Rhodes Mk1 73 Suitcase - Harp split to three channels??

[digger10t]

Hey guys

I'm the XXth owner of this lovely rhodes, but it has a couple problems that I can't solve myself (so much for studying EE in undergrad...). Firstly, when I have the vibrato on (I have the concentric knobs) it just goes on and off, as opposed to panning between the left and right channels. I really don't know if this is normal, but I presume it isn't. Any ideas?

Secondly, it appears that a previous owner cut the harp into three separate circuits such that he could output to three amps. In the top right corner of the cabinet, as you would be face to face with the performer, there are three 3-pronged outputs. I'm also not sure if that is a normal mod for a Rhodes of this type or not. Where the leads to the harp are spliced into the three sections, he has toggle switches that cut power to the sections separately...pretty interesting stuff.

I don't gig with the Rhodes anymore, and would love to just have it setup as a standard Rhodes would be. I'll include some pics for reference as soon as I can get them uploaded. Reading pin outs and schematics isn't really my cup of tea anymore (read: not good at it) so plain diagrams or photos would be most helpful. THANKS!!

[Rob A]

Firstly, when I have the vibrato on (I have the concentric knobs) it just goes on and off, as opposed to panning between the left and right channels. I really don't know if this is normal, but I presume it isn't. Any ideas?

Sounds like one of your two amp channels is b0rked. Have a look at this page for some fixes.

[digger10t]

Firstly, when I have the vibrato on (I have the concentric knobs) it just goes on and off, as opposed to panning between the left and right channels. I really don't know if this is normal, but I presume it isn't. Any ideas?

Sounds like one of your two amp channels is b0rked. Have a look at this page for some fixes.

Thanks for the quick reply.  You hit the nail right on the head!
I took off the name rail and preamp, popped her open and indeed one of the bulbs didn't illuminate.  I also found out why my accessory jacks don't work...there was a break on one of the printed connection on the PCB just after the input.  

Unfortunately (VERY UNFORTUNATELY), I am preparing for the bar exam in two weeks, so I can't devote much time to this.  I guess I'll have to wait a bit to fix it, but at least now I know that I can do it myself easily.  

It's interesting that I've owned my Rhodes for over 5 years and hadn't tweaked, repaired, modded or even investigated it until just the last month.  I wonder if it has something to do with not racing my car anymore and not spending all my time on that ; )

Thanks again.  Any ideas as to the prior owner's split channel setup?  Has anyone seen something like this before?

**EDIT**  I just took a closer look at the extra cables and the outputs on the back of the keyboard section, and they were connected by single plug RCA's.  I unhooked them, checked the grounds on the switches (luckily the broken one is stuck on), and I will just have to solder the pickups back together where he spliced in.  I love this forum hehe

[Ben Bove]

It was a common modification if someone wanted to output their lower register to a different amp for more bass-esque sounding left hand while playing a different tone chords with right hand.  Sometimes they even wired the circuitry so the vibrato only affected the chord register, and you could toggle the bass vibrato on and off.  If you want to dump this mod, look up the pickup wiring schematic on this site, and just follow your pickup daisychain and make sure they're bridged where they're supposed to be bridged.