A Fender amp, for instance, would accomplish this with a minimum of two preamp tubes: one wires for two gain-stages, and one for a relatively high-gain, two-triode, long-tailed pair phase inverter. To have a functional push-pull amp, you need two things: at least one gain stage to amplify the circuit and a phase inverter to split that signal into two versions, one for each of the two power tubes. To this end, Wurlitzer used the least amount of tubes possible for their circuits. Also, gear acquisition syndrome was definitely a thing in the 60s too.) (Unless you were a trend-setter like Ray Charles. If you were a serious player and had the resources, youвЂ™d probably skip the Wurlitzer and buy a nice acoustic piano instead. Remember that, at the time, the electronic piano was a gimmick. Going all-out on the amplifier would price those people out. Producing the mechanical portion of the keyboard itself was expensive, and Wurlitzer wanted to market it to budget-conscious musicians: beginners, amateurs, people who played dive bars or didnвЂ™t have the funds to lug a piano around on tour.

It was understandable that Wurlitzer wanted to cut costs in the amplifier. ThatвЂ™s fine: itвЂ™s cutting costs without cutting corners. Wurlitzer accomplished what was necessary in the circuit - and not a single thing more. This isnвЂ™t one of those noisy single-ended amps that came in a fiberboard box and might literally electrocute you when you plug it in. The 50s and 60s produced some truly awful electronics, but Wurlitzer amps are well-made and have decent components. Note that вЂњcost-savingвЂќ doesnвЂ™t necessarily equal вЂњcheapвЂќ here. Wurlitzer amplifiers have a minimal, low-gain, cost-saving circuit. Magnetic pickups create a signal based on the vibrations in the pickupвЂ™s magnetic field which are induced by the vibrations of the guitar strings - no voltage required. In contrast, a guitar amp does not send voltage to the input, because guitars use magnetic pickups. That distortion would be caused by the increased size of the lower reeds, which must vibrate over a larger area. The WurlitzerвЂ™s relatively high reed bar voltage (180v) is meant to mitigate distortion in the keyboardвЂ™s lower register. When a voltage is applied to the plates, the capacitance of the pickup varies based on the reedвЂ™s vibrations, inducing a signal current. The pickup itself is a capacitor composed of a vibrating metal plate (the reed) which is separated from a stationary piece of metal (the reed bar) via an air gap. A WurlitzerвЂ™s electrostatic pickup requires voltage to function. Wurlitzer amplifiers send voltage to the input. Differences between a wurlitzer amp and a guitar amp The differences are mostly a matter of style and philosophy rather than function. With minor modification, Wurlitzer amps and guitar amps are pretty interchangeable. So, although the Wurlitzer amplifier is very similar to a guitar amp, its design was informed by a completely different perspective on the musical instrument market. Second, the WurlitzerвЂ™s electrostatic pickup made it incompatible with contemporary instrument amplifiers, which assumed that any input signal originated in a magnetic pickup. First, thanks to the physical nature of a piano, Wurlitzer had the opportunity and the motivation to conceal the amplifier inside the instrument. So, a Wurlitzer is different from an electric guitar in two ways. Requiring an extra 20-lb amplifier would undermine any ads touting the keyboardвЂ™s convenience.

Plus, the a major selling point of the Wurlitzer was its portability. ThereвЂ™s no indication that Wurlitzer wanted to make cabinets or otherwise get into the amp-making business. And because the WurlitzerвЂ™s pickup requires voltage to function, third-party amps would not be compatible with the electronic pianos. So WurlitzerвЂ™s electronic piano was also designed to be ready-to-play upon delivery, its amplifier present within so that the sound came from the keyboard and not some external unit.ДЄnother point: Wurlitzer didnвЂ™t make amplifiers.

And, unlike a guitar, a piano isnвЂ™t meant to be handheld, giving Wurlitzer more real estate inside the body to hide electronics. Every component required to make sound is (of course) already present within the case, no accessories required. (The Hammond organ, invented in 1935, provided precedent for this concept.) Like any acoustic instrument, the traditional pianos that Wurlitzer built were self-contained. Why? First of all, Wurlitzer was a piano company, and the on-board amp contributed to the illusion that the Wurlitzer is a piano.

Wurlitzer organ with cassette recorder