Giving my RD-1000 a tuneup

[Justin Havu]

I was going to post this in the discussion about DP actions, but I figured I'd just give it its own thread.

 

So, my beloved RD-1000's Eb4 key started sticking this past Sunday.  Wasn't sure why, so I decided to investigate.

 

Here is the inside of the RD.  4 screws on each side underneath, and one screw on each end cap, near the front.  Then the whole top lifts up.  That part was easy.  What isn't pictured here is the front felt rail, the metal lid that covers the contact board, and the keybed locking bar, as I had just taken those off.

 

 

Here, you can see the incredibly simple action.  There are various pins along the back of the piano that some of the keys slot into.  The culprit for the sticking Eb4 key was that the rear pin was rubbing right against the matching notch in the key.  Solution: bend that rear pin to the center, ever so slightly. 

 

 

 

While I had the piano open, I then decided to remove all of the keys, clean up any dust/debris in the bottom of the piano (there was a lot of it), then gently wipe down each key to get rid of any clumps of dust.)

 

 

 

 

Now, all that's left is to figure out why the right output is dead, (works fine with just the left/mono out), but since I'm not very good at soldering, I'll leave it alone for now.  

 

After the cleaning, though, the piano plays a lot smoother than before.  

[Reezekeys]

Not too much plastic in that action! Nice. Are those key contacts leaf switches? that's what it looks like. I have an MKS20, haven't turned it on in a while though. Glad you got your issue fixed.

[Justin Havu]

Yes, they are leaf switches.

 

I'll never forget the day I got this beast.  I found it at a shop in Manchester, NH.  They wanted $400 for it, with a hardshell case and the pedal unit.  No stand, though.    

 

I probably played it for a good 15-20 minutes, then the sales guy offered it to me for $275.  Of course, I couldn't say no.  As soon as we got all 140+ lbs of piano and hardshell case into the back of my friend's car, the sales guy said, and I quote, "I never wanna see this piano again!"  To which I thought, "Don't worry, you won't!"  I'll be holding on to this bad boy for a good long time.

[zephonic]

Dope, thanks for sharing! Wooden keys in a controller, what a concept!

 

I still regret not getting it last year. I'd be seriously tempted if I found one in good condition.

[ABECK]

She's a beaut.  Your story is funny, as the RD-1000 is one of those boards I'd buy if I could find one locally for cheap.  I keep an eye on FB Marketplace and Reverb.  Unlikely, but you never know.

We had one in the studio I worked at in the late 90s.  By then, the sound had gone WAY out of favor, but the feel was amazing, with a great finger to ear connection.  Now-adays, I actually like the sound, not as a faithful piano, but for the way it fits in a mix.  Elton John can't be all that crazy.

[Justin Havu]

Being a huge Elton fan, that was the other reason I couldn't pass it up.  Eventually, I'd like to hunt down a matching stand.  As dated as it is, it just has a cool look to it.

 

All is well, except the velocity is a bit out of whack.  I think that'll be a matter of adjusting the height of the contacts.

[Dockeys]

Seeing as a lot of people rave about the touch have any of you tried it as a controller? Using it for pianoteq or any of the big sampled pianos?

[Justin Havu]

The one major issue it has, is that it sends out an All-Notes-Off MIDI CC when all keys are released.  I still haven't found a workaround for this.  Other than that, it's a great controller.

[Rofox]

6 hours ago, justin_havu said:

The one major issue it has, is that it sends out an All-Notes-Off MIDI CC when all keys are released.  I still haven't found a workaround for this.  Other than that, it's a great controller.

I use an old Function Junction 16 in 16 out midi merge which will filter out note off messages amongst others. 

[Justin Havu]

I was thinking about getting a MIDI patchbay like that Function Junction.  Doesn't seem like anything I'm coming across allows for filtering specific MIDI CC's.

[cassdad]

I bought my RD-1000 brand new from Japan, shipped to where I was at the time (Saudi Arabia) in 1988.  Sold it for almost nothing in the early 2000’s.  Loved it, but as some said, it’s sound had gone “out of favor”, and it was just such a heavy beast that I couldn’t even move it from room to room, never mind take it out on a gig.  But I did love it, though, and occasionally miss it - because I had written some songs on it that just don’t sound the same played on my more modern keys.  Go figure.

[Justin Havu]

I've taken mine out on a few gigs just recently.  It's just so pleasing to play, no matter how dated it may sound.

 

Also, I don't mind lugging a heavy board around--it keeps me in shape!

[Reezekeys]

11 hours ago, cassdad said:

But I did love it, though, and occasionally miss it - because I had written some songs on it that just don’t sound the same played on my more modern keys.

 

There are plugins for that!

[Justin Havu]

I've got the UVI KeySuite, that has the RD/MKS sounds.  They're very close to the original, but not quite there.

[zephonic]

1 hour ago, justin_havu said:

I've got the UVI KeySuite, that has the RD/MKS sounds.  They're very close to the original, but not quite there.

 

To my ears, Keyscape kinda nails it with the MKS-20 samples

[Justin Havu]

Keyscape sounds great.  Only thing I would do is use the dry samples and add my own chorus and dial that in to taste.