Dead or dying tines

[Vintage&ClassicKeys]

I just picked up another rhodes, that I'm going to refurbish.  This one seems to have a lot of bad sounding tines, especially in the right hand area.  I have come across a few of these before, but never so many on one piano.   Do any of you have any insight as to how common this really is, or how long the tines should last.  IS there anything I should know that might save them that I don't know about?  I'll probably replace them, but I don't want to spend more money unless I really have to.

Thanks
V&CK

[Freddan]

Hi!
I'm not sure how experienced you are, but generally I find that tines are very seldom the problem. They last very,very long.
The sound is dependent on a whole bunch of parameters, that need to be optimized.
Bad sustain can be caused by rust or oxide, dry and squashed grommets, loose screws among other things.
Low output has to do with pickup position and differences in timbre depend on all of the above plus the tines position in relation to the pickup.
Dampers and escapement also have to be inspected.
Actually, the last thing I try, if I can't get a note right, is to replace the tine.
Good luck,
Freddan

[vicvega1972]

There are probably 2 different factors here:

1. Your hammer tips on those affected notes have grooves from wear.
2. The tines have jagged ends.

See if there is a relationship between the offending notes and the above. If so, file down the jagged edges and replace the hammer tips across the whole piano. These procedures are standard in refurbs to begin with - but are generally overlooked by most people when trying to determine note variances. They can have a porfound affect on consistent sound, even if the harp specs are dead on.

This also assumes that you understand the tine/pickup relationship, and this is not just a case of bad harp setup.

[Vintage&ClassicKeys]

Thanks for the insight.  I imagen the hammer tips as well as others thing may be the problem.  Once I get everything else cleaned up it should sound much better.
Thanks
V&CK