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Ok, it's definitely not a B. I may be interested in it after all.
Thanks Alan!

I believe it's aluminum, I wouldnt waste the time,effort and money trying to chrome it...especially since nobody will ever see it except you..

The only real way to tighten the bushings is to replace them with thicker felt. It's not super complicated, but can be daunting to a newbie. I don't trust the tool that is supposed to tighten them, it's too easy to break the wood.

Any ideas? Anyone?

Good points Jenzz...didn't think of those.

No, you can't over lube, and there isn't much of a way to tighten the resistance other than bushings. There may be an issue with key dip or Letoff. More likely dip.(That may explain clicking noises) Maybe your key bushings are too loose. Do the keys wiggle side to side more than usual?


Wurli's and Rhodes are apples and oranges. Wurli keys are very light weight and shorter.
Yours is a 200, non- A?

The whips and keys are different in A's and non A's.

Did the other piano have key weights added to the keys?

No, I don't own it, but I did work on it once about 6 years ago. (Cleaned it, and freed up a sticking key or two)

Just curious- it's almost like brand new, complete with bench. I don't have pictures, but the owner called and asked me the other day what it could be worth. He knows it has value, so no, he won't sell it for a few hundred ( I tried... lol)

Close up photos would help to determine the issue.

:-)

Almost $10k.
Yikes.
No thanks.

He likely used a suitcase, probably his own. I know the photos show a stage, but that may have belonged to the studio.

I'm sorry, but I tuned a piano for Ray Manzarek in 1999, and got to hang out with him. It IS a RHODES. We talked about it. He TOLD ME it was a Rhodes. That is my evidence!
Aside from the fact that it is very easy to tell the two instruments apart. Wurlitzers do not have the "chime" of a Rhodes. You can't duplicate the descending part on a Wurlitzer. There is not enough sustain. ( "The rain part" as Ray says)

I've never heard a Wurlitzer sound like a Rhodes, but have heard some Rhodes sound a bit like a Wurli, especially the early felt hammers or felt tips, which is what you are hearing. I have no explanation for the vibrato.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3deQXzV-qTk&t=1s

Also sustain issues are usually damper issues, it sounds like some dampers are not working at all, and others need adjusting. Are you sure some keys are ringing an octave higher? That does not sound possible unless someone put in incorrect tines or tuning springs are missing... but even with missing tuning springs, I doubt it would be a perfect octave higher...

No, the miracle mod does not help with the bouncing, it helps with the touch. Bouncing has to do with tension of the bridle straps on the dampers. Some people add the back check kit for this but I have never done that.

No, it is a Rhodes. He only used a Wurlitzer on 2 or 3 tracks over the years. I can't think of any other tracks with Wurlitzers other than the tracks I mentioned above.

The vibrato may sound like Wurlitzer vibrato, but the piano is a felt hammer Rhodes. The pianos sound almost nothing alike

Yes I agree, do not work on this piano, sell as is. The 4 sticking keys are a very simple repair to most buyers. I personally would much rather see a piano that needs simple repairs than a piano that was repaired by an inexperienced person. This piano may be pretty valuable, especially since nobody has messed with it.

Generic keytops will work but do not fit exactly like the originals. The color won't match perfectly either.
I'm sure there is at least one person on here that may have some originals to sell. Wurlitzer EP keys  (keytops) are smaller than most acoustic piano keys.

No, the 4102 is not for this or any of the later models. Also, Schaff only sells to working technicians. The general public isn't even allowed to view their website.

As far as the broken white keytops go, you should see if anyone on here has any original replacements. Generics won't be a perfect size match, and replacing the all is a pain if you have never done it before. Generics will be larger and a lot of sanding and filing would be required. Unfortunately, I have sold all of my originals.

You need to heat the hammer tips at the base with a soldering iron to loosen the glue.  Heat, wiggle, heat, wiggle.

New tips can be glued in with titebond

Do not attempt to cover the worn hammers with felt or leather, just replace them through VV.

Nope- I just listened to both and I only hear a Hammond on both.

I'm pretty sure he used his Gibson G101 on Texas Radio and the Big Beat. I have to listen to Hyacinth House again, I barely remember it.

Did you try cleaning the contacts under the strips with a quip and rubbing alcohol?

What is it? I've never heard of a seiko keyboard

Just adjust the strike line of the reed bar. It should be a simple fix.

Be careful tuning that! They are very difficult to tune and very easy to break strings. If you ever break a bass string do NOT throw it out. You will need the old one to have a duplicate made.

That piano is very inharmonic. The bass especially is difficult to tune! You need to tune bass notes FLATTER than you expect, don't make them sharp or they may break. $$$ to replace bass strings.

The hammer and damper both appear to be working. It sounds like either loose screws or loose glue joint(s) on some part on that key. A loose hammer head or hammer flange screw are the first 2 things I would check. I do not see the damper falling down right away. It seems to be staying up.

I really think it's cold solder joints. They are not always obvious from visual inspection.
Carefully resolder the amp board. Don't do this if you aren't sure what to do. In that case, find a local tech.

Thanks! Glad you found the problem.

That is going to be tough to find. I've only seen ONE in the last 45 years. Is it to complete your piano, or to actually use? They arent the sturdiest benches for adults. But you probably know that! Lol

No, it is not normal. Double and triple check every Eb damper. It is very likely one is not seating properly. Sometimes the felt gets crusty and squeezing the felt with needle nose pliers can help.

Usually, letoff too close causes the hammer to block against the reed, and also increases the chance of reed breakage.

If a hammer lets off too early, you have to hit the key harder which can cause the hammer to double strike or " bobble" . Most unserviced Wurlitzers that I have encountered over the years are letting off too early.

You also need to check key dip to be sure nothing is impeding the key travel. (Compare to a properly working neighboring key) Extremely shallow dip can cause double striking as well, extreme dip can cause hammer blocking.

Double striking can be a letoff issue, yes. I mailed your tool today! 

DUH, right! What was I thinking?🤪

I was thinking of "non A" models, without the preamp. I'm not sure if this changes what I recommended to try or not.

I don't think so since you measure the voltage right where the wires attach. If you are super careful, you can disconnect the + wire from the reed bar and measure, but watch out for shorting it or getting zapped! You can disconnect it with the power off and use electrical tape to tape it to your meter...you can just leave the ground wire where it is. This will give you a reading with no load.

The new Lowe's ad regarding giving military discounts shows a 140 or 145 that is 1/2 painted, and has no sustain pedal. It's funny how they painted the piano but not the legs. There are 2 knobs on the left cheek block, so it's not a 120 or earlier. Silly place to pile books and ukuleles.....

Before you replace anything, have you reflowed solder? These amps are famous for cold solder joints...

If changing electrolytic caps, be sure you note the polarity, and put the new ones in the right way.
The black stripe running down the side of can caps indicates polarity.

I'm 90% sure wv35 means "working volts-35"

I wouldn't use a 9v battery to do the test, a 1.5 V is more than sufficient and shouldn't harm the speaker.
For anyone that doesn't know, you can test polarity of an unmarked speaker with a battery. This test also tells you if the speaker is working or fried.. If the cone moves outward with the battery connected, the pos end of the battery is connected to the + terminal. If the cone moves inward, it is reverse phase.  If it doesn't move at all with a good battery, the voice coil is likely fried.

This is useful for correctly phasing mismatched speakers.

Yes, I am shipping the tool today.

There is no line out mod for a 120 that I'm aware of. You can make an Aux out, but not line out. There is a difference.
The present outputs are too "hot" to connect to an external amp. VV sells (or used to sell) a small box that connects to your present output to make an Aux out. I know you can DYI with a resistor and a cap, but I don't remember the values. The resistor will be a big one, and I think a 5 watt.

You shouldn't try to connect to an external amp at least until the "death cap" is removed...

The death cap is connected between the AC jack and the chassis ground. DO NOT bridge it! Cut it right out.

A shorted cap is bridged and is a shock/ and possible fire hazard

If you want a softer tone, softer hammer tips may be the next step.

I don't know how your carpentry skills are, but about 40 years ago, I bartered for a suitcase 73 w/no base. I built a box out of 1 x 12 shelving. I did tolex that, and I made front and back pieces out of plywood and covered them with speaker grill cloth. The pedal mounted onto the bottom, and I drilled a hole in the top for the pedal rod. I did have the original power supply for the preamp (but no amp)
I don't think that cost very much to build and it looked great!

The only comment I have is that I personally would just paint the plywood black. I think putting Tolex on it may be a waste of time and money. I've never owned an 88, so I can't help with the flange locations.

Don't forget that part of the uniqueness of the original Wurlitzer amp is the roughly 150vdc that it creates for the reed bar. A generic amp will not do this. The Wurli is not passive like a Rhodes.

More likely the carbon in the old one was just worn out. You are lucky that you found it fairly quickly.
I had a Wurli with a worn vol pot once and it caused a loud hum at any volume.
I went crazy replacing parts....

Interesting- my 700 has the light and jack in the left cheek block

There is an inexpensive tester with lights that will plug into any 3 prong recepticle and it will tell you if the outlet is wired properly. They have 3 lights on them.They will light up different ways for correct wiring, open ground, reversed hot and neutral,etc. I think they are like $4 in any home store electrical dept.

He may possibly have an open ground.

Ok, they cost a little more- this one is $6 @ Harbor Freight

Well, there you go. The radio towers...
Are his receptacles properly grounded? I'm assuming he has a 3 prong cord?

Unfortunately, there may not be much else he can do other than move away from those towers....
Probably not feasible...

That doesn't look like a 270- that might be a 720. Completely different model.
The 270 is the butterfly grand.