How much weight can the cover hold?

Nevets306 · November 17, 2007, 02:40:33 PM

Hey guys,

I have a mark II suitcase from 1980 and am thinking about purchasing a synth to sit atop of the rhodes. I was wondering how much weight is safe to put on the rhodes Mk II cover and if maybe getting a mk i cover could be good as a backup to hold more weight? I was thinking about getting either a moog Little phatty or a moog voyager so those keyboards have some weight to them.

Thanks,
Steve

jim · November 17, 2007, 03:09:41 PM

the mk2 lid would do a better job of holding up a keyboard than a mk1 lid,
the mk2 (ribbed) top was specifically brought in to do that job.

is your cover ribbed or flat?

Nevets306 · November 17, 2007, 09:49:31 PM

ribbed on both ends so i guess that would be ribbed. How many pounds would you say is too much for it to handle?

wanderingjew · November 17, 2007, 10:27:25 PM

A Little Phatty would be fine on a mark 2. I saw this picture the other day of a huge modular synth on top of a mark I (!)

Clavier · November 17, 2007, 11:39:55 PM

Quote from: "wanderingjew"A Little Phatty would be fine on a mark 2. I saw this picture the other day of a huge modular synth on top of a mark I (!)

Post it! I definitely want to see that.

wanderingjew · November 18, 2007, 04:40:07 AM

I couldn't find it, but here's what a mk. II can hold (not mine, unfortunately...)

And here's a kitty on a mk I.

HammondToby · November 18, 2007, 06:26:14 AM

I had a Clavinet sitting on top of my MK II for a long time in studio, so it stayed there for about four or five years and I never had the feeling, that the top was damaged. I wouldn't try to use it as stand for a B3, but it can support a 88 key workstation without any problem, so the LittlePhatty or a MiniMoog isn't a problem.

Best regards
HammondToby

taco · November 19, 2007, 07:04:27 AM

awesome Setup, Toby, AWESOME!!!
I think you got the feder twin(s) too, isnt it?

taco

HammondToby · November 19, 2007, 09:03:45 AM

To be honest: it's not everything mine. The Moog, the S80 and the String Ensemble belong to a friend of mine and the Clavinet got destroyed after a gig by a falling PAR lamp. So, the Hammond and the Rhodes are left :cry:

Yes, I do have a Twin Reverb, the second one is the one of a guitar player, that I can have, if he doesn't need it. But I tend to play mono most of the time: one thing less, I have to lug around.

My liveset consists of the Stage and my K2661, sometimes the Rhodes and a Hammond, especially on gigs, where I am the second keyboardist and play organ exclusively. I'm getting lazy

Best regards
HammondToby

taco · November 19, 2007, 09:32:24 AM

sorry for the Clavinet....

But the pic of your steup remains a true centerfold for all us vintage nerds out there...

Taco

Clavier · December 27, 2008, 05:13:51 AM

Quote from: "wanderingjew"A Little Phatty would be fine on a mark 2. I saw this picture the other day of a huge modular synth on top of a mark I (!)

Was this the one?

andi85 · December 27, 2008, 05:41:32 AM

It seems to have some extra stand, though.

I have good experiences with lighter keyboards - up to 76 keys and 30 pounds. Slipping has hardly been an issue d/t rubber feet in the right places or a rubber pad I bought from my local IKEA

However, my 88 keys digital piano on top of the Rhodes didn't work as well. The harp cover seems to hold up fine, but slipping got an issue now and I didn't really want to put that extra load on the legs for too long. So I would consider taking a heavy duty keyboard stand instead.

PS: I have a Mark I Seventy-Three.

pianotuner steveo · December 27, 2008, 08:37:42 AM

Nevets, keep in mind the Mk 1 cover is curved and other keyboards like to slide off. I added a wooden rail on my first Mk 1 to keep my Casio from sliding off during a gig. (Thats all I had back then for organ sounds)

Oevets

Swatkins · December 28, 2008, 02:54:51 PM

Either the Little Phatty or the Voyager would be fine in terms of weight, but as other people have already pointed out, the slippage that happens with the curved Mk I top is the biggest liability.
Maybe consider purchasing a flat-top replacement, or slapping some velcro on the Rhodes top and the bottom of your synth.
A high quality Z stand will hold up better than standard issue Stage legs, too.

Finga · December 28, 2008, 04:39:40 PM

I wouldn't worry about it too much (especially with the ribbed top). I'm pretty sure you couldn't buy a synth small enough to fit on the top that weighs so much it would crush your Rhodes or crack the top.

For some reason records tend to accumulate on my Mark I top. This isn't a good idea with a curved top because it flexes and would probably warp the top if I left it for too long.

Finga

james · December 28, 2008, 11:24:17 PM

If it lives up to the original advertising, the Mark II flat top should support plenty of weight:

BJT3 · December 30, 2008, 04:53:31 AM

Quotethe Clavinet got destroyed after a gig by a falling PAR lamp

Man, that's tragic. What did you end up doing with the pieces? Do you have pictures of the damage? Were the pickups cracked? Must of been a huge par can rig to totally destroy a Clav. Makes me not want to take mine to any gigs.....

Rhythmicons · January 18, 2009, 08:00:01 PM

I put my Voyager on my round top, but I think after awhile it woudl have warped it. It slid around pretty bad. I did that just beacause I wanted to play them both at the same time. Im sure it woudl hold a Little Phatty though it may rock when you play it. THe MicroMoog's home was on my Rhodes for the last 20 years.

Im going to have my friend design a custom made keyboard stand with the 73 Rhodes Specs in mind, since he graduated from Welding school. Something similar to one of those Drum Racks so nothing sits on the Rhodes, but is so close that theres barely any clearance. I will post pictures here when that gets done if it ever happens.

You shoudl be alright though with a synth like the Prophet or the Andromeda or something like that. I toyed with the Idea of getting an aftermarket flat top just for that purpose but where the heck woudl I store the Round top. Its bad enough having to find a place for the lid.

Rhythmicons

gunnar · January 19, 2009, 06:03:18 AM

My whole home studio sits on top of my rhodes round top, but to stop things slipping off, I used the stuff you put under a rug to stop it from slipping on a wooden floor. It works a treat! Currently, I've got a four track recorder, a mixer, a pre-amp, a multi effect, a drum computer and my microkorg sitting on that cover haha...

Clavier · January 20, 2009, 02:27:35 PM

I too have had my Micromoog on top of the MK1. These days I'm more inclined to put the Prophet-5 there. The secret to put other keys on top of the Rhodes is not balancing them, it's setting them up on a makeshift stand. Take a look at this:

you can just barely see it. I'm using a pair of shot glasses sitting right under the back feet of the Moog. The shot glasses are resting on the rear rail right behind the harp cover. it really helps the weight distribution, puts the at a nice angle that makes it easier to control, and it's very sturdy so the board wont "walk" during nomal play. Something like this works fine:

Clavier · January 20, 2009, 02:32:40 PM

Another great thing about it: the only contact point on the Moog in in the picture is where the two rubber feet are. The frame doesn't touch at all!

Rhythmicons · January 20, 2009, 09:11:46 PM

Clavier,
Man is there nothing in this world like a Moog and a Rhodes?

Clavier · January 20, 2009, 10:17:24 PM

Nothing!

Clavier · January 20, 2009, 10:18:17 PM

Is that one of those Moog drum controllers?

gunnar · January 21, 2009, 02:29:26 AM

I use wine bottle corks to balance all the stuff. It seems alcohol related items are best for balancing stuff on your rhodes...

Clavier · January 22, 2009, 01:17:03 AM

I blame Rob A. :lol:

keysandslots · January 22, 2009, 07:55:47 AM

I wish I had a photo but when I toured with a showband in the 80s, I made a stand using Meccano. It sat on top of my Rhodes and held my Oberheim. Used up alot of Meccano pieces and I had to check the screws every now and then. I also took alot of "ribbing" from the rest of the band, but it worked.

At home, I use this:

Randy

Ben Bove · January 23, 2009, 04:06:10 PM

For you Rhodes/Moog lovers on this post

A fun little intro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-yKzWbMBZY&feature=related

Rob A · January 23, 2009, 08:17:13 PM

Who's the keyboard player? I'm pretty sure it's not Allan Zavod.

Clavier · January 23, 2009, 11:27:29 PM

Quote from: "bjammerz"For you Rhodes/Moog lovers on this post A fun little intro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-yKzWbMBZY&feature=related

Awesome!

modorange · January 26, 2009, 07:31:47 AM

I have my Minimoog and a small 4 space rackmount sitting on my round-top Rhodes. It might warp the top but I'm not going to let that stop me from using the top for my purpose of playing the Mini on it.

One thing I noticed that hasn't been mentioned yet, is that the tone bar assembly has metal rails that go across to the pickup assembly. The weight of the top plastic top will sink and touch the metal rails but they shouldn't touch the tone bars.

I have seen Brian Haas of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey play his Rhodes with no top on it, and put efx and a Micromoog on top of it (although I don't remember if he had a plywood board on the rails between the Micromoog and the rails or not..

So basically even if the cover caves in it will be stopped by the rails underneath.. I don't know how much the cover dips before it touches them, but it would seem to be very little, a matter of a few inches tops..

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How much weight can the cover hold?