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Non tech person

Started by 76er, October 27, 2021, 10:32:44 PM

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76er

I am preparing to attempt to get my 1976 Rhodes Stage 88 piano up to speed without having to drive it 3 hours to the nearest tech, who charges $750 for a full refurb (I bought the piano for $250 in 2017, and consider it in good shape for the price.) I have already remedied an issue with sticking keys and am considering purchasing the full refurb kit from Vintage Vibe, but I'm not sure this, alone, will address all the issues. I decided, before ordering it, to evaluate the performance of each key and test each pickup. The issues include: sustain pedal not engaging with the damper system, a bounce to the keys that I understand is normal (and, presumably, what the Miracle Mod is meant to address), some keys with inconsistent key strokes, a few keys that sound an octave higher than they should (dominating overtone?), some keys with rapid decay (even with key pressed), a few keys that sustain even after releasing, a few keys with a bell tone on release (and one with a clang thrown in, as well), keys with double strikes, delayed dampening, slow decay on release, two keys with a slight echo and a weird tone after release, a couple of keys with no sustain even when held down, one key that sounds a slight, zap-like tone after release, and one key that sounds a strange tone that oscillates from soft, to loud, to soft again (almost sounds like a laser sound effect.) I don't know that pickups would be creating any of these issues, as there are no dead notes, and the way they are wired it seems unlikely that only one pickup would be out of phase, at least to my limited knowledge. Also, I can get response from the volume knob, but not the bass boost. I'm a musician, not a tech, but part of the appeal of this instrument is everything really is simple and straightforward so I feel like I can learn to work on it and have replaced the grommets, but am still kind of clueless (despite watching the Vintage Vibe full restoration video five or six times. I know what order to do everything in, but I also know that a skilled tech can make a difficult procedure look like a breeze....one of the few hazards of YouTube DIY. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for turning this into a book....

steste

Ciao,
thank you to make me smiling, you have any kind of sound effect in your piano maybe you can evaluate the possibility to use it as a effect generator for psychedelic music...
Two modest suggestion from me (i'm a newbie with rhodes).
1- download the original pdf "Rhodes service manual" and read all carefully.
2 - experiment with a single key all kind of mechanical adjustment in the relation between the tine and the pickup and the resonator bar and the springs and grommets and take a slow motion video with your mobile while the key is in action in various mode (fast, slow, repeated, soft, hard), thanks to the video you will understand a lot of things that are too fast to be seen with your eyes (multiple strokes, no action, bouncing).
I was in the same situation as you some month ago with a 1977 stage MK1 and slowly day by day i solved and now some professional musician told me that my piano is great in both mechanical (keys, action, felt, hammers) and audio domains (arp, tines, setup, potentiometer).

PS: about the missing bass boost check the wiring of the capacitor connected with the potentiometer if a wire is disconnected and evaluate to change both botentiometers if they make audio noise while you move, to do this you need a friend with a basic electronic know how.
PPS: be careful before install the miracle mod , bouncing keys will be not be eliminated by this, to eliminate the bouncing on release you need a backcheck kit that you suggest to do not install now, maybe you can thik to it in the future. In my 1977 piano i have the white felt on the hammer (as you i suppose) and i have made no modification and everybody that play the piano told me that the action is great as other rhodes piano.
I wrote a book too
Ciao
Just having fun

pianotuner steveo

No, the miracle mod does not help with the bouncing, it helps with the touch. Bouncing has to do with tension of the bridle straps on the dampers. Some people add the back check kit for this but I have never done that.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

pianotuner steveo

Also sustain issues are usually damper issues, it sounds like some dampers are not working at all, and others need adjusting. Are you sure some keys are ringing an octave higher? That does not sound possible unless someone put in incorrect tines or tuning springs are missing... but even with missing tuning springs, I doubt it would be a perfect octave higher...
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...