What kind of preamp or direct box to use with a Fender Rhodes Stage 73?

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drummy

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I'm planning on buying a Fender Rhodes Stage 73-key electric piano from the 1970s, but I hear the signal coming out of it is really quiet and so I need to put it through a preamp or a direct box in order to put it into my mixer so I can sample it into my MPC. Which preamp or direct box should I get to get really good Rhodes sound quality (with minimal noise and feedback) to sample into my MPC? I hear the Speakeasy company makes a lot of good preamps for it, especially the Stage Box for the Stage series, but I'm not so sure. Anyone got any suggestions? Thanks for any help.
 
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direct box will bring your signal line level n impedence match it, then i would probably use an external pre to provide my gain stage and go in the line in on the board.

you can get an active DI that'll do it all for you too, i guess that's like what speakeasy makes. personally i'd rather just select a really basic, clean countryman and then choose my preamp. makes things a bit more modular, you can use different items for different instruments as you find out you need it, etc.


there's also lots of bass and guitar preamps out there that you could use - i use the sans amp bass DI for my bass, and you can get a rack version . . . it'll do the impedence matching, gain it up, and give you a beautiful crunch at the same time - oh and EQ. it's neat. cheaper than the speak, too, and with more character i should say.

just depends on the sound you are going for, but you have a good idea of what you need at least. let your preferences be your guide!
 
I've used SansAmps on Rhodeses in the past - good, rather neutral and warm sound.
 
DonaldCrunk said:
direct box will bring your signal line level n impedence match it, then i would probably use an external pre to provide my gain stage and go in the line in on the board.

you can get an active DI that'll do it all for you too, i guess that's like what speakeasy makes. personally i'd rather just select a really basic, clean countryman and then choose my preamp. makes things a bit more modular, you can use different items for different instruments as you find out you need it, etc.


there's also lots of bass and guitar preamps out there that you could use - i use the sans amp bass DI for my bass, and you can get a rack version . . . it'll do the impedence matching, gain it up, and give you a beautiful crunch at the same time - oh and EQ. it's neat. cheaper than the speak, too, and with more character i should say.

just depends on the sound you are going for, but you have a good idea of what you need at least. let your preferences be your guide!
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Thanks for tje reply. Funny thing is, the Speakeasy stage box goes for about $120 shipped at the Speakeasy website, and last time I checked the Sansamp Bass Driver DI was about $150 shipped on eBay (I was trying to get into bass at one point). And they both do the same thing, really, I just don't see how Bass Driver DI works well with things other than bass...

Oh, and thanks Krushing for the reply. Which Sansamp did you use?
I'm looking on the Tech 21 NYC website (which makes the Sansamps), and supposedly I could use the Para Driver DI (the Tech 21 NYC website has a setting for electric pianos)...

I'm just trying to go a pretty cheap route here, and so far, Speakeasy seems to be the cheapest. All I'm trying to do is get a clean (as little noise as possible) and warm Rhodes sound to go into my mixer which will go into my MPC. I appreciate the replies.

 "What do you do when you want to plug a Rhodes into a mixer? Crank up the gain and endure the noise? Shell out big bucks for a nice recording preamp? How about this little goodie: Speakeasy’s $100 Fat Box. Offering a 500% rise in gain, it’s just the thing to get your Rhodes D.I.’ed without breaking the bank or putting up with oceans of hiss. There’s also a version with the Suitcase preamp’s vibrato circuit built in. Yum."

That's what it says on the Speakeasy website for the Fat Box, which was renamed as the Stage Box. Sounds like exactly what I need. I just don't know how much hiss comes out of it. And that's what's holding me back.
 
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I used the SansAmp Classic - which is surprisingly pricy these days. My friend whose Rhodes I was abusing with it got it for about 50 bucks or something like that...and now they seem to be almost 300.
 
krushing said:
I used the SansAmp Classic - which is surprisingly pricy these days. My friend whose Rhodes I was abusing with it got it for about 50 bucks or something like that...and now they seem to be almost 300.
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Thanks, it looks like I can get one on eBay for about $150-$200.
 
Damn, I don't want it if it has too much noise, since it's going into my MPC to be sampled. lol. Thanks though.
 
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