49 key Rhodes wiring pattern

[Wesley]

Hey y'all,

I'm working on chopping a 1978 suitcase 73 down to 49 keys to gig with. The suitcase was missing speakers and the amp was broken. I've chopped everything and it's back together.

The part I haven't tackled yet is the pickups. It had a bunch of dead ones to start so first I need to test them. Am I correct that you can just measure resistance with a multimeter to see if the pickup works?

The second part is, how would I go about wiring them together? Because I know wiring patterns are important and there's no information on wiring patterns for 49 keys.

Any help or advice is welcome!
Wesley

[sean]

Yes, your multimeter will tell you which pickups are dead. 

See https://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=9989.msg55589#msg55589

and https://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=10307.msg57408#msg57408

Wire your 49-key harp in groups-of-three, like the diagram attached.

We would love to see photos of your creation!  Can you get it down below 80 pounds?

[Wesley]

Thanks for the info Sean and sorry for taking literally a year to respond. I've been gone from home for many months but I finally found some time to finish up the project. I'll post a video of the process and link it here once I finish it all. To answer your question, 56 POUNDS! For just the keyboard top.


I ended up wiring in groups of 2 because I decided it would work about the same as groups of 3, just a little hotter output. I don't know if that's entirely true but it worked out well.

I got the keyboard part working excellently, at least to my standards. And to my surprise, the preamp, amp, and speakers all still work too! My plan is to build a new cabinet to have a side amp that can come or stay when I go to a gig.

My last couple questions, if anyone has experience with these:

First, I only have 2 of the original 4 speakers and they are hooked up to the amp. I assume this means the speakers are taking twice the load they were originally intended to. I like how they sound, but is this a problem for longevity?

Second, the power switch on the amp sparks and smokes when I first flip it on. Is this likely a switch issue or another component I need to worry about?

Lastly, I have some ground noise and the aluminum rails are charged. When I touch them it makes the ground noise louder. I can't figure this one out. I'm also not sure where I can put a ground wire from the rca jack because I took out the sustain rail.

Thanks all