Pianet T reed out of tune

[Dotoar]

Hello. I just bought myself a nice Pianet T but for some reason the lowest F key is way out of tune, hitting a G#2 rather than an F1. The reed itself doesn't look odd or anything, the length suggests it should be right in tune. It seems weird that it would jump up more than an octave for no apparent reason.

Also, the G#1 key yields a tone an octave higher than it should, a G#2 that is. As with the F key, the reed doesn't look odd or anything.

Does anyone have any idea how to solve this? Or if it can't be solved, where I could get spare reeds?


//Fredrik

[mvanmanen]

A weight had fallen off one of my pianet reeds which was "way off" in tuning. I would double check you are missing any weights before tuning it.

[Dotoar]

Maybe I'm missing something but where are these weights? The reeds are just screwed on top of a metal bar with a small metal distance.

[Dotoar]

Yes, I was missing something - the weights themselves. I took a closer look at the other reeds and noticed they all had weights stuck underneath them, apart from the exact two aforementioned ones.

So, I guess this is not easily fixed? Where can I find replacement reeds?

[mvanmanen]

I would look inside you pianet to see if there are any weights loose in the bottom of the case.
Then I would phone Ken Rich, Vintage Vibe, Chicago electric piano company, etc. and ask if they have any they could sell you.
Perhaps someone on the forum might have some extras?
I do not have any experience DIYing replacement weights.

[Dotoar]

Thanks for the tip, I'll check him out. I cannot find the loosened weights inside the case so it'll have to be new ones.

I pondered about supergluing weights onto them, as well as put solder on the tips and filing it down to size but I guess the original construction was too fine-tuned for that kind of solution. On the other hand, the reeds are unusable anyway so might as well try something out when I get new ones.

[conke]

I'm pretty sure that the Pianet Duo (the instrument with a Clavinet and Pianet in one) uses the same sticky pads and reeds as a T era model.

Vintage Vibe sells Pianet Duo reeds.

This site also has T reeds, but they don't have the ones that you need in stock.

[Dotoar]

Thanks for the tips so far. $30 and thereover is, in the most generous of terms, a bit steep for a tiny metal blade. Since the current reeds were unusable anyway, I decided to give an amateur solution a go anyway and soldered on the tips. What do you know: it worked! (Then again, why wouldn't it; it's vibrating metal, not rocket science). I rugged up the surface of the tips, cranked up the soldering iron and built up a lump, checked the pitch, soldered and filed down respectively until the pitch was just right. I'm not necesserily recommending it as a solution but I know what I hear and what I hear is a Pianet in tune on all keys.

Thanks anyway for the replies!

[mvanmanen]

Glad to hear you found a solution that worked!
I hear what you are saying about the cost of these replacement reeds.

[conroy]

Where on the reed did you apply the solder? How much solder did you use?