As you may know, there are a great many subtle features which changed from the early 200 series instruments to the later ones; direct changes that defined the transition from the 200 series to the 200A series; and then again, subtle changes during the run of the 200A series. Some of these features help one to immediately pinpoint the era of an instrument, as long as the instruments are relatively untouched and un-“Frankensteined.”*
What are the differences? This is a partial list. Please note that the changes may not have been entirely chronological, or linear throughout serial numbers. Changes were probably introduced gradually, as older parts were used up.
Why were the changes made? In all likelihood, many were functional: the labeling of knobs is easier to see above the knobs. The chrome faceplates, while aesthetically pleasing, are notorious for producing a blinding glare when used on a stage. Others may have been matters of economy in manufacturing, or shifting aesthetics.
I will be looking to pinpoint the dates and key serial numbers of the changes in these features, and to add features I may have missed. Some of these lines are placeholders, awaiting more data. Feedback is welcome.
Compiled with a lot of insight and help from Mark Cimarolli of Pittsburgh Vintage Keys.
(Note: I have no strong agenda in the direction of keeping an instrument “purely original” vs. upgraded, and I have no opinions on the “collectable” or “antique” value of a given instrument. As a musician serving musicians, my primary concern is on keeping an instrument playable, sounding great, and electrically safe. That said, I am sensitive to the specific concerns of my clients. Many like retaining and storing old removed original parts, such that they can be supplied to any future owners who might having a “collectable” bent. I think this is legit. I think it’s also legit to trash ugly, chewed up knobs, faceplates, and dead amps. On the other hand: I do think that if you have intact original hairpin legs, for example, even if a little rusty– how cool to get to keep them.)
| Feature | Early Instrument | Late Instrument | Changeover date (approximate) | Changeover serial number (approximate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 200 (1968-1974) | (First model 200 was mid-late 1968) | (First model 200 was 48001) | ||
| Lid Coloring technique | Colors (red, beige, black or forest green) are a top layer of plastic over a grey or baby blue base (as if color is "painted" on) | Lids are colored the same on all layers | Early 1969 | Circa 50001 |
| Main fuse location | On metal stand with potentiometers | on terminal to the left of potentiometers | Early 1969 | Circa 50001 |
| Center action screw | No long center screw holding action in place; the strip of balsa wood beneath the whippens is wider and held in place by a tiny downward-facing screw running through a center bracket. | Action is secured by a long screw running through the center bracket. | Early 1969 | Circa 50001 (or earlier) |
| Music Stand | Wire "Perpendiculars" --Vertical beams meet a horizontal beam | Wire "verticals" -- no horizonal beam | 1969 | unknown, but early |
| Music Stand posts location | Position 1 | Position 2 -- they reported change position slightly, though the exact timing of this is unknown. Lid curvature may change slightly at this time. | unknown, tba | tba |
| Aluminum lid trim | Wider | Narrower | Unknown, but early. (1969?) | unknown, but early |
| RCA input on amp | "Raised up" on platform on amp | Jack fused directly to amp | 1969 | tba |
| Hum Shield | Round Hole for RCA Cable (a few variations) | Slot for RCA cable | tba | tba |
| Jewel Bezel | "Fender Amp" style with facets | Smaller plastic pin | late 1969 | |
| Legs | "Hairpin" legs, slide into place | "screw in" legs | Beginning of 1970 | Circa 53500 |
| Speakers | "Stereo" speakers, Left cone for bass (11-0750), right cone for treble (11-0751) | Mono speakers--the "bass" speaker (11-0750) is used on both sides | November 1970 | 57745 |
| Faceplate | Lettering under knobs (chrome) | Lettering above knobs (chrome) | Early to mid-1971; possibly late 1969 for student (206) models. | Most likely in 58xxx range. By 59335. |
| 203 Console Speakers | 2 treble (amp rail) and 2 bass speakers, all facing playing musician | no treble speakers, 4 bass speakers, two facing away from musician | 1971 | By 60672. But may coincide with Introduction of model 214, which would place it closer to 56403. |
| 206 classroom speakers | 2 treble (amp rail) speakers, similar to 200 | no treble (amp rail) speakers, 2 bass speakers, facing student musician | Not yet known. | Not yet known. |
| Ceramic Z-Capacitor bridging wall mains. | Not present | On terminal, near fuse | 1971 | 60672 |
| Grille pattern on lid | Each grille has a top and bottom section with a gap between them. Grille holes are in a simple "zig zag" or diagonal pattern | Grille has complex pattern with lines of wide-spaced holes at top, bottom, and double-line in middle. Dots are in vertical (non-diagonal) grid with complications at the edges. | Mid-1972 | 68001 or so (may vary with model) |
| Knobs | Black circle on plastic "chrome", no white dot | Black circle on plastic "chrome", white dot | ||
| "L" after serial number | None | Appears on instruments manufactured in Logan Utah | 1972 | beginning intermittently around 65001L, steady around 71501. |
| Handwritten inspection "latest date" on lowest key | Appears on all "non-L" instruments from 1968 to 1972 --usually initialed by "CM" or "RT" | Disappears starting with "L" instruments made in Utah in 1972 | 1972 | Any "L" instrument (beginning intermittently around 65001L) |
| Pedal style | tba | tba | ||
| Amp Heat Sink shape | (There are 3 distinct heat sinks. This will be filled in later) | tba | ||
| Feature | Early Instrument | Late Instrument | Changeover date (approximate) | Changeover serial number (approximate) |
| Transition from 200 series to 200A series | (First model 200A was late 1974) | (First model 200A was around 91801, then numbers seemingly doubled back to ~86501 after 9xxxx range was used up) | ||
| amp | 200 amp, last revision | 200A amp, v 1 | debut (1974) | debut (circa 91825>99999, followed by 86XXX) |
| Hum-reducing shielding on pickup and transformer wires | Not present | Pickup hum shield, transformer wire hum shield, introduced. Wire-shielding still intermittently missing from first 200A 9xxxx instruments. | late 1974 and/or early 1975 | debut (as above) |
| Colors of portable models | Black, Beige, Red, Forest Green | Black (usually), Avocado Green (1976 only) | debut/1974 (black) and 1976 (Avocado Green) | debut (as above) |
| Faceplate finish | Chrome | Brushed/matte | 1974 | debut? (to be confirmed) |
| Lid Hinges | Sharp corners | Rounded Corners | late 1974 or early 1975 | debut? (to be confirmed) |
| 5 "reed damping plates" on treble keyboard, second octave from the top | Present on all pre-A 200 instruments | Disappears a couple months into debut of 200A series, but appears on some instruments with speakers on amp-rail | January 1975 | Circa #92665 |
| Potentiometers (Volume and Vibrato controls) | Fixed placement | Can be moved, realigned to be centered in the faceplate | debut (1974) | debut? (to be confirmed) |
| Aux Trim pot under instrument | Never | Always | debut (1974) | debut (as above) |
| Feature | Early Instrument | Late Instrument | Changeover date (approximate) | Changeover serial number (approximate) |
| 200A series features | (First model 200A was late 1974) | (First model 200A was around 91801, then numbers seemingly doubled back to ~86501 after 9xxxx range was used up) | ||
| Speaker location | Alnico, amp rail, as on prior late 200 series | Ceramic, square or round-backed, attached to lid with flower screws (distinct varieties from 3 manufacturers, used interchangably at the same time) | May 1975 | 86691 (Any instruments from 91825 to 99999 predate instruments from 86001 to 86665) |
| Amp Rail speaker stumps | Still contains "stumps" of holders for amp rail speakers | No traces of rail speaker holders | mid-1975 | circa 88389 |
| Hum Shield | Leftover from 200, cutouts don't match new heat sinks, new amp schematic on lid reeds "200 amp" (no mention of "200A" on schematic) | Hum shield better accommodates new amp's heatsink and footprint | ||
| Damper pad changing point | Middle range of pads extends to first 5 notes of treble reedbar. | Middle range of pads confined to lower reed bar | 1975 or early 1976. | Probably after speakers move to lid, but exact point unclear. |
| Official 200A amp revision, w/ rewiring | Aux Trim pot value is 100K, wiring returns to board | Aux trim pot changes value to 1K, wiring moves directly to aux plug; aux component value changes; early boards are black. | early 1976 | 102905 |
| Z-Capacitor bridging wall mains. | Orange Ceramic Wafer | Pill-shaped Blue Capacitor | 1977 | |
| Sustain mechanism spring | Large spring on independent bracket, tightly positioned between E-32 and F-33 action (all K-60-5 instruments) | Smaller spring, attached to L-bracket in middle of action (all K-60-6 instruments) | Between Oct and December 1977 | by 122500 |
| Reed thickness | Thinner, as on 200 series | Reportedly thicker (to be verified) | unknown | unknown |
| AC Cable plug | Oval 3-pin Hewlett Packard style plug (PH-163) | Uses modern IEC plug (C6/C13) | 1978 or 1979 | unknown |
| Damper pad felt color | Felt on top of damper pads is usually red | Felt on top of damper pads is green, for a portion of 1977; then back to red. | Mid-1976, at debut of model 270; through August 1977 | 106563 green debut; 114xxx intermittent return to red. |
| Bass Pickups | Are parallel to bass reeds, just above them | Angle upwards, diagonally away from bass of the reeds | unknown--changed by July 1978. | unknown |
| Chrome "Wurlitzer" logo on rear of lid | Not present | Present | Jan 1979 | 129895 |
| Grille | Earlier grille is the same as the later "pre-A" 200 grille: grid-like array of dots/holes | Grille grid pattern has subtle "wobble" or zigzag, with alternating lines. EDIT-- it appears that this variation, while common, is accidental, and probably has something to do with warping/ expanding of this hole-heavy area of plastic while cooling. Patterns vary between instruments, and even some very late instrument lids have the simple grid pattern. | April 1980 | By 138034 |
| Feature | Early Instrument | Late Instrument | Changeover date (approximate) | Changeover serial number (approximate) |
