Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup.

The stage instrument was used by several popular artists, including Ray Charles, Joe Zawinul and Supertramp.

[7] Inventor Benjamin Miessner designed an amplified conventional upright piano in the early 1930s by taking an acoustic baby grand and installing an electrostatic pickup system in it.

[8] In the early 1950s, Meissner invented a new type of electric piano, substituting strings with struck quarter-inch (6.5 mm) steel reeds.

This allowed a much smaller instrument to be manufactured, as it did not need the space to support tension-loaded strings as found on acoustic piano.

[14] In the late 1970s, costs were cut in order to increase profitability, as musicians started to use digital synthesizers instead of the Wurlitzer.

Baldwin, who had bought Wurlitzer the previous year, demanded that all of the plant's records, including designs for the electric pianos, were destroyed.

[18] Wurlitzer published trade advertisements featuring celebrities such as Count Basie, Marian McPartland and Frederick Dvonch.

Steve Allen featured in several Wurlitzer advertisements and recorded a series of promotional albums for the company.

[16] It was a much lighter instrument (56 pounds (25 kg) without the legs or pedal)[8] with a 30 watt amplifier and two loudspeakers facing the player.

It was externally identical to the 200A but was designed to be powered by a pair of high-voltage batteries and had no internal amplifier or speakers, in order to reduce hum from the instrument.

[26] One important role for the Wurlitzer piano was as a student instrument in schools and colleges, and non-portable console versions were made for this purpose.

[23] Rarer than the student models are the teacher consoles such as 205V and 207, featuring multiple monitor/mute switches and, in some cases the facility to add a large illuminated display panel ("Key Note Visualizer") operated via the keyboard.

[35] The model 700 was the same amplifier and action as the portable 120, and featured a 12-inch (300 mm) internal speaker that emphasized bass frequencies better.

[13] The 200A had a domestic sister model 270 called the "Butterfly Baby Grand",[36] a semicircular, walnut finish wooden-cased piano with twin quadrant-shaped lids angled above horizontally mounted 8" loudspeakers.

In order to sound the correct pitch, each reed has a blob of solder on the end, which must be filed off to produce the right weight.

Reeds have elongated screw holes, which allows fine tuning by moving it backward and forward in the assembly before fastening.

Failing that, a more comprehensive solution is to open the instrument up and spray compressed air at the affected area.

Unlike the hammers on a Rhodes, which can develop unwanted grooves from over-hitting, the action on a Wurlitzer has been seen to operate well into the 21st century.

[42] In 2012, Arturia released the Wurlitzer V, a Virtual Studio Technology (VST) software emulation of the original instrument.

[44] Jazz pianist Sun Ra may have been the first to release recordings using the instrument, on 1956 singles later compiled on his album Angels and Demons at Play.

[47] Ray Charles began playing a Wurlitzer, as he preferred to take a portable instrument with him instead of using whatever piano was at a venue; his 1959 hit "What'd I Say" featured the model 120 prominently.

Joe Zawinul borrowed Charles' Wurlitzer for a gig backing Dinah Washington, and liked the instrument enough to buy his own model.