Later 200A Wurlitzers had a rear logo.
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 fewer electronic pianos in the 1980s.
You can see the deep paint texture on the matching bench.
A rare vintage keyboard is always an exciting thing, but sometimes what makes your instrument exceptional may not be immediately apparent. Take, for instance, a 1980 (or later) Wurlitzer 200A. From the outside this instrument may appear very similar to 200A models from previous years. However, if you look a little closer, you will start to notice some real differences.
Cosmetic differences in a 1980s Wurlitzer 200A
Deeper texture. Some of the first things you will notice that set a 1980 apart are the cosmetics. All Wurlitzers had textured paint on the keyboard’s base, the pedal housing and the bench, but the 1980s releases dialed that texture up to eleven. By that, I mean that the crevices are deeper, and the texture pops a lot more. This obviously doesn’t affect the sound, but it looks cool, and since Wurlitzer made fewer keyboards in the 1980s it is very unique.
Rear logo. The 1980 Wurlitzer also had an authentic metal ‘badge’ fixed to the back of the lid. The back of previous 200A and other models is a little minimal, so it seems that Wurlitzer eventually felt a little extra branding might be a good idea. It is a very cool addition if you are performing and the audience can see the back of the keyboard.
The power socket. Another feature that is unique to late 200A Wurlitzers is an IEC socket. It is unclear when IEC sockets began to be installed, but they are definitely present from 1980 onwards. Previous models had an oval power socket, which is very stylish but requires a matching power cord. An IEC gives you the flexibility to use any currently-produced IEC power cord. Although you can change an oval power cord to a new IEC, it is nice to have a factory-installed IEC. You can rest assured that Wurlitzer routed a nice clean hole for the socket and painted over it with original paint.
1980s Wurlitzers have IEC power sockets—which can be used with new-production IEC power cords—instead of oval sockets
Inside the 1980 Wurlitzer
When we popped the lid of our 1980 Wurlitzer 200A, we started to notice some differences right away. First of all, how clean and new it looked. Okay, something born in 1980 is becoming less of a spring chicken these days, but that’s certainly younger than something from 1970, right? So, it’s more likely that the inside will be cleaner.
The ceramic speakers also had square magnets, something we have only seen on 1980 or very close to 1980 Wurlitzers. The metal parts were very fresh and free from oxidation. While there are many factors that contribute to metal oxidation (including where and how a keyboard is stored), certainly a younger instrument has a better shot at staying clean and this was the case here.
Manufacturing changed for Wurlitzer in 1980
As I mentioned, in 1980 Wurlitzer started to scale back the production of it’s electronic pianos. Perhaps they were no longer frantically trying to build as many as possible to meet demand. If they were taking their time, it shows. In this particular 1980 Wurlitzer that we found, the tolerances and measurements were great. For instance, they keys met the lower capstans almost perfectly on center. The hum shield mounting screws, also on center. The lid sits on the key base more evenly.
In short, an early or mid production Wurlitzer 200/200A is cool, and on these imperfect (but—don’t get me wrong—amazing) instruments you could find a real gem from any year. But the 1980 Wurlitzers are just rare because of their low numbers, and finding a nice one of those is certainly worthy of adding to the collection, or studio! You may not come across another one like it.
Further Reading
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