My First Wurly

[ABCarlson]

Hi All,

  First time poster and first post here.

  I picked up a Wurlitzer 200A today for $350 from a thrift store. No pedal, and only the bottom bass key is dead. One other key is sticky, but works fine. Middle E is a bit flat too. (I also lost the volume knob 5 minutes after picking it up. Silly me)

  Anyway,  this is for my wife for Christmas, and I'd like to get it looked at, repair the 2 bad keys and get that E tuned. I'm in the Edmonton, Alberta, Canada area. Anyone around here know about these pianos? What are the chances a regular piano tuner man could help me?



ABC

[pianotuner steveo]

First of all, congrats on your purchase, and welcome to the forum.
To answer your question about piano tuners, it all depends. I am a regular piano tuner and I work on Wurlitzers,but I am nowhere near you, unfortunately. Nobody else in my PTG chapter will even touch them, some consider them to be junk, (their loss) and some others don't even know what they are.

You should just call around and ask. If you have no luck, call music stores that offer repairs and see if they have anyone. Or, you can learn how to repair it yourself, which can be very satisfying. I learned how to repair Wurlitzers because I bought one at a flea market when I was a teen, and had no money, so I learned how to repair it myself. Service manuals were only $5 back then. Now, you can look at them online for free.
Wurlitzer eps were still being made back then, so I ended up repairing them for other people too as I began to be a piano tuner. There isn't much demand in my area for ep repair anymore, but I usually get a call or two every year.

[mvanmanen]

Hey ABC.

The best keyboard tech I know in Alberta, John Leimseider, is based in Calgary. He does all the keyboard work for the National Music Centre (https://nmc.ca) which is definitely a good place to take your wife on a date. Although I try to do most of my own keyboard work, he has definitely helped me when I have gotten stuck particularly for electronics work.

You could also try Murray Schneider with Harmony Organ Repair in Edmonton. He does the Hammond work within town and might be able to help with your wurli.

cheers, Michael

[pianotuner steveo]

One more thing- sometimes (but not always) when a note starts to go noticeably flat, it means that the Reed is cracked and is going to break. Just so you know in case that E stops working suddenly.

[ABCarlson]

Thanks guys. I called Harmony Repair in Edmonton and he has worked on 200A's before. I'll be taking it to him.

[DocWurly]

You got a deal on that baby.

[ABCarlson]

Yeah, I'm happy with the price. One of my best friends found one for $100 in better shape with a pedal, but he sold it for a lot more. And not to me. I'Ve wanted one ever since.

[pianotuner steveo]

My best friend (who sadly is no longer with us as some of you may remember) found a near mint 200A with legs, pedal, music stand and original bench at a local yard sale once for $75!

We sold it in eBay after cleaning it up. I think he got over $1000 and that was back when the average  prices were usually around $800-$900. (he was a drummer and a guitarist, he didn't really play much keyboards)

[ABCarlson]

Is this site a good place to look for used pedals for the 200A? Or is vintage vibe the way to go?

[Ben Bove]

I would recommend getting a new one from Vintage Vibe.  I have a few of them for rentals and they're perfect.  Funny enough, used ones go for about the same price elsewhere online, and often can have issues that need adjustment in the cable or attachments.