For the next duration, I will be uploading documentation on every model of Wurlitzer Electric Piano ever produced, chronologically. And then the accessories.
This will take a several weeks, as each page is a photo essay… and an essay. In the meantime, if the instrument you are curious about isn’t here, I refer you to my complete list, on which these blog entries are based: Here.
The Wurlitzer Electronic Piano Portable Model 120. Photographic evidence suggests this is the Wurli Ray Charles used on 1959 hit “What’d I Say.” Specifically, one of the 1958 variants with a Rorschach-blot/jigsaw look to the music stand. (Earliest ones have a “picket fence” style music stand.)
All photos of this instrument courtesy of Tropical Fish. See link at page bottom.
Pratt-Read Action. All Pratt-Read Wurly actions (in this, the prior 112A, and the upcoming, closely-related console Model 700) are notably different in feel from earlier and later Wurlitzers. The action has springs only in the damper arms. (The earlier action designs, in the 110 through 112, had a return “butt spring” above the hammers.) They feel lighter: More like an organ keyboard. To adjust and regulate the action (the “feel”) requires a special proprietary piano tool, unnecessary on earlier and later models. Black keys are further regulated with a set screw under the key.
Most technicians agree that these are a challenge (or even a nightmare) to maintain and restore, even though the results can be magic. As I wrote on the Model 112 page: The company simply wasn’t yet designing these pianos with ongoing tuning and maintenance in mind. In addition, their efforts to “improve” the crude action of the first models led to an even more complex, interconnected cascade of cause and effect, which must be dealt with in adjusting each key. In the best case scenario, entropy has caused dampers to rot and even the well-cared for thousands of moving parts to go out of whack, over 60+ years.
As a result, everything here takes 4 to 6 times longer to repair than any models from the mid-late 1960s on. As with all 1950’s-era models, this should be a consideration before investing in one. Even if you buy one cheap, you should expect to invest either years of your own time in learning how to get them to function, or several days worth ($$$) of detailed servicing from an experienced tech. That’s just the mechanical part of these…. then there’s the tube amps. Many vintage keyboard tech outfits simply won’t touch them, for these reasons. OK. Anyway….! Back to the magic.
First major revision of reeds– except for the treblemost 14-note range, these reeds are completely incompatible with those found in the prior 4 models. (More detail here.) Lead sustain brick now covers top 11 notes (two blocks, 3+8 notes, on early ones…to use up the brick from the 112’s and 112A’s!). This model has a completely redesigned tube amp, which I discuss further down the page.
Visual Variety
All photos of this instrument courtesy of Tropical Fish. See link at page bottom.
All photos of this instrument courtesy of Jon Luft.
These generally came in two basic flavors: 1) Zolotone paint on wood (beige, white, red splatter effect) w/ tan-beige-yellow metal lid (seemingly only one color, though various examples seem to have discolored differently over time); 2) Dark Brown Mahogany (stained wood) w brown metal lid. Later brown mahogany models have a lovely old-timey curved-top music stand shared by the soon-to-debut console Model 700.
Update Jan 27, 2021– Note “generally”, above. I have some new intel, hot off the presses: They made a black version for a few minutes. I know of precisely one example so far, but all evidence suggests it was a legit manufactured black variant. I am hoping my source will supply photos and allow me to credit him.
Update May 26, 2021 — Another black Wurlitzer 120 Model has been reported, by its original owner! Bought in late 1957 in Manhattan at the Wurlitzer store. At this point I am ready to proclaim that 120’s came in three colors, but the black ones weren’t very common.
It is common to see custom colors and veneers added to this model with logo decals expertly replaced, which explains further variations.
Distinctive Features
Lid of the 120 is metal instead of wood (a built-in hum shield). Some have the same whip assembly as 112A, but design was revised in 1959 [says Vintage Vibe–sameness is not confirmed, and the scaling of the action schematics would imply differently, though the drawings may be inaccurate]. Damper mounting bracket changes later in run; at first it is identical to 112A (says Max Brink of Chicago Electric Piano Company). Amp and cabinet different from 112A. Volume control moves to left cheek block.
There is no vibrato in this or any prior model. A three-speed tremolo was supplied in the “tone cabinet” accessory introduced at this time, the 920 (subject for a later post).
On a very early one (Jan 1957), low damper arms have heavy springs, switching to successively lighter gauges starting around middle C. Most, however, seem to have all light-springed dampers.
Zolotone/beige version has a beige-colored pedal, at least on earlier examples. Some apparently have black pedal (unless these were repainted?). Pedal has folding front foot-tread section, which typically is lost when pin slips out.
Reeds and Reed Bar
As mentioned above, the lower 50 reeds changed between the 112A and this model. The tongues are slightly wider and will not fit into the pickups of the earlier instruments. And, they have a new reed bar to accommodate them.
At the risk of redundancy, as I say much of this in regards to the prior reed bar design, on the 112A page: Below is the removed reed harp or “reed bar,” face up, oriented as it was when under the dampers (bottom end towards the front). These are the tone-producing elements of the piano. The hammers swing up and hit these reeds, which vibrate, producing a change in capacitance which is conveyed from the pickups to the amp. You can see the most basic conceptual limitation, from a future tuning-maintenance perspective: As in the earlier models, the reed screws are at the BACK, which makes them inaccessible when under the damper arms. In the 3 pre-112A models, you can sometimes lift a damper and tune a note here or there, if awkwardly (not necessarily advisedly). In this model, as in the 112A, the redesigned damper will not lift enough to allow one to access the reed screw at all. There are two ways to handle this if retuning: remove several or even ALL the dampers (after numbering them– that’s crucial); or remove the harp and retune it outside the instrument (which is probably the way it was done back then). The most important aspect of the redesign of 1962, from a tuning-maintenance perspective, was to rotate the reeds in the reed harp 180 degrees, so that the reed screws faced out. This makes it possible to change a single reed without removing the works. This saves hours of labor.
This bar also shows clearly how reed length works in every single Wurlitzer EP ever produced. The first 20 notes decrease in length linearly by 1/20th of an inch, from 2 19/20″ to 2 inches. Then, the remaining 44 notes decrease linearly in length by 1/44th of an inch, from 1 43/44″ to 1 inch. There are 4 reed blanks, and they correspond to the three sections of reed bar. The leftmost section and pickup contains the 20 wide-tongued bass reeds. The central section contains medium-width reeds 21 through 42 (which, only in this “style,” and in Style 3 of 1962-3, are of even and “unground” thickness, the way the bass reeds are always designed). The top section has two reed blanks, #43 through 50, narrower still and of graduated thickness towards the base, followed by a clearly delineated shift in pickup depth for the top 14 notes (which are the only reed design retained from the 110 through 112A reeds).
The Internal Amplifier
Tropical Fish have some excellent blog posts about these Wurlitzer tube amps: here and here. In the first link, they posit that the design of this amp was a measure to save costs without sacrificing quality. They eliminated the two 12AU7 preamp tubes of the 112 and 112A amps, and replaced them with a single 12AX7 tube. Unfortunately, they also eliminated the aux/line-level output from this design, which wouldn’t be reinstated in any of their instruments until the 200 amp of 1968.
The tube amp was revised over time, partially documented in a couple of official “notes” sent out to techs. There may be a good 4 (or more) variants, which may or may not correspond to different names seen and reported on the badges. The revised schematic found in the 1958 Model 700 manual was more or less in usage in the 120 by May 1957 (see Wurlitzer EP note 9). A resistor and capacitor were moved to the reed bar in the Model 120 and Model 700 in late 1960 (see note 13). In addition, I have heard unconfirmed reports (from other techs) of undocumented oddball, seemingly unaltered variants: a very early amp designed with an 12AU7 tube instead of a 12AX7; and a very late version with the 12-pin Compactron-style tube (perhaps a 6K11) as found in the 1960’s Model 145 tube amp.
In the 120 manual, the amp schematic calls the amp model “600-3.” (The manual for the Model 700 console calls it “600-C”). One of my tech compatriots received photos of a 120-looking keyboard with an amp labeled “600-3,” but I am unclear as to whether this labelling was ever standard issue in either of these models, and whether it was prototypically early, or somewhat later. This is not the model number I’ve personally seen on any of these amps. (Update: The parts catalog at the back of the 700 manual may or may not solve the numbering riddle: EP-600 may simply be a reordering part number, distinct from the “amp type.”)
A May 1957 amp is labelled “120,” with serial number styled “P-8695.” (This one would seem to be a second series, as it deviates from the original schematic and follows a revision note.)
Some of the 1959 amps that I’ve taken note of, in the related Model 700, are called the “1200-1,” and/or given part number “601200-1.” Some evidence suggests that 120 amps may have been given at least one of these labels. The final version of the amp may have been badged “601249,” as this part number is referred to in Note 13.
It’s usually hard to see the serial plate on a 120 amp; the label is sometimes on the transformer end, but often (not always) between the plugs, and can’t be seen unless the amp is removed from the body. It may be that the numbering was part of the same series as the instruments; in this case, the number of Wurlitzer Electronic Pianos produced through 1961 may be half of what we tend to suspect.
Note: There are important differences in the installation wiring of the amps for 120’s and 700’s over time; this also partially corresponds to differences in the model number of a given amp. In short, some or all later amps, as shown in the 700 manual, have an extra heating wire running to through octal terminal 5 to power the pilot light, and in model 700’s, some other wires are moved around to accommodate the soft pedal. The internal speaker is wired differently as well–the wires on the end of the 120-manual amp’s chassis, which connect to the internal speaker, are absent on the later 700-manual-schematic amps. Some amps seem to resemble the later schematic wiring while “plugging in” according to the octal arrangement of the earlier (120) schematic. If installing a Wurlitzer amp from the 1957-61 era into a 120, and prior instrument source is unknown, check the octal socket wiring carefully against both the 120 and 700 schematics, especially terminals 4 and 5.
Production run of 120’s and 700’s.
Revised as of 12/10/2022: My current hunch is that somewhere between 4000 and 5000 120’s were produced. A document recently discovered by my comrades at Tropical Fish describes 3 serial number ranges for the 120, which would put the total range at 8011. My own survey says the document is inaccurate (rather common at Wurlitzer), and the range is closer to 8500. However, this is probably at least double the actual number of instruments, as it is believed that the internal amps are part of the same serial sequencing….and in fact, the external model 920 “tone cabinets” are part of the sequencing as well.
Given that these were produced for roughly 4.5 years (later 1956 through 1960 or early 1961), I’d say they produced 70 to 75 of the model 120 per month.
The same document describes three serial number ranges for the Model 700, with a total range of 6152. So, I am calculating that roughly 3000 were produced, using the same logic. Assuming production of these started a little later than the 120, I am calculating that they produced roughly 70 Model 700’s per month.
There is some debate/confusion as to when the model 120 “debuted,” and even when it ceased production. Certainly they were in production in 1956; date stamps on parts and handwritten scribbles on masking tape make this clear. The manual for this model and related accessories (820 classroom monitor and 920 auxiliary amplifier) are copywritten December 10, 1956. However–no advertising for them appears until May 27, 1957. (Life Magazine..see next blog post!) And the first note to Wurly techs (note #9, about a modification to increase volume) is from May 21 1957. So perhaps the 1956 instruments were stockpiled and not distributed until May 1957. If you have an early 120 with a bill of sale… take a photo and email, please!
It is atypically difficult to pinpoint when a given instrument was produced. Unlike the earlier and later models, there are seemingly no date stamps on the wooden parts. One can only get a rough idea from dates stamps on the electronics (speakers, tubes (if original), capacitors; from the particular revision of the circuitry, comparing to dated schematics and notes, if you really know what to look for; from comparing the music stands to those in the ads running in the papers in a given year, which isn’t terribly reliable at all; and from interpolating from the span of serial numbers (ie, 8xxx is very early, produced,but maybe not sold yet, in later 1956; 22xxx is very late, produced in 1960 or 1961).
The newly discovered serial number document claims the first 120 is 8012, and the last is 21174. At least one of these numbers is wrong. I have a report of one with serial number 7716. The last 120 I know of is #22728.
Model 140 reportedly debuts at 25070. There may be no Wurlitzer EPs, period, with numbers existing between 23001 and 25070. It appears that instruments with different finishes, and later, the simultaneous Model 700, sometimes had allotments of serial numbers. It is possible that serial numbers are out of production order.
The next series of instruments, the 140, 145, and 720, debuted in late 1962, and all parts seem to have been produced no earlier than that year. I’ve thus far encountered no 120/700 instruments that can be dated definitively later than November 1960. Did Wurlitzer cease production throughout 1961, as they developed their new pianos? If so, what did their workers do? I date this as late as 1962 only because advertising of the existing models continued; but it is possible they were clearing out their stock.
Thanks
Several photos on this page are of a cosmetically perfect 120 that was sold by Tropical Fish of Tuckhoe, NY, to one of my clients, and of an earlier 120; these photos are by the talented Paulina Salmas. Thanks to Jon Luft for his beautiful emailed photos of a stunning, very early brown wood 120. Thanks as well to my clients whose 120’s I have documented; to the ebay auctioneers who owned the additional perfect specimen displayed on places on this page, and anyone else I missed. If you contact me I will happily credit you, and/or modify this page to suit your needs. I am offering this page as a free resource.
