weight of the wooden case

[hmazura]

anybody knows a weight of just the wooden case, in which the whole piano mechanism is set? i'm thinking about puting the inside of the piano into something lighter.

or any idea where i can find this information?

thanks!

[Tim Hodges]

Just weighed mine and the case weighs 21kg's excluding the piano mechanism.

T

[Tim Hodges]

Whilst I think about it have you given any thought to what sort of material you might use? There might be problems with the strength if you go for a lighter wood and also possible acoustic issues ( the wood amplifying the piano action)

Just thought I'd raise those possible issues.  

T

[hmazura]

wow! thanks for info! is it really that heavy??? that's great because if i change the case, my rhodes can be much lighter!

i've been told here at the forum that changing of the case wouldn't cause any problems nor it would affect the sound.

i was thinking about having made some custom hard-case with removable keyboard cover. i have one big and massive hard case for my another keyboard and it has 16kg. if this custom hard case for rhodes is about the same weight, i would still save 6 kg, which is quite a lot.

one guy from my school inspired me to do that. look at his picture here: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=308873660&albumID=455363&imageID=1490992

or some similar pic i found:
http://www.piano-rhodes.com/objets/CIMG2746.2004102320114.jpg


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[Tim Hodges]

Hey no problem, I've just finished re-tolexing mine so it wasn't a problem checking out the case. I couldn't believe it was that heavy either!!  :shock:

I like the look of the last picture especially as they can still use the existing legs.

Let me know how you get along with it, it'd be interesting to see how much weight it saves!

T

[Ben Bove]

Something I've recommended in the past is to separate your harp from your rhodes from transport.  A special case for the harp which is about half the weight of the piano, and then the Rhodes shell by itself.  Install harp after set up.  Just have to make sure it's always returning to same spot.

[hmazura]

never thought about this option! sounds intresting... i think i would at least try it at some gig.

thanks

[shmuelyosef]

Odd that I just noticed this post...I'm restoring a 1973 Stage 73 and just weighed all the components:
Harp - 25 lbs
Keybed (with keys) 20 lbs
Case bottom - 27 lbs
Case cover - 22 lbs (without legs, etc)
Harp Cover - black ABS - 3 lbs.
Legs and leg braces - 7 lbs
Action rail (no hammer tips) - 9 lbs
Damper rail and Name Rail - 6 lbs
Sustain pedal and Rod - 3 lbs
Harp mounting blocks (maple) -- 3 lbs.

I already leave the legs at home and use a stand. As you can see the piano itself weighs 69 lbs (less than my Roland RD-500) and the case and legs weigh 56 lbs. I'm going to re-Tolex this one and probably keep it for myself and I am thinking about removing the leg-mounting hardware from the bottom and patching before re-Tolexing (if I do that I will have a complete set of legs and sockets for sale).

Alternatively, I'm thinking about keeping the case intact and just build a gig-rig...I've seen Stage 73s built into ATA cases that are lighter than original.  Alternatively, Baltic Birch ply in 1/2" could save about 15 lbs...it's just a little too tall to fit into the largest SKB keyboard case.

[garagebandking41]

You could always do what this person did with a 54...hah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nED5L1NraJI

[Tim Hodges]

You could always do what this person did with a 54...hah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nED5L1NraJI

Damn, he's massacred it. Such a shame, plus it's going to be more difficult to use the sustain pedal.

T