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 a certain point in its cycle it can break the vibration of the tine and ‘kill’ or ‘choke’ the sound. It’s usually only noticed when the pedal is down because in non-sustained playing the damper will deaden the note before it is struck again.
Can it be improved?
Whilst this limitation is somewhat inherent in the Rhodes design, it can be lessened somewhat by lowering the escapement so there is less distance between the time and the string. This will reduce the amount of distance the hammer has to travel and so can catch the tine at a different place in its oscillation. This is only up to a point though, and if escapement is too low the hammer will get stuck to the damper. Sometimes the choking can also happen when the pedal mechanism when set up incorrectly; which, as anyone who plays a rhodes knows, happens all the time!
If tines are very old and or defective, they may sway and wobble around during their oscillations. A properly working tine should almost directly vibrate up and down when it is struck, so theres a good chance this tine may need replacing. This could help with the choking problem too to a degree as the side-to-side motion of the tine can choke the sound when struck. This phenomenon is more noticeable more in the bass as the tines oscillate longer and wider.
Limitations in the Design
These points aside, fundamentally it’s just byproduct of the Rhodes design, which has a much simpler action than an acoustic piano or a Wurlitzer. In fact it’s so simple that the hammer is thrown towards the tine by the key itself, no middle action at all. This is partly what makes the Rhodes so servicable to musicians that don’t have a huge amount of technical knowledge. It also helped speed up production and keep the price and weight down. Believe it or not these instruments were designed to be portable!
Ultimately this limitation is partly what makes the incredible rhodes sound. I’ve learned from personal experience that playing a rhodes like a piano (i.e. over-relying on the sustain pedal) doesn’t really work on a real Rhodes. Having a rhodes-like sound on a Nord or Yamaha keyboard can create expectations of what a Rhodes should feel like, only to lead to disappointment. One of the key parts of the Rhodes sound is how it feels when you play it and therefore how that varies your style. Listening to Herbie Hancock for example play piano and then Rhodes and seeing quite how different his playing style can be is food for thought.
Conclusion
Rhodes are not acoustic pianos, nor are they keyboards. It it that golden age of electromechanical engineering in keyboard instruments where piano-like beginnings were given electric potential. They have a unique design which frankly is not great for repeated notes that are sustained with the pedal down. In turn these and other limitations made the players on all the classic records we know and love adapt and play differently. This is true for the Rhodes action as a whole, but notably in certain batches (1971/72 Fender Rhodes for example) where the action can be extremely spongy or heavy. Installing the bump mod or ‘miracle mod’ on the key pedestal can help to alleviate this, as can adjusting the lost motion of the dampers.
Ultimately only by playing a real Rhodes will a musician adapt to this limitation, and therefore play more authentically on the real thing. A Rhodes isn’t perfect, no doubt, but we love it anyway. Happy playing!