Wurlybird 140B Electric Piano from Cherry Audio

[Ashermusic]

I just did something I normally would not do in buying this. Why? Because of nostalgia.

In the mid '60's I bought and played a Wurlitzer 140B for several years. It was problematic at times. It was a bit noisy. If you broke a reed and bought a replacement, it would be out of tune, so you would either have to file it down or add bit of solder. I could do neither but I had a good repairman.

But I loved it !I learned not to strike it so hard that I broke reeds.

When I moved from Boston to LA in 1970, I sold it and bought a Wurlitzer 200. It arguably was better, quieter, easier to pack up and down for gigs, etc. But there was a soulfulness to the 140 B the it didn't quite have. I sold it long ago, which I regret though.

That said I have great Wurlitzer emulations with AcousticSamples V-Reeds, Neo Soul Keys, Logic Pro's Vintage piano, and the ones in my two Dexibell Vivo keyboards. When I download the demo for this one and compare it, it sounds a bit different, but not night and day from what I can make V-Reeds sound like.

So why did I buy it?

1. It's only $39.
2. I love Cherry Audio as a company.
3. When I look at the UI as I am playing, I find myself smiling.

https://store.cherryaudio.com/bundles/w ... tric-piano

[Geoff Grace]

Jay, you might be interested in the thread over at The Keyboard Corner about this release:

Wurlybird??

This is the second product in a row from Cherry Audio that had its origins from one of the members over there (the first being the Chroma Synthesizer). In this case, Mike Martin and Tom Hammer sampled Hammer’s 140B during the COVID lockdown, in 2020. Mike reached out to Cherry Audio, and eventually they decided to take it to the finish line. (Mike shares a much more detailed version of the story at the link I posted above.) The thread was started by Nashville session keyboardist Steve Nathan, who’s another regular forum contributor.

I’ve been posting at The Keyboard Corner since 2001. It’s one of three forums I visit daily. You can probably guess what the other two are.

Best,

Geoff

[Ashermusic]

Thanks, Geoff.