[sdiy] [OT] Fender Rhodes Pickup Wiring

[Michael Zacherl]

On 14.May 2016, at 3:51 , Michael E Caloroso <mec.forumreader at gmail.com> wrote:

> As far as noisy Rhodes go, they are sensitive to impedances of inputs.
> Too many preamps and DI boxes do not have high enough impedance.  I
> got the best tone using a Countryman Type 10 DI box which has an input
> impedance of 10M, and the noise dropped way down.

wow, that’s good specs - but also at a significant price point. (no surprise!)
But compared to what I got here in the test setup, I can do better for less.
Maybe DIY - let’s see. :)
Then again wouldn’t the setup be more sensitive to stray signals/crosstalk?

> Definitely use the later wiring for pickups.

ok, and if I spun the idea of the change even further and replaced the triplets with pairs of pick-ups?

Thanks - Michael.

> On 5/12/16, Michael Zacherl <sdiy-mz01 at blauwurf.info> wrote:
>> Hi, I just found that I know little to nothing about pick-ups as used on
>> guitars and in e-Pianos.
>> 
>> I dug through some papers and found the wiring scheme for a Fender Rhodes
>> 73.
>> 
>> On the bottom of page 27 of this PDF
>> http://www.synthfool.com/docs/Other_Misc/Rhodes_Servicemanual.pdf (Thanks
>> Kevin! R.I.P.)
>> 
>> it says
>> "Later, basic voltage output was quadrupled by changing the series/parallel
>> arrangement as shown in Figure 10-4.
>> This change can be made on any of the older Pianos simply by re-routing the
>> bus wires as shown in Figure 10-5. The output impedance then becomes
>> approximately 2500 ohms.”
>> 
>> Looking more closely to the change (I’d love to see betters scans, sorry!)
>> 
>> http://www.fenderrhodes.com/org/manual/fig10-3.gif
>> 
>> http://www.fenderrhodes.com/org/manual/fig10-4.gif
>> 
>> I wonder how the summed up output voltage gets this 4x increase?
>> 
>> Also what are the pros/cons of wiring those coils in parallel and/or serial
>> configuration?
>> I did some experiments with the guts of an abandoned Rhodes and found the
>> levels very low and the whole thing very noisy.
>> 
>> BTW, one pick-up has a DC resistance of about 175Ω.
>> If I could rewire the pickups completely, what would you recommend?