Guides to Vintage Instrument History & Repair

Here you’ll find all of our guides to vintage keyboards and amps, their repair, and their history, all in one place. This includes our articles on Wurlitzer restoration, comparisons between different electronic piano models, and photos of our previous restorations. Also listed: buying guides for gear and accessories, recording tips, and information about Vesper amplifiers.

If you find any of these articles useful, please let us know. We’d love to hear about the restorations that you perform on your vintage amp or keyboard!

Need a little help diagnosing your Wurlitzer? Try our free Wurly Hotline!

Wurlitzer Repair Guides

General Guides to Wurlitzer Electronic Pianos

• How does a Wurlitzer electronic piano work?

• How do I tell if my Wurlitzer requires maintenance?

• How is a Wurlitzer tube amp different from a guitar amp?

• How many Wurlitzers should I have?

• Why We Love Wurlitzers with Built-In Leg Storage

• What speaker impedances can I safely connect to my tube Wurlitzer electronic piano?

• Essential Accessories for Wurlitzer Electronic Pianos

Guides to Vintage Wurlitzer Documents

• On reading Wurlitzer patents

• How We Digitized the Wurlitzer Service Manuals

• Download Wurlitzer service manuals here

• On the Wurlitzer 112 Service Manual

• On the Wurlitzer 120 Service Manual

• On the Wurlitzer 700 Service Manual

Wurlitzer Repair: Getting Started

• Why Your Wurlitzer 206 Electronic Piano is a Shock Hazard (and How to Fix It)

• On Modifying a Wurlitzer

• Steps to Restoring a Vintage Wurlitzer Keyboard

• Should I repair or replace my Wurlitzer 200 or 200a amplifier?

• Easy Fixes for Malfunctioning Wurlitzers

• How to Remove Your Wurlitzer’s Lid

• On Wurlitzer Shielding

Wurlitzer Electronic Pianos: Cosmetic Repairs

• How to Clean an Electronic Piano, Part I

• How to Clean an Electronic Piano, Part II

• De-Rusting Rhodes & Wurlitzer Parts with Evapo-Rust

• What Not to Clean, or How to Avoid Destroying Your Wurlitzer

• How to Replace Wurlitzer 200 or 200a Metal Feet

• How to De-Rust Wurlitzer Legs (or Any Oversized Item)

• Refinishing Old Veneer: How we repainted a Wurlitzer 700

Wurlitzer Electronic Pianos: Mechanical Repairs

• A Short Guide to Wurlitzer Electronic Piano Sustain Problems

• Popping and Crackling Sounds in Wurlitzer Electronic Pianos

• How to Tune a Wurlitzer Electronic Piano Reed

• Does my Wurlitzer need new key bushing felts?

• Why are my Wurlitzer’s keys sticking?

Wurlitzer Electronic Pianos: Electronic Repair

• How to convert a Wurlitzer 206 into a Wurlitzer 200

• On the Wurlitzer 120/700 Amplifier

• Wurlitzer 120/700 Amplifier: Circuit Analysis

• Why does my Wurlitzer 112 amp have a weird octal plug that goes nowhere?

• Why Our 145 Chassis is Bigger and Better than the Original

• The Wurlitzer 120 Pilot Light: a Neon Glow Lamp

• What is the difference between a Wurlitzer’s headphone output and aux output?

• See Amplifier Repair Guides below for more general how-to articles

 Amplifier Repair Guides

General Guides to Vintage Circuits

• How Vacuum Tubes Work

• What do filter caps do?

• On Vacuum Tube Heaters

• On Cathode Bypass Capacitors

• On Troubleshooting

Speakers & Outputs

• On Speaker Impedance

• How to Tell If Your Speaker is Blown

Vintage Gear Safety Guides

• On Electronics Safety

• Vintage Instrument Safety Guide

• Is it safe to troubleshoot my amplifier?

Guides to Repairing Vintage Wurlitzers

• How to Fix Hum in Your Wurlitzer Electronic Piano (Or Vintage Amp): Part I

• How to Fix Hum in Your Wurlitzer Electronic Piano (Or Vintage Amp): Part II

• Troubleshooting My Wurlitzer Electronic Piano’s Tube Amp: User Serviceable Edition

• What components should I replace in my vintage Wurlitzer amp, and why?

• Checking and Changing the Fuse in Your Tube Amplifier

Guides to Repairing Vintage Amplifiers

• How to Troubleshoot Any Amplifier: Start with trivial problems.

• Drawing the Line Between Troubleshooting an Amplifier and Modifying It

• Common Tube Amp Malfunctions: How to accurately diagnose what is wrong with your vintage amplifier.

• Common Tube Amp Malfunctions: My amp doesn’t turn on.

• Common Tube Amp Malfunctions: My amp makes no sound.

• Common Tube Amp Malfunctions: The amp smells like it’s burning.

• Gibson GA-5 vs Fender 5F1: Circuit Analysis

• How to Convert a Gibson GA-5 to a Fender 5F1 (or vice versa)

• How to Replace Vintage Filter Capacitor Cans

Vintage Component Spotlight

• Carbon Composition Resistors

• Compactron Tubes

Vintage Instrument Buying Guides

Comparing Vintage Electronic Pianos

• Choose the Right Wurlitzer Model with Our Quick Guide to Wurlitzers!

• Wurlitzer Quick Reference Chart: Things We Included and Things We Didn’t

• What is the difference between a Rhodes and a Wurlitzer?

• What is the difference between a Wurlitzer 200 and a Wurlitzer 200a?

• What is the difference between a Wurlitzer 140/140a/140b and a Wurlitzer 145?

Buying Guides for Other Instruments

• What Keyboard Amp Should I Choose?

• What to Look for When Buying a Fender Rhodes Electronic Piano

• Gear Review: Our favorite power strip of all time.

Specific Vintage Keyboard Models

 History of Various Wurlitzer Electronic Piano Models

• The Wurlitzer 206 Student Model, Explained

• The Wurlitzer 203/210, Explained

• The Wurlitzer 700, Explained

• The Wurlitzer 112, Explained

Wurlitzer Electronic Piano Archives (100-Series)

• Wurlitzer 112: Details & Closeups

• In Restoration: Wurlitzer 140b

• In Restoration: August 2018

• In Restoration: Wurlitzer 145

• In Restoration: Removing Duct Tape from the Wurlitzer 140a

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 120

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 112a

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 200 Circuit Board

Wurlitzer Electronic Piano Archives (700-Series)

• Seeing Double: Wurlitzer 700

• Wurlitzer 700 (Mahogany): Details & Closeups

• Enabling the Vibrato in a Wurlitzer 726

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 720a

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 726

Wurlitzer Electronic Piano Archives (200-Series)

• In Restoration: August 2018

• In Restoration: Four 206 Model Wurlitzers

• In Restoration: Wurlitzer 203w

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 203

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 200a

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 200

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 214

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 206 Student Electronic Pianos

• From the Archives: Wurlitzer 206a

Fender Rhodes

• In Restoration: Rhodes Mk I

• About the 1981-1984 Late-Model Rhodes Mk II

• What Should Come With a Fender Rhodes Stage Piano: A List

Other Keyboards

• In Restoration: Mediterranean Optigan

Vintage Gear History & Restorations

History of The Wurlitzer Company

• Things You Didn’t Know About Wurlitzer #1: The first Wurlitzer electric piano dates to 1899.

• More About the Tonophone

• Things You Didn’t Know About Wurlitzer #2: Wurlitzer was a major company throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

• Things You Didn’t Know About Wurlitzer #3: For a brief period, Wurlitzer was the premier supplier of automatic harps to San Francisco brothels.

History of Vintage Guitars & Amplifiers

• What is this Gibson GA-5 and why does it remind me of a Fender Champ?

• The Lap Steel Craze and the Gibson BR-9

• What is a widowmaker amplifier?

Vintage Amplifier Archives

• Sears Silvertone Hi Fi to Guitar Amp Conversion

• In Restoration: Vintage Sears Hi Fi Amp

• In Restoration: Dynavox Rebuild

• The Music Man 130HD and Why It’s So Amazing

Guides to Other Vintage Gear

• Allen & Heath GS-3: Cleaning the Knobs on a Vintage Console

• Allen & Heath GS-3: Circuit Photos

Vesper Amplifiers

• About the Vesper’s Bent Wood Cabinet

• What is a hand-wired amplifier?

Recording & Listening

Recording Guides

• Do I need a preamp for recording my synth?

• Techniques for Recording a Wurlitzer Electronic Keyboard

• What pedals should you put in your Wurlitzer’s effects loop?

• Audio Recording at Home for Social Media

• Should I use a dynamic or condenser microphone?

Wurlitzers in Music

• Billie Eilish and Finneas playing “Sunny” on a Wurlitzer 203, and more Wurlitzer videos