How to Remove Your Wurlitzer's Lid
Wurlitzers have a lot of moving parts under the hood, many of which can be adjusted to the player’s taste. Regulating your own Wurlitzer means that you can dial in the feel and touch-responsiveness that you prefer, making your keyboard truly your own. Of course, the first step to regulation is taking off the Wurlitzer’s lid.
It's definitely not hard to take off a Wurlitzer’s lid: all you need to do is unscrew it. But a Wurlitzer is a vintage keyboard and sometimes the lid is a little sticky. If you're not familiar with how they're put together, it can be hard to tell whether you need to apply light force to remove it, or whether there's some hidden screw that you’re overlooking. This guide will help.
If you think you've removed every screw, but the lid still won't come off, there's two possibilities. First, it could be stuck on a cable or other piece of debris. This is more common in 200-series Wurlitzers. Alternatively, someone over the years might have added a screw or fastener in an unusual place. Using a very good light, examine the Wurlitzer for strange DIY add-ons before you try to force the lid off.
Note that the exterior lid on 112/120/140-series Wurlitzers - the one held on with latches - is called a fall cover. Take that off first.
Gallery of Wurlitzer Screws
Click any image to expand.
Wurlitzer 112/112a. Remove the screws on the top of the lid. (Most have nine.) The front of the lid is simply wedged behind the cheek blocks. The entire lid can often be removed by lifting. If it seems stuck, you can remove the front “music desk screws” (as seen in the top image), so that the lid comes off in two pieces.
Wurlitzer 120. Remove the screws from the top of the lid. (Most have eleven.) As in the Wurlitzer 112, the front is wedged behind the cheek blocks. This model has no “music desk screws,” so it must be removed in one piece.
Wurlitzer 700. Remove the screws holding the fiberboard back in place. (Most have twelve.) Once the back is off, you can access the two screws holding the lid in place.
Wurlitzer 140/140a/140b. Remove the screws from the top of the lid. Then, remove the two screws lower on the lid, next to each cheek block.
Wurlitzer 720. Remove the three topmost screws on the back of the keyboard.
Wurlitzer 200/200a/206/206a/210/214. The lid on all plastic-top models comes off the same way. First, remove the screws holding the music rack in place. Then, remove the three screws below the keybed. Finally, remove the volume and vibrato knobs.
Further Reading
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