Over time the pickups in Rhodes pianos are prone to failure, especially if your Rhodes has suffered damp or water damage. There is also a certain batch of pickups in late Mark I and Mark II pianos which have a white sleeve around them. Unfortunately these pickups are notorious for failing. In any case, the […]

One of the limitations of the Rhodes is when the pedal is down and when a key is repeatedly played the note can often deaden or ‘choke’. this is because when the tine is struck by the hammer the tine vibrates in a up and down motion, and when the hammer strikes the tine at […]

essentially not a huge amount, they are both the same instrument with the same type of action mechanism and tines, but the differences are the year they were built, and some components inside which create a different tone quality. Harold Rhodes’s company collaborated with Fender, which helped manufacture the pianos from the era of 1970 […]

It a classic Rhodes problem, your Rhodes sounded great but now its sounding dull and lifeless. For such an instrument that in many ways is quite a simple design, it’s funny how the the changes in sound can be so dramatic. This issue could be down to many things, so we’ll start with simpler and […]

Sometimes playing a Rhodes can be hard work! Compared to acoustic pianos with weighted wooden keys, and modern keyboards with springed keys; the Rhodes fits somewhere in the middle. But why is it sometimes so heavy? Great question, and it has to do with the design of the key and the action, which I’ll explain […]

This is a common issue that affects all Rhodes pianos at some point. This could be one of a number of issues, here are some places to start: (Note: if unsure of any of these terms, consult the Glossary.) Remove the lid and inspect the harp where the problem is Rhodes lids are easy to remove, in […]