Hi!
Man am I ever glad this forum exists
This is my first post so please take it easy on me! haha.
I've spent the last couple weeks reading this forum and others up and down to learn about the insides of the 200A before I purchased it. I wanted to get a firm grip on whether or not I could confidently tend to any maintenance myself. Well, by a stroke of luck, I met a seller in my area who had one he was willing to let go for a great price. It's very rare to find these where I live so, I really did get lucky.
Overall it's in pretty good condition, but here are my observations - with a few questions for people here who've had experience.
Here are my Observations.
1. Tuning
Really quite good except for 1 or 2 keys that are just slightly sharp, so I'm really happy about that.
2. Action
There are a handful of notes, mostly in the upper registers, that may suffer from the "early letoff" issue I've read about. When I play them softly they don't really register, so I typically have to hit them harder than other keys to get a sound from them. Is this something I would raise the capstan's to fix?
3. Tone Quality
This is probably the one I'm hoping to get the most advice on. This Wurli is rather muddy. There's a lot of low end and not much "bark" as they say. Now when I say bark, I mean that complex harmonic content, not amplifier drive sorta bark. I have a couple thoughts about this:
a). It could be the original amplifier? The EQ curve may just be very muddy/low and possibly maybe it's old components as well?
b). I did read that the 200A's have thicker reeds than the 200's, so maybe there is less of that bark due to thickness? Maybe that + the amplifier?
c) I should mention that I did go in to "voice" it with the pickup bar. Some areas where lower than the rest so I just raising the bars on all of the reeds flush. I think this helped in balancing the volume, but really did nothing to give it more "bark". The reeds are now pretty even with the bar.
Conclusion
I am looking at possibly upgrading the electronics inside the Wurli. First thing I am curious about is a new amp. I am considering the Vintage Vibe amp set, since it comes with upgrades to the aux/headphones and vari-vibe etc. I figure I can do some shielding too and maybe tackle the bit of noise/cackle I'm getting from it...
My big question is, will a new amp have a new sound? Will the VV amp be less muddy or help with that "bark" I may be looking for? Or is there a better way to go? I would like to update a number of components for reliability purposes too so if there's any suggestion please let me know!
I am incredibly grateful for this forum and all the knowledge on it. I really appreciate anyone who has any advice for me Thanks!
Man am I ever glad this forum exists
This is my first post so please take it easy on me! haha.I've spent the last couple weeks reading this forum and others up and down to learn about the insides of the 200A before I purchased it. I wanted to get a firm grip on whether or not I could confidently tend to any maintenance myself. Well, by a stroke of luck, I met a seller in my area who had one he was willing to let go for a great price. It's very rare to find these where I live so, I really did get lucky.
Overall it's in pretty good condition, but here are my observations - with a few questions for people here who've had experience.
Here are my Observations.
1. Tuning
Really quite good except for 1 or 2 keys that are just slightly sharp, so I'm really happy about that.
2. Action
There are a handful of notes, mostly in the upper registers, that may suffer from the "early letoff" issue I've read about. When I play them softly they don't really register, so I typically have to hit them harder than other keys to get a sound from them. Is this something I would raise the capstan's to fix?
3. Tone Quality
This is probably the one I'm hoping to get the most advice on. This Wurli is rather muddy. There's a lot of low end and not much "bark" as they say. Now when I say bark, I mean that complex harmonic content, not amplifier drive sorta bark. I have a couple thoughts about this:
a). It could be the original amplifier? The EQ curve may just be very muddy/low and possibly maybe it's old components as well?
b). I did read that the 200A's have thicker reeds than the 200's, so maybe there is less of that bark due to thickness? Maybe that + the amplifier?
c) I should mention that I did go in to "voice" it with the pickup bar. Some areas where lower than the rest so I just raising the bars on all of the reeds flush. I think this helped in balancing the volume, but really did nothing to give it more "bark". The reeds are now pretty even with the bar.
Conclusion
I am looking at possibly upgrading the electronics inside the Wurli. First thing I am curious about is a new amp. I am considering the Vintage Vibe amp set, since it comes with upgrades to the aux/headphones and vari-vibe etc. I figure I can do some shielding too and maybe tackle the bit of noise/cackle I'm getting from it...
My big question is, will a new amp have a new sound? Will the VV amp be less muddy or help with that "bark" I may be looking for? Or is there a better way to go? I would like to update a number of components for reliability purposes too so if there's any suggestion please let me know!
I am incredibly grateful for this forum and all the knowledge on it. I really appreciate anyone who has any advice for me
Thanks!