i'm in a similar pickle.

i just got a rhodes that has about 6 keys that sound far too quiet. the store said 8 pickups should be replaced, and knocked the price down to $400. they told me i could order them from speakeasy music in dover pa if i could find someone to put them in. a guy who works at the store, who's an acquaintance who lives nearby, said he could probably do it (though i don't think he's worked on a rhodes before). i called up speakeasy, who specialize in rhodes repair, thinking maybe i should just bring it in for the repair, they said it wouldn't do anything less than a total overhaul (which they insist any rhodes needs) that would take 12 weeks and $1200-1800. as for doing anything less than a total overhaul, they said "you might as well open your window and throw out your rhodes and your money". they repeated this last line.

i feel like they are being bullies, a red flag that they are rip-offs. i found out the distributor that sells them the pickups, so i could order them from major key, but do you think that my friends who do guitar repair will be able to replace the rhodes pickups without messing it up?

or should i just try to take it back to the store and get my money back?

I'd bring it back. I don't know about your market but I sold a Fender/Rhodes in excellent playable condition but without the amp and legs for $400 last year. I see them going anywhere from 400-1200 around here.

They are quite easy to work on, we have three here and one's used for parts. Otherwise the parts are readily available at Vintage Vibe and other sites.

Anyone who can work on a guitar can work on a Rhodes. Speakeasy sound like they're full of shit. How do they know what condition your piano is in? How do they know it hasn't already been set up how you like and just has a couple of broken coils?

Actually, if the keys are sounding but are not loud enough then it's probably actually the pickup gap or tine alignment that needs adjusting. The pickups in mine are wired in series in groups, so if all the keys that sound funny are together it's probably just one pickup to replace.

I don't think I'd give it back, but those things are a lot more expensive in the UK it seems. I don't remember the last time I saw a good one for less than £7-800. If the action and tone feel good to you and it's in tune, you probably have about an hours work and the cost of the parts to get it rocking. If you want to change anything else about it it could take a day or two of tinkering, plus the parts.

If the problem is mechanical, like certain keys seem clunky or dead, you might be able to have a piano tuner look at it. I have a wurlitzer 112A and I downloaded the manual for free online somewhere. It give instructions for an expirienced piano tuner to follow. I guess the action is very similiar to a grand piano. The manual is not a crash course in piano repair, but someone expirienced would be able to set the action properly, if the problem is mechanical. It also includes the schematics, so thats a plus. Whatever you do, do not take it to DelTronics i n Chicago. They gave mine more clunk, and then told me to buy a newer model so it would be easier for THEM to work on it. What about the challenge, fucks?

I have one that had a bad buzz. Ended up doing a cap job on it and it's definitely quieter. I'd even deem it to be "recordable" now. (The buzz was way too loud before.)

I should mention that I watched a friend of mine hang his face over the first batch of replacement-electrolytics and turn it on. One exploded right in his face. Directly. Square in the eye.

He was wearing safety glasses. But god damn......