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Rhodes MK1 (new with pics!)

Started by Dote, February 15, 2009, 04:04:33 PM

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Dote

Hi Liste,

I finally got myself a Rhodes again. I had a MKII some ten years ago that I bought for cheap and completely rebuilt and then a nice MK1 Fender Rhodes that I sold as well (talk about being silly here).

So after some years without a Rhodes the bug bit me again and I had to buy yet another Rhodes.

It is a Mk1 73 that is in dire need of some major rehaul.

I started off with refluffing the keybushings and making sure the sidewards movement of the keys is at it's minimum (I need to turn some bushing pins for that).

I did not find a date stamp on the harp so I hope somebody here can help me find out the age of my Rhodes? There is a stamp on key number 8 (pics will follow soon): 3280 or 3-2801. Serial is: 44700

This piano has single dampers on the bass side and damper modules on the higher notes (after middle C), wooden/plastic hammers and all wooden keys.

Next up is a complete rebuild of the harp and I need to retolex the piano.

Thanks in advance,

Dote

Rob A

Quote from: "Dote"wooden/plastic hammers

Before 1975.

I can't remember the start date for hybrid hammers, but 1975 was the transition to all plastic.

Ben Bove

Hey!  Yes Rob is right with the dating.

The date stamps really disappeared on the 1974 and 1975 models.  If you get up really close, and look at different angles, you might be able to make out a very faded blue stamp in the upper right hand corner of the harp.  

With the serial being in the 40,000s I'd say it's 1974.  If it still has a gold foil badge on the harp, and it says "Fender Rhodes" and not just "Rhodes," then it's before 1975.

The stamps on the tops of the keys don't have much meaning for us as they were for the key manufacturer's process (either Pratt-Reed or Wurlitzer key makers).

The dampers have been switched on the top octave.  When they developed the modular system with the grouped dampers, they were installed over the entire piano.  So may have been a parts swap, the single dampers would be original for your Rhodes (but there really isn't a difference, just sped up production / save cost)

Feel free to post pics!  But my guess is that it's from mid '74
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Dote

Hi Rob and Bjammerz!

Thanks for your replies.

The dampers do look like they were installed at the factory, since they all sport the brown glue. I will take a pic of them.

Here are some pics:










The piano has the old style latches btw and the small (me thinks small) Rhodes logo).

I need to replace some bushing felts and after that I will have to address key leveling and key dip. The action is quite fast on my piano after cleaning and the preliminary fix of the bushings (sidewards slop).

I wonder if somebody can tell me their experience with the miracle mod.

The action is fast and light enough I think. The only real bugger is the key bounce. This is so much better on my Wurlitzer with it´s backcheck.

I searched the archives for the backcheck mod, but did not find too much info on that. Anyone out there with a backcheck mod? Is it worth it? I wonder how good the backcheck mod from the internet guy is?

So much for now!

Thanks again,

Dominik

Dote

I found some time to work on the Rhodes a bit more.

I replaced worn key bushings. This is not a very difficult job if you have a soldering iron, a wet rag (cotton) and bushing wedges. You use the soldering iron and the wet rag to generate steam inside the bushing hole of the key for this you insert part of the wet rag into the hole and introduce the iron for 30 - 45 seconds. After this one can pull out the old bushing felt easily. Let the steamed keys dry overnight. Subsequently install new felts (I used Titebond wood glue).



Then I disassembled the harp and sanded down the corroded metal frame and harp mounts and sprayed them:






Next I will need to level the keys:



Here is a pic of the single dampers:



And I have a question concerning the damper rail:

What goes inside this hole of the damper rail?




Cheers,

Dote

Michael

Dote: for the life of me... at the moment I can't remember what goes in the damper rail.  Nevertheless, I do have an extra metal rod,  the release bar that lies across the section.  If you want it, it's yours.  Just send a pm over.  

Ps. I don't post  how much I've been charging for my extra Rhodes pieces for a reason.

Ben Bove

Hey!  

Yes the single dampers are definitely original on your piano.  What's not is the modular dampers up top.  It really doesn't matter though, they all operate the same (and not like it effect collectability or anything).

It's a shame you're missing the center screw in the damper rail.  Without this, when the sustain rail is activated, the rod will push the center of the bar up.  What will happen is the very bottom and very top notes will sustain, but the center will not.  It forces the bar to bow in the middle without this screw - basically a pin with a hole in it for screw:



You can try to contact musicpartsguru for this they might have one, or possibly make yourself by drilling through a pin.  You should see a small screw hole tucked between the 2 dampers where this hole is.
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Dote

So.....

I managed to get a lot of things done, but did not take as many pics as I planned to.

After peeling off the old worn Tolex I sanded down the case with 40 grit paper and touched up the black paint on the inside:





I removed all the tines to clean them and install new grommets and stainless steel screws:






Here is a pic of the extremely dirty keybed before I cleaned it:



Cheers,

Dote

Ben Bove

Looks like it's coming along!
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Dote

Hi gang,

some more pics:


DIY Damperrod


Refurbished Damperrod plate:



New Tolex:







Hope you enjoy!

Dote

MikeMalone

How did you do the tolex? Did you follow any instructions or videos? Had you ever done it before?
1976 Rhodes Suitcase 73
1966 Fender BandMaster Blackface
1955 Hammond M3
1966 Wurlitzer 140B
Yamaha Motif 6
Nord Lead 3
Casio CDP-100 (pretty good Rhodes sound!)

Ben Bove

Fantastic job!  Especially the DIY sustain screw replacement!!
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