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Sustain Pedal

Started by monsieur hibou, March 15, 2008, 11:57:43 PM

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monsieur hibou

Hello

I recently just bought a Rhodes Mark 1 with the original sustain pedal. The only problem is that no matter how many times I get the rod in the right notch, or how tight I think it is, after a few times hitting the pedal the rod comes loose and I loose the sustain. I tried putting a bit of tape around the top of the rod to keep it in place better but it hasn't seemed to be much help. I was hoping someone may have had the same problem and could offer any tips or point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance!

Ben Bove

Is it a wingnut tightened rogers sustain rod, or one of the early thumb-tightened ring rods?  If it's a ring rod, those never seem to stay tightened.

if it's a wingnut, check to see if the screw or hole is stripped, but then find the appropriate length, and possibly tighten with pliers (with a protective cloth so you don't eat up your wingnut).
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Spaceduck

hey bjam, I'm bumping this old thread because I just ordered a sustain rod and I think it's the early thumb-tightened kind. At least, the nut doesn't look like the Rogers wingnut kind; it's much smaller (see pic). Anyway, my question is, can I just replace the thumbscrew/nut with a Rogers wingnut? I'd hate to run into the problem hibou posted about.


Ben Bove

hmm, by the looks of it, you should be able to replace, but it's a rarity for the rogers to strip out.  Usually the ring-lock very early sustain rods are bad with slipping.  You might be ok as is.
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Spaceduck

Oh, I see... What I've got is the Rogers design (not the ring lock), so I should be ok? Sounds good to me.

I guess this one just has a smaller wingnut on it. Rogers probably had a few different varieties over the years. Btw, would it also have been feasible to buy an old Rogers hi hat off ebay and use the rod from that? It's funny, Rhodes sustain rods are pretty pricey, but Rogers hi hats usually sell cheap.

Ben Bove

Yes they're the identical part.  It's funny to have a Rhodes with something that says "Rogers" on it to begin with, when you think about it.
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Michael

I used clear packaging tape for mine, and it worked like a charm.  Mind you, I tapered the wrappings so that it gains traction on the way in.  Just use more tape is my advise!