Fender Rhodes - Front Rail Fail - Avion Studios (keyboard regulation)
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- This video shows some general techniques for adjusting or leveling your keys on a Fender Rhodes.
It also goes into a terrible thing Fender did on many of their later model Rhodes - the front rail felt strip. I can't imagine how much money this saved them per keyboard, but whatever it was it was not worth it.
You can't adjust a felt strip and you can't adjust key travel individually.
So this video shows the removal and replacement with proper paper punchings and felt punchings, while hopefully explaining the importance of proper key travel.
Let us know if you have any questions.
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Thanks for posting this video. I've been meaning to replace the felt strips on my MkII Suitcase 73 for a long time. One suggestion: a heat gun makes the removal of the glued felt strip go much faster and easier. Peel off by hand as much of the felt as you can, and then use a heat gun and small putty knife (1" wide blade). Work patiently, directing the heat ahead of the knife blade, allowing enough time for the glue to soften as you scrape. Once you master the technique it goes pretty quickly, and leaves a clean, smooth surface. You can do a full strip this way in about 10 minutes. Much less effort than using a chisel on cold glue.
Awesome tip Rick! We usually use a heat gun but I thought more people would have a chisel around. (Plus the good heat gun was on a service run!) On further consideration maybe that's silly, heat guns are so cheap now. $10 at harbor freight and so on. So yeah, please do it this way if you can, should have mentioned it in the video. Mucho mas bueno!
This seems to be what many are doing these days but I always feel it's important to note that this is NOT standard. As Steve Woodyard said "Note that unlike an acoustic piano, the key is not to hit the guide rail felt washer or strip at the bottom of the keystroke. That felt is there for excessive key travel, to protect the key from being broken. If the key hits the guide felt before the hammer/pedestal stop lock action occurs, double-striking will occur"
ShadetreeKeys Hey Shadetree, I've heard that too. But the felt strip came much later in the production of the Rhodes. I don't remember the year off-hand but sometime in the mid-late 70's. So most people will not need to do this as the bulk of Rhodes already have a standard front rail felt arrangement. That's why I conclude in the video that Fender did this as a cost saving option rather than for any mechanical benefit.
There are several benefits to having a true front rail felt with punchings, but also many negatives to the felt strip. I'd honestly never thought about breaking keys factoring into either felting style but losing the hammer lock position is a great point. In my experience you would need to perform a crazy bad balance and front rail setup to lose it, but it is possible and something to definitely watch out for. Generally speaking though having a set travel for your keys will cause less stress on the parts, give a more consistent key play and you shouldn't hamper any of the hammer movement.
Thanks so much for your comment and share.
What is supposed to stop the key from travelling low enough to hit the guide rail felt?
@@ViddyWellyWellyWell the hammer
Thank you for posting this video! I will have to try this! I've been having a double stroke issue, anytime I hit a key twice, it mutes the second hit and its been driving me crazy! I kinda figured it had to do with balancing the keys, but just never knew how to do it.
Hey Scott, glad it helped! As far as key repetition goes there are several factors involved. The Rhodes action is especially poor at fast repetition of keys. A backcheck mod is often the most common solution. We don't like any of the current models out there and we're working on producing our own. But even without that mod, examining the travel of the keys, the distances between the dampers and tines and tines and hammers should help put your action in much better shape.
Of course changing the bridal straps (stretch them first) and making sure they are all taught is the easiest way to bring life back to your action if they are worn or sagging. Keep us posted, we're here to help!
Nope. He wasn't talking about the actual results of him doing the "mod" (maybe he was but I don't think so) he was just looking at the video. The second muting he is describing is the tip hitting a tine that was already in motion, thus the second hit acted as a damper. That or on some touches, the falling back of the cam touches a bump (mod or factory) just before the key falls back to a level where the key/cam cradle fit is how its should be. Problem: Bump to big. If it's a factory bump, there is a way to alleviate this double striking, but do not shave down the wooden bump. There is a better way.
Interesting thing is how my keys NEVER touch the front rail. Should action be adjusted so that the key press touches the felt?
Hey JL - sorry for the slow reply, just saw this. Ideally it's done as a way to limit over-travel. Some boards will be better than others. But generally on normal play with normal travel you want it to just lightly hit the front felt. In other cases it can be very corrective where it will play a very important role in getting consistency from one key to the next.
How do you fix stiff keys? I have a mark II 73 since I was a child and it needs some work. I know Vintage Vibe had some videos about it but most of them are private now :S
Well the most common approach is to use easing pliers. Which slightly compress the felt around the key pin, making the key move more freely. Others prefer specialty piano lubricants and some people still use graphite, which we don't love because it makes a mess. But it's also important to look for moisture damage which can cause the area around the key pin to swell or felt to become loose. In bad cases rebushing the keys is needed. I hope that helps, let us know if you have any other questions.
@@avionstudios6463 Sorry, I dont understand, theres no felt around the pins in my rhodes, same as yours as I see. There are felt rings at the bottom, like yours on the balancing pins
About the keys swelling, I live in an island and the old owner had it lying on an old house so maybe its from humidity. But the point that makes me think it again is that it becomes easier to play the higher you go in pitch.
Thanks for your fast answer!
@@112358miau Ah, sorry that wasn't clear, the felt that goes around the pins is glued in the keys and it's called key bushing felt. This felt being to tight around the key pins is often what makes action stiff or keys stick. Easing pliers are used on the felt lining the holes in the keys that the key pins go through.
my action on my mk 5 is real mushy and clunky. I guess its not an easy fix so ill just live with it
Does changing the rail felts and key shims correct the uneven key gap? Gaps between keys on my Rhodes are not equal, there are few wide gaps, so how is that corrected?
It does not. You can VERY slightly bend the balance rail pins left or right to achieve a better spacing. It may be the case that you have uneven gaps because they were slightly damaged over the years OR (and this is important) they were purposely bent because the keys did not line up properly with the hammers at the back of the key rail. The third option is that it just came that way from the factory....and while quality control was not Fender's forte...it was rarely that bad so it's mostly like the former two option.
And to add to this because it does play a role. The felt bushings around the pins also affect spacing. Unless you're doing a full refurb or have some water damage these are best left alone but occasionally the use of easing pliers (specialty pliers that are made to compress the rail pin bushings) can help the overall spacing of the keys. Hope that helps!