News:

Don't forget to read the forum rules.

Main Menu

Electrokey 612DP

Started by SonicVI, December 02, 2015, 09:10:53 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

SonicVI

Hey all, been lurking for a while waiting for something to add to the forum. I think this is it!  Just picked this up off Craigslist for $35.  It doesn't work (yet, hopefully), but I thought I'd share some photos of this rare beast.



Tube amp! (with something melted in the power supply)


Wurlyesque reeds.


Thank you!


Germanium transistor preamp.

vanceinatlance

#1
Wow, never heard of it.. Looks mechanically and physically identical to a maestro, but with tube amp? It would be interesting if anyone could fill in info on these. Hope you get it working!

Ok, found some info I was not aware of. I guess Electrokey and Rhythm Band imported pianos from the company Nippon Columbia. Rhythm Band sold the pianos under the name Electrokey directly to schools.for educational purposes. Electrokey sells the pianos to Chicago Musical Instrument under the name "Maestro". Chicago Musical Instrument then wholesales them to local music dealers for retail sale mainly to the educational market.
There was a lawsuit filed by Wurlitzer against Electrokey INC. over these in 1974

K-man

Looks fantastic! I have non working hohner cembalet - very similar :)
1973 Rhodes 73 stage
Hammond x-2 + Elka leslie
2014 Kurzweil MPS 20

pianotuner steveo

I've never heard of these either. Can't wait to hear what it sounds like!
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

SonicVI

#4
Unfortunately I can tell that it's never going to play like it should. The dampers use springs made of very thin wire to return them and the majority of the springs have deteriorated and are either broken or missing. So, even if I can get it working most of the notes will sustain all the time. Maybe I'll be able to figure something out to replace them. I'm thinking maybe safety pins.

SonicVI

#5
More pics.

Well done resistor. Surprisingly it still measures 470ohms on the nose.


more springs in the action, all intact.


damper springs, the majority are broken.


action

SonicVI

Got sound out of it. The internal amp needs isn't working, but I plugged the preamp out (RCA jack) into mixer and got signal. It sounds kinda like a mix of a Wurly and Rhodes, but much less dynamic than either. The bass is weak and there's not much bark. Maybe the pickups can be adjusted for that.  It's pretty hissy too, more than my 200A.  I'll try to get a sample recorded soon.

SonicVI

#7
The pole piece adjustment is pretty interesting and very simple. As you adjust the lower screw (see the photo above of the reeds) the pickup 'leaves', for lack of a better word, that are on either side of the reed, spread in and out, moving closer to or farther away from the reed. The upper screw makes the pickup 'leaves'  move forward and backward. It's getting barkier.

I got a new cap can ordered for the power supply. The amp is cathode biased and the cathode bypass cap was toast, so I've replaced that along with the bypass resistor.  The pickups seem to run of the same 6V supply as the tube filaments, which are lighting up, but the high voltage supply is no good.  The tubes are pretty interesting. They're 6BM8's, which are a triode and pentode in the same bottle. So each tube has a preamp and a power amp element in it.

pianotuner steveo

Can you post a picture or two of those damper springs? There may be an acoustic piano spring that can be used.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

SonicVI

#9
Here's a broken one.  The other side of the loop should be 1-1/4" long and have a small bend at the end.  The wire is very thin, about 1/64".  If I could find something even close I could possibly modify/bend them to work.


SonicVI


SonicVI

#11
.

pianotuner steveo

#12
I wouldn't waste money on that tool. I've been working on pianos since the 1970's and I have never needed one.

Is the wire pretty stiff or real easy to bend with your fingers? There are a couple of piano parts that may work with minor hand bending/ cutting.

If it's stiff like I suspect, upright damper springs may be the right part.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

SonicVI

it flexes fairly easily.   I'm on the search for the closest I can find now. 

SonicVI

Here's what it sounds like. Recorded direct from the preamp to a mixer where I cut some highs (mostly hiss) and lows.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rdn99bhldhetmpu/electrokey.wav?dl=0

Tehu

Hey!
Same internal mecanism than the Columbia Elepian, except for the pickups!
I listen to your audio demo, you can really improve the sound! When i receive mine, the tone was similar to yours, I ajusted the pickup closer to the tine, and i get that ''wulryish'' sound, that I found more interesting!

Listen here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e8kvx84wdrpvanw/TEST%20ELEPIAN%202015-12-02.mp3?dl=0

When you set the pickups like that, you get a really nice dynamic and your able to bark it a lot!
Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 88 1977, Wurlitzer 200a, Columbia Elepian 713, Yamaha CP60M, Hohner Clavinet D6, Baldwin CW-8-S, Roland VK9, Roland RS101, Roland SH1000, Teisco S100P, Yamaha SK15, Siel Orchestra 1, Sequential Six Ttak, Sequential Prophet 2002, Behringer VC340, Behringer MS101, MPC2000XL, Roland SBF325, Roland RE-201, Roland MPA100, Leslie 710

pianotuner steveo

I tried to listen to the samples but they won't open on an iPad.

There are springs that look similar to that for acoustic pianos, but I have no way to send you pictures unless you PM me with your email address.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

SonicVI


pianotuner steveo

That worked.

What a great sound. I see what you mean by a combo of Wurli and Rhodes.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

SonicVI

#19
Brought the amp back to life.
It's not very loud and the volume control has little effect. I'll have to check it out. New tubes may be in order too.


pianotuner steveo

Did you check Vandaking for upright piano springs?
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

SonicVI

Yes, i went with spinet hammer butt springs. They look the most similar. Waiting to receive them still.

vanceinatlance

That's great that you got the amp operating again!
The two maestro pianos I worked on (sold state amps) both had volume knobs that seemed to have very little effect of the actual volume of the piano. The piano's had a loud output, but was not changed much by turning the dial. I assumed it was used mostly for headset volume and the piano was at a set level.

pianotuner steveo

I just hope that the spinet springs are long enough....
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...

SonicVI

Quote from: vanceinatlance on December 13, 2015, 11:39:07 AM
That's great that you got the amp operating again!
The two maestro pianos I worked on (sold state amps) both had volume knobs that seemed to have very little effect of the actual volume of the piano. The piano's had a loud output, but was not changed much by turning the dial. I assumed it was used mostly for headset volume and the piano was at a set level.

Yeah, I checked the schematic and the minimum volume is preset. It would be a simple mod to make it a 'normal' volume control.

SonicVI

Quote from: pianotuner steveo on December 13, 2015, 08:27:52 PM
I just hope that the spinet springs are long enough....

Got them in the mail today and tried one out. They're gonna work fine. I'm just gonna have to bend them all a bit.

pianotuner steveo

That is great too know for the future if anyone else has this issue.
1960 Wurlitzer model 700 EP
1968 Gibson G101 Combo organ
1975 Rhodes Piano Bass
1979 Wurlitzer 206A EP
1980 Wurlitzer 270 Butterfly Grand
2009 73A Rhodes Mark 7
2009 Korg SV-1 73
2017 Yamaha P255
2020 Kawai CA99
....and a few guitars...