Wurlitzer electronic piano | |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Wurlitzer |
Dates | 1954–1983 |
Technical specifications | |
Polyphony | Full |
Synthesis type | Electromechanical |
Effects | Vibrato (single speed) |
Input/output | |
Keyboard | 64 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. 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. Its action and performance makes it stable enough for years of use.
The sound of a Wurlitzer electronic piano is generated electromechanically by striking a metal reed with a felt hammer, using conventional piano action. [1] This induces an electrical current in an electrostatic pickup system running at 170 V DC. [2] [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. [2] 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 break through metal fatigue. Any debris between the reed and the pickup can cause a short circuit and produce a burst of distortion. [7]
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 Convention 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 afterward, 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]
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]
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. [2] 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]
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]
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]
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]
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 backward and forward 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]
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]
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. | |
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] | |
200 (pre-A and A variants) | 1968–1983 | The most popular models produced. Plastic-topped. Lighter, more portable, more compact. Dual speakers. [46] | |
206/207/214 (pre-A and A variants) | 1968–1983 | Student, Teacher and standalone "Classroom" models |
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]
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup, and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier to drive a speaker cabinet. The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker.
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.
Vox is a British musical equipment manufacturer founded in 1957 by Thomas Walter Jennings in Dartford, Kent, England. The company is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, used by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Queen, Dire Straits, U2, and Radiohead; the Vox Continental electric organ, the Vox wah-wah pedal used by Jimi Hendrix, and a series of innovative electric guitars and bass guitars. Since 1992, Vox has been owned by the Japanese electronics firm Korg.
A digital piano is a type of electronic keyboard instrument designed to serve primarily as an alternative to the traditional acoustic piano, both in how it feels to play and in the sound it produces. Digital pianos use either synthesized emulation or recorded samples of an acoustic piano, which are played through one or more internal loudspeakers. They also incorporate weighted keys, which recreate the feel of an acoustic piano. Some digital pianos are designed to also look like an upright or grand piano. Others may be very simple, without a stand.
An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into electrical signals by pickups. The pickups are connected to an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to reinforce the sound sufficiently 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.
The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and responding to a keystroke by striking a given point on a tensioned string, and was designed to resemble the Renaissance-era clavichord.
Farfisa is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a series of other keyboard instruments. They were used by a number of popular musicians including Sam the Sham, Country Joe and the Fish, Pink Floyd, Sly Stone, Blondie, and the B-52s.
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed into several types of instruments:
The Hohner Pianet is a type of electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany and designed by Ernst Zacharias. The Pianet was a variant of his earlier reed-based Hohner electric piano, the Cembalet, which, like the Pianet, was intended for home use. Hohner offered both keyboards in their range until 1968. The Pianet production consisted of two distinctly different mechanism groups with characteristically different sound. The first group, lasting from introduction to 1977, had ground stainless steel reeds, a pick-up using variable capacitance, and leather-faced activation pads. The second group from 1977 until the end of production used rolled spring-steel reeds, electro-magnetic pick-ups, and moulded silicone rubber activation pads.
A stage piano is an electronic musical instrument designed for use in live performances on stage or in a studio, as well as for music recording in Jazz and popular music. While stage pianos share some of the same features as digital pianos designed for home use and synthesizers, they have a number of features which set them apart. Stage pianos usually provide a smaller number of sounds, with these being of higher quality than the ones found on regular digital pianos and home synthesizers.
Rocky Mount Instruments (RMI) was a subsidiary of the Allen Organ Company, based in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, active from 1966 to 1982. The company was formed to produce portable musical instruments, and manufactured several electronic pianos, harpsichords, and organs that used oscillators to create sound, instead of mechanical components like an electric piano.
The electric grand piano is a stringed musical instrument played using a keyboard, in which the vibration of strings struck by hammers is converted by pickups into electrical signals, analogous to the electric guitar's electrification of the traditional guitar.
The Nord Electro is a series of electronic keyboards, developed in Sweden by Clavia, that digitally emulate electro-mechanical keyboards, such as electric pianos and electronic organs, while designed to be highly portable.
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.
The Fender Contempo Organ is a combo organ made by Fender during the late 1960s. It was designed to compete with similar instruments such as the Vox Continental and Farfisa Compact, and had additional stops, features and controllers not found on the other models. However, it was only in production for a few years as it struggled to compete with the more popular Hammond organ and Rhodes piano.
The Vox Continental is a transistorised combo organ that was manufactured between 1962 and 1971 by the British musical equipment manufacturer Vox. It was designed for touring musicians and as an alternative to the heavy Hammond organ. It supports drawbars in a similar manner to the Hammond, and has distinctive reverse-coloured keys. The sound is generated by a series of oscillators, using a frequency divider to span multiple octaves.
The Gibson G-101 is a transistorised combo organ, manufactured in the late 1960s by the Lowrey Organ Company for Gibson.
The Cembalet is a type of electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the late-1950s to the late 1960s, and designed by Ernst Zacharias. It was a reed-based electric piano intended for home use, and the first keyboard produced by Hohner as a piano-like instrument rather than an instrument having the sustained note of an organ. It was adopted by popular musicians for recording and performance in the early 1960s because it was portable and easy to amplify electronically.
Electric music technology refers to musical instruments and recording devices that use electrical circuits, which are often combined with mechanical technologies. Examples of electric musical instruments include the electro-mechanical electric piano, the electric guitar, the electro-mechanical Hammond organ and the electric bass. All of these electric instruments do not produce a sound that is audible by the performer or audience in a performance setting unless they are connected to instrument amplifiers and loudspeaker cabinets, which made them sound loud enough for performers and the audience to hear. Amplifiers and loudspeakers are separate from the instrument in the case of the electric guitar, electric bass and some electric organs and most electric pianos. Some electric organs and electric pianos include the amplifier and speaker cabinet within the main housing for the instrument.
The Yamaha CP-70 is an electric piano manufactured by Yamaha Corporation between 1976 and 1985. The instrument was based on earlier electric piano technology, but took advantage of improved pickups along with the company's longstanding experience in manufacturing acoustic pianos.
Citations
Sources