From the Archives: Wurlitzer 206a
The 206a is the student-model Wurlitzer. It shares all the same cosmetic features of its professional counterparts, except - appropriate for the classroom - everything about it is just a little less exciting. Instead of dramatic black, here we have friendly beige. Instead of four speakers, we have two. Instead of vibrato, we have the self/ensemble knob.
But just because it's not as overachievingly amazing as, say, a 203, doesn't mean that the 206a isn't a great instrument. First of all, it can easily be modified for vibrato. Two 8” round speakers are certainly better than two 4x8” oval speakers. And friendly beige is a great color.
This particular 206a came from a batch that spent a lot of time in storage. They were initially in rough shape. We found mouse droppings in all of them, and one had a family of dead spider babies. However, they cleaned up very nicely. We painted a couple, put some on legs, and left this one as-is.
Cosmetic pluses: the perimeter tape is pretty intact. (This is rare because fidgety students would often slowly pick it off.) The ABS plastic lid looks great. There are few scratches on the base. The tolex is in good condition as well.
Further Reading
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