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I have serviced Wurlitzer electric pianos since the late 'sixties. By the ' seventies they were selling like 'hot cakes'. Taking over from the Hammond as the de rigueur group keyboard.
The major importer / reseller of the late 'seventies appointed me as official repairer.
A restored EP200A, at The Zoo's Coventry workshops.
The Wurlitzer Electric Piano evolved over a number of years & has a fully featured single escapement action similiar to an early grand piano's.
Its tone source is a set of 64 tuned steel reeds, struck by felt dressed hammers.
Reeds' vibrations are electrostatically picked up, by electrodes polarised with a DC Voltage, or bias. The movements cause a capacitance change, modulating this bias. The resultant AC signal is amplified & fed to speakers.
The EP200A model shown above represents the culmination of the evolutionary process. Sold in large numbers, it remained in production for a number of years. Eventually sampled digital pianos advanced enough for their lower cost to take over the market.
All electro-Mechanical instruments eventually fell prey to the digital revolution, fuelled by pure marketing pressures. It is only in recent years that many musicians & music lovers have realised what has been lost.
Fortunately the superior quality & reliability of mechanical instruments means that many remain working. Despite often being stored in unsuitable conditions, such as damp garages, sheds or basements. Electronic classics, such as the Prophet Five, rarely survive such treatment.
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The 100 series are housed in rectangular wooden cases, with detachable lid to protect keys. Earlier models, such as the 111, have valve amplifiers & are mechanically different. Thinner reeds than on later types, mounted the opposite way on a slender steel harp.
Later models, such as the 140B, use transistor electronics & are mechanically similiar to the 200 series. Reeds are mounted on a pair of cast aluminium harps and are of thicker gauge.
All transistor performance models include tremolo, strangely miscalled vibrato.
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The 200 series employ an updated case design, a curved vinyl cover, available in several colours & with keys permanently exposed. The 200A pictured at the top is typical of the portable types.
A number of variants cater for different uses, such as student & tutor models for school use. Also a butterfly grand style. All use the same mechanical design, with suitable electronic variations.
The 200A series is the last variation on the theme. Electronics are improved, with the pickup pre-amplifier separated from the power amplifier. Background noise is lower & an additional shield over the pickups reduces hum. Tremolo is smoother, with less distortion. The cover on these is always black, with the speakers usually mounted directly, for better bass.
It is quite unlike the Rhodes piano in action & timbre. As well as being much lighter. Popular for rock music, due to its stronger, sharper sound.
The action is light, fast & responsive. Dynamic range is good, although to get a hard, angry sound often desired for rock music, requires heavy playing. This dramatically shortens the life of reeds. These are getting increasingly difficult to obtain.
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Rogues Gallery, # 1, the Yellow Peril.
 This instrument was purchased as a restored model. It came to us because it did not work well, with a weak, dull, lifeless sound & out of tune.
It has very loose keys, bushings are badly worn. Most reeds were loose & dull sounding.
The person who "tuned" it had tried to get it in pitch by adjusting the reed screw tension.
After tightening reeds, most are sharp, requiring re-weighting, one has NO weight, only making a faint ping. Many have no sustain, needs a new set. Some pickups had been bent with pliers, requiring a strip-down, beating flat & reprofiling. The amplifier has poor sound, low level & a bit distorted. Needs a good service & some new parts. Speakers have poor treble, the cones have become soft & fluffy.
It sounds like a typical neglected old 200 series piano, you may say. True, but this one was sold as restored. The first thing we noticed was its bright colour, its battered vinyl cover had been paint sprayed! It has a good new replica control panel, a pity it was not fixed on properly, it is currently only held by the non-original knobs. These typically are loose & prone to fall off.
The rule of thumb is "Buyer Beware". This piano has not been restored, not even properly serviced. A quick lick with a paint spray is not what these instruments need. The keys may be too far gone to be re-bushed, this can happen through bad storage conditions. It may not even be useful for spares, almost everything is worn or damaged. Even the leg plate screws are wrong.
It is possible to buy Wurlitzer pianos that have been looked after & in reasonable condition. Check thoroughly before purchase, make sure it plays well, that you like the feel & sound. The action should be fast & smooth. No loose or bouncy keys. Sound should be fairly bright & reasonably even.
If it needs a tune, only take it to someone who genuinely knows how to do the job. With the renaissance of these classics, many ex TV repairers etc. are coming out of the woodwork & jumping on the service / restoration bandwagon. Some know how to get an impressive Web site together, it's the substance that counts though.
There are good people in our business, please don't tar us all with the same brush. We enjoy our work, it is rewarding when a player smiles after trying out the finished job. We will never get rich, one pair of hands can only do so much work properly.
| Wurlitzer are the oldest in our current listing of classic instrument builders. Incorporated in 1856. |
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It is possible that new Electro-Mechanical instruments will be produced. If we have anything to do with it they will. The temptation must be avoided to recreate past classics. Time has moved on, anything built now should be an evolutionary jump forward.
Designs should capitalise on the genre's strong points, avoiding any temptation to compete on price or cut corners, high quality & long life are needed. Some may remember the Lawrence Piano, an amplified stringed instrument from the 'seventies'. Pressed steel frame, folding plastic keyboard & action. Owing more to a tradition of cheap electronics than 300 years of piano history. Are any still around? |
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Wurlitzer. Updated on the 4th of June 2005. © Ron Lebar, Author.
