Getting a Good Rhodes sound?

This thread has gotten me waxing nostalgic for my rhodes. I think I will fix it this weekend. Its been tore apart on my living room floor for a month now.
 
saxman72 said:

Yeah, now that I've been listening to a lot of rhodes stuff, it's apparent that distortion or overdrive is NOT a big part of the sound. Funny huh? Most of the bite is actually just a result of hitting the tines hard.

My biggest challenge is going to be getting the note balance better... Some hammers are not in as good of shape as others and there's a range in the upper half that just jumps out. Anyone know of a source for rhodes parts?
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I got the pickup I needed off of ebay. There are a couple of people on there that part out old rhodes that are beyond repair. Also, http://www.fenderrhodes.org/rhodes/supersite/ has a ton of great info, includeing shcematics, service manuals, and parts sources.
 
Bdgr said:
I got the pickup I needed off of ebay. There are a couple of people on there that part out old rhodes that are beyond repair. Also, http://www.fenderrhodes.org/rhodes/supersite/ has a ton of great info, includeing shcematics, service manuals, and parts sources.
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Cool! Thanks for that info. I'll look into it for sure.

BTW... with people talking about hurting themselves playing the damn rhodes... I heard/read somewhere that there used to be a popular mod that was done to brighten the output. Maybe that's what we're hearing sometimes and NOT someone striking the keys with a rubber mallet to get every ounce of bite out of it... Anyways, tendinitis is not a musician's friend, and niether is carpal tunnel.
 
saxman72 said:
Cool! Thanks for that info. I'll look into it for sure.

BTW... with people talking about hurting themselves playing the damn rhodes... I heard/read somewhere that there used to be a popular mod that was done to brighten the output. Maybe that's what we're hearing sometimes and NOT someone striking the keys with a rubber mallet to get every ounce of bite out of it... Anyways, tendinitis is not a musician's friend, and niether is carpal tunnel.
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Yeah the Dyno my piano mod, there are instructions on the net for doing this yourself. But I like mine the way it is. I never got tendinitis or carpel tunnel....yet.

But I p;lay just as a agressivly on a regular piano as the rhodes. I cant help it, especially live, I just get into it....
 
I've got the studio 73 with the huge speaker cab. I go direct from the preamp outputs and get a good sound. I've also slid all of the pickups closer to the tines for that funky sound. Have you tried that? It gives it more of that Wurlitzer sound.
 
true, true. My personal fav is Ray Charles. If you haven't heard it, give a listen to to "Rainy Night in Georgia" - that's the stuff :D
 
By the..

I reread the thread and are you sure your not looking for the SD funky sound of a Wurly? and not a Rhodes?
 
alternative approach

are you taling about getting the smooooth Fender Rhodes electric piano sound?
Well, I have recently listened to a wonderful track by "Zero7" who also use a Fender Rhodes. I loved it so much that I tried to get this sound out of my gear. Here's an alternative appoach you might consider: I have a Korg MS-2000R and an Oxygen8 midi controller. With the MS2000 preset C08 and a little bit of tweaking the knobs on the synths, I can EXACTLY reproduce the Fender Rhodes piano sound. Sounds awesome! :-)
 
Krakit said:
The Oxy8 only has 25 keys. What good is a Rhodes sound with only 25 keys?
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I am not really "playing" on this keyboard/synth combination (I have other synths where I play on). I only use it to program some background sound.
 
For a good rhodes sound from a digital, the General Music Real Piano Pro series cant be beat
 
Here's a bit o' work in progress I started about a week ago with the stock Rayz Roadz preset on my little Alesis QS 6.1. No EQ in the mix yet (don't have all the tracks laid in yet), just a bit o' reverb. Until I can afford the real thing, this is what I've been working with.



In case anybody comments, the open hihat in the beginning is just a quazi-click track - I'll be taking it out when the tracks are all in.
 
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