Fender Rhodes Hookup?
brian sorbo
A very non-technical, very non-local friend has scored a mint Fender
Rhodes 'Seventy-Three'. She asked me about the connecting it to an amp,
and I took a brief look at it, but was unable to find any power cord or
labelled output. There was a 1/4 inch unbalanced socket on the front
surface that was labelled 'Input.' What kind of critter does she have
here? Is that really an input? I took the top plastic clamshell cover
off and exposed the hammers and the sound mechanism (very cool) but was
unable to find anything other than an RCA connection that was tied to
the front 'Input' and and the rotary pots for volume and base. (IIRC).
It does need power, right? Or is it somehow just passively modulating
an input signal?
I remember seeing a couple of these back in the day, but I wasn't
looking at hookups.
I would appreciate any help.
Brian
Preben Friis
Preben Friis
> A very non-technical, very non-local friend has scored a mint Fender
> Rhodes 'Seventy-Three'. She asked me about the connecting it to an amp,
> and I took a brief look at it, but was unable to find any power cord or
> labelled output. There was a 1/4 inch unbalanced socket on the front
> surface that was labelled 'Input.' What kind of critter does she have
> here? Is that really an input? I took the top plastic clamshell cover
> off and exposed the hammers and the sound mechanism (very cool) but was
> unable to find anything other than an RCA connection that was tied to
> the front 'Input' and and the rotary pots for volume and base. (IIRC).
> It does need power, right? Or is it somehow just passively modulating
> an input signal?
Sorry for the other blank post...
The Fender Rhodes 73 does not require any power. The pickups works the same
way as a guitar pickup.
I don't know who labled the 1/4 inch socket "input" because it is the
output..
http://emusician.com/ar/emusic_fender_rhodes_stage/
/Preben Friis
bobpopp
remember what went where (we'll call those people professionals....) as
in they want all plugs to match where they go not what they mean....
input to input and speaker to speaker, hand to mouth........
some rhodes had a 4 pin that went to a amp... this isn't one of those is
there a case? are there any extra legs?
bp.
John Noll
Just plug a 1/4" jack from the "input" jack to an amp, just like you
would a guitar.
The "input" jack is really an output. Don't know why they labeled them
as such.
--
John Noll
Retromedia Sound Studios
Red Bank, NJ 07701
Phone: 732-842-3853 Fax: 732-842-5631
Guitarboy
<jn...@verizon.net> wrote:
Are you sure this isnt the top of a suitcase model? Maybe the amps
missing. Also, didnt the rhodes need power for its vibrato and wasnt
there a pre amp in it?
Preben Friis
"Guitarboy" <Guit...@stringalong.com> wrote in message
news:171020021017530606%Guit...@stringalong.com...
> Are you sure this isnt the top of a suitcase model? Maybe the amps
> missing. Also, didnt the rhodes need power for its vibrato and wasnt
> there a pre amp in it?
The 'Seventy-Three' (73) model which the author of this thread stated is
was.. is not a top of a Rhodes Suitcase ..
The 73 model is passive and has no vibrator and no preamp... The Mark III
(and II?) does... but they require power as well..
/Preben Friis
Justin Ulysses Morse
It has a front panel with a 1/4" jack marked "input" (which is the
passive output) and knobs for volume and bass. These instruments are
entirely passive and don't use any power at all. Their outputs are
similar to an electric guitar.
ulysses
In article <3DAE6B00...@attbi.com>, brian sorbo
initialsBB
> The 'Seventy-Three' (73) model which the author of this thread stated is
> was.. is not a top of a Rhodes Suitcase ..
>
> The 73 model is passive and has no vibrator and no preamp... The Mark III
> (and II?) does... but they require power as well..
>
> /Preben Friis
Huh. I have a Rhodes that says "Seventy-Three" on it. It sits on top
of a big speaker cabinet (I can never remember which is stage and
which is suitcase). The side of the cabinet has a power cable, light
and switch to turn on the amp/preamp. There is a multi-pin cable
coming out of the cabinet that goes into the front of the keyboard
taking the pickup output down to the preamp and presumably bringing
power up to the vibrato circuit. The jacks are in fact labeled in a
counter-intuitive fashion.
Anyway, I can imagine that if I didn't have the cab the upper portion
would be very confusing and I wouldn't know how to get any signal out
of it. I'm no rhodes expert but I'm guessing that's what's happened
here.
If that's the case I'm thinking the best bet would be to run a cable
directly from the internal rca jack coming out of the pickups into a
guitar amp.
bobpopp
dampening mechanism in the frame... key numbers 73 or 88 is not a factor
just stage has to have this feature, the others are always called
suitcases...
bp
i could be wrong!
Justin Ulysses Morse
ulysses
In article <3DAFBCCA...@noneofyerbiznez.snot>, bobpopp
Craig Patterson
The 73 was available as a stage or suitcase. If the control panel
looks like this:
http://www.fenderrhodes.org/rhodes/supersite/pictures/stage1c.jpg
It's a stage, and should be connected to the amp via a 1/4" cable
plugged into the jack marked "input".
If the panel has three knobs (with concentric rings), like this:
http://www.fenderrhodes.org/rhodes/supersite/archive/br_1972_p3.jpg
It's an early suitcase model, and can't be used without some
modification. If it looks like this:
http://www.fenderrhodes.org/rhodes/supersite/pictures/suit3.jpg
It's a later suitcase, and also can't be used with no amp without some
modification.
Further questions, please e-mail me directly.
-Craig
Visit PME Records at http://www.pmerecords.com
The RAP Audio Restoration CD is now shipping - see it at http://www.pmerecords.com/AudioRestore.htm
~ rob ~
Y'know, every so often I just gotta say what a **hell of thing** the
internet is.
I mean, look at the wonderful data has been posted here for Brian to check
out! How the hell would he have got all this data ten years ago, let alone
at the speed it has gathered here?
I owned several of these keyboards, at one time they were so worthless I
threw the last one in a dumpster.
I get a chuckle out of contemporary synths that have the Rhodes sound (tho
they do not call it by that [copyrighted?] name); I chuckle because some
synths even duplicate the 'buzz' sound you get on a Rhodes when you hit the
lower keys to hard, what a tribute!
Ray Charles usually performs with one, I think he sees no reason to change.
For Ray, I agree, as we all must now go listen to his version of What I
Say...
-rjc-
Fill X
>
In the last ten years I've always seen him play a sampling piano or a real one.
P h i l i p
______________________________
"I'm too fucking busy and vice-versa"
- Dorothy Parker
NAWCC member 0151958
~ rob ~
Fill X <moth...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20021018215806...@mb-fb.aol.com...
> >Ray Charles usually performs with one, I think he sees no reason to
change.
> >
>
> In the last ten years I've always seen him play a sampling piano or a real
one.
>
>
> P h i l i p
>
> ______________________________
Did you catch any of the ones in Vancouver?
________________________
MacKerr
change.
> >
>
> In the last ten years I've always seen him play a sampling piano or a real
one.
>
>
> P h i l i p
>
> ______________________________
You've seen all 1000 gigs?
Did you catch any of the ones in Vancouver? >><BR><BR>
The few times I have had to fulfill his rider in the last 10 years it specified
a Steinway grand and a KX88. He only seems to play the Steinway on a few songs,
it doesn't have pitch bend:)
Mac
Roger W. Norman
has no speakers, the Stage does. I always thought they named them
backwards, though.
Poor Harold. Nobody even remembers how to hook up the worlds most famous
electric piano?
--
Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
Ro...@SirMusicStudio.com
301-585-4681
Send your RAP CD submissions to:
SirMusic Studio
10 Hamilton Avenue
Silver Spring, MD
20901-3411
"initialsBB" <britain...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:e21d882.02101...@posting.google.com...
Roger W. Norman
sat on, or better known as the Stage 73/88. The Suitcase has a pedal with a
metal rod.
--
Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
Ro...@SirMusicStudio.com
301-585-4681
Send your RAP CD submissions to:
SirMusic Studio
10 Hamilton Avenue
Silver Spring, MD
20901-3411
"Justin Ulysses Morse" <uly...@rollmusic.com> wrote in message
news:181020020647294565%uly...@rollmusic.com...
Roger W. Norman
He gave up on the Rhodes years ago when these new digital pianos really
started sounding pretty good. I don't blame him. Would that I could, I'd
haul my Kurzweil Ensemble Grand around with me but it's a couple of hundred
pounds. Harmonica, anyone? <g>
--
Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
Ro...@SirMusicStudio.com
301-585-4681
Send your RAP CD submissions to:
SirMusic Studio
10 Hamilton Avenue
Silver Spring, MD
20901-3411
" ~ rob ~" <dontsen...@nothing.com> wrote in message
news:sJ2s9.567880$f05.23...@news1.calgary.shaw.ca...
Harvey Gerst
>The difference is whether it's a Stage 73 or a Suitcase 73. The Suitcase
>has no speakers, the Stage does. I always thought they named them
>backwards, though.
>
>Poor Harold. Nobody even remembers how to hook up the worlds most famous
>electric piano?
In all fairness to Harold Rhodes, Leo Fender got involved with the Stage 73, and
Leo's ideas were pretty strange as far as piano amplifiers were concerned. At
one point, he suggested (very strongly) that Harold should use an 8" speaker in
that huge speaker cabinet. Designing speakers was not one of Leo's greatest
strengths. Other than getting involved with the Stage cabinet and electronics,
Leo usually left Harold pretty much alone.
Since we wern't in the main Fender complex (we were in a quonset hut, on the
other side of the tracks, behind the other Fender quonset huts), we didn't get
many visitors.
Harvey Gerst
Indian Trail Recording Studio
http://www.ITRstudio.com/
Chuck Anderson
the original record of What'd I say.
Tom Paterson
>I may be mistaken, but it sounds to me like Ray played a Wurlitzer on
>the original record of What'd I say.
>
There was a Quincy Jones special on TV awhile back in which Mr. Jones said that
people laughed at Ray's Wurlitzer until he had a hit with What'd I Say.
--Tom Paterson
Danny Caccavo
dusto...@aol.comnospam (Tom Paterson) wrote:
Yes, but those old wurlitzers (the wooden case) sounded a lot different
than the plastic ones.
dc
--
Danny Caccavo
dcac...@nyc.rr.com
"For your information, it IS a baby eagle"
Tom Paterson
>Yes, but those old wurlitzers (the wooden case) sounded a lot different
>than the plastic ones.
Thanks, don't have a clear recollection of a wood-case Wool-itzer. Did they
break reeds which could fall into the wrong place and require emergency
clearing measures like the plastic-outside ones? After said reed cracked and
sounded awful first?
--Tom Paterson
Danny Caccavo
dusto...@aol.comnospam (Tom Paterson) wrote:
Much mellower sounding, at times almost Rhodes like. I never saw one
that had been abused, so I can't attest to the broken tine problem.
Roger W. Norman
doesn't, which is why I thought they named them backwards. Regardless, a
bear to lug around when you only weigh 135 lbs yourself! <g>
--
Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio
Ro...@SirMusicStudio.com
301-585-4681
Send your RAP CD submissions to:
SirMusic Studio
10 Hamilton Avenue
Silver Spring, MD
20901-3411
"Harvey Gerst" <har...@ITRstudio.com> wrote in message
news:37AD9403798FCCDD.D416CFDF...@lp.airnews.net...
Dave Martin
--
Dave Martin
DMA, Inc.
Nashville, TN
"Roger W. Norman" <rno...@starpower.net> wrote in message
news:ap0s7v$87p$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
: Actually, I think I named them backwards. Suitcase has speakers, the
TAPKAE
Suitcase: Speaker cabinet.
Stage: Piano only.
The input is the output. Sort of Escher-esque, I know. Its just like a
guitar. You can bypass the knobs and take a feed right from the RCA jack.
Just make it easy and rewire the RCA line to the 1/4" jack and bypass the
knobs. I hear you get a snappier tone. I guess there is some knob-based
attenuation if you leave it stock and doing the mod gets something back.
Its been a while since I read about it. I have a Stage model here and its
fat sounding (with an "F"). I have thought about doing the mod and running
it straight off the pickups to a preamp/channel device. I don't happen to
trust myself enough though...
e
--
http://tapkae.com
Buy my CD. Its good.
Checkerboard Strangler
He gave up on the Rhodes years ago when these new digital pianos really
started sounding pretty good. I don't blame him. Would that I could, I'd
haul my Kurzweil Ensemble Grand around with me but it's a couple of hundred
pounds. Harmonica, anyone? <g>
------It's also important to note that while Ray still plays some of his
classic faves
with a Rhodes "sound", much of his styling continues to evolve.
Don't look for a symphony version of "What I Say", but Ray is by no means
stuck in the past.
With regard to the Rhodes (Suitcase), I hope that you will find the
following helpful.
The Stage Piano's "INPUT" jack label was a misnomer. It's actually the
"OUTPUT".
Treat it the way you would an electric guitar.
NOTE: On the suitcase, a stereo output jack doubles as a headphone jack or
as a stereo output, depending on the impedance and input gain of your amp.
Your mileage may vary.
For a sample of a Rhodes Suitcase being played through a chorus/tremolo
effects box,
try this link:
http://geocities.com/jhaas84_2000/LeonLive3.html (Cotton Boogie)
I'm not about to defend the recording quality, it was done on the spur of
the moment,
pretty much as an afterthought.....aaagh, those bar band days when we were
kids...!
This is one of those "free" websites, so it is easy to exceed the bandwidth
limit....
if the site is temporarily disabled, please try later!
From the Rhodes Supersite:
All suitcase systems had the power amp(s) and the system's power supply
housed in the enclosure. In the Jordan and the 80W systems the power amps
and the power supplies were in separate chassis. The 100W system had both on
the one big heatsink mounted to the side of the enclosure.
The Jordan and the 80W used rotary controls for volume, treble, bass and
vibrato rate and depth.
The 80W had the treble/bass and vibrato intensity/speed were concentric (one
inside the other) sets of controls.
The 100W had volume as a rotary and treble and bass were left to right slide
controls. The vibrato turned on by a switch and the speed and intensity were
rotary controls.
The pre-amp cable for the 80W system used a 4-pin DIN cable (sometimes the
center rivet is confused as a 5th pin). The pre-amp end of the cable was a
right angle Switchcraft connector (German PREH). The power amp side was
originally a four blade Cinch-Jones connector and was later changed to the
straight, with locking ring, Switchcraft connector.
PIN layout:
1 = Red, +25V DC
2 = Green or clear, ch 1 pre-amp signal out
3 = Green or clear, ch 2 pre-amp signal out
4 = Black ground
The pre-amp cable for the 100W system used a 5-pin cable with a right angle
Switchcraft XLR type on the pre-amp end and a straight Switchcraft connector
on the amp end.
PIN layout:
1 = gnd
2 = -15V DC
3 = Ch. 1 pre-amp output
4 = Ch. 2 pre-amp output
5 = +15V DC
Respectfully,
JeffH