldphinga: I did try to shave the edge with a blade as you say and didn't hear any difference. You can tell these tips are different from the rest when you press them between two fingers, they feel much harder.

Harder yellow? They must be special indeed because I can't find them on the site.

Hi everyone,
something that bothers me about my Mark V is the difference in tone I get from G above middle C going up. Those hammer tips (black) have a much brighter attack with more treble, and I'm thinking that these harder tips might have something to do with the hammer combs breaking on the Mark V. I can't tell whether they hardened over time or if they were always that way.
I want to replace these tips, and from what I can see on Vintage Vibe's site, for that part of the keyboard they have either yellow or white tips. I'm thinking of ordering about a dozen of both and experiment until I can get a smooth transition up to the wooden cores. Can anyone comment on this? Also, has anyone noticed something similar on their Mark V?
Martin

Isn't stop-lock reached only when both ends of the pedestal come in contact with the hammer? Looking at the picture, I don't quite see what keeps the key from pushing the hammer further up, until the part of the pedestal that's under the hammer pin reaches the hammer.

Thanks for your reply,

One might turn the question around:  Is there any reason not to use VV backchecks instead of acoustic backchecks?

Because acoustic backchecks have been used in millions of pianos successfully and are the result of centuries of experimentation? I just happen to have an easy access to those.

Thanks for your reply Max,
actually I'd rather have someone experienced and knowledgeable with Rhodes to work on my instruments, however I don't think there is any Rhodes tech near where I live.
The original strips of downstop felt under the keys were so low that I don't think the keys ever reached them. What I ended up doing is replacing them with individual round felts (they were just removed from a Steinway D(!) but still perfectly fine) and adjusting with shims until just before the point where I'd get double-striking. The action now feels more firm, and I can only guess it will be safer for the hammer flanges.

Hey guys,
I'm seriously considering adding backchecks to my Mark V. If someone has the right tools (and the spare time) to install regular acoustic piano backchecks, is there any reason not to use those instead of the Vintage vibe ones? Has anybody experimented with both?
thanks
Martin

Greetings everyone,

I'm the proud owner of a Mark V and Mark I. I regularly use the Mark V for gigs. I started having a problem with one of the hammers on my Mark V travelling sideways. Upon inspection the hammer comb was cracked. And so I wonder, couldn't this hammer comb system be replaced by individual flanges with center pins and felt bushings? I mean, ALL of the hammers have a bit of sideplay. I see that my Mark I has the individual flanges, does anyone know why the hammer comb system was used on later pianos? Also, does anyone sell replacements that fit the Mark V?

When I look at how the action works in this piano, I notice that after the hammer strikes the tine, the key never hits the down felt, and what actually stops it is the hammer cam against the pedestal. Then, when additional pressure is applied, it is transferred to the hammer and hammer comb (which then bends very slightly). This happens to some degree every time we hit a key. Am I getting this right? Somehow this doesn't seem as obvious in my Mark I, maybe because of different pedestal or hammer design. Wouldn't this cause the wear on the hammer pins / flange that we see in Mark V's?

Am I just thinking too much?!

best regards to all
Martin

Hi there!

my Mark V numbers are:
805424
4384

Quebec, Canada