Name Rail affecting the Action.

[Worlddrum13]

Hello all. New member to the forums but I've been lurking for about a week. Last week I acquired a 77 stage mk1 73 for peanuts on my local Craig's list. Ive wanted a Rhodes for many years and couldn't pass the opportunity when I saw it. Until a week ago, I had zero knowledge of the inner workings on these things. Long story short the person I got it from inherited it from his uncle and knew NOTHING about it. In fact, it was even advertised as a 79. It turned out to need far more work than I anticipated, but because I got it so cheap I couldn't lose. Also I've been having fun working on it.

My question is this: Has anyone had their action affected by the name rail when installed? When tightened, mine puts a small but of pressure on the keys resulting is poor action. The felt is in tact though I'm not sure how to tell if it should be replaced. There are two screw holes on each side of the name rail, though I only have one screw in each side. The tonebar cover also puts a bit of pressure pushing on the name rail, making the affect worse. Any input on this? Is this as simple as adding a couple washers under the name rail screws to shim it up slightly? Also, on a proper rhodes, should you be able to lift the key at all with the name rail or is it supposed to be snug. Thanks in advance

Joel

[pianotuner steveo]

Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like a great find.

The first thing I would try is to shim the name rail on the cheek blocks to raise it above the keys a bit more. Pictures would be helpful for more accurate advice.....

[Ben Bove]

I agree, a little shimming should take care of it.  Use a hard material like you suggested - washers etc. because sometimes felt was used, and that ultimately compresses over time.

There is a little tolerance for you to be able to lift up a key while the rail is attached, but it doesn't look good when there's a gap between keys and red felt.

[Worlddrum13]

Thanks for the info. I'll shim it up when i put it back together. Got it all apart now while I do the bump mod and a couple other things.

Joel