Talk:Wurlitzer

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Hello and welcome to the world of Wurlitzer!!![edit]

These amazing pianos and jukeboxes are - or maybe i should say were the fad of the century

I have a Wurlitzer C Melody Saxophone. This artical makes no attempt to explain the Saxophone connection with Wurlitzer. There is not a lot of info about wurilitzer saxophones, but we need to learn all we can. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.3.33.68 (talk) 04:53, 10 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Lots of work needed[edit]

  • Okay, guys and gals. We have a lot of work to do on this article! It is very rough and needs to be rewritten. Also, scant information on Wurlitzer jukeboxes, band organs/orchestrions, and electric pianos have been added. These subjects need to be split up into separate sections and expanded. It is good they have been added, but lets find more info!

A good, expanded history of the company is needed, particularly during WWII, jukebox production, and the last days of the company before it was bought up by Baldwin.

Let's get cracking! Erzahler 18:53, 27 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Technological Innovations Section[edit]

I removed the "technological innovations" section, which improperly credited Wurlitzer with introducing the concept of locating the keyboards away from the instrument. Robert Hope-Jones invented, patented and implemented this concept. See the entry on Robert Hope-Jones. Erzahler 18:39, 27 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wurlitzer History Before Organs[edit]

If someone can do some research on this, I'd like to see a sub article on Wurlitzer's work BEFORE pipe organs. I know the Wurlitzer Company built brass and woodwind instruments in the years before Hope-Jones, and they may have even designed a harp. Erzahler 20:28, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Wurlitzer firm was mostly (if not completely) a retailer of musical instruments. I've seen "Wurlitzer American" saxophones that were definitely the product of firms like Martin or Buescher. The "Wurlitzer Harp" was an automatic instrument designed by a Mr. Whitlock of Rising Sun Indiana- Wurlitzer bought the patents and manufactured it. The instrument sounds very pleasant but not very harp-like. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.39.163.114 (talk) 17:32, 10 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Here's some history from a recent auction:

An upright saxhorn style Eb alto horn marked 'R. Wurlitzer Bro Manuf. Cincinnati O'. Rudolph Wurlitzer was joined by his brother in 1872 through ca 1890. This horn bears the early script signature from that period dating it to the 1870's, probably early 1870's.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.138.64.77 (talk) 03:41, 7 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Defunct?[edit]

It would appear the the Wurlitzer company is no longer in existence, although its trademarks and facilities are still in use. Is this true? The article is unclear on this point. Electrolite 05:00, 12 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The article now mentions that "Deutsche Wurlitzer, owner of the Wurlitzer Jukebox and Vending Electronics trademark, was recently acquired by the Gibson Guitar Corporation". Perhaps this is connected. Unfortunately, "recently" doesn't get us very far. Maybe whoever wrote this can provide a date (2007? 1957? 1907?) Mike Shepherd 19:12, 5 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]


(Just escape/erased an entire paragraph attempting to sign this. . . Now I understand why many people don't sign their Talk posts.) The jukebox brand was acquired by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 2006. It seemed to have survived independently after Wurlitzer's U.S. production of organs and pianos ended in 1973. As far as Wurlitzer branded pianos, Baldwin Piano & Organ Co. bought the rights and I believe the production facilities for Wurlitzer's pianos in 1988. Not sure what happened with Wurlitzer pianos between 1973 and 1988 - Wurlitzer may have continued making them, but they didn't make them at their historic North Tonawanda, NY plant because they closed that in 1973 - apparently following a large fire. Baldwin (as a subsidiary of Gibson) used Wurlitzer as a brand name from 1988 until 2009. After that, no more Wurlitzer organs or pianos were made anywhere. That was the end of the line from everything I've read. Mikerrr (talk) 20:13, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Removed copyvio[edit]

Removed "Melville Clark Piano Company (later the Wurlitzer Company... Later owned by the Wurlitzer Company, this plant was responsible for the "manufacture of the celebrated Apollo Player Piano .... facturing musical instruments and was switched to producing airplane parts for the United States Navy. After the War, regular production activities resumed" which was copied directly from [1]. --John Nagle 05:08, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

more info[edit]

There is a great video about the wurlitzer family on gibsons website. chris wurlitzer —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.218.119.228 (talk) 20:46, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

Wurlitzer Jukeboxes[edit]

The Wurlitzer jukebox was NOT the "iconic" jukebox of the Rock and Roll era. The reign of the Wurlitzer jukebox was during the "Golden Age" of jukeboxes from the late 1930's through the late 1940's, during what is known as the Paul Fuller design years. With the introduction of the 100 play record changing mechanism in 1949, Seeburg took the lead, stood the jukebox world on end and never looked back, setting the trends for all the other brands of jukeboxes, including Wurlitzer and the German company NSM. The Seeburg brand of jukebox reigned supreme during the rock and roll era and continued to dominate the jukebox industry well into the 1980's. In movies and TV, you will see many more Seeburg jukeboxes than any other brand.

As this article is about Wurlitzer, when most people think jukebox, the one that comes to mind is the 1946 Wurlitzer model 1015. THAT is the icon of the jukebox world! With it's bubbling tubes and constantly changing colors, and the fact that more of these jukeboxes were made than any other in history, about 60,000 units, may contribute to the popularity of the Wurlitzer name. Also, many other jukebox companies copied the Wurlitzer design of the 1015, even into the 21st century.

When Wurlitzer introduced the totally new model 3500 around 1971, which included a brand new record changing mechanism that played the records horizontaly for the first time since 1954. Well, the unreliability of the new mechanism almost single handedly put the Rudolph Wurlitzer company out of business. Consequently, a very convenient fire destroyed the U.S. company a few years later, thus ending the American Wurlitzer story.

As mentioned before, the spirit of the original Wurlitzer 1015 jukebox lives on today in the 21st century year of 2007. After being born in late 1945 with a 24 song capacity, the Wurlitzer 1015 was brought back to life in the 1980's when Wurliter introduced the "One More Time", which originally held 50 45rpm records and then later 50 CDs. Although these machines looked like the original, the formerly chromed cast metal pieces, were now actually cheap plastic. Seeburg introduced their version which had an awkward 60 CD Sony changer in it. Antique Apparatus produced a copy with first a Rowe 100 capacity 45 changer and then a CD changer. Antique Apparatus acquired the Rock-ola jukebox company and continued making the nostalgia jukeboxes, but with their own 100 CD changer. Although the CD changer remained fairly unchanged, the sound system was changed several times, the best being the "orange" Sybersonic sound system with it's down-firing sub-woofer and it's wide separation enhanced stereo setting. This system was replaced by a smaller powerful "yellow" system, but it never measured up. Currently, as of 2007, the nostalgia line has been reborn once again but this time as a hard drive system capable of holding up to 2800 CDs worth of music and controlled by a touch-screen monitor. It also has a CD player for loading the music and an iPod can be hooked up to it, and it now has Peavey sound system.

Companies like Wurlitzer, Rock-ola and Rowe still produce a 1015 clone.JUKEBOXEPRESS67.181.142.20 (talk) 08:18, 24 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you're still monitoring this post, I'm curious. . . You say a "convenient fire" sometime after 1971 ended the Wurlitzer story. I understand that the Wurlitzer main production facility in N.Tonawanda NY closed in 1973 - but I was under the impression that the building remains standing and is still being used as sort of a business center that rents out space to various companies. Can you shed any light on the fire and how much damage it actually did? Nobody else seems to have mentioned this fire anywhere else (that I've seen anyway). I'd like to have a more complete history of how this once storied company just suddenly seemed to evaporate. Mikerrr (talk) 20:01, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Acoustic Pianos?[edit]

Wurlitzer was a major manufacturer of pianos and a prominent name in the U.S. market for much of the 20th century, yet there's no acknowledgment of that product in this article. Steve Bob (talk) 15:25, 9 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

External links[edit]

I dumped most of the links this evening. It had been tagged since September 2009, so I have cut it back to the official stuff and a link to DMOZ. If you want to add your link please add it to DMOZ which provides you with a full follow backlink, over adding it here. Rgds --Trident13 (talk) 19:22, 12 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Spelling[edit]

This article is inconsistent in its spelling of "theatre"/"theater" using both in approximately equal numbers. Most noticeably the picture navigation links to the "Theater organs" section, but the section title is actually "Theatre organs" so the link doesn't work. There may be other such pairs, but I haven't looked.

The article really ought to be consistent and use one or other spelling - perhaps the "er" as this is about an American company, but it doesn't' matter too much which is chosen as long as only one is. Thryduulf (talk) 02:21, 22 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Is it not needed on Wikipedia ? (section “Wurlitzer Style Designations”)[edit]

Some useful information were added by IP user, but soon reverted.   I think it is very useful to confirm & verify old Wurlitzer theatre organs, so save it on here with some miner format change :) --Shoulder-synth (talk) 13:16, 16 September 2010 (UTC) ---[reply]

Wurlitzer Style Designations[edit]

Style Size Notes
1 2/4
  • 16' Flute,
  • 8' Trumpet,
  • 8' Vox Humana,
  • 8' Salicional,
  • Chimes,
  • Xylophone,
  • Glockenspiel,
  • Traps,
  • Piano console;

later became Style 135

2 2/6 Piano console
3 2/7 Later became Style 185
4 2/8 Style +
5 2/9 Later became Style 210
6 3/13
35 3/15
40 2/3
100 2/3
105 2/3
108 2/3
109 2/3
Style Size Notes
110 2/3
115 2/3 Later version of Style 100
120 2/3 Later version of Style 105
125 2/3 Later version of Style 108
130 2/3 Later version of Style 109
135 2/4 Style +
140 2/4 Style +
150 2/5 Style +
160 2/6 Style +
165 2/6 Style +
170 2/5
175 2/7 Style +
185 2/7 Style +
190 2/8 Style 175 + 8' Clarinet
200 2/8 Style 190 +
205 2/10
210 2/9 Style +
#215 2/10 Style +
#216 2/10 Style +
#220 3/10
225 3/11 Style +
230 3/11 Style +
235 3/11 Style +
235NP 3/11 Style +
240 3/13 Style +
Style Size Notes
250 3/15 Style +
260 3/15
  • 32' Diaphonic Diapason,
  • 16' Tuba,
  • 16' Flute,
  • 16' Tibia Clausa,
  • 8' Brass Trumpet,
  • 8' Saxophone,
  • 8' Clarinet,
  • 8' Orchestral Oboe,
  • 8' Kinura,
  • 8' Viole d'orchestre,
  • 8' Viole Celeste,
  • 8' Solo String,
  • 8' Oboe Horn,
  • 8' Vox Humana,
  • 8' Quintadena,
  • Style 235 Percussions /

Early models ommited Saxophone

Style Size Notes
270 4/21
280 4/
285 4/32
B 2/4 Later became Style 140
Balaban 1 3/11 Style +
Balaban 1A 3/11 Style Balaban 1 without Piano
Balaban 2 3/14
Balaban 3 3/15 Style +
Balaban 4 3/19
Chapel 2/3 Straight console
Church 2/
C2 2/3
  • 16' Flute,
  • 8' Salicional,
  • 8' Open Diapason.

Straight console

C3 2/4 C2 + 8' Dulciana.

Straight console

C4 2/5 C3 + 8' Oboe Horn.

Straight console

This information is undoubtedly of great usefulness and interest to people whose sole interest in Wurlitzer is the theatre organ. HOWEVER, this article is about the Wurlitzer corporation at large, which includes a great many products besides the theatre organ. It would be far more appropriate to move this information to a separate article on the Might Wurlitzer theatre organ. Mikerrr (talk) 21:36, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Separate article[edit]

Just wondering, I notice the sections about Wurlitzers in the U.S and UK are quite long - would it be a good idea to separate the section about the famous theatre organs and have this page about the company? Rob (talk) 19:04, 13 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

That's what I did - and someone keeps reinserting them! The article makes some sense now, rather than being a series of rambling paragraphs where some interested sole has inserted his 5p worth on his favourite Wurlitzer. The lists are by no means complete, but at least this way they will get some focus. Rgds, --Trident13 (talk) 23:49, 16 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I may attempt to separate the articles again now that I've added a considerable amount of information which deals strictly with the corporate history. The additional material makes it clear that the theatre organ was actually just one of a wide range of products and brands owned or controlled by the Wurlitzer corporation at large and occupied but a relatively small window in the overall corporate history. I see no reason why the detailed discussion of theatre organs shouldn't be moved to a separate article just as was done with Wurlitzer electric pianos - which are a much smaller subject. Perhaps the contributor who kept reinserting this information here has moved on to other things now. . . we'll see. Mikerrr (talk) 21:33, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Various "Wurlitzer" companies[edit]

There were actually several different and unrelated companies all using the Wurlitzer name since the 1800s, including the Rudolph Wurlitzer company, E.U. Wurlitzer, and even others. So I put in a reference in the introduction to the E.U. Wurlitzer music stores, as at least around New England it seems that "Wurlitzer" usually refers to the stores more often than the instruments themselves. I'm working on sorting out all the different Wurlitzer companies, hopefully eventually there can be a page for each company. Stephaniebrite77 (talk) 18:42, 23 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]


How's that project coming along? I've been delving into Wurlitzer's history and I have been curious as to the connection of the old Wurlitzer mall stores with the Wurlitzer corporate name. I assume they're closely connected, but I'd really like to know the business relationship. Mikerrr (talk) 20:16, 4 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Style and Size[edit]

Could anybody explain what do mean those terms ?

Style of what ? Of the cabinet ?

Size in which unit ? In feet ? Of relatively of what unit ? One feet ?

--AXRL (talk) 23:41, 4 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

New to this so please forgive me if not following proper etiquette for this page. Not sure about "Style" but about "Size", this refers to the number of manuals (keyboards) on the organ console and the number of ranks of pipes in the organ chamber(s). So, for example, a 3/19 Wurlitzer is a 3 manual, 19 rank instrument. Hope this helps. Cruiser Chris (talk) 23:47, 1 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

New Source[edit]

The German Historical Institute in Washington, DC has published a short biographical article on Rudolph Wurlitzer that can be found here: http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=45 Immigrantentrep (talk) 15:54, 3 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

added info i found[edit]

hi guys i don't know anything about wikipedia. but i found out tonight that my local council kingston in Moorabbin Melbourne Australia. has a very rare type of Wurlitzer organ

and they have written an article with lots of information on this rare type of organ which there is like 2 remaining examples in the world which is not respesented in this article at all.

i thought it might be useful to you guys, sorry if my edit is horrible but i wanted to share this source

http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/119.htm

chris — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.174.71.241 (talk) 15:11, 19 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Gap in Corporate History 1973 to 1988[edit]

I've been researching Wurlitzer and have managed to find a good bit of information which covers most of the corporate history from 1853 to the company's ultimate demise. However, I cannot account for Wurlitzer's activities from 1973 when the factory in N.Tonawanda, NY closed to 1988 when Baldwin Piano quit using the Wurlitzer brand on pianos altogether. I'll keep trying to track this info down, but if anyone can help, I'd be very curious to know the status of Wurlitzer as a company during this 15-year span. Mikerrr (talk) 21:42, 7 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Wurlitzer or WurliTzer?[edit]

Please see [2] at theatre organ

Is there the slightest support for this, or can we simply whack it as unsourced edit warring? I can see where they're coming from with the tight stylistic kerning on the label, but that's all uppercase to start with anyway. Andy Dingley (talk) 15:43, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

No, it's unsourcededit warring. Even the company website has Wurlitzer. [3] And per MOS:TMRULES: "Follow standard English text formatting and capitalization rules, even if the trademark owner considers nonstandard formatting "official", as long as this is a style already in widespread use, rather than inventing a new one." --NeilN talk to me 15:49, 5 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I guess that makes sense. In order to really match the style better, we'd have to have a small-caps option, at least. I suppose I really should've been trying to convert them all to "WURLITZER." ;-D
IHateYouTyrannousAddies (talk) 06:13, 8 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Number of ranks in Michigan Theatre organ[edit]

The article says "Opus 1351, (28 ranks), ... Six additional ranks were added, to make it a 32-rank." That math doesn't make sense. DMacks (talk) 16:23, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The source has "5/34 Wurlitzer" so I've changed it to 34. --NeilN talk to me 16:34, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for checking it out and fixing it! DMacks (talk) 21:39, 22 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Electronic organs[edit]

Wurlitzer also made electronic organs but I don't know the dates of when they were made. One example of Wurlitzer organ is the Wurlitzer 4300. If there are sections for "acoustic pianos", "electric pianos" and "Theatre organs", why is there no section for "Electronic organs" or even a standalone article (there being one for Wurlitzer electric piano) for Wurlitzer organ?--Kevjgav (talk) 11:07, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I can't really think of any organists who use a Wurlitzer organ, which may explain why there's no standalone article for Wurlitzer organ whereas the Wurlitzer electric piano was used by many famous pianists (e.g. Ray Charles) so that instrument deserves its own article. But I see no reason why we can't have an "electronic organs" section in this article.--Kevjgav (talk) 12:57, 21 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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The Mighty Wurlitzer as metaphor[edit]

The paragraph "The Mighty Wurlitzer as metaphor" seems very tangential to the subject; maybe it could be mentioned in another section? 62.205.65.21 (talk) 02:53, 14 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. The sources noted do not even use the term "Operation Mockingbird". @Rgr09: Thoughts? - Location (talk) 18:56, 30 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The "mighty wurlitzer" as a metaphor for "propaganda is by no means a common one, it is basically one comment by Frank Wisner that was used as a title by Hugh Wilford for his excellent book, "The Mighty Wurlitzer" I see no reason for including it in the article. Even if it were to be included in the article, it is hard to imagine a worse source than a post from the lamentably non-RS Cryptome website. Oh wait, how about the wikileaks mirror of cryptome?
Ha! I tried to put the address in and got a warning that wikipedia doesn't use that site! How did it get in the article then? Rgr09 (talk) 05:53, 31 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
If Hugh Wilford were bluelink, I could see having a hatnote or a single sentence here pointing to his article. The "metaphor" content dates back to 2015 using a direct cryptome URL, which was converted to a wikileaks URL in 2016. Best I can tell, Wikileaks was first discussed for possible blacklisting in 2018. DMacks (talk) 06:21, 31 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Hello DMacks! I would agree on a hat note or sentence or two if there were articles for either Wilford or his book. I may try for an article on the book, or at least a section on the book in a related article. I am most interested in discussions of blacklisting wikileaks or cryptome. The message I saw was directed at links to cryptome. I will try to dig up these discussions and contribute a few carefully chosen comments if appropriate. Rgr09 (talk) 12:51, 31 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I could get on board with that, too. "The Mighty Wurlitzer" is notable enough for an article in that there are plenty of reliable sources discussing it. Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Perennial sources has links to discussions about Wikileaks. -Location (talk) 17:54, 31 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Destroyed Wurlitzer[edit]

I don't know how much anyone is interested, but I stumbled on a Wurlitzer at the Oakley Theater (now the Lake Worth Playhouse) in Lake Worth, Florida. It was destroyed by the Florida hurricane of 1928. deisenbe (talk) 14:27, 15 September 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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Made a few mentions[edit]

Hey! I'm a second generation piano technician that has worked on hundreds of Wurlitzer pianos. It seemed like their history in manufacturing pianos needed to be mentioned a but more in depth so I added it! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jdude9837 (talk • contribs) 22:51, 3 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Gee[edit]

When the name Wurlitzer is mentioned, the first thing that springs to my mind is the ad phrase "Gee, Dad, it's a Wurlitzer!" Can this be added to the article? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/its-a-wurlitzer-61398212/, http://antiqueradio.com/Jun02_Jukebox_Wurl.html, https://yankeeoxford.blogspot.com/2007/08/gee-dad-its-wurlitzer.html Kdammers (talk) 08:53, 8 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Kdammers:Definitely a reasonable idea. I'm not sure where it fits best, but feel free to edit it in yourself. DMacks (talk) 11:09, 8 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Page Revision[edit]

Theatre Organs - I added details of the Wurlitzer at Woking Leisure Centre in Southern England , HOWEVER, this instrument has been moved from it's original location. Several others have also moved, for example the Opus 2174 Wurlitzer from the Regal Theatre in Kingston-Upon-Thames is now in the Brentford music museum. This instrument also has a link to a music roll and a Steinway piano.

Would it not be sensible to split the list into:- 1. Original Installations 2. Moved Installations Tim.sneller (talk) 16:19, 17 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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