simon_beck's Reviews

The closest thing to a 21st-century Wurlitzer

I am 62, and have been an electric piano enthusiast since my early teens, before I could play an instrument. When I was 16, I started teaching myself to play blues piano, and two years later I bought a Hohner Pianet T (I couldn't afford a Wurlitzer, which was my dream instrument). My Pianet got stolen in 1988, and I went digital for the next 35 years.

Last year (2023) I had some spare money, and I decided to treat myself to a real electric piano. The options were the new Rhodes Mk 8, Vintage Vibe's Tine Piano, the Valente, or a reconditioned vintage Wurlitzer. The first two were out of my budget of £4000, a vintage Wurly would still require regular maintenance, and the Valente was affordable and robust, with an action designed to minimise possible reed damage and no active electronics to go wrong.

I ordered my Valente from then-distributors Key Magic Inc. (who no longer supply them) , and within a week it arrived. I had to pay import duty and UK value-added tax on line, for a total cost of £3660 including shipping from the USA.

The piano comes with a sustain pedal that operates via a metal rod, but no stand or legs. I bought a few accessories on line - a table-style keyboard stand, a stretch fabric keyboard cover, a 90° jack adapter and a cheap multi-effect mini-stomp-box for tremolo, chorus etc.

The build quality is impressive. The chassis is made from steel, aluminium, plywood and pine, with a curved lid of Tolex-covered fibreglass. The sustain pedal housing matches the piano's profile and has a long rubber-covered foot-plate. The piano's end panels (and, rather oddly, the sustain pedal itself) are made from a natural-finished red hardwood called Andiroba or "crabwood". There is a small metal control plate on the left end-cheek containing the ¼" jack socket, a tone control and a volume control.

The sound is not far from that of a Wurlitzer, but with a more bell-like character towards the treble - a cross between a Wurly and a 1960s Rhodes, with a bit of Pianet-style "grunt" in the bass. There is a distinct "bark" at high velocities, though loud notes can also choke in a Rhodes-like way. Adding tremolo using an external pedal emphasises the Wurly character, while chorus makes it sound jazzier and a bit more Rhodes-like. Although it sounds great through any sound system, even a hi-fi, it sounds amazing when paired with a valve guitar amp. I use a Fender Blues Junior III.

The keyboard action is neither heavy nor particularly light - it is cleverly modified from a FATAR digital piano keybed, with dummy hammers operating real micro-hammers and dampers via levers. The action has been designed with a short hammer excursion, which minimises the possibility of damage to the reeds. It takes a firm, positive touch to get a note to sound at all, but it has a good dynamic range above that "dead zone". The 61-note C to C range lacks the three lowest notes available on a Wurlitzer, but it's no great loss.

In summary, this is the closest thing available to a brand-new Wurlitzer. It has advantages - it is electrically silent, thanks to its passive circuitry and humbucking pickups, it weighs 20 kg, same as my old Pianet, and far less than a Wurly. It also has a few negative points - the keyboard action takes some getting used to, the output socket is located on the bass end-cheek, but placed so a standard angled plug can't be used, the effect of the controls (treble cut and volume with treble bleed) is fairly subtle.

The Valente piano is still available to order direct from its maker, Tiago Valente in Brazil.