The way a Rhodes makes a tone is similar to a tuning fork – where two ends of a metal fork vibrate to produce a frequency. On a Rhodes specifically, instead of two ends the same size there is a larger tone bar and a smaller wire-like tine. Due to their weight these form the pitch of a note and this is amplified through a pickup to form the sound. On the tine there is a small coil which can be adjusted forwards or backwards, and doing so will change the pitch flat or sharp. We are therefore able to adjust the tuning of the Rhodes by finely adjusting this coil.
There are two methods to tuning. The first is to use a slotted tool and adjusts the coil with the harp in the piano. The note can be played and adjustments can be made quickly. The other method is to lift the harp so it rests upwards, and to use a slotted tool to adjust the coil while plucking the note.
The coil is usually situated towards the pickup end of the tine. Moving the coil toward the tine will make it flat, and away from it sharp. Think ‘forward, flat” to help remember this. The coil only needs to be moved very slightly to adjust the pitch, and it is very easy to shift the coil so the note becomes extremely out of tune. Patience and trial and error will resolve this. Or you can ask us to do it for you.
It is worth noting that because tines in the bass are longer and in the treble shorter, the treble tines can have an extremely fine adjustment for tuning. And contrastingly, while the bass tines are easier to tune in theory, the pitch will change depending on how hard the note is struck. While this is part of the much loved Rhodes ‘bark’ sound, it can be challenging to know which velocity to tune the note too. Our advice is the tuning is more noticeable when the piano is played quietly, and the detuning is more forgivable on louder notes, so we tune the bass while playing softly.
This all sounds quite complex, and to a certain extent it is. But the good news is once a Rhodes is tuned it should stay that way for many years. In a tuning session usually only a mild to moderate tuning adjustment is needed during a service unless the piano has seen extremes in heat/humidity or it’s been decades since it was looked at. Compare this to a piano which needs tuning at least every year.
Once again, feel free to try it but once again be mindful that the amount the coil on the tine needs to move is very small to rapidly change the tuning. Then there is the issue of stretch tuning which we have another article about. Having tuned acoustic pianos for many years we can stretch-tune our Rhodes to give them that brilliant wider sound that only a slightly sharper treble can provide.
