Wurlitzer 200 Regulation Self Service

[Allenm]

Hello! I have a few questions regarding my wurlitzer...

I had my wurlitzer regulated by Switched on back in 2015. I thought it played well until I purchased a sustain pedal. Then the action felt weak, loose, and too light when engaged. So I purchased several tools and lube from VVibe. After taking apart the piano I found that the action centers were relatively sluggish and slow, so I lubed and worked them. Then I began to adjust for lost motion which I believe is fine as of now. My let off seems to be spot on. My springs and felts seem to be in good condition. So I put the piano back together, plugged  in the pedal and It still feels too light, especially the lower keys and higher keys. Is there anything else I can do to make the feel more firm? My key height is 2" and everything else seems to be in alignment, keys fall freely, not tight. I would think lubing the key pins and action centers would've solved this but didnt...


Another problem I noticed is after aligning the hammers to center of reed, two of the reeds sound dull and don't sustain as long (this wasnt the case before). I also don't have much of that wurlitzer bark only the lower notes have it. Not anything above middle c. Right now my pickups are even with the reed. My let off is at 1/8" also.



And the last issue is my amplifier's volume isnt that loud. After seeing the VVibe videos I noticed I am missing some ground wires from the outer part of the reed bar, do I need them? I also thought about replacing the amp with a warneck research but dont know if I should just yet. Feel is very important, and I understand this is not a grand piano action.

[pianotuner steveo]

If you are sure the dip, lost motion and let off are correct, then I suggest adding key weights to the backs of the keys. There is a brand called "jiffy" that attach with two screws. I think Vandaking sells them. Mount the weights so that the bottom of the hammer does not click against then upon return, but as close to the hammer as possible.

[jankdc]

Another problem I noticed is after aligning the hammers to center of reed, two of the reeds sound dull and don't sustain as long (this wasnt the case before). I also don't have much of that wurlitzer bark only the lower notes have it. Not anything above middle c. Right now my pickups are even with the reed. My let off is at 1/8" also.

Were there any paper shims that fell out when you removed the reed bar (if you removed it?). I'm dealing with that issue also. See this post on how to fix it.

What model do you have?

[Allenm]

I have the 200 model series.

I am redoing lost motion and let off. My let off was too close to the reed on the bass section. So I readjusted it to be at 1/4". The treble section feels to weak so I'll see what I can do there. Then I made sure my lost motion is on point. Sometimes I felt that the fly was getting stuck half way and not fully entering the catcher. So I'm gonna redo all of the prior work And hopefully get this baby playing well.

As for the reeds that sound dull, I haven't the slightest clue. There are shims under the reed bar but I think I'll try movingly the hammer slightly to the left or right and not center of reed.

[Allenm]

This is how some of my reeds sound... help! 


https://youtu.be/3E4k_Z8RwSc

[beginnersluke]

Another problem I noticed is after aligning the hammers to center of reed, two of the reeds sound dull and don't sustain as long (this wasnt the case before).

I have a general question about this as well. I am doing the same thing as Allen. I noticed that in my piano, quite a few of the hammers are off center. Is that normal / intended? (In other words, did it come like this from the factory because that's what gave the proper balanced sound?) Or is this something I need to fix / adjust?

And the last issue is my amplifier's volume isnt that loud.

I noticed that you mentioned Switched On. They currently have a chopped 206 with the Warneck so you can hear it. "Loud" is obviously subjective, but to me none of these things are all that loud without an external amp. So you can hear one and see if you like it! (Someone may correct me, but I can't see how the grounding wires would affect volume. They are there to ground and eliminate buzz.)

[Allenm]

So about the Dull reed. I placed shims under the treble reed bar. First I did the front screws, then switched to just the back.
Heres my results.

1st. The reeds sound AWESOME when the screws are not tightened on the reed bar.
2nd. Once I tighten they become DULL.
3rd. Added up to 5 shims placed only on left side and not right side made from folder material. (somewhat helped but still dull and not sustaining as well as others)

4th. planning to readjust hammer blow by heating up glue and moving hammer  towards back of piano. I dont really want to do that but not sure what else can be done. Maybe add 10 shims??

Thoughts?

[pianotuner steveo]

The Reed bar screws are not supposed to be screwed down too tight like harp screws in a Rhodes.. Just to the point between where they sound good, and not bad. It's a fine line. There are also supposed to be white plastic washers at every Reed bar screw hole. This is to prevent the screws from shorting out the plus and minus sides of the bar. I have seen cases where people mistakenly replaced these with different washers. Never, ever, use metal washers here. Rubber is ok.

[pianotuner steveo]

Also, once again, I will say that heating the hammer glue and moving the hammers back or forward is not a normal, every day process. It is far easier to move the Reed bar slightly than to heat the hammers to find the sweet spot. I have rarely ever done this in my 40 year career, but have adjusted Reed bars for strike point far more often.

[Allenm]

Thanks Steve. I guess ill just loosely tighten (finger tighten) the reed bar screws

[pianotuner steveo]

Finger tightening may not be enough, but just don't overdo it with a tool so that sustain gets reduced.

[DocWurly]

My first thought watching that video is that it was more strikeline of the hammers than twisting reed bar.  With a torqued reed bar you'd get a harder initial strike and then a lack of ringing.  This sounds like the sound isn't ringing strong in the particular way you get when the hammer isn't hitting close enough to the reed's antinode. 

That said, shimming will affect that, too. And a lot of factors can produce similar results. Do you notice a difference in the ringing if you push the reed bar slightly forward and back at that end?

In the video I feel like I'm hearing the unamplified sound more than the sound off the pickups.  That will give you some data but it can also confuse things.

There can be a ridiculous amount of trial and error with shimming.  I like having a lot of punchings on hand from a piano supply store. You said you made these out of folder material, but sometimes even a typewriter-paper-thin shim or 2 can make a big difference.  You need to notice if the reed bar is rocking at all when not screwed down. (It mustn't.) It's very similar to the problem of the rocking 4-legged table in a restaurant.

[pianotuner steveo]

I'm not sure what you mean by twisting the Reed bar. I was talking about adjusting the strike line by slightly moving the Reed bar to find the sweet spot where the hammers hit.

[DocWurly]

I mean that a major point of shimming under the 4 corners of each reed bar is so they don't rock on one or the other diagonal. Ever go to a restaurant and get a table with a slightly short leg, or an uneven floor?  The table will tip back and forth.  If you have even the slightest amount of this on a reed bar, when you tighten the four corner screws, you will twist the reed bar and it will be stressed in a way that hurts the sustain.

[pianotuner steveo]

I see what you mean Paleophone, but I've never had to do that kind of shimming in a Wurlitzer.

General info for everyone regarding this:

The height of the reed bar is set at the factory with the original white plastic shims.(Black rubber in old models)  You should not have to add shims to a Wurlitzer Reed bar unless the originals are missing. (NEVER use metal washers!) It's not like shimming a Rhodes harp for escapement, there are internal adjustments in a Wurlitzer for correcting this.(let off in a Wurlitzer)  If the Reed bar is raised too high, the hammer stroke will be incorrect. Stroke and strike line are 2 different things. I don't remember off the top of my head what the stroke should be in a Wurlitzer, but it is a standard height that shouldn't be altered too much.

To be more clear, I am talking about the distance between the tips of the hammers and the bottom of the reeds when the hammers are at rest. That is the hammer stroke.

Strike line is the sweet spot on the Reed where the hammer actually strikes for optimum tone. (front to back, not up and down)