Wurlitzer electric piano
- Range
- A1–C7
- Peaks up close
- up to 118 dB SPL
- Sources
- 33 independent: not from a mic maker
What it is
An electromechanical piano: a felt hammer strikes a metal reed and an electrostatic pickup (170 V DC) makes the signal. Other names: Wurlitzer 200A, 206 and similar models.4
Also called Wurlitzer, Electric piano.
Range
A1 to C7455 Hz – 2.09 kHz
most Wurlitzers (64 notes)
Where the sound goes
The instrument is silent without an amp. The source is the Wurlitzer's one, two or four built-in speakers, or an external amp they can feed.4
About the range
Most Wurlitzers have 64 notes, from the A an octave above the lowest piano note to the C an octave below the top, so about A1 to C7.4
How loud
Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.
| Playing level | |
|---|---|
| 60–110 dB | at 3 m; keyboards (electric), single musician secondary5 |
| 98.7 dB(A) | next to percussion and keyboards; distance not given; band rehearsal, measuring point 'Percussion/Keyboards/Return sound', mean (Mendes et al.)6 |
| Peaks | |
| 118 dB | keyboards (electric) secondary5 |
The UK Sound Advice table gives electric keyboards 60-110 dB at 3 m with a 118 dB peak (secondary), and a band-rehearsal meter by the percussion and keyboards read 98.7 dB(A) on average. No figure for an electric piano on its own.
Recording it
- Speaker or amp, mic: SM57 or MD 421 on the built-in speakers on a 200A; an SM57 on the speaker, or an EV 664 "to fit it into a mix", or an EV 666; an Oktava MK-012 on the internal speakers, for its proximity boost against the small speakers' weak bass; a pair of AKG 451s on the external speakers at knee height; a 414 or 57 on a Silvertone piggyback amp.
- DI: several forum users record by DI box ("if it's just a background colour then the D.I. is fine"), others always use an amp, saying a DI'd Wurlitzer can sound scratchy or distorted.2,3,1
Mics
- 10 setups from 3 sources, 3 of them independent of any mic maker.
- On top: the mics more than one source names for this instrument, in any role, the most named first. That is a count of sources, not our verdict.
- In the full list, each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those come from a mic maker.
- Shure SM57 3 sourcesClose, built-in pickup ·
I send mine through a silverface vibrochamp with a 57 and it sounds AWESOME.
All the mics sources name, by setting and role (7)
Studio
Close
- AKG C 4141 source
- AKG C 451 (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)1 source
- Electro-Voice 6661 source
- Shure SM572 sources
Stereo pair
Built-in pickup
- Electro-Voice 6641 source
- Oktava MK-0121 source
- Sennheiser MD 4211 source
- Shure SM571 source
The 10 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close 2 × AKG C 451 (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)on the external speakers at knee height (pair)
"Just did this, used a pair of AKG 451s... I placed the mics on the external speakers at knee height."
1 - Close AKG C 414through a Silvertone piggyback amp (or a 57)
"I just take the output into a Silvertone piggyback and mic it with the 414 or the 57, depending on what the goal is."
1 - Close Shure SM57via a Vibro Champ amp
"I send mine through a silverface vibrochamp with a 57 and it sounds AWESOME."
1 - Built-in pickup Shure SM57 or Sennheiser MD 421200A, built-in speaker
"On my 200a I have done all sorts of recording: DI - amped - mic'd the little speakers with 57 or 421 - and all have worked well." (forum) ... Same forum post: mic'd the little speakers with 57 or 421.
2 - Built-in pickup Oktava MK-012internal speaker
"I've really loved the sound I've gotten from micing the internal speakers with an Oktava MK-012s", for the proximity boost (forum).
2 - Close Shure SM57speaker
A 57 has worked nicely on the Wurlitzer speaker; a Rhodes through a Boogie 50 Caliber: "the player ended up liking the EQ curve of the 57 best".
3 - Built-in pickup Electro-Voice 664built-in speaker, sitting in a mix
"If I'm fitting it into a mix... I reach for my EV 664. It gives it a nice grind, maybe more like the old brown tube wurlies."
3 - Close Electro-Voice 666amp
"I've also really dug the sound of certain older dynamics like the EV 666."
3 - Close tube condenser (tube mics on the Wurlitzer amp)amp
"Tube mics tend to work well for me on Wurly amps, but it really depends on the tone overall."
3 - Direct DI (DI box (and mic the amp))DI
Forum replies: DI usually, sometimes through an amp; "if it's just a background colour then the D.I. is fine."
3
Problems to watch
A hot DI signal that distorts in the preamp (a forum user's Wurlitzer 206 "shreds" with a SansAmp or preamp); no line output on some Wurlitzer models. Reeds can break or debris can cause bursts of distortion.2,1,4
Sources
- Tape Op message board: Mic'ing that Wurlitzer... (2004)
- Tape Op message board: recording a Wurlitzer (2007)
- Tape Op message board: when recording a wurlitzer electric piano...? (2003)
- Wikipedia, Wurlitzer electric piano
- Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)
- Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology: Mendes, Morata, Marques, Acceptance of hearing protection aids in members of an instrumental and voice music band