Help with My MK 1

[DRJUSTIN]

This is my first post. I've been scouring this forum and found a ton of great info as I go about restoring an 88 key MK I, but I have run into a few issues and could use some advice.

First off I am unsure as to the year. It has a Rhodes (not fender) logo, but knobs with a Fender "F" on them. The keys are wood and plastic and the harp label seems to have been intentionally removed. The harp support is wood.

I have replaced to felts, hammer tips, grommets, and pedestal felts with set from Speakeasy, and I have new tolex and key felts coming from Vintage Vibe.

After the replacements it sounds much better, but overall it still sounds very dark to me in the lower to middle register and a bit clanky as the hammer tips change into the upper. The clank I don't mind so much, but it would be nice to get more clarity out of the middle.

Some of the notes have that nice growl when hit hard, but others are rather flat. Some are consistently flat, others just when hit a certain way (double strike maybe?).

Any assistance on this would be much appreciated!

[Ben Bove]

It's an early 1975.  Rhodes logo makes it at least 1975, and wood harp supports means before Sept. 1975.  Possibly a very faded blue stamp in upper right hand corner of harp, and possibly black stamp around where Rhodes badge would be, 3rd digit being a "5."

If you want more "clarity" and it sounds "muddy" then most likely you need to bring more overtone into your tone settings.  So, when you adjust the second screw on tonebar (furthest away from you) and you hear it getting close to kicking up the octave, back it down just a bit.  Not sure how your ear is, but if you can get it to about half octave and have fundamental, then just back off a little bit, that should be an ideal setting.  

Volvoxburger has a great youtube vid on how to set tone.  This should bring out more mids without EQ.

Sounds like you may also need to set up your pickups a little more uniformly.  Some of the barky/growling notes probably have pickups much closer to the tines, the "flat" ones probably much further away from the tines.

With both the tone and pickup adjustments, try to work on the middle octave, and if you mess up or don't like it, you can just put it back by matching the lower or higher neighboring octave

[DRJUSTIN]

Thank You!

That will help a lot.

One ques though. The bark ones...I've tried really hard to make other notes sound that way by changing the pickup setting and messing with the tone screw, but some just won't get there. Is it possible that there are inconsistencies from one pickup to another? Some seem very sensitive to where I have to move it way back to avoid overpowering the rest of the notes. Some won't get loud even when I bring it right up until the tine hits the pickup.

If this is the case is it better to back off the rest so that the overall volume is more uniform?

Also. Is there anything particularly unique about the sound and character of an early 75 Rhodes Stage?

[suitcase'81]

try tapping the pickups (the ones that don't get loud)
with a screwdriver.
is there a loud 'thunk!' ?

you could have some dead pickups  (if there isn't a loud "thunk!")
that would explain the not getting loud part..

neighbouring pickups will amplify the tine with a dead pickup
so there will be sound but not as loud as you would like.
also changing the setting of the dead pickup would result in , well ..
no change..  not getting loud, no bark/growl..

see where i'm going at?

good luck!

[pianotuner steveo]

I agree,Justin. It sounds like you have some dead pickups. This is not difficult to fix, but you need to be quick with the soldering iron so you don't melt the plastic on the pickups. Try the screwdriver tapping method and count how many seem to be dead. Then look on ebay or contact someone on this site about buying more pickups. (Usually around $5-$6 ea) Once all of your pickups are working, then you can voice the piano the way you like it.

[SoulgMusic]

if its not the pickups malfunctioning,

the #1 rule is utter constancy throughout the harp. each tone bar and tine move and adjust differently then then the previous one.  some move vertically, but some move ever which way so its tough to strike perfection without a lot of time and effort into your harp. i suggest using taking out the harp screws and pull the harp up so its vertical. adjust every tine to the highest overtone you can produce regardless of the volume. Loosen all your pickups, Using a thin shim(whichever distance you choose, see manual), place the shim(spacer) between the tine and pickup, push the  pickup until it contacts the shim hold and tighten.  Adjust every pickup to they are at a consistent distance from the tine, then pull(loosen) the tines slightly out of pure overtone. it should be your ideal voice. This will correct the volume and tonal differences you might hear from neighboring  keys.  IF YOUR ELECTRONICS ARE SOLID.

clear your schedule and spend a night with your harp.
have fun!

cheers.

[keysandslots]

And, just to add to all of the excellent advice here, make sure you play the piano a bit.  If you just listen to one note at a time, you will notice differences between them, but if you play the piano, those slight differences may become an advantage.

I like to have the action fairly consistent but I really don't worry about getting every note sounding exactly the same.

Randy

[DRJUSTIN]

Thanks for all the advice thus far. It has been extremely helpful. Gonna try that shim idea next.

Quick update. I don't think it's the pickups, although the last 7-8 are not working since I put it back together, but that another post altogether unless someone wants to tell me what I screwed up.

Evening things out has been a combination of setting the tone adjustment and pickup distance and damper adjustment primarily. A lot of the dull notes were the dampers not releasing enough.

Another common culprit was improperly cut tines. When I found a lackluster note I would check for a jagged ended tine. If it was not properly squared off I took it out and filed it. BIG improvement.

Still working, but I'll try and post picks when I'm done. Rough blond tolex with a red harp cover. Spent a good part of today sanding and bondo'ing the gouges in my harp cover and putting the last coat of paint on it tomorrow - an idea I got from a couple posts I found here!

Thanks again.

[Led]

Hi Drjustin, I'm thinking of doing my harp cover red like you've described. Would love to see some pics when you're done. Is the Bondo what you've used to fill gouges? Anything you've learnt not to do from the experience?
Thanks
Andy

[DRJUSTIN]

So far so good. I have gone through two cans of spray paint intended for car dashboard and trim use, which is an idea I got from someone on this forum. I'll need one more to finish the job.

I am using bondo to fill the cracks and its worked very well so far. The part that took the longest was sanding all the faux vinyl grain off, but that combined with filling in the scratches will make it look new. Make sure you do that outside with a mask on because black plastic dust gets everywhere.

I just put it on the piano even though it needs a couple more coats and I am very happy so far. The blond tolex with the red cover gives it a nice 60's Fender look. My favorite look for Fender amps are the early 60's blond, which is why I went for that particular tolex.