Just bought Rhodes 73 and 54 with problems

[madorganplayer]

Hi Guys,
I've just bought (job lot with Hammonds C3 and several Leslie's) a 73 stage and a 54.(mk 2's)
Both are in good condition physical wise.
The 73 has three notes that work but are lower in volume.
The 54 only plays the bottom two notes the rest are silent..
I have heard that the way the pickups are wired on the 54 means the third pickup may be duff.
So does anyone have a source for replacement pickups.?
Also on the 73 the little shims that tighten up the sliding portion of the front legs as they  are missing and just fall out.
So guys ,any so,unions to these issues?

[sean]

On the Stage 73, the three notes that are super quiet probably have dead pickups (and the sound you hear is being generated in the pickups on either side of that note.   Or, there is a tiny chance that those three notes have their pickups pulled very far away from the tines, or maybe those tines are missing a tuning spring.  I say tiny chance, because you would probably already have noticed.
You can confirm that a pickup is dead (or missing the magnet) by tapping the tip with a small screwdriver.  You should feel the magnet pull and hold the screwdriver.  With the Rhodes plugged into an amp at low volume, you should hear the screwdriver make a loud clank as the magnet pulls it in and hits itself on the nose.  Compare the dead pickup clank (silent) to a nearby pickup - ouch, loud.

On the 54, (is yours criss-cross wired?)... well, look at the wires that connect between the pickups.  The loop from the back terminals of the pickups is touching the loop from the front terminals... at pickup 3, and maybe also elsewhere.  Use your fingers to move the little loops of wire away from each other.

Yes you can buy new pickups and the leg repair parts. 
Vintage Vibe has pickups at https://www.vintagevibe.com/products/fender-rhodes-pick-ups
Leg parts at https://www.vintagevibe.com/products/fender-rhodes-front-leg-coupler

Sean

[qlyde1973stage]

You can confirm that a pickup is dead (or missing the magnet) by tapping the tip with a small screwdriver.  You should feel the magnet pull and hold the screwdriver.  With the Rhodes plugged into an amp at low volume, you should hear the screwdriver make a loud clank as the magnet pulls it in and hits itself on the nose.  Compare the dead pickup clank (silent) to a nearby pickup - ouch, loud.

Sometimes the issue can also be that the pickups are demagnetized. Vintage Vibe has a video on this, but if you hold a screwdriver up to a pickup that isn't making any noise, and the screwdriver doesn't get pulled toward the pickup pole, then your pickup is probably fine and just de magnetized. Check the pickups ohm ratings as well. There's a chart online and I only remember it off the top of my head, but it's something like an individual pickup should read 180 ohms, a group of 2 should be 90 and a group of 3 should be 45. If you're on a group of 3 and it's showing overload or it's showing 45 then you probably have a wiring issue or dead/demagnetized pickup!