New Wurlitzer

[Michael Wright]

Soon?

https://wurlitzerpianos.com

Not much to go on.

[Docbop]

Wurlitzer is owned by Gibson Guitar now so there is money to fund bringing back the electric pianos.   I hope they just remake the one of the original and not muck it up with modern electronics and effects. 

[Mighty Motif Max]

From their "About" page (emphasis mine):

 

Quote

The Wurlitzer name has long been synonymous with exceptional quality and craftsmanship in the world of music and entertainment. At the heart of the Wurlitzer family lies a profound passion for music, blended with a spirit of innovation that has been passed down through generations.

As we embark on new chapters, our soon-to-launch innovations – from sophisticated jukeboxes to advanced electronic pianos – are more than just products; they represent the soul of Wurlitzer. In each design, we marry our cherished traditions with modern technology, ensuring that the Wurlitzer legacy remains a source of inspiration and unity for all ages.

Our journey is a testament to progress, rooted in a rich heritage that we proudly uphold. It's about celebrating the timeless influence of music while striving to offer extraordinary musical experiences in today's dynamic world. We honor our history, which has been a bedrock in the music and entertainment industry, as we continue to create and inspire, one note at a time.

 

[ABECK]

Cool, now I can choose between overpriced vintage and overpriced new!

[ElmerJFudd]

1 hour ago, Michael Wright said:

Soon?

https://wurlitzerpianos.com

Not much to go on.

That’s an interest gauging page.  Testing the waters - how many people might want one, should we build 100, 500, 10,000? Should we be looking for investment funds? 
 

If we want to see them build these, it’s not a terrible idea to help them build a potential customer data base.  

[Adan]

I don't recall what they cost new back in the day, but I'll take a wild guess that adjusted for inflation it would be about $4,000 today. If they can produce something for, say, $5,000, but more reliable, a bit lighter, etc. . . I think that would have to be considered a fair price. I'd be mighty tempted.

[ElmerJFudd]

57 minutes ago, Adan said:

I don't recall what they cost new back in the day, but I'll take a wild guess that adjusted for inflation it would be about $4,000 today. If they can produce something for, say, $5,000, but more reliable, a bit lighter, etc. . . I think that would have to be considered a fair price. I'd be mighty tempted.

It’s hard to say, Rhodes based in UK, those instruments are in the $10k area.  
 

 

[Jim Alfredson]

1 hour ago, Adan said:

I don't recall what they cost new back in the day, but I'll take a wild guess that adjusted for inflation it would be about $4,000 today. If they can produce something for, say, $5,000, but more reliable, a bit lighter, etc. . . I think that would have to be considered a fair price. I'd be mighty tempted.

 $1000 in 1968. By the end of the 70s, much less. But $1000 in 1968 is akin to $8500 today. So not cheap.

Also, people are assuming it will be electro-mechanical. That would be very hard to do without a lot of expensive machinery and expertise.

[mate stubb]

I will be surprised if it has the wonderful action of its predecessor.

[Steve Nathan]

Curious to see what this will be.  

Used, but I paid $50 each for a 200 and a 200A in the late 70s, and $100 for my 126.  Darrel Combs and Tom Bromfield (two of the greatest techs ever, sadly longer with us) took parts from both 200s to make the one I still play today (which has been called "the best sounding Wurlitzer I've ever heard" by many of the world's best engineers 😊).  

 

[linwood]

Steve...I've got a 200 out in the garage that King Errisson gave me. he said he got it from Neil. When my ship comes in I'm gonna have it done.

[zxcvbnm098]

Whomever registered the website is in Germany. Might be licensed from Gibson? Or the name acquired? 

 

Whatever patents existed on the piano itself would have long expired, but I assume the name still resides with Gibson? Or perhaps not? 

[ABECK]

In 1992 I passed up on a $300 200A in my local music store because it wasn't a Rhodes (which I also found for the same price).  I wish I could go back and smack the 1992 me (for a lot of reasons).

[zxcvbnm098]

1 hour ago, ABECK said:

In 1992 I passed up on a $300 200A in my local music store because it wasn't a Rhodes (which I also found for the same price).  I wish I could go back and smack the 1992 me (for a lot of reasons).

Around that time I got one here in LA in the Recycler for $150!

 

When things got tough during the Great Recession I had to sell (Dave Bryce helped me out with that!), and was stoked I got $1500 for it! Fast forward to two years ago when I finally had the scratch to get another, I was pumped to find one via Facebook Marketplace for $2500, a relative deal considering what people are asking now. I only had to drive to Modesto (4.5 hours) from SoCal - argh. It was worth it though. 

 

I'm hoping they will get a bit more reasonable over time for those looking to get one. There really are a ton of them out there, but with the interwebs it's so easy to see what some are going for for prospective sellers.....

[MAJUSCULE]

They are reading my posts!!!!!

 

 

[zxcvbnm098]

It's worth mentioning, a re-do of a Wurlitzer is a much more complex undertaking than a Rhodes. 

[Jim Alfredson]

6 hours ago, zxcvbnm098 said:

It's worth mentioning, a re-do of a Wurlitzer is a much more complex undertaking than a Rhodes. 

Right.

Wurlitzer had a long and quite storied history of making decent acoustic pianos, even some really good models that could rival the big names back in the day. The Wurlitzer action is basically a modified grand piano action, much more complex than a Rhodes action, requiring carefully designed and manufactured parts with close tolerances. It would take a lot of skill to actually make them, not to mention regulate them. The same kind of skills that employees at piano builders need. 

SIDE NOTE: Regulation is the act of adjusting the acoustic piano action for optimal performance. It includes around 40 steps, each very specialized, often requiring special tools. It takes time to learn and longer to master.

Then there are the reeds themselves. Nobody is making them anymore. I don't even know if anyone knows how to make them anymore. All that knowledge, documents, etc was lost when Wurlitzer went bankrupt.

And then there are the hammers. They require custom machinery to produce because the felt is steam pressed to the wooden 'shanks'.

 

If a company is truly re-making the Wurlitzer electric piano, like the new Rhodes mk 8, it's going to be VERY expensive and in order to justify that price, it is going to require a substantial financial investment on the part of the company.

My guess is that it will be digital. Way easier.

[Synthaholic]

As someone who has never used Pianoteq, excuse me if this is an ignorant question, but do they include a Wurlitzer EP, and is it as good as people say their pianos are?

[El Lobo]

I bought one sometime around 1973 or so. It was probably a 200 of some type. I don't remember what I paid for it. I think it was a few hundred dollars. Maybe $400? A lot of money back then. Gawd I loved that thing. I wanted to sound like Ray Charles - and I did. Gave it up in the divorce. Don't know what happened to it. My daughter thinks it may still be in the basement of my ex-wife's house. Out of curiosity, I recently looked at what the asking price was for one in good condition. I saw numbers around $4000 to $5000. Seems about right – if that's what you've got to have. For me though, the Wurly sim in my Nord 5D is perfectly fine, and I also get a nice acoustic piano, a good B3, a clav, and lots of Rhodes sims which I never use because I like the Wurly so much. I also get accordions and choirs and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't use but it's sometimes fun to have in there. I just gig with the one board (because I'm also doubling on sax) so I don't think I would ever want a new Wurly. Maybe if I wanted to recreate the true vintage sound in a recording studio, but not for any other purpose, certainly not to gig. I love my Nord and its Wurly sim. I'm not a market for a new Wurly. 

[ProfD]

Of all EP samples in modern KBs, IMO, the Wurlitzer seems to be *right* even on low end, budget KBs. 

 

I suspect the sound will be produced by some type of physical modeling married to a great key action in a nice box yielding a cool modern take on the Wurlitzer. 

 

It would cost too much money to go all electromechanical on a one trick pony. Especially considering the competing facsimiles.😎

[BluesB3]

10 hours ago, zxcvbnm098 said:

Around that time I got one here in LA in the Recycler for $150!

 

When things got tough during the Great Recession I had to sell (Dave Bryce helped me out with that!), and was stoked I got $1500 for it! Fast forward to two years ago when I finally had the scratch to get another, I was pumped to find one via Facebook Marketplace for $2500, a relative deal considering what people are asking now. I only had to drive to Modesto (4.5 hours) from SoCal - argh. It was worth it though. 

 

I'm hoping they will get a bit more reasonable over time for those looking to get one. There really are a ton of them out there, but with the interwebs it's so easy to see what some are going for for prospective sellers.....

A nice 200A just sold on CL here in NW Arkansas in a couple of days for $1950.    In the '90's I think I paid $250 for my Wurlie on the LA CL. It was missing the legs and the sustain pedal but came with nice folding bench I'm still using. 

My new CP73 is waiting for me at FedEx. We'll see how it's reed EP compares to the RealDeal. I hope it's closer than my Electro 2. 

[Fleer]

46 minutes ago, Synthaholic said:

As someone who has never used Pianoteq, excuse me if this is an ignorant question, but do they include a Wurlitzer EP, and is it as good as people say their pianos are?

I’d say yes, and I do, but I’m an avid Pianoteqista. 

[Shamanzarek]

I bought a new 200A around 1979. Seems to me I paid about $775. I suppose I was influenced by Supertramp who were big at the time. I also read a Keyboard Magazine interview with Al Greenwood of Foreigner who had good things to say about it and the ARP Omni which I bought at the same time. Here is that interview: http://www.4eigner.net/theband/197904coke-algreenwood.html . Loved the Wurlitzer until reeds started breaking and I got discouraged with it. Then in the 80s there wasn't so much need for it when everybody went to polysynths. Wish I had kept it now.

 

These days I'm happy enough with the Wurlies in my Casio PX5S and I also have a Nord Stage 3 Compact.

[zxcvbnm098]

1 hour ago, Jim Alfredson said:

Right.

Wurlitzer had a long and quite storied history of making decent acoustic pianos, even some really good models that could rival the big names back in the day. The Wurlitzer action is basically a modified grand piano action, much more complex than a Rhodes action, requiring carefully designed and manufactured parts with close tolerances. It would take a lot of skill to actually make them, not to mention regulate them. The same kind of skills that employees at piano builders need. 

SIDE NOTE: Regulation is the act of adjusting the acoustic piano action for optimal performance. It includes around 40 steps, each very specialized, often requiring special tools. It takes time to learn and longer to master.

Then there are the reeds themselves. Nobody is making them anymore. I don't even know if anyone knows how to make them anymore. All that knowledge, documents, etc was lost when Wurlitzer went bankrupt.

And then there are the hammers. They require custom machinery to produce because the felt is steam pressed to the wooden 'shanks'.

 

If a company is truly re-making the Wurlitzer electric piano, like the new Rhodes mk 8, it's going to be VERY expensive and in order to justify that price, it is going to require a substantial financial investment on the part of the company.

My guess is that it will be digital. Way easier.

Yup, I concur with Jim.

 

Perhaps someone is going to spend a lot of time with one of the third party keybed folks to get close with the action, weight and resistance, and then make the molded plastic top, same legs and sustain pedal, speakers etc. and license or create really great samples of all the different models that have come out over the years.  It still might be pricey, and even potentially cool, but I can't imagine someone actually making a real recreation of the original.

 

Maybe someone could contract with a Chinese piano manufacturer to get it done, but man, that's a heavy lift. 

 

As an FYI, Alan Lenhoff's exceptional book "Classic Keys" goes into great detail about the manufacturing history of the pianos, and the decline of them near the end. I thought I knew a lot about them, but the level of research Alan did is really remarkable. The price of the book is worth it just for the chapter on the Wurlies. 

[Jim Alfredson]

35 minutes ago, zxcvbnm098 said:

As an FYI, Alan Lenhoff's exceptional book "Classic Keys" goes into great detail about the manufacturing history of the pianos, and the decline of them near the end. I thought I knew a lot about them, but the level of research Alan did is really remarkable. The price of the book is worth it just for the chapter on the Wurlies. 

 

Thank you for the reminder. I need to get that book. It's been on my wish list for years.

[Dockeys]

That book is nothing short of amazing. It’s a real goldmine of information, well written and beautifully laid out. My only gripe is that it’s quite bulky and heavy when reading on your lap. I think they have a digital copy as well tho? Often thought about buying it to read on my iPad when on the train. 

[UnderGroundGr]

I have a Hohner Pianet T. Not as good as Wurli and Rhodes, but the real thing is always better...😉

[Doerfler]

14 hours ago, Synthaholic said:

As someone who has never used Pianoteq, excuse me if this is an ignorant question, but do they include a Wurlitzer EP, and is it as good as people say their pianos are?

EP's are not included in initial Pianoteq purchase, they are a paid for addition.  People who like Pianoteq AP's might also like their EP's (I have owned Pianoteq for 14 years this coming March)

[Synthaholic]

1 hour ago, Doerfler said:

EP's are not included in initial Pianoteq purchase, they are a paid for addition.  People who like Pianoteq AP's might also like their EP's (I have owned Pianoteq for 14 years this coming March)

Is their Wurlitzer the best digital representation available? I do know that their instruments are highly configurable.

[drawback]

1 hour ago, Synthaholic said:

Is their Wurlitzer the best digital representation available? I do know that their instruments are highly configurable.

I've tried a few others, including Pianoteq, but I like Acoustic Samples' VReeds.