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#1
The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Has anyone seen a week 53 ...
Last post by wolverine2013 - Today at 11:20:32 AMIndeed TRM - I had to pull out the calendar and look at this closely! It turns out for every 365 day year, if they started week 1 on Jan 1, then dec 31st is the only day that falls on week 53. I assume this must mean any Rhodes with a week 53 stamp, must have been completed on Dec 31st.
Interestingly, unless it is a leap year, no other days can fall in week 53 regardless of what day Jan 1-7 they would have started the week count.
Interestingly, unless it is a leap year, no other days can fall in week 53 regardless of what day Jan 1-7 they would have started the week count.
#2
The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Rhodes at the Superbowl
Last post by Peter Hayes - Today at 05:11:58 AMIt was interesting to see a MK II Stage 73 during the Superbowl. 4 front legs and no braces.
#3
The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Is this the Unicorn Rhodes...
Last post by The Real MC - February 07, 2026, 04:39:40 PMNot impossible.
Mark V pianos were only in production from 1984 to 1985. Mark II pianos were still made in 1983. Someone on the production line probably didn't bother to look twice at the stamp. "5383" could be the 1st week of 1984.
Mark V pianos were only in production from 1984 to 1985. Mark II pianos were still made in 1983. Someone on the production line probably didn't bother to look twice at the stamp. "5383" could be the 1st week of 1984.
#4
The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Has anyone seen a week 53 prod...
Last post by wolverine2013 - February 06, 2026, 02:08:11 PMRhodes experts - I need your best intel! I've come across a Mark II stage 88-key with a date stamp of 5383. Not a typo, not a smudge - a crystal clear 5383. Can anyone tell me how this would even be possible?
Pic is below.
Pic is below.
#5
The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Rhodes 4 pin DC offset
Last post by diggs - February 05, 2026, 02:11:33 PMHi guys, new here
i'm restoring a Rhodes "Peterson" i think with the 4 pins din connector.
So far the preamp and psu with original Germanium transistors is ok.
Small dc offset problem on the two amp boards (One with og germanium transistors and one replaced with "Asz15" transistors ages ago).
The one with og transistors has -1.1vdc of dc offset
The second one has -0.23vdc of offset
Any recommendation to fix this issue?
(i'm ok with electronics but not an amp pro)
Is it fixable by tweaking the 2.7ohm resistors?
or should we bite the bullet and do the silicon mod?
thank you!
i'm restoring a Rhodes "Peterson" i think with the 4 pins din connector.
So far the preamp and psu with original Germanium transistors is ok.
Small dc offset problem on the two amp boards (One with og germanium transistors and one replaced with "Asz15" transistors ages ago).
The one with og transistors has -1.1vdc of dc offset
The second one has -0.23vdc of offset
Any recommendation to fix this issue?
(i'm ok with electronics but not an amp pro)
Is it fixable by tweaking the 2.7ohm resistors?
or should we bite the bullet and do the silicon mod?
thank you!
#6
The Fender Rhodes Electric Piano / Re: Suitcase speaker replaceme...
Last post by AA - February 02, 2026, 04:18:46 PMNew speakers in (the full range celestion ones I mentioned) I do really like them, the sound is a decent amount richer and I can turn up the volume without it sounding like crap, bass response also sounds more solid and less boomy. The distortion I was hearing was definitely from the old speakers. While it's not quite as detailed as with headphones, this is now allot closer and good enough for me. Not sure if it's a $1000 cad upgrade, but I'm happy I spent the money. If you like the bit of crunch the stock speakers have I wouldn't go with these as they sound super clean. Also something worth mentioning is the top octave is a bit quieter with the eq neutral but can be evened out with some treble boost, this is kinda the fault of me originally voicing it on a twin reverb which has a pretty big top boost so I could just put the pickups closer if I didn't like the sound across the whole keyboard with treble tuned up.
Also altho I thought it was wired front back instead of left right, it was LR, I switched it to front back and honestly it sounds the same but with a bit more depth to the tremolo now, added depth makes sense to me but I'm not sure why I was originally hearing it as front back. this will also allow my rear speaker/Chanel 2 mute preamp mod when I get the parts.
Also altho I thought it was wired front back instead of left right, it was LR, I switched it to front back and honestly it sounds the same but with a bit more depth to the tremolo now, added depth makes sense to me but I'm not sure why I was originally hearing it as front back. this will also allow my rear speaker/Chanel 2 mute preamp mod when I get the parts.
#7
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 140B electronic repairs
Last post by Kevin Odhner - February 02, 2026, 04:01:39 PMWell, I replaced the can caps, and I'm fairly confident I did everything right based on your very thorough instructions..
Unfortunately, the caps were not what was causing the malfunction I have been trying to hunt down.
What is frustrating is that I had the piano working several weeks ago and was just trying to eliminate some hum, sone radio interference and sone scratchy pots.
Somewhere along the line something went very wrong and all I get is a loud noise - like when you plug a bad cord into an amplifier - the noise is not affected by playing the keys, adjusting the volume or vibrato - if I put headphones into the headphones jack, I get the same sound through the headphones. In fact, unplugging the pickup cable from the amplifier makes no difference at all.
I don't know if it's something I did or if some old components failing now either by coincidence or because I disturbed them. Here is a little history of what I've done, how the malfunction developed and some of the things I've tried - in hopes it will ring a bell and someone will recognize these symptoms..and perhaps a cure:
I replaced the vibrato lamp - vastly improved the strength of the tremolo even the audio signal in general.
I replaced the on/off volume pot - got rid of some scratchiness.
I replaced the neon pilot bulb which I had accidentally destroyed while working on the wiring harness.
I installed components from a Vintage Vibe amp rebuild kit - resistors, transistors, capacitors - not including the can caps. This really didn't make as much difference as I had hoped, but the piano worked, though still a lot of hum.
I then replaced the two prong plug with 3 prong IEC and this is where something began to go wrong. When I first tried it out, the piano worked but I got some loud pops and noises and the signal was cutting out - there were certain notes that seemed to trigger it, so I figured I had gotten something on the reed bar that was shorting it out.
I used compressed air and a vacuum to clean everything out but got no improvement.
Someone suggested maybe it was bad can caps which had never been replaced - I couldn't see why they would suddenly fail now after 60 years, but when I touched the cans there were loud crackles and pops - so I replaced those - now the crackle pop sounds are no longer happen when I touch the cans, but now the malfunction is constant - I can't get any tones from the pickups at all - just a loud noise like something is shorted.
Is it possible I damaged the transistors or the transformer when I cut the hole for the IEC with a Dremel? There was aluminum dust - which I clean off - at least everything visible - but what if some found its way inside the transformer - or could the vibrations from the dremel have disturbed something?
I am totally stumped. Is there anything about what I described that could narrow it down, or binary tests I can do to rule out various culprits, or narrow down my list of suspects?
For example, can I plug something other than the reed bar pickups into the rca input jack on the amp to prove whether it's the amp or the reed bar that's malfunctioning?
Or can anyone tell be what it's supposed to sound like with the reed bar unplugged?
What would be the symptoms of a bad transformer or bad output transistors?
Any advice you can give me to track this down would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Kevin
Unfortunately, the caps were not what was causing the malfunction I have been trying to hunt down.
What is frustrating is that I had the piano working several weeks ago and was just trying to eliminate some hum, sone radio interference and sone scratchy pots.
Somewhere along the line something went very wrong and all I get is a loud noise - like when you plug a bad cord into an amplifier - the noise is not affected by playing the keys, adjusting the volume or vibrato - if I put headphones into the headphones jack, I get the same sound through the headphones. In fact, unplugging the pickup cable from the amplifier makes no difference at all.
I don't know if it's something I did or if some old components failing now either by coincidence or because I disturbed them. Here is a little history of what I've done, how the malfunction developed and some of the things I've tried - in hopes it will ring a bell and someone will recognize these symptoms..and perhaps a cure:
I replaced the vibrato lamp - vastly improved the strength of the tremolo even the audio signal in general.
I replaced the on/off volume pot - got rid of some scratchiness.
I replaced the neon pilot bulb which I had accidentally destroyed while working on the wiring harness.
I installed components from a Vintage Vibe amp rebuild kit - resistors, transistors, capacitors - not including the can caps. This really didn't make as much difference as I had hoped, but the piano worked, though still a lot of hum.
I then replaced the two prong plug with 3 prong IEC and this is where something began to go wrong. When I first tried it out, the piano worked but I got some loud pops and noises and the signal was cutting out - there were certain notes that seemed to trigger it, so I figured I had gotten something on the reed bar that was shorting it out.
I used compressed air and a vacuum to clean everything out but got no improvement.
Someone suggested maybe it was bad can caps which had never been replaced - I couldn't see why they would suddenly fail now after 60 years, but when I touched the cans there were loud crackles and pops - so I replaced those - now the crackle pop sounds are no longer happen when I touch the cans, but now the malfunction is constant - I can't get any tones from the pickups at all - just a loud noise like something is shorted.
Is it possible I damaged the transistors or the transformer when I cut the hole for the IEC with a Dremel? There was aluminum dust - which I clean off - at least everything visible - but what if some found its way inside the transformer - or could the vibrations from the dremel have disturbed something?
I am totally stumped. Is there anything about what I described that could narrow it down, or binary tests I can do to rule out various culprits, or narrow down my list of suspects?
For example, can I plug something other than the reed bar pickups into the rca input jack on the amp to prove whether it's the amp or the reed bar that's malfunctioning?
Or can anyone tell be what it's supposed to sound like with the reed bar unplugged?
What would be the symptoms of a bad transformer or bad output transistors?
Any advice you can give me to track this down would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Kevin
#8
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Wurlitzer 140B, choked note, a...
Last post by hiverdude - February 02, 2026, 01:20:36 PMHello!
I have a 140B that I've owned for about 5 years now. I love the instrument, but have a couple questions.
There is a note, right in the middle of it, that is "choked"... it'll play the attack of the note just fine, and is quite clear, but it has very very little sustain. I've replaced the reed, but it does exactly the same thing... I look around inside it, but I can't see anything obviously different between it and the notes around it. Any ideas of what I should look at?
My next question is about the general tone of the instrument. It sounds great, but I would describe it as very warm and mellow. High end rolls off quite steeply above 2khz/3khz... I've had the electronics recapped, and the instrument sounded the same before and after...
I'm alright with it sounding like this, because it has its place in a mix, but I keep seeing people describing 140Bs as "spanky" and "bright"... my instrument is NOT this at all. Just wondering if there are ideas there too.
Many thanks!
Colin
I have a 140B that I've owned for about 5 years now. I love the instrument, but have a couple questions.
There is a note, right in the middle of it, that is "choked"... it'll play the attack of the note just fine, and is quite clear, but it has very very little sustain. I've replaced the reed, but it does exactly the same thing... I look around inside it, but I can't see anything obviously different between it and the notes around it. Any ideas of what I should look at?
My next question is about the general tone of the instrument. It sounds great, but I would describe it as very warm and mellow. High end rolls off quite steeply above 2khz/3khz... I've had the electronics recapped, and the instrument sounded the same before and after...
I'm alright with it sounding like this, because it has its place in a mix, but I keep seeing people describing 140Bs as "spanky" and "bright"... my instrument is NOT this at all. Just wondering if there are ideas there too.
Many thanks!
Colin
#9
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 140B electronic repairs
Last post by velo-hobo - January 31, 2026, 12:37:45 PMI mistakenly wrote there were two wires on that terminal for the positive DC rail. This is probably because I had been using the VV power supply rebuild kit instructions as a reference, but that apparently contains an error. It is ringing a bell for me now - I did install one of those kits on a 140B and remember getting momentarily tripped up by the same confusion.
Looking at photos of my own work more closely and studying the schematic, yes it makes sense there are more than two wires connected to that can cap terminal. One goes to the bridge rectifier, one goes to a lug on the level set potentiometer on the amp chassis (assuming your amp was made after that revision was implemented) and two go to the PCB.
Move all four wires from the tab on the old cap over to the new cap.
It is good not to assume things - because production examples do not always follow the available schematics, someone else may have changed what was originally there before you arrived, and also because people can make inaccurate statements in their product literature and in online forums...
Looking at photos of my own work more closely and studying the schematic, yes it makes sense there are more than two wires connected to that can cap terminal. One goes to the bridge rectifier, one goes to a lug on the level set potentiometer on the amp chassis (assuming your amp was made after that revision was implemented) and two go to the PCB.
Move all four wires from the tab on the old cap over to the new cap.
It is good not to assume things - because production examples do not always follow the available schematics, someone else may have changed what was originally there before you arrived, and also because people can make inaccurate statements in their product literature and in online forums...
#10
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano / Re: 140B electronic repairs
Last post by Kevin Odhner - January 31, 2026, 10:37:33 AMI finally got my components from Mouser after and installed one of the the 2200uF caps under the -32v can as instructed.
I also had no trouble installing the 470uF cap under the +32v can..
Then I hit a snag with the other 2200uF cap when I found there were four wires attached to the terminal marked with a half circle, not 2.
It stands to reason that I should cut off all four and solder them to the positive leg of the new 2200uF, but rather than assume, I figured I'd ask and wait for clarification.
Thanks again for all your help!
I also had no trouble installing the 470uF cap under the +32v can..
Then I hit a snag with the other 2200uF cap when I found there were four wires attached to the terminal marked with a half circle, not 2.
It stands to reason that I should cut off all four and solder them to the positive leg of the new 2200uF, but rather than assume, I figured I'd ask and wait for clarification.
Thanks again for all your help!