Strange behavior with the pitch of the low G note...

[sunrunner]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum.  Just last week, I acquired my first Rhodes -- a 73 key 1977 Rhodes Mark I Stage from my twin brother.  ("pcola_rhodes" on this forum).

I'm currently knee deep in the restoration process.  As imperfect as it currently looks, it actually sounds like a million bucks.  I've never seen an instrument in this cosmetic condition sound so good.  I'm currently about 1/3 of the way through recapping the keys with beautiful, white key caps from VV.

Anyway, the reason for my post is that I was closely listening to each note today, and noticed something kinda strange with the lowest G note on the keyboard.  Whether I hit the note hard or soft, as the note sustains, the pitch actually goes up as it fades out.

The note is tuned properly according to my tuner.  Even when I play the note in the context of a chord, or in octaves, it's right on the money... until the low G starts to fade out.  Then the pitch gradually goes up.

Anybody have an idea what might be causing this?  Is this typical of old tines?  Or maybe a problem with the tone bar?

Jeremy
Winter Park, FL

[Rob A]

It is typical actually. I can't say that I have experimentally verified this, but I believe that the close to the pickup your tine gets, the more pronounced that effect (rising pitch) is. The problem being that you will change that sound you dig so much if you try to back the pickups away. (Maybe it's an improvement, but it will be a change for sure.)

I usually compensate for it as best I can in tuning by paying attention to only the attack part of the note (it's loudest by a long shot anyway). If the first quarter-second is pretty well in tune, you'll be fine.


and welcome to the club.

[sunrunner]

Thanks for the welcome, Rob A!  I'm excited to be among fellow Rhodes enthusiasts.  

Thanks for the advice... the note is indeed "hot".  Perhaps it might benefit from backing the pickup away just a touch.  I'm going to experiment tonight with the pickup distance and the voicing to see if this makes a difference.  It's almost unnoticeable until I play the note by itself and listen closely.  It's kinda strange.  But the frequency of the low G definitely goes up as it fades out (about 20 - 30 cents).  I thought I would see if anybody has experienced the same thing with their Rhodes.

I'm going to check the other keys as well just to see if I notice the same thing.  I'll report my findings

Thanks again,

Best Regards   :roll:

[jim]

yeah it's definitely  rhodes thing down low.

but really, you're the only one who's gonna know, so maybe it isn't even a thing?

[pianotuner steveo]

Yes,I agree, pickup distance is the issue here

Also try tuning the tine a HAIR flat....

[jim]

add a single hair to the tine.  

[pianotuner steveo]

Yes,Jim,that should do it.....