WURLY HOTLINE
Working on a Wurlitzer electronic piano and have a question? Ask the Wurly Hotline!
The Wurly Hotline is a completely free consultation service offering Wurlitzer repair help and advice to musicians, keyboard owners and techs who are troubleshooting, brainstorming and solving tricky problems about their keyboards. Every question is answered by the Tropical Fish team. You are welcome to ask anything—there’s no purchase or donation expected.
Feel free to include as much or as little detail as you’d like. More detail helps us tailor our answer to your specific Wurlitzer.
If the Hotline has been useful to you and you would like to support the work behind it, consider donating to Tropical Fish Archive. The Archive is our project to digitize tens of thousands of pages of Wurlitzer factory engineering documentation that was almost lost forever in 2022. Digitizing the Wurlitzer factory documents helps keep obscure knowledge alive so that everyone can continue to play and repair vintage instruments for decades to come.
Why the Wurly Hotline?
When we first started repairing vintage keyboards, we would constantly run into problems that we had no idea how to solve. Eventually, we figured it out—although it generally took a lot of blood, sweat, tears, half-splitting, chopsticking, extremely elaborate Boolean search strings, re-evaluation of all the life choices that brought us to this point, vows to never buy another broken thing from Facebook ever again, etc. etc.
The most helpful thing was another person to bounce ideas off of, but that was almost never available to us. In repair circles, advice is freely given and information is guarded closely.
In truth, the answers to most keyboard problems are solvable with basic electronics and mechanical know-how that has gradually become less and less accessible. When Wurlitzer was in business, information could be obtained from their support department. When Wurlitzer ended production of electronic pianos and organs, a lot of people were still passionate about its keyboards, and tried to maintain the knowledge of how to repair them.
But the Wurlitzer Company was a cultural juggernaut with hundreds of employees and factories from New York to Utah. Its collapse could not be replaced by a loose network of individuals and small businesses. Eventually, people retire and businesses close, and the information they hold is lost.
Anyone who re-discovers repair techniques from first principles deserves a lot of credit. But treating those techniques as proprietary knowledge is counterproductive. It limits the number of working keyboards in existence, and the number of people who are able to play them is limited too.
Most importantly, fixing keyboards is fun, and playing a keyboard you’ve brought back from the brink of a dumpster is the best feeling on earth. So, grab your grossest, least functional electronic piano, tell us what’s wrong with it, and let’s make it make music again.
Wurly Hotline FAQ
What can I ask the hotline?
Any question about electronic pianos and amplifiers, including how to source, repair, maintain, record, and modify them.
Can I ask about an instrument that is not a Wurlitzer?
Yes. We might not be able to answer with the same specificity, but we can probably give some suggestions. Our areas of expertise are Wurlitzer, Rhodes, and tube and early solid state amplifiers. We’ve also repaired many less common analog keyboards. If we’re not at all familiar with the instrument, we’ll try to point you in the right direction.
Is the hotline really free?
Yes. The Hotline is completely free to use. Ask away!
Can I tip or pay you for a better answer?
Although the Hotline is free, we put a lot of thought and effort into every answer. There is no secret paid tier.
If you enjoy the Hotline and would like to contribute towards the background info that makes it possible, considering donating to the Tropical Fish Archive. The Archive is our project to digitize our collection of Wurlitzer factory documentation for everyone to enjoy.
When can I expect a reply to my inquiry?
We do our best to answer as soon as we can. In some cases, a thoughtful answer may take a few days.
If your question is time-sensitive, make a note of that and we will prioritize it if possible. We may not be able to accommodate all requests for an expedited answer.
Should I join the mailing list?
If you like the Hotline, you may like the mailing list too. We send fairly infrequent emails a few times per month to announce when we have new products or keyboards in stock, or if we have an interesting project that we’re working on.
If you don’t want to receive updates about product drops, the Tropical Fish Archive mailing list has news about interesting things we’ve discovered among the Wurlitzer documents. The documents have details and specs about Wurlitzer instruments that are incredibly useful for repair. Join the Archive mailing list here.
There is no obligation whatsoever to join either mailing list.
I’m thinking of buying a Wurlitzer from an online seller. Can you tell me if it’s a good deal?
At this point, every Wurlitzer is one-of-a-kind, so if a keyboard speaks to you and it’s in your budget, you should probably buy it.
If it’s kinda expensive and giving you a lukewarm feeling, wait for the next one. (Wurlitzer made a ton of these—there will always be a next one.)
If you would like us to check out the listing and let you know our opinion about its condition, send us a few photos and we’ll be happy to consult. We can give you some pointers on what to look for, and what kind of work it is likely to require.