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,
USA. The Wurlitzer company actually called the instrument (inaccurately in retrospect) the "
Electronic Piano", but musicians usually describe it correctly as an
electric piano.
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.
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-112 and continued to be produced in various forms until about
1982 when production of the EP-200A ceased.
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.
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
valve circuitry; the 140B was the first solid-state model. The next model, the 145 was replaced in 1969 by the
plastic-bodied 200, a much lighter instrument 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 last version to be introduced was the 200B; 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. 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). 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
Spinet 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.
Butterfly Baby Grand
The 200 uniquely had a domestic sister model called the "
Butterfly Baby Grand", a semicircular wooden-cased piano with twin
quadrant-shaped lids angled above horizontally-mounted loudspeakers.
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 eight (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.
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.
*
Ray Charles - "
What'd I Say"
*
Three Dog Night - "
Mama Told Me Not To Come"
*
King Harvest - "
Dancing in the Moonlight"
*
The Small Faces - "Lazy Sunday"
*
Joni Mitchell - "
Woodstock"
*
Jellyfish - "
That Is Why", "
New Mistake"
*
The Carpenters - "
Top Of the World"
*
Supertramp - "
The Logical Song", "
Dreamer"
*
Sun Ra (1956 first Wurlitzer record including) - "India", "Dreams Come True"
*
Your Horrible Smile - "
Emancipation"
*
Queen - "
You're My Best Friend"
*
Marvin Gaye - "
I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
*
Pink Floyd - "
Money"
*
Sheryl Crow - "
The Book"
*
Beck - "
Where It's At"
*
Styx - "
Lady"
*
John Scofield - "
Green Tea"
*
Charlie Peacock - "
Personal Revolution"
*
David Gray/Lost Songs/Wurlitzer
