MAJUSCULE Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 I know some folks own either the Ken Rich or VV Rhodes stackers here, curious if anyone has tried building some themselves. My Rhodes is in my parents' basement, where it's been awaiting the Miracle Mod treatment for a while now (still not going over yet). I'm planning on building some acoustic panels with a friend once the weather lightens up and we can work in his garage with proper airflow. We've talked about the stackers before and he'd like to take a stab at making some as well. If I were buying, I'd be going for the double stack, as space is at a premium in my studio room. I would hope to be able to build a double as well (although I could probably get by with a single), but I'm mostly curious what people think in terms of weight and minimizing damage to the Rhodes. I know both Mr. Rich and VV swear they've got everything just right as far as stability and keeping the Rhodes free of any potential damage. Thoughts from the experts? Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 As someone who has purchased 3 sets of stackers from Ken Rich, my thoughts are, do as I did. They are worth the price of admission. Solid metal. No movement. No worries. One set just went to ProfD with the Rhodes piano he purchased from me. Maybe he will see this thread and have something to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 By the same token, if anyone has experience with both the KR and VV stackers and would like to offer a comparative opinion, by all means. Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Mike Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Back in the 70"s I built a flat-top replacement lid for my Mark I Stage. It was made from 1/4' plywood and fit very well. I seem to recall adding a strip or sheet of copper to the inside of the lid to reduce some of the hum, but I don"t remember the details. Prior to that I made a DIY stacker frame, also from wood. It straddled the wooden case of the piano and didn"t put any pressure on the plastic lid at all. Quote . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Oh, thanks Mike! The alternate case also sounds like a good idea, and maybe both easier and more versatile, if only potentially less aesthetically pleasing. Do you have any pictures of either setup? Quote Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Mike Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Sorry Eric, unfortunately I do not. It was a long time ago and I never thought about taking pictures for posterity. The 1/4" plywood fit well into the spaces used by the original plastic lid. The sides were straight upright, while the front and back were angled to match the original lid. It was tall enough to clear the harp but low enough to be packed with the lid. It was painted black. To an audience it was effectively invisible. Quote . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Those VV stackers trigger some kind of neat-rig OCD in me. For home use, my first thought would be simply to span it with a table-stand and use that stand's second tier as my third. For hacking the rig, I'd probably make some brackets for the sides of the cover and then run two bars lengthwise across the rig, roof-rack style. It wouldn't solve the third tier, but I feel like that might be easy to solve from there. Having said that, if you go with the crosswise stackers, I do have a 14-year-old 3D-printing aficionado who might be bribed to help out. Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvanmanen Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 By the same token, if anyone has experience with both the KR and VV stackers and would like to offer a comparative opinion, by all means. The Ken Rich stackers are heavier. I have heard some people say "over-engineered." I think if you are putting a small keyboard on top the VV ones are fine...but if you are putting a keyboard with more weight to it then I would definitely go with the Ken Rich ones. I have both the single- and double-tier rhodes ones and the wurlitzer ones. Very happy with the quality. You get what you pay for with Ken Rich. It was fairly common I believe for people to modify the lid of their case to an essentially a split-case design to have a flat top: http://www.fenderrhodes.com/history/dyno.html Quote Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer 200a, Clavinet D6, Clavinet-Pianet DUO, Pianet T, Pianet N, Hammond B3 Hammond SK1, Yamaha CP4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 As someone who has purchased 3 sets of stackers from Ken Rich, my thoughts are, do as I did. They are worth the price of admission. Solid metal. No movement. No worries. One set just went to ProfD with the Rhodes piano he purchased from me. Maybe he will see this thread and have something to say. I haven't tried the Ken Rich (KR) straddlers yet since the only other KBs I have are a 1) Korg SV-1 and 2) Yamaha Reface DX. Don't know that I'd want to stack the SV-1 at 40+ lbs on top of the Rhodes. The Reface DX is so small and light as a feather that it doesn't really require straddlers. Nonetheless, I'll test the KR straddlers and report back. Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 I like to DIY but then I thought about it and bought the Ken Rich stackers. I love them. They are so well done I just want to buy more even though I don't need them right now. Quote "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Don't know that I'd want to stack the SV-1 at 40+ lbs on top of the Rhodes. Arp String Ensembles weigh 50 lbs. Hohner Clavinets weigh 70 pounds. I believe I may have seen these on a Rhodes once or twice back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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