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Wurlitzer electronic piano

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Wurlitzer electronic piano
Wurlitzer Electronic Piano 200A, Museum of Making Music.jpg
A Wurlitzer 200A, the most commercially successful model
ManufacturerWurlitzer
Dates1954–1983
Technical specifications
PolyphonyFull
Synthesis typeElectromechanical
EffectsVibrato (single speed)
Input/output
Keyboard64 keys

The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to the Rhodes piano, though the sound is different.

The instrument was invented by Benjamin Miessner, who had worked on various types of electric pianos since the early 1930s. The first Wurlitzer was manufactured in 1954, and production continued until 1983. Originally, the piano was designed to be used in the classroom, and several dedicated teacher and student instruments were manufactured. However, it was adapted for more conventional live performances, including stage models with attachable legs and console models with built-in frames. The stage instrument was used by several popular artists, including Ray Charles, Joe Zawinul and Supertramp. Several electronic keyboards include an emulation of the Wurlitzer.

As the Wurlitzer is an electromechanical instrument, it can need occasional maintenance, such as re-tuning and replacing broken reeds. However, the action and performance of the instrument has meant it is stable enough to be used for years.

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Electric piano

Electric piano

An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations which are converted into electrical signals by magnetic pickups, which are then connected to an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to make a sound loud enough for the performer and audience to hear. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument. Instead, it is an electro-mechanical instrument. Some early electric pianos used lengths of wire to produce the tone, like a traditional piano. Smaller electric pianos used short slivers of steel to produce the tone. The earliest electric pianos were invented in the late 1920s; the 1929 Neo-Bechstein electric grand piano was among the first. Probably the earliest stringless model was Lloyd Loar's Vivi-Tone Clavier. A few other noteworthy producers of electric pianos include Baldwin Piano and Organ Company and the Wurlitzer Company.

Wurlitzer

Wurlitzer

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the U.S. military. In 1880, the company began manufacturing pianos and eventually relocated to North Tonawanda, New York. It quickly expanded to make band organs, orchestrions, player pianos and pipe or theatre organs popular in theatres during the days of silent movies.

Rhodes piano

Rhodes piano

The Rhodes piano is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, the hammers strike thin metal tines, which vibrate next to an electromagnetic pickup. The signal is then sent through a cable to an external keyboard amplifier and speaker.

Benjamin Miessner

Benjamin Miessner

Benjamin Franklin Miessner was an American radio engineer and inventor. He is most known for his electronic organ, electronic piano, and other musical instruments. He was the inventor of the Cat's whisker detector.

Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson Sr. was an American singer, songwriter, pianist and alto saxophonist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius". Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother Ray". Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to glaucoma.

Joe Zawinul

Joe Zawinul

Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, a musical genre that combined jazz with rock. He co-founded the groups Weather Report and The Zawinul Syndicate. He pioneered the use of electric piano and synthesizer, and was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" twenty-eight times by the readers of DownBeat magazine.

Supertramp

Supertramp

Supertramp were an English rock band that experienced massive global success in 1979 with their seventh album Breakfast in America. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, the group were distinguished for blending progressive rock and pop styles as well as for a sound that relied heavily on Wurlitzer electric piano. The group's lineup changed numerous times throughout their career, with Davies being the only constant member throughout its history. Other longtime members included bassist Dougie Thomson, drummer Bob Siebenberg and saxophonist John Helliwell.

Electronic keyboard

Electronic keyboard

An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio workstations. In technical terms, an electronic keyboard is a synthesizer with a low-wattage power amplifier and small loudspeakers.

Sound

Wurlitzer piano
A Wurlitzer electronic piano, showing the velocity sensitivity
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The official name of the instrument is the Wurlitzer Electronic Piano.[1] However, the sound is generated electromechanically by striking a metal reed with a felt hammer, using conventional piano action.[2] This induces an electrical current in an electrostatic pickup system running at 170 V DC.[1][3]

Most Wurlitzer pianos are 64-note instruments whose keyboard range is from A an octave above the lowest note of a standard 88-note piano to the C an octave below its top note.[4] The instrument is fitted with a mechanical sustain pedal.[1] It has one, two or four internal speakers (depending on the model), but can also be connected to an external amplifier.[5]

Compared to the Rhodes piano, the sound from a Wurlitzer is sharper and closer to a sawtooth wave, while the Rhodes' is closer to a sine wave. This gives the Wurlitzer a sharper and punchier tone.[6] When played gently the sound can be sweet and vibraphone-like, sounding similar to the Rhodes; while becoming more aggressive with harder playing, producing a characteristic slightly overdriven tone usually described as a "bark".[3][7]

Over time, particularly with aggressive playing, the reeds on a Wurlitzer will suffer metal fatigue and break. Additionally, any debris between the reed and the pickup can cause a short circuit and produce a burst of distortion.[7]

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Keyboard expression

Keyboard expression

Keyboard expression is the ability of a keyboard musical instrument to change tone or other qualities of the sound in response to velocity, pressure or other variations in how the performer depresses the keys of the musical keyboard. Expression types include:Velocity sensitivity—how fast the key is pressed Aftertouch, or pressure sensitivity — the amount of pressure on a key, once already held down Displacement sensitivity—distance that a key is pressed down

Action (piano)

Action (piano)

The piano action mechanism of a piano or other musical keyboard is the mechanical assembly which translates the depression of the keys into rapid motion of a hammer, which creates sound by striking the strings. Action can refer to that of a piano or other musical keyboards, including the electronic or digital stage piano and synthesizer, on which some models have "weighted keys", which simulate the touch and feel of an acoustic piano. The design of the key action mechanism determines the "weighted keys" feeling; that is, the feeling of the heaviness of the touch of the keys."A professional pianist is likely to care most about the piano's action, because that is what controls its responsiveness and relative lightness--or heaviness--of touch. Roughly speaking, a piano's action is light when its keys fall easily under the fingers, and heavy when a noticeable downward thrust is required. The action, in short, is what makes a piano playable or not to an individual musician."

Electrostatic pickup

Electrostatic pickup

An electrostatic pickup converts mechanical motion to an electrical signal by means of varying electrical capacitance. This type of pickup, in which the moving plate is a vibrating metal reed, is used in some types of electronic pianos and organs as an inexpensive method of generating tones.

Direct current

Direct current

Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even through a vacuum as in electron or ion beams. The electric current flows in a constant direction, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC). A term formerly used for this type of current was galvanic current.

Musical keyboard

Musical keyboard

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the interval of an octave. Pressing a key on the keyboard makes the instrument produce sounds—either by mechanically striking a string or tine, plucking a string (harpsichord), causing air to flow through a pipe organ, striking a bell (carillon), or, on electric and electronic keyboards, completing a circuit. Since the most commonly encountered keyboard instrument is the piano, the keyboard layout is often referred to as the piano keyboard.

A (musical note)

A (musical note)

A or La is the sixth note and the tenth semitone of the fixed-do solfège.

Octave

Octave

In music, an octave or perfect octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems". The interval between the first and second harmonics of the harmonic series is an octave.

C (musical note)

C (musical note)

C or Do is the first note and semitone of the C major scale, the third note of the A minor scale, and the fourth note of the Guidonian hand, commonly pitched around 261.63 Hz. The actual frequency has depended on historical pitch standards, and for transposing instruments a distinction is made between written and sounding or concert pitch. It has enharmonic equivalents of B♯ and D.

Rhodes piano

Rhodes piano

The Rhodes piano is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, the hammers strike thin metal tines, which vibrate next to an electromagnetic pickup. The signal is then sent through a cable to an external keyboard amplifier and speaker.

Sawtooth wave

Sawtooth wave

The sawtooth wave is a kind of non-sinusoidal waveform. It is so named based on its resemblance to the teeth of a plain-toothed saw with a zero rake angle. A single sawtooth, or an intermittently triggered sawtooth, is called a ramp waveform.

Sine wave

Sine wave

A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or just sinusoid is a mathematical curve defined in terms of the sine trigonometric function, of which it is the graph. It is a type of continuous wave and also a smooth periodic function. It occurs often in mathematics, as well as in physics, engineering, signal processing and many other fields.

Short circuit

Short circuit

A short circuit is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit. The opposite of a short circuit is an open circuit, which is an infinite resistance between two nodes.

History

Model 112
Model 112

Inventor Benjamin Miessner designed an amplified conventional upright piano in the early 1930s by taking an acoustic baby grand and installing an electrostatic pickup system in it. He first demonstrated the instrument in 1932. Four years later, he demonstrated the piano at the NAMM Show in Chicago. By 1940, Miessner had licensed a patent for his piano design that was used in several electric piano models across the US.[8]

In the early 1950s, Meissner invented a new type of electric piano, substituting strings with struck quarter-inch (6.5 mm) steel reeds. This allowed a much smaller instrument to be manufactured, as it did not need the space to support tension-loaded strings as found on acoustic piano. The reed assembly was designed carefully in order to produce the best set of harmonics when a hammer struck a reed. The lack of acoustic noise meant it could be played quietly using headphones.[8]

The improved model was co-developed in Chicago by Paul Renard and Howard Holman for Wurlitzer.[9][10] The first model, the 100 was announced in August 1954 at a trade show in Chicago, with production beginning later that year. The 110 and 111 models were introduced shortly afterwards, with the 112 appearing the following year. Early models were built in a small factory in Corinth, Mississippi.[11]

In May 1956, Wurlitzer opened a new 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) factory in Corinth dedicated to making electric pianos.[12] Various models continued to be produced here until 1964, when it expanded to an additional plant in DeKalb, Illinois.[13] Production later expanded to Logan, Utah.[14] In the late 1970s, costs were cut in order to increase profitability, as musicians started to use digital synthesizers instead of the Wurlitzer. The last model, the 200A, was discontinued by 1983.[15] In total, around 120,000 instruments were produced.[16] The Corinth factory finally closed in October 1988. Baldwin, who had bought Wurlitzer the previous year, demanded that all of the plant's records, including designs for the electric pianos, were destroyed.[17]

The Wurlitzer was popular with bar bands and amateur musicians, as it allowed pianists to use the same instrument at each gig, instead of having to use whatever instrument happened to be available at the venue. Its relative portability meant it was also a suitable instrument for practice or songwriting.[18]

Wurlitzer published trade advertisements featuring celebrities such as Count Basie, Marian McPartland and Frederick Dvonch. Steve Allen featured in several Wurlitzer advertisements and recorded a series of promotional albums for the company.[16]

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Benjamin Miessner

Benjamin Miessner

Benjamin Franklin Miessner was an American radio engineer and inventor. He is most known for his electronic organ, electronic piano, and other musical instruments. He was the inventor of the Cat's whisker detector.

NAMM Show

NAMM Show

The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology communities".

Headphones

Headphones

Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an audio source privately, in contrast to a loudspeaker, which emits sound into the open air for anyone nearby to hear. Headphones are also known as earphones or, colloquially, cans. Circumaural and supra-aural headphones use a band over the top of the head to hold the speakers in place. Another type, known as earbuds or earpieces consist of individual units that plug into the user's ear canal. A third type are bone conduction headphones, which typically wrap around the back of the head and rest in front of the ear canal, leaving the ear canal open. In the context of telecommunication, a headset is a combination of headphone and microphone.

Corinth, Mississippi

Corinth, Mississippi

Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,573 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee.

DeKalb, Illinois

DeKalb, Illinois

DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,290 at the 2020 census, down from 43,862 at the 2010 census. The city is named after decorated Franconian-French war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War.

Logan, Utah

Logan, Utah

Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 census recorded the population was 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Cache County and Franklin County, Idaho. The Logan metropolitan area contained 125,442 people as of the 2010 census and was declared by Morgan Quitno in 2005 and 2007 to be the safest in the United States in those years. Logan also is the location of the main campus of Utah State University.

Digital synthesizer

Digital synthesizer

A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds. This in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digital recordings of acoustic, electric, or electronic instruments. Some digital synthesizers emulate analog synthesizers; others include sampling capability in addition to digital synthesis.

Baldwin Piano Company

Baldwin Piano Company

The Baldwin Piano Company is an American piano brand. It was once the largest US-based manufacturer of keyboard instruments and known by the slogan, "America's Favorite Piano". Since 2001, it has been a subsidiary of Gibson Brands, Inc. It ceased most domestic production in December 2008, moving its total production to China.

Count Basie

Count Basie

William James "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and their first recording. He led the group for almost 50 years, creating innovations like the use of two "split" tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others. Many musicians came to prominence under his direction, including the tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, the guitarist Freddie Green, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison, plunger trombonist Al Grey, and singers Jimmy Rushing, Helen Humes, Thelma Carpenter, and Joe Williams.

Marian McPartland

Marian McPartland

Margaret Marian McPartland OBE, was an English–American jazz pianist, composer, and writer. She was the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio from 1978 to 2011.

Steve Allen

Steve Allen

Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and first host of The Tonight Show, which was the first late-night television talk show.

Models

Most Wurlitzer electric pianos are portable, and have removable legs and a 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 attached through the right side of the instrument, with the pedal eventually being connected directly under the unit in 1956, beginning with the model 112A.[19]

Portable models

A model 200A next to a guitar amplifier
A model 200A next to a guitar amplifier

The earliest versions were the "100" series; these had a case made from painted fibreboard and were fitted with a single loudspeaker mounted in the rear of the case.[1] The 120 was introduced in 1956 with a lighter cabinet, an improved reed system, electromagnetic shielding, and, via an uncommon optional external "tone cabinet" called the 920, a tremolo effect.[20]

The 140 was introduced in 1962. It now included an onboard tremolo, which was incorrectly labelled "vibrato" on the control panel. It had a fixed rate but adjustable depth.[13][21] Models produced until the early 1960s used vacuum tube circuitry exclusively; the 140 was the first with a transistor amplifier. The model 145 had a tube amplifier and was produced concurrently with the 140. The 145B, the final portable tube model, was phased out in late 1965, while the 140B continued.[13] Around 8,000 140Bs were manufactured.[22] There was a solid-state classroom variant, the 146B, later renamed the 146.[23]

In 1968, the plastic-lidded 200 was introduced, replacing the earlier wooden models.[16] It was a much lighter instrument (56 pounds (25 kg) without the legs or pedal)[8] with a 30 watt amplifier and two loudspeakers facing the player. This helped cut costs as the case could be moulded instead of having to be sawn and joined together. The 200 featured a different keyboard action to earlier models, and a reworked tremolo effect. The instrument's top was hinged at the back, which made it easy to service and repair.[22] It became the most popular Wurlitzer model, with around 88,000 produced.[16] The 200 was available in black, dark "Forest Green", red or beige.[22]

This model was updated as the 200A in 1974 and continued in production into 1983.[24] It featured an improved shield over the reed and pickups to reduce mains hum, which had been a problem with the 200.[25] The last version to be introduced was the 200B in 1978. It was externally identical to the 200A but was designed to be powered by a pair of high-voltage batteries and had no internal amplifier or speakers, in order to reduce hum from the instrument.[26]

Console models

Model 214Model 203
Model 214
Model 214Model 203
Model 203

One important role for the Wurlitzer piano was as a student instrument in schools and colleges, and non-portable console versions were made for this purpose.[27] The teacher had a headphone and microphone to be able to listen into each student individually and talk to them without others hearing. All students listened to each of their instruments through headphones. Up to 24 individual student instruments could be connected together. According to former Wurlitzer employee Bill Fuller, 75% of all universities used Wurlitzer piano labs in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and some facilities were still in operation as late as 2000.[28]

Most student models resemble a beige or light green Model 200 mounted on a matching pedestal containing a loudspeaker, headphone niche and sustain pedal. There is no tremolo (although earlier models simply have the facility disabled). Some of these models were given the designation 206/206A.[23] Rarer than the student models are the teacher consoles such as 205V and 207, featuring multiple monitor/mute switches and, in some cases the facility to add a large illuminated display panel ("Key Note Visualizer") operated via the keyboard.[29] Standalone classroom consoles were the 214/215 series, and home/stage consoles were the 203, 203W and 210. An unusual, angular version was the 300, only available in Europe around early 1973.[30]

106P

Model 106 classroom piano.Note: Two knobs on the left are not the originals.Model 207 teacher's console for music labs.[31]
Model 106 classroom piano.
Note: Two knobs on the left are not the originals.
Model 106 classroom piano.Note: Two knobs on the left are not the originals.Model 207 teacher's console for music labs.[31]
Model 207 teacher's console for music labs.[31]
Model 106 classroom piano.Note: Two knobs on the left are not the originals.Model 207 teacher's console for music labs.[31]

A rare version, and the only known model not to have 64 keys is the 106P (P for "Pupil"), a 44-note classroom model with a plastic case, no controls, one loudspeaker and no sustain pedal.[32] The 106P was available as a set of eight on a folding frame, forming a portable keyboard lab. They were attached by a cable to a full-size teacher piano with controls to feature each pupil piano.[33] This model appears to date from the early 1970s and was available in orange or beige. Page McConnell, of the rock band Phish, has played a customized 106P with an additional vibration circuit.[34]

Other models

Since production began, small numbers of wood-cased spinet-style instruments were made for domestic use.[35] The model 700 was the same amplifier and action as the portable 120, and featured a 12-inch (300 mm) internal speaker that emphasized bass frequencies better.[13] The longer-keyed model 720 was the spinet version of the 145 tube model.[13]

The 200A had a domestic sister model 270 called the "Butterfly Baby Grand",[36] a semicircular, walnut finish wooden-cased piano with twin quadrant-shaped lids angled above horizontally mounted 8" loudspeakers.[37]

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Bowden cable

Bowden cable

A Bowden cable is a type of flexible cable used to transmit mechanical force or energy by the movement of an inner cable relative to a hollow outer cable housing. The housing is generally of composite construction, consisting of an inner lining, a longitudinally incompressible layer such as a helical winding or a sheaf of steel wire, and a protective outer covering.

Spinet

Spinet

A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ.

Loudspeaker

Loudspeaker

A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A speaker system, also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or "loudspeaker", comprises one or more such speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections possibly including a crossover network. The speaker driver can be viewed as a linear motor attached to a diaphragm which couples that motor's movement to motion of air, that is, sound. An audio signal, typically from a microphone, recording, or radio broadcast, is amplified electronically to a power level capable of driving that motor in order to reproduce the sound corresponding to the original unamplified electronic signal. This is thus the opposite function to the microphone; indeed the dynamic speaker driver, by far the most common type, is a linear motor in the same basic configuration as the dynamic microphone which uses such a motor in reverse, as a generator.

Electromagnetic shielding

Electromagnetic shielding

In electrical engineering, electromagnetic shielding is the practice of reducing or blocking the electromagnetic field (EMF) in a space with barriers made of conductive or magnetic materials. It is typically applied to enclosures, for isolating electrical devices from their surroundings, and to cables to isolate wires from the environment through which the cable runs. Electromagnetic shielding that blocks radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation is also known as RF shielding.

Tremolo

Tremolo

In music, tremolo, or tremolando, is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo.

Vacuum tube

Vacuum tube

A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve, or tube, is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied.

Mains hum

Mains hum

Mains hum, electric hum, cycle hum, or power line hum is a sound associated with alternating current which is twice the frequency of the mains electricity. The fundamental frequency of this sound is usually double that of fundamental 50/60 Hz, i.e. 100/120 Hz, depending on the local power-line frequency. The sound often has heavy harmonic content above 50/60 Hz. Because of the presence of mains current in mains-powered audio equipment as well as ubiquitous AC electromagnetic fields from nearby appliances and wiring, 50/60 Hz electrical noise can get into audio systems, and is heard as mains hum from their speakers. Mains hum may also be heard coming from powerful electric power grid equipment such as utility transformers, caused by mechanical vibrations induced by magnetostriction in magnetic core. Onboard aircraft the frequency heard is often higher pitched, due to the use of 400 Hz AC power in these settings because 400 Hz transformers are much smaller and lighter.

Page McConnell

Page McConnell

Page Samuel McConnell is an American multi-instrumentalist, most noted for his work as the keyboardist and a songwriter for the band Phish.

Phish

Phish

Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the lead vocalist.

Circular sector

Circular sector

A circular sector, also known as circle sector or disk sector, is the portion of a disk enclosed by two radii and an arc, where the smaller area is known as the minor sector and the larger being the major sector. In the diagram, θ is the central angle, the radius of the circle, and is the arc length of the minor sector.

Maintenance

The most common maintenance and service task on a Wurlitzer is replacing broken reeds. In order to sound the correct pitch, each reed has a blob of solder on the end, which must be filed off to produce the right weight. Reeds have elongated screw holes, which allows fine tuning by moving it backwards and forwards in the assembly before fastening.[38] It is still possible to buy spare reeds, or take them from another instrument that has broken.[39] A further issue is debris between a reed and the pickup causing distortion or pops. The easiest way to fix this is to repeatedly press each key in order to dislodge the dirt. Failing that, a more comprehensive solution is to open the instrument up and spray compressed air at the affected area.[23]

In contrast, Wurlitzer purposefully over-engineered the piano action, as it was designed to resemble that of an acoustic piano to help teaching. Unlike the hammers on a Rhodes, which can develop unwanted grooves from over-hitting, the action on a Wurlitzer has been seen to operate well into the 21st century.[27]

Clones

The Wurlitzer is emulated in several modern digital keyboards,[40] though its electromechanical sound production is difficult to emulate in a synthesized instrument. The Korg SV1 has been critically praised for its accurate emulation of a Wurlitzer.[41] The Nord Stage includes the emulation of a Wurlitzer.[42]

In 2012, Arturia released the Wurlitzer V, a Virtual Studio Technology (VST) software emulation of the original instrument.[43] Apple's Logic Pro X includes an emulation of a Wurlitzer 200A.[44]

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Nord Stage

Nord Stage

The Nord Stage is a digital keyboard or stage piano, manufactured by Clavia Digital Music Instruments of Stockholm, Sweden. There have been six editions of the instrument: the original Nord Stage in 2005, the Nord Stage EX in 2008, the Nord Stage 2 in 2011, the Nord Stage 2 EX in 2015, the Nord Stage 3 in 2017, and the Nord Stage 4 in 2023.

Arturia

Arturia

Arturia is a French electronics company founded in 1999 and based in Grenoble, France. The company designs and manufactures audio interfaces and electronic musical instruments, including software synthesizers, drum machines, analog synthesizers, digital synthesizers, MIDI controllers, sequencers, and mobile apps.

Virtual Studio Technology

Virtual Studio Technology

Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an audio plug-in software interface that integrates software synthesizers and effects units into digital audio workstations. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware in software. Thousands of plugins exist, both commercial and freeware, and many audio applications support VST under license from its creator, Steinberg.

Key releases

Image Model name / number Years produced Description
100 1954 Pilot product. No more than 50 were made, if that. Only known from archival marketing photographs.[11]
110 1954–1955[11] Test-marketed portable model.
Wurlitzer Electronic Piano model 112 (with original legs).jpg 112 1955–1956 First mass-produced portable Wurlitzer. [11]
112A 1956 Sustain pedal attaches underneath the instrument, as opposed to the side on earlier models.[45] Redesigned Pratt-Read action.
120 1956–1962 First model to feature tremolo (in external optional amp, the 920).[20]
140, pre-A, A and B variants. 1962–1968 First to feature a solid-state amplifier. First model to feature internal tremolo ("vibrato"). Action redesign.[13]
Wurlitzer Electronic Piano 200A (2), Museum of Making Music.jpg 200 (pre-A and A variants) 1968–1983 The most popular models produced. Plastic-topped. Lighter, more portable, more compact. Dual speakers.[46]
Wurlitzer 206A, LowSwing studio, Berlin, 2011-01-22 13 39 42.jpg 206/207/214 (pre-A and A variants) 1968–1983 Student, Teacher and standalone "Classroom" models

Notable users

Jazz pianist Sun Ra may have been the first to release recordings using the instrument, on 1956 singles later compiled on his album Angels and Demons at Play.[47] Ray Charles began playing a Wurlitzer, as he preferred to take a portable instrument with him instead of using whatever piano was at a venue; his 1959 hit What'd I Say featured the model 120 prominently. Joe Zawinul borrowed Charles' Wurlitzer for a gig backing Dinah Washington, and liked the instrument enough to buy his own model.[18] He played a model 140B on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," his 1966 hit with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet.[47] Spooner Oldham used a 140B Wurlitzer on Aretha Franklin's 1967 single "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", playing a riff that runs through the whole song, while Earl Van Dyke played one on Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".[18] The Small Faces used a 140B Wurlitzer on "Lazy Sunday".[40]

The instrument was used extensively by British band Supertramp in the 1970s, in songs such as "The Logical Song", "Goodbye Stranger" and "Dreamer".[18][47][48] Queen's John Deacon played a Wurlitzer on their hit "You're My Best Friend", and Pink Floyd's Richard Wright played one on "Money".[18] Part of the iconic sound of the early Carpenters' hits was Richard Carpenter's Wurlitzer electronic piano.[49]

Eddie Van Halen played a Wurlitzer through an MXR flanger and Marshall amplifier on "And the Cradle Will Rock..." on Van Halen's 1980 album Women and Children First.[50][51] Norah Jones has regularly used a Wurlitzer on stage. Her preferred model is a 206 (a student version of the 200) repainted in a deep-red finish.[52]

Discover more about Notable users related topics

Angels and Demons at Play

Angels and Demons at Play

Angels and Demons at Play is a jazz album by Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra.

Joe Zawinul

Joe Zawinul

Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, a musical genre that combined jazz with rock. He co-founded the groups Weather Report and The Zawinul Syndicate. He pioneered the use of electric piano and synthesizer, and was named "Best Electric Keyboardist" twenty-eight times by the readers of DownBeat magazine.

Dinah Washington

Dinah Washington

Dinah Washington was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues". She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a jazz song written by Joe Zawinul in 1966 for Cannonball Adderley and which appears on his album Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club". The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit in February 1967. "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" went to #2 on the Soul chart and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Cannonball Adderley

Cannonball Adderley

Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s.

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With global sales of over 75 million records, Franklin is one of the world's best-selling music artists.

I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)

I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)

"I Never Loved a Man " is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin. Released on Atlantic Records, as the first big hit of her career, it became a defining song for Franklin, peaking at number one on the rhythm and blues charts and number nine on the pop charts. The B-side was "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man". Before this Franklin had placed only two Top 40 singles on the pop chart during her modest tenure with Columbia Records.

Earl Van Dyke

Earl Van Dyke

Earl Van Dyke was an American soul musician, most notable as the main keyboardist for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye, was an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a single in September 1967. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and number two on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and shortly became the biggest selling Motown single up to that time.

Lazy Sunday (Small Faces song)

Lazy Sunday (Small Faces song)

"Lazy Sunday" is a song by the English band Small Faces, which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in 1968. It was written by the Small Faces songwriting duo Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, and appeared on the band's 1968 concept album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake. Against the band's wishes, it preceded the album as a single release.

Goodbye Stranger

Goodbye Stranger

"Goodbye Stranger" is a song by the English rock band Supertramp; it was written by Rick Davies. The song first appeared on their sixth studio album, Breakfast in America (1979). The lyrics present an "optimistic view from a drifter."

Source: "Wurlitzer electronic piano", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 9th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurlitzer_electronic_piano.

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Hammond organ

Rhodes piano

Vox (company)

Digital piano

Electric piano

Clavinet

Electric organ

Hohner Pianet

Stage piano

Rocky Mount Instruments

Electric grand piano

Nord Electro

Fender Contempo Organ

Vox Continental

Gibson G-101

Cembalet

Music technology (electric)

Yamaha CP-70
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wurlitzer electric pianos.

Citations

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  20. ^ a b Lenhoff & Robertson 2019, pp. 112–113.
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  22. ^ a b c Lenhoff & Robertson 2019, p. 115.
  23. ^ a b c Lenhoff & Robertson 2019, p. 119.
  24. ^ Lenhoff & Robertson 2019, pp. 115, 121.
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  51. ^ "Eddie Van Halen goes deep on the playing and tone secrets behind 10 iconic Van Halen tracks". Guitar World. October 6, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  52. ^ Lenhoff & Robertson 2019, p. 101.

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