wurlitzer student model: where to add headphone out?

[cc0919]

Hello folks, a while ago I acquired a student model with the base removed and all of the student model circuitry has been removed. Right now there is essentially no way for me to get sound out of it...my question is, if I wanted to use it for recording (without an amp...di or preamp then right into my interface) how would I go about doing this? Not sure where to wire the headphone jack to..

[Student Rhodes]

Have you checked under the wooden base, on the left hand side? 
My 206 has an out there, in addition to the circuitry that you're missing.

[yorgatron]

Have you checked under the wooden base, on the left hand side? 
My 206 has an out there, in addition to the circuitry that you're missing.

hey, just checked my 206A and it has a headphone out!

I think it's just mono, and it's pretty hot, plugged it into an amp and it was loud and distorted even with the volume almost all the way down.

[cc0919]

The headphone jack is there but not connected to anything, so I'm not sure where to wire it. It is fine if it is hot, I just....don't know what to connect it to, haha.

[cc0919]

Would either of you guys be willing to take a quick look to see where the lead and ground of the headphone jack is attached? Like what pins on the amp

[pianotuner steveo]

The 206 came with a mono headphone out on the left underside of the keybed as mentioned above. This is too hot of a signal to use as a pre amp out, it is only about 32 ohms. The wires should already be in there unless someone butchered it. In a pinch, you can add a high value ( like 50-100k, maybe even higher) resistor in series with the + wire to the jack. Do NOT short the resistor across the + and - terminals.

[cc0919]

The 206 came with a mono headphone out on the left underside of the keybed as mentioned above. This is too hot of a signal to use as a pre amp out, it is only about 32 ohms. The wires should already be in there unless someone butchered it. In a pinch, you can add a high value ( like 50-100k, maybe even higher) resistor in series with the + wire to the jack. Do NOT short the resistor across the + and - terminals.

Got it! Thanks! Happen to remember which out on the amp board? It is butchered, not connected to anything. Remember off the top of your head which pin? And a 100k resistor should work? I've got one lying around somewhere...

[pianotuner steveo]

I'm sorry, I don't remember off the top of my head and it is too much of a pain to take mine out of my rig and open it. The size of the resistor will vary depending on what amp or mixer or whatever it is going into. It is trial and error. 100k may not be enough. I seem to remember using higher values in some cases. The volume control will be like a trim pot. If it is still distorted at low volume, you need a bigger resistor. Of course this will make it too quiet for headphone use too.

I'm sure someone else here can find which pin much quicker than I. Ground is ground, but the (+) wire is what you need to know.


Once again, I want to stress that my expertise is more with the piano portion and not the electronics. I repaired stereo equipment in a shop a long time ago, but have forgotten most of what I learned...

[cc0919]

Sounds good, sorry for all the questions. I saw amp out and aux out pins, so I assume it is one of those, I just don't want to destroy anything so I figured I'd ask for a straight answer. In the meantime, I tapped the volume pot to see if it sounded ok, and aside from having to drive it really hard with a noisy preamp (and I imagine tapping the volume introduced a lot of noise too) it sounds pretty good!

[cc0919]

Also, wanted to add that I'm very appreciative of the help you've given me so far

[yorgatron]

ok, there's a black wire and a yellow wire;



but I'm not sure where they go;



I need to clean this thing out, and then I need to install a vibrato circuit;

[yorgatron]

here's the service manual;

http://manuals.fdiskc.com/flat/Wurlitzer%20Series%20200%20Service%20Manual.pdf

[cc0919]

Thanks!

[cc0919]

Bad news folks...hooked it up...a lot of noise, a little sound. took off resistors...a lot of noise a little sound. Even hooked it up to the amp out pin, same thing...guess my amp is shot..

[pianotuner steveo]

Did the amp work before? Did you completely disconnect from power before adding resistors(s)?
You may have blown the fuse(s) on the amp bad.

[Max Brink]

The best way to do the line output on a 206a is to look at the schematic that shows the different outputs for the 206a verse the 200a and simply solder in the components that the 206a is missing. This is better than changing the impedance of the headphone output. The components are cheap and if you email me i can even mail you a kit at a reasonable price if you aren't able to find the proper transistors.

[pianotuner steveo]

Yes, it s best to do it correctly. I was just making a suggestion for getting by in the meantime. That was pretty much the way Wurlitzer told people how to do this when they were still in business.
Vintage vibe used to sell a little box to connect to the headphone jack to make a quickie aux out. It worked great. I bought one for when I serviced models like the 206 and needed to connect to an external amp without modifying the piano.

[cc0919]

I did unplug it, and I believe the amp worked before, but it has been quite a while. Thanks guys. Max, ill shoot you an email once I've got the amp worked out. Hopefully it is just a fuse.

[cc0919]

Checked the continuity of the fuse and replaced it just in case, no dice...

[cc0919]

Thinking about just ordering one of the 200/200A amps VintageVibe makes. Have you guys had any experience with these? Doesn't look difficult to install, but I'm never sure. I assume they'd work in the 206..

[cc0919]

AH! I only checked the main fuse, didn't think about checking the others...F-1 is fried. I'll have to grab one tomorrow, but does anyone know of any common problems when this type of damage is done. I'm scared that there will be more damage along with the fuse.

[pianotuner steveo]

Blowing these fuses is very common.hopefully nothing else is wrong.

[retro-mike]

Restoring original wurli amps is really a futile process-
Please- I know some folks here may scold me for saying such things. hear me out.

After you get done removing the amp & desoldering all the old components
Then spending 2 hours on your parts website of choice to "add to cart" all the parts needed for rebuild
Then soldering in new parts
Then reinstalling the amp
You've easily consumed a day to rebuild an amp that will still be noisy and plagued with problems- even rebuilt.
The original design of the amp itself is dated by today's standards.
Even with new components the original amps STILL produce a great deal of hiss and random snap,crackle and pops as its circuit architecture is inferior.
I cannot emphasize this enough, we've had numerous customers and various techs comment on rebuilding and they all say the same thing. "its a headache I'll replace the amp!"

As for your 206. Our amp board will drop right onto the amp rail without any problems.  The installation is a breeze. All you need is a screwdriver, pair of cutters, wire stripper , small slot screwdriver and a phillips- NO SOLDERING NECESSARY.. We also offer support for installation over the phone free of charge, you can upgrade the 206 wurli in the matter of less than an hour and have something very reliable that sounds killer. We can also walk you through how to do the heaphone jack output and our board has a line out as well which defeats the speakers onboard the piano giving you a noise free line out for amps/house/pa.. Our vari-vib option comes with a new faceplate and knob if you decide to go that route.

Tim has had me installing Warneck 200/200A amps on our restored wurlis for about a year now and I cannot express how quiet and well our boards sound- you can't even tell its on, till you play the piano.. Yes your saying He works there of course, but honestly- ours sounds great, Tim did a stellar job on the design of the amp while retaining the original wurli voicing and proper vibrato spot on.

If your looking to get the best possible upgrade for your 200 series check out our board and Varivib setup   Good luck! Keep us posted!


Take a listen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7xGq5KkTHg

http://www.retrolinear.com/web-store/warneck-research.aspx

Thanks
Mike Nortron
Retrolinear.com.

[timpotent]

I've been watching that Warneck replacement amp for my 200A for a while.
There isn't a kind of "buy it now" button on you site  :-)
Do I have to email ?
Can I pay through paypal ?
I don't live in the U.S

I used to order with Ken Rich every now and then, but the 200A version isn't on his page.
The 200 (without the A) can be ordered at Ken's though...

TiM

[cc0919]

Thanks Mike, I'll definitely keep you in mind for the future. I actually contacted you guys a few weeks ago asking about prices for refurbing wurlitzers since you are pretty close to me. I might get my name on the list sometime in the future.

Well, the fuse did the trick. I've got normal output now. I've also found the dummy load that's used for the headphone out on the extra electronics the 206a originally had, so I ran the headphone line from the amp out pin on the board with the dummy load on there. Works reasonably well, although there is still a bit of crackle...not sure if that is a output level thing or something else. Sending you an email bout the headphone out now, Max.

[retro-mike]

Great to hear your local Give us a call and make a trip over

We added "buy now" buttons on our parts today, and added all the wurli parts we currently offer onto 1 page


Thanks
Mike Norton
Retrolinear.com