Wurlitzer electric piano

The Wurlitzer electric piano was one of a series of electromechanical stringless pianos manufactured and marketed by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, Corinth, Mississippi, U.S. and North Tonawanda, NY. Interestingly, the Wurlitzer company itself never called the instrument an "electric piano", inventing instead the phrase "Electronic Piano" and using this as a trademark throughout the production of the instrument. See however electronic piano, the generally accepted term for a completely different type of keyboard instrument.

General description

The Wurlitzer piano is usually a 64-note instrument whose keyboard range is from A an octave above the lowest note of a standard 88-note piano to the C an octave below the top note of an 88-note piano. Tone production in all models comprises a single steel reed for each key, activated by a miniature version of a conventional grand piano action and forming part of an electrostatic pickup system using a DC voltage of 170v. A mechanical sustain pedal similar to that of a conventional piano is fitted.

History

Inventor Benjamin Miessner had designed an amplified conventional upright piano in the 1930s, and Wurlitzer used his electrostatic pickup design, but replaced the strings with struck steel reeds. The instrument entered production in 1955 as the EP-110, followed by the 111 and 112 of the same year, and continued to be produced in various forms until about 1982 when production of the EP-200A ceased.

There is evidence of a piano designated as the model 100, but whether or not it was produced or only a prototype is up for debate. Pictures of a model 100 do exist, and the Wurlitzer EP Service manuals do state that the Wurlitzer was introduced in 1954, not 1955. The model 106 was a later model, not an early model.

Variations

Most Wurlitzer electric pianos are portable models with removable legs and the sustain pedal attached via a Bowden cable; console, "grand" and "spinet" models were also produced with a permanently attached pedal. The early models sustain pedals actually attached through the side of the instrument, with the pedal eventually being connected directly under the unit in the late 50s.

Portable models

The earliest versions were the "100" series; these had a case made from painted fibreboard or wood and were fitted with a single loudspeaker mounted in the rear of the case. Apart from the very first models, the portable Wurlitzer pianos featured a tremolo effect with fixed rate but adjustable depth. Models produced until the early 1960s used vacuum tube circuitry; the 140B was the first solid-state model. The next model, the 145 was replaced in 1968 by the plastic-bodied 200, a much lighter instrument (56 lbs, without the legs or pedal) with two loudspeakers facing the player. This model was updated as the 200A a few years later and continued in production into the early 1980s. The 200 was available in black, dark "Forest Green", red or beige. The 200A was only available in black. The white Wurlitzer sometimes seen being used by bands such as The Beach Boys, The Carpenters and Supertramp was a custom painted finish not made by the manufacturer. The last version to be introduced was the 200B in 1978; this was visually identical to the 200A but was designed to be powered by a pair of medium-tension (85v) rechargeable batteries; it had no internal speakers.

Console models

One important role for the Wurlitzer piano was as a student instrument in school and college music labs, and non-portable console versions were made for this purpose. The teacher had a headphone and microphone to be able to listen into each student individually and talk to them without others hearing them. All students listened to each of their instruments through headphones. Those usually seen resemble a beige or light green Model 200 mounted on a matching pedestal containing a loudspeaker, headphone niche and sustain pedal. On these models there is no tremolo (although later models simply have the facility disabled). Some of these models were given the designation 206/206A. Many console models have recently been modified to 200/200A specification for use on stage. Rarer than the student models are the teacher consoles, featuring multiple monitor/mute switches and, in some cases the facility to add a large illuminated display panel operated via the keyboard.

Other models

pinet versions

Since production began, small numbers of wood-cased spinet-style instruments were made for domestic use. These usually had an upright-piano style soft pedal (actually an electronic attenuator) as well as the sustain pedal. The mechanism of these pianos is identical to that of the contemporary portable version. The model 700 was the same amplifier and action as the portable model 120.The model 700 was produced circa 1959-1962. The model 720 was the spinet version of the 140 series, (140B,145) piano. The model 720 was produced circa 1962-1965.

The rarest of all Wurlitzers was the European only model 300, which was a spinet type piano based on the model 200A. This was the very last model produced and is even rarer than the model 270, butterfly grand. The model 300 looked similar to a modern digital piano.

Butterfly Baby Grand

The 200 uniquely had a domestic sister model 270 called the "Butterfly Baby Grand", a semicircular, walnut finish wooden-cased piano with twin quadrant-shaped lids angled above horizontally-mounted 8" loudspeakers. This was among the last Wurlitzers produced, and is very difficult to find. It is also the heaviest Wurlitzer ever produced.

106P

A rare version, and the only known model not to have 64 keys is the 106P, a 44-note classroom model with a plastic case, no controls, one loudspeaker and no sustain pedal. The 106P was available as a set of six (model 106) on a folding frame, forming a portable keyboard lab. This model appears to date from the early 1970s and was available in orange or beige.

ound

Compared with its erstwhile rival, the (Fender) Rhodes electric piano, the Wurlitzer has a brighter, more hollow sound. When played gently the sound can be quite sweet and vibraphone-like, becoming more aggressive with harder playing, producing a characteristic slightly overdriven tone usually described as a "bark". In a pop or rock band setting with guitar(s), bass and drums the Wurlitzer has a distinctive and clear sound where a Rhodes would tend to blend in. However it has also been used successfully in MOR ballads and even country music.

Maintenance issues

The reeds are notorious for metal fatigue caused by hard playing which can make them go out of tune and eventually break. This phenomenon can be minimized by having the action adjusted by a trained technician.

The reeds are tuned by filing off solder on the ends of them to make them go sharper and adding solder to them to make them go flatter. For those not handy with a soldering iron and in search of a quick tuning fix, beeswax may be added to the tip of the reed rather than solder.

New old stock and newly manufactured reeds are readily available from on-line specialists.

Recent users

Other recent Wurlitzer users include Kaiser Chiefs, The Blood Brothers (band), Norah Jones, Grace Potter, John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood, Gnarls Barkley, Ben Folds and Tori Amos. Amos used Wurlitzer electric pianos on her albums "Strange Little Girls" and "Scarlet's Walk" and toured with them during her "Strange Little Tour" in 2001 and "On Scarlet's Walk" tour in 2002 and 2003.Fact|date=March 2007 Adam Green also features Wurlitzer electric pianos in his music, such as the entire Gemstones album.

Recorded examples

*Alan Parsons Project - "Eye In The Sky"
*American Football - "The One With The Wurlitzer"
*Arrica Rose and the ...'s - "Wreck Me"
*Beck - "Where It's At"
*Benevento/Russo Duo - "Play Pause Stop"
*The Black Crowes - "Remedy" and other songs on the album "The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion"
*Blood Brothers - "Laser Life", "Set Fire to the Face on Fire", "Peacock Skeleton With Crooked Feathers"
*Booker T. and the MG's - "Chinese Checkers"
*Boston - "My Destination"
*Michiel Braam Wurli Trio - "Hosting Changes"
*Dan Bryk - "BBW (Chunky Girl)"
*The Carpenters - "Top of the World"
*Carl Weathersby - "Feels Like Rain"
*Charlie Peacock - "Personal Revolution"
*Chest Rockwell - "Body Prop 2", "Pop Song"
*Chicago - "Feelin' Stronger Every Day"
*The Crusaders (and maybe other stuff by Joe Sample) - "Tough Talk"
*Daft Punk - "Digital Love"
*Death Cab for Cutie - "Photobooth"
*December Seven - "Majesty"
*The Faces - "Stay With Me"
*David Gray/Lost Songs/Wurlitzer
*Dhani Harrison - "Stuck Inside a Cloud"
*Donny Hathaway - "The Ghetto-Pt 1" & "What's Going On?"
*Gov't Mule - "Soulshine"
*Jellyfish - "That Is Why", "New Mistake"
*Joanna Newsom - "Peach, Plum, Pear" (version on "Walnut Whales"), "This Side of the Blue"
*John Scofield - "Green Tea"
*Joni Mitchell - "Woodstock"
*King Harvest - "Dancing in the Moonlight"
*Little Feat - "Long Distance Love", "Got No Shadow", "Romance Dance"
*Madeleine Peyroux - "I'm All Right"
*Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
*Muse - "Feeling Good"
*Neil Young - "The Old Laughing Lady", "See The Sky About To Rain"
*Panic at the Disco - "Mad As Rabbits"
*Pink Floyd - "Breathe","Money", "Time"
*Quarterflash - "Harden My Heart"
*Queen - "You're My Best Friend"
*Rats And People - "Granules"
*Ray Charles - "What'd I Say"
*Richie Kotzen - "Some Voodoo"
*Sheryl Crow - "The Book", "All I Wanna Do"
*The Small Faces - "Lazy Sunday"
*Rick Springfield - "Souls"
*Steely Dan - "Godwhacker", "Do It Again," "Jack Of Speed", "Two Against Nature", "Your Gold Teeth," "Everyone's Gone To The Movies."
*Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago"
*Sun Ra (1956 first Wurlitzer record including) - "India", "Dreams Come True"
*Supertramp - "The Logical Song", "Dreamer", "Goodbye Stranger", "Lady" and countless other songs; their "Breakfast in America" album can be highly considered a treatise on Wurlitzer electric piano's possibilities
*Three Dog Night - "Mama Told Me Not To Come"; "Joy to the World"
*Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Breakdown", "You Don't Know How It Feels"
*Tony Toni Tone - "Anniversary"
*Tori Amos - "Tombigbee", "Pancake", "Strange Little Girl"
*Under Byen - "Palads"
*Usher - "Thats What Its Made For"
*Van Halen - "And the Cradle Will Rock" (run through a flanger)
*Your Horrible Smile - "Emancipation"

References

www.ep-service.nl