harp support option

[Froggy NR]

As I go in search to improve the tone on my piano I noticed someone told about strike line adjustment as a critical point. My rhodes is a 1977 MK1 from tought it has been really improved by the guy who did the regulation I found out that I can get better results on the whole keaboard dynamic if I move the harp a little bit from where it has been mounted. Also since it's a post 75 it does have the metal harp supports and I dont really want to modify the original parts especialy cause I am not an expert on metal work. I was wondering how about making new wood suppports. But can someone tell what wood was used on pre 75 Fender area for those two blocks ?? Thanks in advance.

[rhodesjuzz]

You can add pieces of wood on top of the aluminum support blocks to shim the harp. You can mount this with special type of cement. Please don't change or work on the metal allthough you might  have to drill some new holes after you determined the new location of your harp. 
Hope that helps but there are a lot of guys around here with more experience and better knowledge.....

--Roy

[pianotuner steveo]

I think Froggy is talking about strike line adjustment only, not shimming height wise..

[The Real MC]

You can make your own from maple but pay attention to the heights - they are not the same on both ends.

[pnoboy]

Aluminum is easy to drill and tap.  Fender provided extra holes in the harp frame so that once the harp is adjusted for best strike line, you have fresh places to drill into the aluminum.  Ditching the aluminum supports and replacing them with wood is totally unnecessary.  Also, the way in which the struts that allow the harp to pivot are put into the side of the aluminum extrusion allows easy repositioning.

[rhodesjuzz]

I think Froggy is talking about strike line adjustment only, not shimming height wise..

You may just well be right. High time to continue this forum in Dutch much easier ..... 

--Roy

[pianotuner steveo]

Haha, I'm 1/2 Dutch but don't speak the language...

[rhodesjuzz]

Never too old to learn, after all it runs though your blood
Btw still don't know what froggy nr actually ment....

--Roy

[Froggy NR]

Sorry for the mess guys. I might have to check my replies notifications options since I never had the replies alert... Anyway thanks a lot for sharing advices and ideas. I was mainly thinking about moving the harp a bit on its supports to get a better strikeline and so building new support blocks instead of drilling the original metal ones.  I think I will try to remake those harp supports from wood. Nothing much to loose but time. A friend of mine also told me he might be able to fill up the harp support holes and drill new ones if I can find a better placement that works for the whole keyboard. Or then reinstall everything as it was. But I am not too found of the idea.     Plus it turned out that I had to change three times that probably led me to the wrong issue. After a few hours struggling on some voicing changes all arround those hardly expressive keys I finally decided to order some new ones. And after a few other hours and the new tines delivered I finally got the piano all expressive and balanced. At least very near as it was when it came back from the thechnician. I'm a noob with the rhodes but it seems it is not always obvious to tell when a tine is dead. I remember some dead ones that had no sustain at all when I got the piano but those three drove me mad and made me search in another way.

[Fred]

What pnoboy said.

It is much easier to drill and tap the aluminum harp supports (if the original harp screws are present, they are self tapping) than trying to fabricate replacements.