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1970 Mark I - Quick fix or sell?

Started by oconnelk, November 10, 2010, 01:07:39 AM

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oconnelk

Hey guys,

I posted about my find over 2 years ago:

http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=4397.0

With a ton of moving/school, haven't got to play it much. I busted it out recently and realized it's just not sounding great. I get sound from every note but the biggest issue is a real lack in sustain. If i'm playing completely stacatto, it sounds great. Once I start really incorporating the sustain pedal, there is a lot of notes that just won't ring out right. The sound also just seems to fall apart when I'm playing with a lot of dynamics - when I play slowly/softly, I can keep pretty consistent levels/sustain across the board.

I just spent an hour or so checking out a lot of quick fix type stuff I though might work - pretty fun to play around with the escapement and whatnot but i'm thinking this thing really just needs a whole setup. As a tinkerer, I would love to mess around with this and put some money into it but with everything I have going on right now, I barely have time to play it, let alone fix it.

I put it back up on Craigslist recently, really hoping to just trade it straight-up for a digital piano/keyboard with weighted/semi-weighted keys....something that can give me the option of a Rhodes-ish tone but with more versatility. I'm being completely honest with potential buyers and telling them it's fun to play but probably not gig/recording-worthy. I've got one guy offering a trade for a Yamaha DGX500 - i'd hate to let this classic go for something like that but, for me, it seems a lot more practical right now.

So:

- do these issues sound like something that will take a professional to fix?
- if so, how much would i be looking at having to put into it?
- in its current state, how much should i be willing to let this go for?

Thanks in advance for any advice/info!

Rob A

So the big difference between this and some electronic item is that the Rhodes will hold value over time at a very minimum, and the electronics will rapidly become worthless as newer models obsolete the current ones.

If you're going to swap it, you should be swapping for something with at least a 500-700 dollar value. Location matters, so tell us where you are.

Sounds like your issue is with the dampers, which tend to be kind of prevalent on older models like this one. A tech could put it right, but hard for me to estimate the expense.

http://www.fenderrhodes.com/service/dampers.php

oconnelk

Thanks for the info, Rob.

Re: holding its value....that's exactly how I felt about this but, obviously, buyers/swappers pretend not to see it that way.

I'm in Vegas, btw. I checked out the service locations listed on the fender rhodes site and didn't see anything for my area. I could always take it down to Cali next time i'm down there but I don't know if it's worth my trouble right now.

I could borrow money from my wife for a new electronic keyboard. Or sell one of the too many guitars I have.

sean


It could be as simple as putting in fresh grommets, and making sure that the tines are tightly mounted on the tonebars.
The cheap grommets work just fine.  http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=4918.0

Your 1970 damper felts are probably still okay.  You probably have the felts with the V-shaped cutout in them at the treble end.  (If the felts are really hateful, thin, or mis-shapen, then you should replace them.)

You should be able to spend one hour futzing with the piano, and get yourself a good diagnosis. 

Pick a few notes to try to remedy.  Choose some of the notes that you would complain about right now.  Verify that the damper bar is lifting all the dampers away evenly.  Verify that the bridle strap for each individual note is pulling the damper away from the tine. 

Play the note and watch and listen to what happens.  If the damper is NOT touching the tine, but the note does not sustain, then inspect the mounting of the tonebar.  Is the screw holding the tine onto the tonebar good and tight? 

Are the grommets and springs doing a reasonable job holding the tonebar in position?  If the grommets are dry and shrunken, then they should be replaced.  (If you have the escapement set super high or super low, then the grommets and springs don't hold the tonebar "optimally.")

You should be able to get a feeling about what is going wrong with the sustain.  If it really is a damper problem, and you decide you need to adjust the dampers, then STOP and set the escapement and strikeline first.

You really can do a lot of this yourself.  I assume you have read the service manual a few times.
http://www.fenderrhodes.com/org/manual/toc.html

Keep us posted.

Sean



sean



Yikes!  I just went back and looked at the photos from your old post.  Sweet.

No.  Don't sell it for less than $700.  You can figure out the sustain issue.
If you had to sell it, you should be able to get a lot more for this one.  It is a unique piano due to the 1970 features.

I am curious that you didn't complain about the heavy action.  Maybe you got a 1970 piano that doesn't take gorilla touch to play! 

There are a LOT of things to like about this piano:  old non-yellow tonebars, only one harp support bracket on the harp, input jack in the way-to-the-left-above-F position, half-wood hammers, early tines, etc. 

(The only gripes might be that the white keys have the rounded tops, and the black keys have the sharper front corners.  Sometimes the action on the early 70's pianos was a bit sluggish, or a bit heavy, or a lot heavy and sluggish.)

It really is a keeper.