I would like to start by saying that in our years of dealing with electronic pianos only a few 1980 Wurlitzer EPs have come into our studio. This has always seemed odd to me until we did a little research and found that Wurlitzer produced far less electronic pianos in those last years- we’re talking on a year-to-year basis only a fraction of what they produced in previous years.

Vintage instruments are the ‘real thing’ and were built to a different—possibly better—standard than modern ones. But let’s face it: some of them have been around the block, multiple times. And why not? They are decades old: someone should have enjoyed them. Hopefully, that person didn’t enjoy them too much and in the wrong way. (The sheet music holder is not a party convenience tray, necessarily.) For this reason, the vintage instrument market can be a scary and confusing place. Buying a Wurlitzer 200 or 200A is a prime example. Prices range, and if you have never have looked inside one, you possibly don’t know what to look for.

The circuitry that turns the amp on and off is very simple: pretty much just some wiring that provides line voltage to the transformer. More commonly, this wiring is in great shape, voltage passes through it with no problem at all, the amp turns on, all the bad components inside receive all the power that the circuit can offer, and then the amp starts malfunctioning.

This Wurlitzer 214 that we once had is a classic example of 214 glory. The Avocado green top was in excellent condition and the tolex was all there without any tears. The wooden keybed has some “chair” nicks and the grill cloth had some stains, but no tears! Perhaps the most amazing feature of the 214 is that it is a complete 200 set on top of a console which houses four 8” round speakers. The four speakers - two in front and two in the back - project the Wurlitzer’s awesome tone in all directions!

When we walked into the room where the original owner had this keyboard, the seller mentioned they had it switched on for us ready to try out. We thought, oh then it must not be making sound because we heard nothing - not even the usual idle hum. We played a A-7 chord, and a wall of rich tube sound blasted out of the massive 12” alnico speaker. Needless to say, we were floored.

This is a classic example of a Wurlitzer 112a that we once had. We photographed it in our main studio live room. A serviced Wurlitzer 112a electronic piano is a powerful music making tool in any studio! The effective alnico speaker is mounted on the rear of the instrument so it can be easily mic’d without picking up much (or any) mechanical key or finger noise from the players’ hands.

If you flip a Wurlitzer key upside down, you’ll see two holes underneath. These holes line up with the two metal pins in the keybed that guide the key’s vertical travel. They’re called the key bushings, and they’re lined with felt. As the keyboard is played, this felt becomes compressed over time and the keys no longer fit snugly around the key pin. Or, if these felts become damaged, they could prevent the key’s smooth travel and the touch-responsiveness of the keyboard becomes compromised.

This is a classic example of a Wurlitzer 200a that we once had. We photographed it in front of a wall at the studio - actually, in the control room. (The “signal” stencil is a holdover from the building’s time as a Metro-North Railroad switching station.) The floor is very slanted so we got to use an underrated feature that all portable 200 models have: adjustable feet.

Some issues involving a vintage Wurlitzer electronic piano are complex to resolve. Others are caused by loose hardware, disconnected wires, or pieces of debris. If you’d like to try some easy fixes before you call a tech, here are some steps that you can take.

We recently added a few more books to the live room at the studio, so we decided that it was a good time to take new photos.

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.

We are extra-excited about this group of four Wurlitzer 200 student pianos because they are clearly of an early manufacture. Three of them had original music racks with the closely-spaced metal bars, which are incredibly rare. Even aside from that great detail, however, all of the keyboards were in great shape. They had clearly been used only lightly and had been stored in a clean, low-humidity area.

We drove through the eastern U.S. on a pickup/delivery run last week. (Little-known fact! We do deliver long-distance. More info here.) We dropped off our gorgeous Wurlitzer 720a, and then picked up a handful of new pieces: a teacher/student 206a/207a pair, a 203w wheeled console Wurlitzer, an extremely rare Wurlitzer 140a, and a Fender Rhodes Mk I.

The 140b is at the midpoint of Wurlitzer's electronic piano production: a stepping stone from the vintage tone of the 100-series to the more reliable modern electronics of the 200-series. The mechanical parts are easier to work with. It has updated, 200-style reeds. It has a transistor amplifier like the 200, but an early one, with germanium power transistors and neon bulb vibrato.

We removed these switches from a Wurlitzer 726 electronic piano. This model was the student version of the 720 (itself the console version of the 140b). One switch was for toggling between "self" and "ensemble" modes, while the other switched between the built-in speaker and the hardwired headphones.

Is a piano more an instrument or a piece of furniture? If you're reading this blog, you'd probably find the question offensive. Of course a piano is an instrument! But if you just live with a pianist - as a spouse or a parent - you'd might have a different perspective. Specifically, that the piano is neither instrument nor furniture but some big wooden behemoth that takes over the living room and clashes with everything. 

We have a few Wurlitzer 200 circuit boards that we use for parts. Most of repairing vintage equipment is maintaining a large hoard. Just because a component is obsolete doesn't mean it's useless: a lot of old transistors and diodes are both absolutely necessary and hard to source. We do our best to keep a surplus when possible. 

It's always a pleasure to have two examples of the same vintage model in stock, but these Wurlitzer 700s are extra exciting. The 700 is not as well-documented as the later plastic-top Wurlitzer 200, and are often overlooked by collectors because of their traditional spinet-style cabinets. Acquiring two 700s gave us the rare opportunity to compare two rare electronic pianos.

Our latest Wurlitzer 112 is one of our cleanest yet. Although it's over 60 years old, it sounds fantastic. It still has all of its original parts, including a bench and music rack: two things that usually disappear over the years. We've put together a gallery of all the small details on this beautiful instrument that still impress us.