Checking DI'd raw sound before repair

[IanLivy]

Hi folks - just wanted to double check if I have a problem with my Rhodes stage88 if anyone has the time to listen to this and compare with their own DI's sound?
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ks140kkxg7c196/Rhodes_bass_test.wav?dl=0
First time round is with bass boost at 0, 2nd time is at full.

I bought this rhodes last year but from memory it seems far bassier and more muffled than any rhodes I've owned in the past - the previous owner said he had it modified so am just wondering if he's messed up the electronics...?

This was recorded straight in to a UAD preamp flat eq.

Many thanks in advance!
Ian

[Cormac Long]

Did you try taking the audio feed direct from the harp, bypassing the Bass/volume pots?

A lot of people prefer the direct sound as it tends to be cleaner. Trying that may also identify the pots/capacitor as the source of the muffled sound.

Certainly from listening to it, it's definitely sounding muffled.

[IanLivy]

Many thanks for the reply - I never even realised you could do that (!), yes it sounds so much nicer bypassing the pots, thanks.

Re: the capacitor - does this look normal?

The previous owner said he had it modified for extra bass (strange I know).
Ian

[Cormac Long]

that's definitely a mod there.

the capacitor used to perform the tone control is usually soldered onto the "bass boost" pot. Now it could in this case straddle the two and still be wired correctly. But I've never seen a cap that physically large used.

This thread here has a diagram and photo of the setup on a Mark V but it would be the later revised passive setup Rhodes used which gave better control and less signal loss as I understand it.
http://ep-forum.com/smf/index.php?topic=4650.0

[David Aubke]

I've seen a few different capacitors on different pianos but, like Cormac, I've never seen one that looked like that or was wired like that. As best I can tell, I think that wiring should "work". There are many different ways you could configure those connections that would still yield what most would call "volume" and "tone" controls but that way ain't standard.

I'll bet you could just snip one of the leads on that cap and you'd restore all of your tone. To me, when wired properly, the Bass knob does next to nothing... certainly not anything I find useful. If I wasn't concerned with restoring original functionality, I'd make that a dummy knob.

Also, I find reading real schematics difficult. Here's a diagram for dummies.

[IanLivy]

Thanks guys that's great to know.
Sure does sound far nicer bypassing this at the moment but will be good to get it fixed properly.

Much appreciated,
Ian

[pnoboy]

The schematic posted by Cormac was not used in just Mark V pianos--I think Fender switched to that circuit in the early 70s.