Preamp for a Fender Rhodes

[Bernardduur]

I want to push the signal from a Fender Rhodes a bit so I can amplify it with a normal amplifier..... What are good preamps to build for such a project? Also, will the preamp schematics on Run Off Groove work?

[Mark Hammer]

There is a website with preamp schematics for all the Rhodes models.  Perhaps you can figure out what to change internally to do what you need?

[Bernardduur]

You don't know the page anymore?? I am searching but can't really find it.

[Mark Hammer]

I've been able to find this: http://www.fenderrhodes.com/pdf/late-mark2-preamp.pdf

But I'm still searching.  If neither of us finds anything, I'll try and send you a zipfile of the schematics I was able to get later today or tomorrow.  I have them at home, but unfortunateloy there is this "job" I go to every day,  and that's where I am at the moment.

[Bernardduur]

Yes, I also found that one, but it has no "gain" knob (because it needs to be overdriven).

If you could, please send the file...... I will also search a bit......
Jobs are always a good place to search I am a nightwatch for example; nothing to do for the whole night



The rhodes stage (for someone that does not know) is a passive instrument that works like a guitar; the output is the same and has the same controls (bass and volume). With this preamp he wants more "oumph" and more clarity......

[Mark Hammer]

Since we can't find the inside of the Rhodes at the moment, let's discuss substitutes. 

The thing about piano keyboards is that they can have huge output amplitudes.  The Rhodes is not a limited-voice synth.  It can have all of its key banged on hard at once, generating a huge output.  What this means is that the sort of preamps you see at ROG are probably not very well suited for it, since they are designed to break up under minimally stressed conditions.  The Rhodes will stress them severely.

It seems to me that you'll want:
a) something that use a higher-than-9v power supply for more headroom (and preferably a bipolar supply)
b) something that does not demand too much gain from one single stage
c) something that is intended for clean amplification with NO coloration.

[Bernardduur]

Ah, OK, I did not know this......

I am learning every day

[Eb7+9]

I go straight off my Rhodes PU and into an Ampeg V4 or a Traynor Reverb-Master and then Leslie - that PU signal is plenty strong ... I found the std Satellite preamp too noisy aside from ground loop issues with the powered speakers ... if you're going to a power amp then just about any good bass-pre will do // just a matter of choosing between one with mid-scooped eq (like the 360) and one without ...

jc

[Bernardduur]

A little update;

I build Albert Kreuzer's JFET Bass Preamp and this little one works like it suppose. Great fat sound, OD possibility and more stability in the signal.

Check here. I run it on 15 and -15V (for + and -)

[ErikMiller]

My Stage Seventy-Three sounds great through a Jack Orman MOSFET Boost. Pretty much what is needed if using it with a tube guitar amp.

[Bernardduur]

I already tried that after reading another post, but it did not give the desired effect; I missed the compression / warmth of it.