Removing some bell qualities and add more "bark"?

[s80bob]

I noticed when I strike the keys hard I get more bark and distortion out of my rhodes. When I play it lightly it's very bell-like. A very dynamic instrument for sure. (I have a late Sept. 1973, mark I stage 73) But I really like that bark this puppy has. Is there an adjustment that I can make to get more bark and less bell? Or maybe the easiest thing is an effects pedal. Is there an effects pedal that would help me acheive this. I love the idea of a pedal as it means no tinkering with the rhodes and I can turn it on and off at will.

Thanks in advance
Bob
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[jim]

i use a hot-cake overdrive pedal which i think (and the others in the band) adds an excellent overdrive kinda bark.

[jeffwuollet]

A 73 is a barking machine by itself. Setup is the key.

Pickups have to be as close as they can be to the tines(IMPORTANT). It would do you good to make sure all your hammer tips are fresh and soft too.

Next, you have to adjust the front tonebar screw to setup the tine height. It's all about dynamics. If you set it up really high, you'll get a good dynamic range, but the bark'll only come out if you smash the friggin keys. Adjust to taste, but remember to keep things within limits so you're not negatively affecting function.

Moving on to the back tonebar screw. This is where you can adjust between fundamental and harmonic sounds. More towards the center of the pickup gives you more harmonics and farther away adds more fundamental. I like starting from the center and moving out to find the right balance, but do whatever sounds good to you.

[hrees]

Tonebar height plays the opposite role as the peak velocity of the hammer is the moment it leaves the key ped. All travel after that is deceleration. Close escapement works best for more power. There is no trade off between touch sensitivity and striking power as you suggest.

[jeffwuollet]

I hate spacing out on simple stuff. Shame on my house...

[hrees]

Sorry, rereading my last post it makes me sound like a smartarse.