Fender Rhodes Hammer Tip Kit

DESCRIPTION

Graduated / Angled / 6 zone replacement hammmer tip kit, incl glue and instructions,

The best hammertips kit in the market, we use them always in our workshop.

Which hammer tip kit should I choose?

Rhodes Hammer tips generally came in two size variations over the years; a square or cube style and an angled graduated style. Generally speaking, the square or cube style was indicative of earlier Pianos up till around 1977. These early hammer tips were mainly all the same height. After 1977 Rhodes switched to the angled graduated style, which was graduated in size across the scale of the piano. The shortest tips were in the bass and the tallest were in the treble section. The idea for the graduated hammer tips was so that they could regulate the escapement through the use of incremental height adjustments as opposed to adding or removing shims from the harp supports.

Square or Cube hammer tips are not optimal for the Rhodes piano for simple reasons which I will explain. They do not offer a precise strike point; the flat square tip hits the tine and blurs the strike line. The softer the tip, the more the tine sinks into the rubber tip causing further strike line ambiguity, impure tone, double strike and lack of clarity.

Today after 25 years of study and manufacturing hammer tips; Vintage Vibe has determined through research and development that the angled tip far exceeds performance of a square tip.

So which kit for your piano?

It doesn’t matter as both are angled and, both will work equally as well. The idea, originally, for the graduated tips was that the escapement was already set by the differences in Hammer tip Heights when they were assembled at the factory.

Today we know that all pianos need adjustment of escapement and strike line to truly fine-tune and optimize a piano. With that being said, if you do not plan on any escapement or strike line changes you should choose the tip that is closest to the tips you currently have.

If your piano predates 1978 you may want to naturally go with the angled six zone. If your piano is 1978 or later you may want to go with the six zone graduated.

In summary both 6 zone hammer tip kits that Vintage Vibe offer are equally good and offer this exact same tone. It’s how you set your piano up that will make the difference.

We use both in our shop depending on the vintage of the piano, but the only reason for our choice is to keep with style and era.

All Vintage Vibe pianos use 6 Zone Angled.