Need help on power conversion for a Rhodes piano

[vandexa1]

Need help, please...
I have just acquired a very nice Rhodes MK I, built in 1978, suitcase model, with the 7710 new for the time amp.

It's 120v only, and I have to use a voltage converter.
I read in many reviews that the 7710 amp would be 100watt stereo (2 x 50), and thus I would choose to use a 300va converter.

But at the side of the amp it says: INPUT POWER 120V 60HZ 300 WATTS.
Should I then always use a 500va converter??

Could anyone help me??
Thanks so much.

[iansinclair]

This should be under instruments, but since it is here...

And yes, you need a power converter which will handle the full power demand of the amps on the rating -- at least 500 VA.  Furthermore, be sure that it is a transformer type converter.

The reason for all that is that resistive (cheap!) converters don't deliver the steady voltage that an amplifier requires.  The reason for the extra power is that perhaps the amps are rated at 50 watts per channel -- output, steady state.  They will demand a lot more power at peak load and when they are turned on -- and a voltage drop at those times will not be appreciated by the amps.

[j_tour]

Extremely interesting.  I still have a Rhodes Stage from 1976, and have always used it with a guitar amplifier or my powered monitor, straight off mains power.  Never played a Suitcase, with the stereo/dual amps and preamp stages.

What exactly happens, as a symptom that can be heard/felt if the current is below-rating?  From my limited knowledge of EE/physics, it's basically very bad if I (current) is below expected, not so much if the opposite, but aside from some undefined behavior, like clipping, static, or maybe strange odors and smoke, during transient voltage peaks, what exactly is going on?

And, for the sake of future archeologists, is this something that the OP should consider investing in a small (one or two-unit high) rack to store a power conditioner, to be on the safe side?

And, what's the action like on the piano?  I've heard bad stories, but the only Rhodes I've ever played is my own, without the pedestal mod, and I love the action.  Then again, it's just passive "electronics," so I never had to deal with the on-board active preamp and so forth.  

[richard black]

If you haven't already spent the money on a transformer, take a look inside the Rhodes and see if the internal mains transformer can be reconfigured for 240V. If it can, it's a very simple modification.