Wurlitzer in the 140 series are transitional models: more reliable than Wurlitzer’s earlier electronic pianos, but not as portable as later models. On the other hand, the 200-series is the iconic final iteration of Wurlitzer keyboards: smaller, lighter, more chrome. If there’s a Wurlitzer 140 (or any of its many variants, from the 140b to the 145) that has caught your eye, you may be wondering if buying it is a good idea. How does it stack up against the 200a? Does it require more work? What are the practical differences between them? This guide is here to help.

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 less electronic pianos in those last years- we’re talking on a year-to-year basis only a fraction of what they produced in previous years.

At this point, we have only opened up this Wurlitzer 207a in order to clean it. However, we did take a thousand pictures of the very cool (and completely untouched) circuit boards inside the keyboard. So we thought we’d do a quick post to share the disassembly process.

These photos are from a batch of four student model Wurlitzers that we recently picked up. All arrived in amazing condition, with very few rips or scuffs and immaculately clean interiors. With just a little restoration, they became excellent and highly playable examples of early 200 Wurlitzers. Only one is still available.

When we’re thinking about buying a Rhodes, there are a few criteria that we use to judge potential purchases. We’re mostly concerned about how much work the Rhodes needs to become playable - and if you want your Rhodes to be a functional keyboard and not just a moderately inconvenient buffet table, you probably care about the same things we do.

In Part I of our guide on fixing hum, we listed some easy fixes. In Part II, we’ll go into further detail on techniques that require some prior electronics experience to execute. It’s worth checking out Part I first, because it listed some simple, non-invasive things that you should always be tried before diving into the amplifier’s circuitry. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume that you already tried everything in Part I. This includes:

This Wurlitzer 214 that we once had is a classic example of 214 glory. The Avocado green top was in excellent condition and the tolex was all there without any tears. The wooden keybed has some “chair” nicks and the grill cloth had some stains, but no tears! Perhaps the most amazing feature of the 214 is that it is a complete 200 set on top of a console which houses four 8” round speakers. The four speakers - two in front and two in the back - project the Wurlitzer’s awesome tone in all directions!

This Wurlitzer 120 arrived in exceptional condition. It had spent many years studio, a carpeted, finished basement housing an enormous collection of jazz records. Really the only indication that this keyboard is a late-50s vintage is the splatter-paint finish. It doesn’t show any of the cosmetic wear that you’d expect from a 60-year-old piece of gear. There’s a little bit of dust in the cheek block tolex, a little bit of patina on the metal parts, and that’s it.

When we walked into the room where the original owner had this keyboard, the seller mentioned they had it switched on for us ready to try out. We thought, oh then it must not be making sound because we heard nothing - not even the usual idle hum. We played a A-7 chord, and a wall of rich tube sound blasted out of the massive 12” alnico speaker. Needless to say, we were floored.

This is a classic example of a Wurlitzer 112a that we once had. We photographed it in our main studio live room. A serviced Wurlitzer 112a electronic piano is a powerful music making tool in any studio! The effective alnico speaker is mounted on the rear of the instrument so it can be easily mic’d without picking up much (or any) mechanical key or finger noise from the players’ hands.

This Wurlitzer 145 was brought in by a customer, who had just purchased it from its original owner. The Wurlitzer was in a state of obvious neglect: the amp was noisy, the keys were sticky, and the entire unit was covered in a film of dust. It had been refinished many years ago and had developed an interesting patina, but it needed to be handled gently because the old paint was prone to chipping. The 145 is a rare model of Wurlitzer and this one in particular was truly one-of-a-kind. We were very happy to work on it.

Fender Rhodes keyboards came with quite a few parts and accessories, many of which are subtle and easy to lose. If you’re unfamiliar with the Rhodes, it can be hard to tell if a keyboard you’re thinking about buying is complete or not.

This Wurlitzer 140a belonged to a producer for many years, and arrived at our shop in well-used condition. By that, we mean that it was pretty banged up and showed evidence of previous repairs. Also, because multiple latches were missing, the lid didn’t attach very well. At some point, it had obviously once been held in place with duct tape.

We received a pair of two optigans!

We’ve been interested in optigans for a while, but we never tried to acquire one because their maze-like construction makes them notoriously hard to service. Also, we don’t really do motors around here. But the opportunity arose to pick up two, so here we are.

The Wurlitzer 206 is the student version of the Wurlitzer 200. It is equivalent to the 200 in every day, but it is mounted on a cabinet instead of legs and some features of the amplifier are disabled. However, all of the components that are in a 200 are also present on the circuit board of the 206. Enabling vibrato and the aux output is therefore as simple as adding some wires and a 10k potentiometer. Here is how we do it.

The Wurlitzer 200 and 200a are extremely similar. If you are trying to decide between the two models, you should first of all realize that there are no bad decisions here. When restored, both types of keyboard are equally reliable, high-quality instruments. And, of course, both of them have that iconic Wurlitzer sound.

If you can’t decide between a Wurlitzer 200 and a 200a, this guide may help. Below, we’ve listed the differences between the 200 and the 200a.

Popping and crackling sounds are a very common problem in Wurlitzer keyboards. Although they may sound dramatic, they’re most often caused by debris in the reed bar. This is very common and mostly harmless to the amplifier.

There are many different problems that could make a Wurlitzer’s keys stick. Because sticky keys are so case-specific, there is no cure-all solution. However, here are some ideas as to why your Wurlitzer’s keys are sticking.

Some vintage keyboard are in a state of total dilapidation, and will obviously need a lot of work before they can be played. But others are in better condition. They turn on, sound comes out, all or most of the keys work. Is this enough? When can servicing a keyboard that “works” make it perform much better?

This is a classic example of a Wurlitzer 200a that we once had. We photographed it in front of a wall at the studio - actually, in the control room. (The “signal” stencil is a holdover from the building’s time as a Metro-North Railroad switching station.) The floor is very slanted so we got to use an underrated feature that all portable 200 models have: adjustable feet.