Keys shouldn't touch front rail felt?

[paulskiogorki]

Hi there

Brand new to the forum - hi ya. I'm a (acoustic) piano technician working on Rhodes occasionally.

Right now I have a Stage in my shop with pretty uneven touch. As a piano tech, I was surprised to see that the keys don't touch the felt on the front rail when you press them down, which isn't anything like on an acoustic.

One of the Vintage Vibe videos says this is by design and the key shouldn't touch the punching or it will 'impede stop block'.

Can anyone elaborate on this for me?

Thanks

Paul
www.clementpiano.com

[pianotuner steveo]

Hi Paul, I am also an acoustic piano tech that works on EPs a little (back in the '70s and '80's there was a much higher demand for EP service in my area)

As dumb as it sounds, that is correct, the Rhodes keys are not supposed to touch the front rail punchings. Their way of setting dip is by adjusting the key height with the back rail cloth, which in turn sets the dip.  I don't agree with their methods, but that is the way they designed it.

[paulskiogorki]

Thanks for the reply sir.

Dip is pretty much OK on this beast but the front rail felt is not in good shape. Is there a spec for what thickness to use or how much gap is desired between the key bottom and felt on the down stroke?

[pianotuner steveo]

I generally use mediums. I don't think the amount of gap matters, they just don't want the key hitting the felt as it does in acoustics.

[David Aubke]

This has become a bit of a crusade for me. I wasn't certain until I saw sean's post which linked to a Steve Woodyard article where he declares in no uncertain terms that the keys are NOT supposed to contact the front rail felts.

Folks may be improving their action by shimming the felts until they contact the keys, and that's great. But I feel very strongly that it should always be clear that this is a modification, not necessarily the 'right' way to set up a Rhodes and definitely not the way it was intended.

[sopranojam85]

I hope I'm not the first person to ask this question. I also hope it's not a dumb question.

Why do Rhodes pianos have front rail punchings to being with, if they are not supposed to make contact with it?

[David Aubke]

As Steve said,

"That felt is there for excessive key travel, to protect the key from being broken."

[sopranojam85]

Thank you. I was sure the answer was easy to find.

[pianotuner steveo]

I understand that the keys are not supposed to touch the punchings. I understand that it was designed that way on purpose. I simply do not agree with it, and do not understand why they felt that they needed to reinvent the wheel. It goes against what I was taught in piano technology school. I prefer to set key height and dip the traditional way, personally, but also, I am not knocking anyone who does it the "Rhodes way".  My 2 cents.

[David Aubke]

I believe the action is so designed because it was the best way to deliver a very traditional feel without all of the intricacies of a standard acoustic piano. Yes, maybe it puts the hammer flanges at risk, though I'm not aware of this being a particularly endemic problem. But the trade-off is a pretty darn good action with only a handful of moving parts.

I'm willing to believe a piano with 'active' front rail felts may feel nice but I'm still skeptical that it's a good idea. Certainly Harold and others were aware of a standard acoustic piano setup when they designed the Rhodes action. I don't think this was an oversight or cost-saving measure.

My concern would be that, even if the felts were set up perfectly to stop the key while still maintaining the stop-lock functionality, this relationship must remain precisely balanced for the piano to play properly. And maybe it does...

[pianotuner steveo]

That is the key, David. It is important that the felts are set at the correct height, too high and they will cause problems. The whole reason why I have always set dip the traditional way, was that I just did not know about the Rhodes method until just a few years ago. In fact, I thought someone was pulling my leg when I learned otherwise- it just sounded so odd to me at the time. If I ever need to do this again (doubtful) then I will try their recommended method.

I say doubtful because there just isn't any Rhodes work where I live anymore. I work on maybe 1-2 Wurlitzers a year, I've had 2 Rhodes repairs in the last 5-6 years.

[David Aubke]

I say doubtful because there just isn't any Rhodes work where I live anymore. I work on maybe 1-2 Wurlitzers a year, I've had 2 Rhodes repairs in the last 5-6 years.

I marvel, and am thankful that there are businesses dedicated to vintage keyboards. I would have never thought the market could support someone trying to make a living.

[pianotuner steveo]

And I am thankful that despite what a lot of people around here think, the acoustic piano service business is fantastic in my area. Digital pianos have had little or no effect on my business. If anything, they've replaced junky pianos that I don't want to service anyway.

A lot of my competitors are either retiring or moving away, and I just keep getting busier. Just in time for my retirement... 

[David Aubke]

Just had my local tuner out to fix up my Acrosonic earlier this year. Could already use another treatment though as it sat unserviced for over twenty years before now.