metal clips for highest octave on rhodes 73

[rhodesmaman]

Hi There i have noticed that i have some metal clips on the top octave tonebars of my piano and unfortunately i only have a few. They seem to help with the sustain of the keys and without they sound clunky. Am i right in this what they are for? and if so where can i buy some more?

Another question/ problem is my damper rail keeps coming undone especially whilst transporting the piano. This can be really embarrasing when playing live and i press down the pedal and instead of sustaining the notes i just get the unhinged damper rail clonking up and down. I have the mark one model so the damper rail is just attached by two screws and these are a bit run down which might be the reason however i'm unsure if i should tighten them with the small metal poles directly underneath or to the side so this migth be causing problems too. Anyone got any advice/ideas?

If i can sort out these two problems i will be a very happy man :-)

Many thanks in advance!
sam

[keysandslots]

The damper rail on my Mark 1 has a small slotted axle on each side that sticks into holes on the harp pedestals, and a screw for each on the top of the damper rod that, when tight, fits into the slot on the axle.

Clean the screw threads and the threads in the holes on the damper rod, put some lube on the small axles, make sure the slot on the axle lines up with the screw, put some Loctite on the screw and tighten it.

Part of the problem is the screw is steel and the damper rod is aluminum.  If you tighten the screw too much, the aluminum threads will strip.  The Loctite (or something similar) should keep everything together.

Randy

[rhodesmaman]

cheers Randy...Im wondering what the alternative might be to loctite in the uk? any ideas people in the uk?

[keysandslots]

A bit of CA glue (i.e. Crazy Glue) would probably work too.

Randy

[kitchen]

The tonebar clips add mass to the tonebar thus increasing sustain.
You have a few because not all tonebars need them. If the piano is set up properly you might not need them at all. The originals are hard to find, so I hear. I believe ep service in Holland has non-original clips.

Kitchen

[Quatschmacher]

So is there no standard number of tonebar clips from the factory?

[james]

The standard number of tonebar clips from the factory is zero....  

[MikeMalone]

The standard number of tonebar clips from the factory is zero....

CLASSIC!