When it comes to electric pianos, the Wurlitzer is simply unforgettable. A versatile instrument, the Wurli could give you soft and dreamy or barky and crunchy. The latter was favored by many because it made the keyboard cut right through the mix.
Whether you’re a Wurlitzer nut or a producer in need of another tool, you’ll be glad to know there are some very great sounding virtual pianos out there.
In this guide, we look at the best Wurlitzer VST plugins.
Wurli V by Arturia – Best Overall
If it’s a popular keyboard sound, Arturia has got it. Wurli V is a faithful recreation of the original, with responsiveness, versatility, and no hum the hardware units are known for.
The Wurlitzer is well known for its flexibility, delivering soft and subtle tones, all the way over to harder, percussive, brasher sounds. It’s the latter it ultimately became known for, especially for its ability to cut through a mix.
Arturia used advanced physical modeling in developing this VST unit, and they even made it possible for you to change the output – direct, guitar amp, or a Leslie rotating speaker.
The developer also threw in additional controls so you can customize things like hammer hardness, harmonic spectrum, or dynamic range.
Summarily, Wurli V comes with a physical modeling of the classic Wurlitzer 200A electric piano, advanced parameters for in-depth control, 11 classic stompbox style modeled effects (including vocal filter, chorus, compression, analog delay, flanger, phaser, pitch shifter / chorus, overdrive, auto wah, wah wah, and reverb).
You also get four guitar tube amps (Fender Deluxe Reverb Blackface, Fender Twin Reverb Blackface, Fender Bassman, and Marshall Plexi), rotary speaker modeling, and MIDI mapping of pedals, effects, and sound engine parameters.
Arturia also modeled the Shure SM57, Sennheiser MD 421, and Neumann U 87. Of course, the standard Arturia goodies are included – preset browser, resizable GUI, and the like.
Have a listen, and I think you’ll agree – the Wurli V sounds great. The guitar pedals are an awesome touch, as they can add a great deal to your tonal palette.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Equator2 by ROLI – Best Premium Option
The Equator2 MPE synthesizer lets you create and modify just about any sound you can think of, using a wide array of contemporary synthesis techniques, effects, and modulators.
It comes with six source slots for combining a wavetable oscillator with waveforms that have been combined with a high-resolution multi-sampler, granular engine, and FM.
Equator2 also includes a dedicated multimode filter, global multimode filters (with four switchable routing schemes), and 12 filters in the effects section. The filters feature both a gentle saturation mode and a more intense wavefolder mode.
This plugin features 42 multi-sampled instruments with 220 articulations and variations, be it the Sitar, Roland System-100, Juno-6, Yamaha G2 Baby Grand Piano, Japanese Koto, Wurlitzer and Hammond organs, tuba, and more.
These sounds are all in the categories of synthesizers, baby grands, world instrument, electric and acoustic instruments, classical instruments, and granular samples. Equator2, though, also gives you the option of importing your own samples.
Equator2 also comes with envelopes, LFOs, multi-mods, key tracking, MPE, transfer function curve editor, mod matrix, math modules and random, dynamics, distortions and filters, modulation, delays, reverbs, flexible routing, and more.
Altogether, you get over 1,300 presets (530 MPE presets and 848 conventional ones), 244 wavetables, five VA waveforms, 44 digital Equator1 waveforms, 42 new multisample instrument with 220 variations and articulation, drag and drop, and six instances of four sources (wavetable, granular, multi-sampler, noise).
There are also five expression curves, five LFOs, two multi-mods, five envelopes, four math and four random modules, click and drag modulation system, 12 effects slots with 15 effects, multiple signal routing options, and free motion waves sound pack – 30 MPE and 30 standard presets.
Obviously, Equator2 is kind of crazy. This isn’t just a Wurlitzer. It’s so much more than that. To that extent, this insanely powerful synth may not be for everyone. But if you need access to endless possibilities, you should have a listen.
Honestly, even the acoustic guitar sounds are quite good, and you won’t hear me saying that too often, so far as soft synths are concerned. The Wurlitzer sound is also on point.
This is our best premium option. Don’t choose it if you don’t have the budget, or it’s more kit than you need, but otherwise it’s well worth a look.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Grapevine by Capsule Audio – Best Budget Option
Capsule Audio’s Grapevine was based on the Wurlitzer 140B, with a focus on those unforgettable 60s and 70s sounds – dusty, warm, rich, and nostalgic.
Grapevine will deliver a pure Wurlitzer sound if that’s what you want, but it can do so much more. Capsule Audio gives you the ability to blend the keyboard’s tone with pads, synths, strings, and more. You can also choose between a direct input or amp signals.
Grapevine has got a great little pastel flat vector style design – very simple, not too fancy. Your main control is synth mix, but there are also parameters for cutoff, resonance, noise, warmth, chorus, delay, and reverb.
Grapevine is just a small part of the Capsule sound library, which features a variety of synth and keyboard sounds – a little bit like Output’s Arcade. If you’re looking for a more expansive collection of keys sounds, you might want to check it out.
In the video below, you can view a short demonstration of Grapevine around 18:53.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Velvet 2 by AIR Music Technology
AIR Music Technology’s Velvet 2 is a virtual electric piano, featuring five legendary models – Fender Rhodes Suitcase, Fender Rhodes Mk I and Mk II Stage Pianos, Wurlitzer 200A, and Hohner Pianet-T. To that extent, this plugin is more like a comprehensive electric keys solution than a standalone Wurlitzer plugin.
The developer put extra care into emulating every detail, nuance, response, and sound quality of each instrument. They included various effects, so you can tweak the tones as you see fit – tube drive, timbre, dynamic response, velocity curve, and even keyboard and mechanical noises.
There’s also a Vintage mode that automatically tweaks the settings to match the best electric piano tones from the past.
The preamp section includes tube overdrive, compression, and a custom three-band EQ with parametric mid band. There are also some great effects in the form of distortion, wah / filter, chorus, flanger, phaser, and tape delay.
There are several reverb types too – Ambience, Spring, and Room, along with tremolo and autopan effects.
Even better, Velvet 2 includes over 350 professional presets programmed by in-house sound designers. If you want to create your own presets, you can do that too.
So, altogether, you’re getting five electric pianos with dynamic modeling and a proprietary engine, timbre, dynamic response, and velocity curve controls, keyboard and pedal noise, preamp section with tube overdrive and compression, and three-band EQ with parametric mid band.
You also get tremolo and autopan, vintage distortion, wah / filter, modulation, amplifier effects, reverb (Ambience, Spring, Room), delay effects (with a classic tape echo), MIDI learn, 350+ presets, and an intuitive graphic user interface.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Electric 200 Piano by Waves
Waves’ Electric 200 Piano features precision modeling of the original Wurlitzer, used lovingly by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Queen, Stevie Wonder, and others. To top it all off, it comes with a compressor, effects, and an amp.
This VST instrument was sampled from two instruments, each with their own tonal character. Waves made it so you could mix in the sound of the internal piano mechanisms (hammer, key up, mechanics), to make this instrument as realistic as possible.
Altogether, you’re getting an instrument that was sampled from two electric pianos (same model), a mix section for internal piano mechanism noises, compressor, limiter, amp, tremolo, autopan, phaser, chorus, reverb, and the ability to use Electric 88 (another Waves keyboard plugin) presets.
Electric 200 is also NKS-ready for NI Komplete Kontrol and Maschine.
Learn more: Waves
Electric by AIR Music Technology
Building on Velvet, AIR Music Technology’s Electric promises to be another versatile electric piano collection, featuring everything from Rhodes and Wurlitzers to FM keyboards and more.
This baby features dedicated controls for pickup, envelope, bell, and noise, which lets you shape the tone of the keys to your heart’s content.
With a simple, CPU-friendly interface, Electric is just as capable on the stage as it is in the studio.
Electric comes with 80+ presets, effects (tremolo, tube distortion, chorus, delay, spring reverb), and the Desktop Player application (for live performance).
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Tines by Klevgrand
Klevgrand’s Tines is an electric piano VST, with competent Rhodes and Wurlitzer sounds built in. It’s not a vintage emulation per se, but it can do those things well. It’s more of a modern electric piano instrument.
Tines has a basic four-section configuration, with wobble depth / wobble speed (like a note independent tremolo), phase / decay (phase offset for left and right channels with note decay time), three-band EQ, and fresh air (reverb and stereo spread). There’s also a multiband distortion for good measure.
Tines is a very competent electric piano, especially for the price. It may not do what the other guys do, but if a simple electric piano VST is what you’re after, this one might float your boat.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Newmello Collection by Wavesfactory
Wavesfactory’s Newmello Collection Kontakt mellotron instrument – a favorite of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, King Crimson, and many others. You might be asking yourself why a mellotron plugin is even in this guide, but trust me, we’re getting to that.
Newmello Collection features volumes I, II, and III. It is a collection, after all, so it stands to reason. Modeled after a Mellotron M400, this plugin features 75 instrument patches, including bass flute, bass clarinet, French horn, euphonium, violin, electric guitar, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and more. Yep, there’s a Wurlitzer patch onboard.
Instead of sampling an M400, though, Wavesfactory recreated how the original unit came to be, sampling 75 instrument into a lo-fi cassette tape.
The interface gives you control over the background noise of the tape, tape blend slider (for morphing between two tape decks), attack, release, tone, and a tilt-style EQ.
In terms of effects, this plugin comes with EQ, multiple compressors, chorus, flanger, phaser, distortion, saturation, tape, algorithmic and convolutional reverb with 40+ custom impulse responses, and amp sims.
If a mellotron isn’t what you’re looking for, then this is little more than an outside the box pick, but you may want to check it out anyway.
Newmello Collection requires the full version of Kontakt.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
What Should I Look For In A Wurlitzer VST Plugin?
While there aren’t a ton of Wurlitzer VST plugins available, making up your mind can sometimes be harder than it seems. We understand this problem well.
That’s why, in this section, we’ll be examining three key factors in determining which plugin is right for you:
- Sound quality
- Features
- Budget
Study these sections well and you should do fine.
Sound Quality
It’s not hard to find some very realistic sounding Wurlitzer VST plugins nowadays. Wurli V, Velvet 2, Electric, and Electric 200 Piano are all great, but even the other options mentioned here do a very good job.
When shopping for a VST instrument, it’s always wise to listen carefully to the plugin. Besides the overall tone of the instrument, you may also consider how it responds to the tweaking of parameters, as well as its overall realism.
The best solution here is to watch the demos and reviews and to listen to any audio samples you can find. While I have my favorites, it’s not necessarily helpful because you should still choose the plugin that sounds best to you (or is going to do the job you need it to do).
Features
When it comes to Wurlitzer VST plugins, “features” basically refers to things like parameters, effects, amps, and microphones. Realistically, you don’t need a whole lot more than that anyway, as you can always do additional processing in post.
If you think you have a competent selection of effects for post processing, then it’s certainly not a requirement that you get a VST plugin with effects. You’ll probably save some money that way too.
But all-in-one options are convenient and nice to have if you want to get it all in one go.
Budget
From about $20 to $250, Wurlitzer VST plugins shouldn’t break the bank. Of course, depending on your budget, purchasing a higher priced plugin may be out of the question. We certainly don’t recommend going into debt for any project related purchases, even if you can write them off as business expenses (disclaimer: I’m not an accountant, so be sure to consult with a professional).
Save up if you can’t buy the plugin, you want right now.
Top Wurlitzer VST Plugins, Final Thoughts
The electric piano is contagious, and even in modern production settings, it can be a very effective instrument. Whether it’s for adding a bit of dreamy atmosphere to your tracks, or some barky funk, the Wurli can do it all, and it’s a great instrument to have on hand for all your projects. You never know when you might need it next.