by Steve Woodyard
The settings that most of the performers that I came into contact with requested were as follows.
Generally the "mostly fundamental" covered the first 15 notes, Most preferred covered the rest of the notes with rubber tips and the mostly fundamental setting covered the wood with rubber shrink wrapping tips.
The horizontal gap between the end of the tine and the point of the pickup was 1/16 inch for the wood tips, 1/32 inch for the mid-range notes and 1/16 inch for the bass notes.
I have noticed the comments about how long it takes to adjust a Rhodes. Adjusting by sound only can fatigue the ears and fool the adjustor. So, using the above settings (top and middle settings) as reference points, I visually make all my first and second adjustments, comparing the bottom of the tine to the top reference line. The lower the angle you view from for the tone settings, the more accurate the settings. I look straight down for the pickup volume settings. Then I make the final adjustment by ear. Then, I check and set the pitch using a strobe tuner. This usually takes me less then one hour.