New Products for Wurlitzer (and Rhodes)

[Tim W]

Keyboard Cottage/Warneck Research is proud to announce some of our new products.

Wurlitzer 200 Amplifier Boards

Features:

- faithfully reproduces the EQ curve and sound shaping characteristics of a properly restored original 200 series amplifier
-  authentic vibrato
-  very low noise
-  improved power amplifier
-  selectable variable or fixed line-out configuration
-  high reliability
-  high quality components
-  drop-in replacement
-  solder-free installation
-  comes complete with reed bar shield kit
-  volume production October 2009

Description:

The Wurlitzer 200 replacement amplifier is designed to faithfully reproduce the sound and characteristics of the original Model 200 amplifier -- only without all the noise.  Although one can rebuild an existing amplifier with new, high performance components, the inherent architecture of the stock amp will still create an undesirable amount of noise.  Completely redesigned from the ground up, the new amp employs low noise circuit and layout techniques.  When coupled with reed bar shields (included) to minimize 60Hz hum, the performance is unmatched -- it even outperforms fully restored 200A amplifiers.   Terminal blocks allow easy installation without the need to solder.

As for the sound, we were fortunate to work with Ken Rich at Ken Rich Sound Services in LA to further optimize the EQ curve.  Ken has been working on keyboards since the 70s and is one of the music industry's best kept secrets.  He has done full restorations and provides service for many of the major touring artists including Steely Dan, Lenny Kravitz, and George Duke.  We are happy to have the help of his golden ears, experience, and no compromises, no excuses approach to vintage keyboards.   He wholeheartedly endorses the new amp and is already using it in several professional touring rigs.

Beta units have been in the field with touring musicians and recording studios for almost 2 years without any issues.


Variable Speed Vibrato Upgrade for Wurlitzer 200/200A

Features:

- original style sine waveform
- linear variable speed control (approximately 1Hz to 15Hz)
- simple 3 wire hookup
- mounting bracket included
- new faceplate included
- works with our new 200 amp and stock 200A amps
- developed with Ken Rich
- volume production September 2009

Also Coming soon...
- "PeterPan" – Authentic Rhodes Peterson Stereo Vibrato with active EQ and suitcase cabinet simulator
- Authentic reproduction Rhodes tonebar grommets

Stay tuned to //www.keyboardcottage.com over the next few weeks for details!  (Website is currently in development, so we are a bit behind on it right now.)

[bru]

This looks promising. I'm about to upgrade a 207 I stumbled upon.
Any ballpark idea how much the 200 amp and variable vibe upgrade will run?

[SlowMonroe]

The EP200 amp is about $400, vari vibe is about $200, with faceplate and knob. There are 3 dealers in the US that I know of. Ken Rich Sound Services in Cali, Keyoard Cottage, and Russo Audio Design in NYC. Great amp, and the vari vibe is awesome too!

Check out some of Ken's videos: http://kenrichsounds.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=29

Eli

[keyscrazy]

Your work looks pretty amazing timengr1! Keep it coming!

I went to that link Eli and was very impressed. In fact, I found some crazy-cool stuff on the site. Like this Wurlitzer 140B that these guys did for Raphael Saadiq - http://kenrichsounds.com/instruments.html (click on Wurlitzer) - ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! That wood burl finish is nuts! Actually, it mentions Warneck research in a photo of the vibrato nobs. So you're doing a variable vibrato board for 140B too timengr1? I love the 140B!

I had a look at their artist page - http://kenrichsounds.com/clients.html - and was pretty blown away. Why have I not heard of this guys before now? He works for most of the biggest names around. I guess the site is new. He's probably a typical old vintage guy who's a bit net-clueless (no offense old vintage guys - I'm sure there are some net-savvy ones out there).

I had a look at the news page too - http://kenrichsounds.com/news.html - and these guys are doing their own Clavinet pickups and Castlebar style whammy bar arms mechanisms plus putting optical Midi into vintage Rhodes pianos. 

All told this site floored me. He did seem sort of nuts in the Keyboard Mag videos I saw though so I'd be interested to hear more from people who've dealt with this guy or who've bought their products. Obviously you know him pretty well timengr1? Tell me more.

[pinpins]

I have both of these products in my 1972 200. The amp is so quiet and behaves like it should. The varivibe is beautiful. This has become a real performing instrument since this upgrade and Ken Rich's usual care and attention to detail. Nice work guys.