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This is weird. I managed the hot spot issue using headphones, but when I put the lid back on and use speakers, it's still there. Less harsh, but it's still there. So it seems to me like it actually is a resonance thing and using the speakers seems to amplify it.

No-one else who had to deal with that?

Cheers

Steveo, you're the man!

I know, it's exactly what you told me NOT to do, but I tried it anyway. I went ahead and carefully sanded (no files!) the sides of the reeds (manually!), thereby slimming them down just a little to allow for more clearance in the pickup. I tried it on only one reed first, of course. And what can I say ...
It worked!!!

Again, thanks so much Steveo! You may have told me not to, but you made me think of it in the first place, so you get the credit, whether you like it or not    

It was tedious work though. Had to add solder to all the reeds I slimmed down and tune them again. And I may have to work on a few reeds a little more... But who cares. That thing is playable now, half way decent even 

Cheers!

Thanks man! The slot is definitely clean.

Thinking about what you wrote: Why not slim the reed just a little? Sure, they are finicky and I'd have to add solder too. But at least they are easily replaceable and the process therefore would be reversible.

Cheers

So, I have a "hot spot" around F5 and it's driving me crazy. The notes in this area are a lot louder than the neighbouring notes. It starts around Eb5 (where the treble pickups begins) get's loudest around F and then normalises around G.

I feel like I have tried everything and I can not get this sorted out.

I have suspected reeds, hammers, resonance in the harp, the tightness of screws... But none seem to be the problem. To find out, I swapped pretty much everything I could, without it making a difference.

Reinstalling reed brackets (2 reeds in one bracket): No difference

Swapping hammers: No difference

Putting a clamp on the harp behind the pickups: I tried this because it made a difference when I removed the entire harp and hit it lightly with the grip of a screwdriver to hear it resonate. Without the clamp, it had a certain ring, which I suspected might be the problematic resonance. But with the clamp, it was muted and did not have that ring. But when the harp was installed, it made no difference.

Loosening/Thightening harp screws: A small difference maybe, but nothing major.

Loosening/Thightening pickup screws: A small difference maybe, but nothing major.

Swapping reeds: The F5 reed sounded loud in the F5 slot (hot spot), but sounded normal in the C5 and A5 slots. The A5 reed sounded normal in the A5 slot but sounded loud in the F5 slot.


So, it seems to have to do with the slot itself, not the reeds or resonance, right?
If it was the reeds, the problem should have moved to other slots alongside with moving the reeds.
If it was a resonance problem, I would assume that problem would have also moved alongside moving the reeds, since the resonance should exite a reed acording to it's frequency/tuning and not it's placement in the harp, right? And I tried a clamp, tightening/loosening of screws etc. and it made no difference worth mentioning.

Does anyone have anything else I could try (non-permanent)?

I'm starting to think that my only option here is to (very carefully) broaden the grooves in the pickup to lower the volume of those slots. But that's a rather harsh and permanent modification (no backsies possible), so I want to avoid it if at all possible. From everything I've read so far, I'm probably going to hear it from you guys just for mentioning this

Please help...
Cheers

Hey there! I just wanted to leave a thank you @VV here. I installed one of their 200 reeds. It sounds great, fits right in. Great sustain.
Cheers

So, in conclusion:

I bought a VV reed blank. Filed it down to the correct length. Added solder, filed a gorgeous pyramid the Inca would have been proud of Had to file down more for tuning few times, each time talking it out, filing and then reinstalling it. Took some time, but...

Result: Sounds great. Timbre-wise, I can't hear a difference. Sustain is great. Fits right in.

Cheers!

Hi Jenzz,

danke für Deinen Input.

I have tried it with dampers on, damper assembly of, damper key pressed. It makes no difference.

Taking what you said into consideration, I have also just taken down all the solder from the reed (and thereby taking it up quite a few semitones) to make sure it's not the resonance frequencies. I also used screw and washer from another reed.

I think I have to face it: It's a goner.

I guess it's time to decide between searching for an original replacement or getting the readily available VV reeds now...

Cheers

Hey,

so, I have a few reeds that have deteriorated to differing degrees.

C5 for example is just dead. The sound decays into oblivion in less than 1 sec. Db5 is similar, maybe 1,5 sec decay. The surrounding reeds sustain for about 3 seconds. This difference is also clearly audible without amplification, so it's not the pickup itself or reed placement within the pickup.

I've cleaned the reed and the reed bar.
I've resoldered the reed.
I've VERY carefully sanded the reed (3000 grit, although at this point, I don't think I can make it much worse)
I've swapped that reed with another one, to make sure it's not that slot (reedbar, hammer, strike-line, whatever else it could be).

Please tell me if there's something else I should try, but I'm assuming that reed is dead and I have to replace it.

Before I finally arrive at my question, some more context: I have unfortunately not had the chance to try many other Wurlis myself. I can only listen to Youtube Videos really to get an idea and comparison. That being said, I do get the feeling, that ALL the reeds in my Wurli have deteriorated to some degree making the instrument sound a bit dull/muddy in general. Or could that be the hammers too? I've always assumed though, that old/hardened/grooved hammers make the sound more attacky and not dull.

Now, here comes the question: Finding vintage reeds (that would fit right in with my Wurli) seems hard/impossible these days. But I'm hesitant about buying a Vintage Vibe reed. I'm afraid it will stand out (either having way more sustain or even sounding much better) which might lead me down the rabbit hole of wanting to replace them all. I am obsessed with uniformity after all (I know, vintage instruments might not be a great fit for that itch). But of course, it would make no sense financially.

So what would you recommend? (I'm assuming that you have tried VV reeds before)

I would love to hear your input.

Cheers!

Hey guys,

I didn't want to start messing with reeds in the beginning. But I had a reed that sounded broken (or "rattly" I guess) when I played it a little harder. First I thought it was positioned wrong, but it was actually the "pyramid" (or rather the spiky and edgy blob what was supposed to be a pyramid) which came loose on one side and was "rattling" I guess.

I felt adventurous, so I tried the following:
- clamped the reed into a helping hand, solder facing down and the reed at a slight decline towards the solder.
- put flux on the tip.
- used a soldering heatgun to melt the solder into a clean half drop shape.
- cleaned the flux.
- put it back into the piano.

Weirdly, the reed was now exactly one semitone lower, which seems impossible since I did not add any mass. I assume it's because all the solder now had proper contact to the reed and that somehow made a difference?

But the takeaway here is, that my method actually worked quite nicely. So, I filed the half-drop a few times until I had it tuned back to the right note. And here I am. Fixed my first reed It's not a pyramid, more in between a half-drop and a pyramid, but it looks better than before and sounds right to me.

Now, tell me all the reasons why I should not have used this method     

Cheers
 

Thanks, I will try that. 

I found the answer myself, here:
https://docwurly.com/wurlitzer-ep-history/wurlitzer-ep-reed-compatibility-history/

"the pickups in the range F-21 to D-42 were much thinner."

I'll leave this here for others, if they ever have the same question.

Hi there,

this is my first post, so be gentle I was wondering if you could help me with a question I have.

Among many other problems with my Wurli 200, my middle register sounds noticeably quieter than the rest.
So I was looking around inside the piano and I found that the 2 middle pickups are way thinner than the bass and treble pickups (see picture below), which would/could explain the difference.

I'm assuming this is normal and no-one actually went through the trouble of replacing pickups for a more uneven sound. But just to make sure: That's normal, right?

So if this is a Wurli 200 as intended by the manufacturer, is there any way to slightly increase levels on those pickups?

Cheers
Rob