1964 Farfisa Combo Compact Demonstration and Repair

Steve Christie demonstrates and the Farfisa Combo Compact from 1964, with also information on the repair carried out on the oscillators and tone generator circuits.
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Filmed and Edited by Louisa Revolta
Recorded and Mixed by Steve Christie at Vintage Keys Studio
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Video and Soundtrack are Copyright Vintage Keys Records / Steve Christie

[@jeffh8803]

It would be great to show your repair process since its clear you're one of few people in the world doing this kind of work. There's a whole world of vintage electronics youtube channels that I think would get you a much bigger audience. I know filming repair work makes everything take longer but showing the guts of these instruments is a gift to posterity.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes very conscious of this - it will happen more as time goes on

[@AnalogueGround]

Ah, the old Compact Fart Fizzle - I did wonder when one of these would appear in your laboratory of wonders. Marvellous!

[@panthercombo9647]

I've seen videos of Iron Butterfly using a Vox Continental

[@mikolasstrajt3874]

As I watched (video of) moving of Hammond organ today I can definitely appreciate how useful was compact organ for touring musicians.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes total nightmare - (we moved a C3 a few years ago across a muddy field in the pouring rain!)

[@edsknife]

Sounded pretty good before the repair, but now it sounds fucking LEGENDARY.

[@Concreteowl]

I can imagine Alan Price on one of these. But with some sort of safety harness of course

[@connorperry6313]

As an apprentice electrician who does repairs on the side i truly appreciated this. Felt like I was looking inside the farfisa myself… ive repaired an acetone, done some hammond mods, and currently doing a crumar Multiman. Cheers from Canada!

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Very welcome! Thank you very much! Good luck with your electronics projects

[@denialisadish456]

It sounds like a carnival organ when you are playing with the expression bar and the bass notes❤❤❤

[@donalds9141]

Being a Farfisa owner and player back in the 60s and70s, I totally enjoyed your vid. I still have my Compact Duo which is the 2 keyboard version, the largest from that time, with a Leslie 147. Also with the 1 octave bass pedals. I remember a few players using the red Compact and the gray Deluxe Compact back in the day. They were a great organ back then. By the way, the volume pedal is secured between the 2 clamps on the right in the cover. The 2 clamps on the left in the cover holds the bass pedals. Too bad your are in the UK. I am in the USA and would look you up if it ever needed repair.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Ahh thanks for the info about it the way the pedals fit in the lid! I was very confused about that. Thanks very much! :)

[@TheDavidPoole]

In that photo you really look like Matt Berry. Do you get people mentioning that much? I love watching your videos, because they are not only interesting, you have a great sense of humour. You have a fantastic collection of instruments. Do you have a working studio? Be a shame if you didn't as I imagine a lot of people would want to get their hands (and ears) on those beauties. Cheers ✌️

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Hi thank you - yes Matt Berry stole my identity many years ago, amongst other things. Yes we do have a working studio here - check out our website! vintagekeysstudio.com

[@raindogred]

ok ..i've only just started watching this channel and noted you have a different name per vid...just on the strength of that I'm going to have to subscribe and go watch some old ones and start compile a list...and the problem is I'm not even an organist's bum hole...rather a guitarist/bass guitarist and drummer here. ooh gawd...what have i got myself into now.subbed and liked(dammit),....

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Sorry to hear you're not an organist's bum hole. Welcome to our club!

[@VanWinger]

There is an Iron Butterfly track with the sound of someone tickling the spring reverb - 'In the Time of Our Lives' from the 'Ball' album. So I can pretty much assure you it was a Farfisa. Worth a listen and the Ball album is best experienced whole with some good holistic medicines.

[@IanThatMetalBassist]

Some good ol herbal remedies

[@James_Bowie]

According to Babani's 1974 book of substitutes there are many for SFT352: AC117-122R-125-128-131-151V-162-192, BSX36, NKT304, 0C304, SK3004, 2N591-1189-2000, 2429-2613-3638-4030-5040, 258120

[@paulmcdonough9595]

😂i have that Babani transistor equivalents book, it came in very handy back in the day when I was scavenging bits from defunct computer pcbs, and they used to leave decent lengths on the device leg’s!

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Fantastic! I must get this book! not heard of it before!

[@paulmcdonough9595]

@@VintageKeysStudio great series of little books. My recent babani is Radio antenna and how they work, I’ve read it twice and I’m still at a loss :0)

[@jesusbencomo3495]

Hello Steve, I really enjoyed the fabulous sound of that Iconic Farfisa organ and the memories of those germanium pnp transistors!! 🔌

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Glad you enjoyed it, Jesus!

[@I967]

Very nice. Made me think of soundtrack from The Tenth Victim, by Piero Piccioni. 1965.

[@U014B]

Imagine he's not reviewing these but showing them to a potential buyer.

[@pauljames5914]

Used one of these for years! Nice little organ.

[@lesterross1]

I love the old cheesy farfisee sound. Most of the local bands in Canada I remember had Farfisas.

[@simonirvine1628]

That keyboard would be great for a bit of Perry style dub. With a dash of AKG tape delay with saturated feedback, nice.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Oh yeah!!!!

[@sonijam]

Great video. Love that Farfisa sound!

[@panthercombo9647]

I own 9, 4 red compacts, 2 grey,1 compact deluxe and 2 mini compacts,

[@dessiplaer]

I have a B3 with a separate direct output for bypassing the Leslie. It also has an output with the high end rolled of for a separate bass output (you can run it into a separate amp for more bass. Although I love my Hammond, I have always had a fondness for for these compact organs (Vox, Farfisa, etc. My brother was in a band when I was young, and they had a Vox Jaguar, and they have always fascinated me. Fun video! Please continue making more. Iron Butterfly used a Vox Continental according to an internet search.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thanks very much! Yes these organs are fantastic!

[@crazypainter56]

they did --you can see in photos -Doug Ingle had made different legs for his

[@johnsonmonsen]

Once folded there barely is any difference compared with a handbag! And this organ comes with that awesome red colour which survived more than the last half of a century. Two features almost impossible to beat ... Thanks for sharing :-)!

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you Curtis - I have to say, we had to do a retake on this one as I originally got half way through and Louisa realised I was demonstrating a handbag. It is, as you said, very difficult to tell the difference. One day I will put together an outtakes reel with all the handbag bloopers :)

[@HSBsoulsurfer]

A handbag doesn't weigh the 75 lbs the regular sized Farfisa does(!) 😅

[@briankeenan4901]

Before they said a musitron was used, we all thought that a Farfisa played the keyboards on Del Shannon's Runaway .

[@LannieLord]

Amazing ! Thank you. ! PLEASE do an entire song at the end of each video! Thanks !!!!

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thanks very much - send some requests in - my mind goes blank

[@TheDavidPoole]

Anything by the Goblins(?) Italian band I think. Used in lots of horror movies (Dario Argentos "Dawn of the Dead" comes to mind). Or some "seaside" type music 😁

[@LannieLord]

He's Gonna Step on You ! @@VintageKeysStudio

[@t55a2]

You stayed brave at the end, a poignant moment

[@PetraKann]

Steve Reich featured four Farfisa organs in his piece Four Organs. John Paul Jones (Led Zep) Richard Wright (Pink Floyd) used Farfisa combo and duo models on many songs - especially Wright on early Pink Floyd

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you!

[@JAY61ish]

Did Alan price use one of these with the animals Mr Steve? Love these videos even though I don't play keyboards or know hardly owt about electronics... Really fascinating and of course humourous as usual. Thankyou ... Top notchery ..

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thanks very much! Alan Price either played one of these or a Vox continental I think. I do know he left the Animals because someone stole his organ and the band refused to help him buy another one.

[@crazypainter56]

alan played a UK made Vox Continental-I never heard the story that his organ was stolen -he left the Animals because he was getting the money for "The house of the rising sun" and the others didn't know--YET-plus he hated touring

[@analogemma]

Great video Steve, still waiting on one of my own; love the look of the Fast models

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thanks very much @analogemma , good luck with expanding your collection! I am running out of space here!

[@simonrinaldo3957]

As always, a great video. Thanks. I think I am going to have to do some work on mine :( ,it has become slightly unreliable. They really are lovely organs.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you! Yes - this one was a good couple of days frustration getting it working again!

[@simonrinaldo3957]

@@VintageKeysStudio I can imagine..... I can't say I am looking forward to it.

[@buckfred1]

Fantastic! I’ve got a Yamaha SK-50D, and I’ve been thinking of opening it up and taking a look. It plays, but sometimes pops and then no sound. If I cut it off for a minute and restart, it’ll play away until another pop, then again, no sound.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

I believe this is quite a nightmare to service. You could try getting the power supply and mixer/amp looked at first. Good luck!

[@buckfred1]

Thanks! Love your channel! Cheers!!

[@Meddled]

18:52 those are the fingers of somebody who has been guddling inside old equipment recently.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Damaged sausages

[@VanWinger]

It does sound In-a-gadda-da-vida in a house of the rising sun kind of way.

[@stevec.1802]

sound wise and visually a work of art compared to the shite today. Love watching your DIY projects. Incidentally- have you come across a 60’s Vox Continental in your travels yet?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you - I have played one many years ago, but not since I have been doing these demonstrations. I am hoping someone will either want a repair on one, or will let me have a go on one soon!

[@johncarter2741]

All that knee trembler action could lead to sweetbread entrapment

[@VintageKeysStudio]

I was very worried about that, Luckily, mine were strapped to my knee.

[@ericajohnson7535]

this would sound amazing through a leslie.

[@straycatsean]

I think Doug Ingle played a Vox Continental in Iron Butterfly

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you! :)

[@johndavies8946]

These are the dangerous bits... 😁

[@VintageKeysStudio]

With a plastic handle! Unless it’s special conductive plastic used for joke effect?

[@crazypainter56]

A gibson G101 sets up and takes down almost the same way

[@tr606]

This is a lovely looking organ. Do the bass notes get sent to the reverb also? That could be horrendous if it does.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes I think they do, but the reverb driver most likely has a high pass filter on it, as most of them do.

[@pauljames5914]

Hey, just got a wurlitzer 555 with synth. Could you demo one? Love to see that.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

One day if one were to materialise!

[@ummagumma7826]

So cool! I wonder if its worth seeking out a Farfisa, I'd be over my head in restoring it but the sound is so legendary. Do emulators do it justice like the UA plug ins?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

I think it would cause you pain and misery to own one without having an idea how to remedy problems it may have. That said, it does make a nice ornament! I haven't tried any plugins of one, but I imagine they are pretty accurate as there's not a huge amount of variation in the sounds between model to model.

[@crazypainter56]

@@VintageKeysStudio Arturia plug ins are GREAt because they include stomp box's and other effects

[@bassfingers]

With regard to the knee trembler. Perhaps it might be possible to attach a length of slightly elastic cord to it. If you then attach that to the collar of a small dog trained to respond to hand signals that could work. Needn’t be a dog though, it would probably work just as well with a hefty cat. This bloody insomnia!, all the best.✌️

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Or perhaps a trained Parrot? Or perhaps even a sparrow hawk - it would be very funny watching it try to fly away after a mouse or a small bird, accompanied by a filter sweep, but then realising it can't get very far. Poor sparrow hawk.

[@bassfingers]

@@VintageKeysStudio 😄

[@bt410382]

come on baby light my fire

[@ihatemorningsdotcom]

The power cable socket and the locking jack socket on the bottom are after-market mods (and useful ones!) - mine still has the original setup where the power cable and the output jack cable are attached to the organ and fold up inside the bottom for storage. Love the Compact - such a cool instrument…

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Ahh cheers for the info! I haven't seen another one of these for a long time. I had a grey one before, years ago.

[@mrN3CR0]

I managed to rescue a Yamaha DX11 from my workplace that is in need of 2 new keys and maybe some switch replacements... Is it worth holding onto to try and find a repair location for it or is it sadly going to have to go in the dump? I primarily work with VST's and have a arturia microfreak for hands on sound design so grabbed this for sakes of having an FM synth from the 80's but understand if they arent worth the hassle to repair, Any advice is greatly appreciated as its now sat next to my sofa being unused

[@VintageKeysStudio]

I don't think it's worth your while with a DX11 - they seem to be only selling for a couple of hundred pounds. If it half works, it still could be used though - try plugging an external midi keyboard into it and all of the keys will work then!

[@paulmcdonough9595]

Its owner/s have looked after it well, and despite outwardly having a similar style to their little reed organs of the time, it is certainly a step up. (Edit) actually that was Bontempi wasn’t it, forget what I just said! Any way it Sounds really rather good doesn’t it.😊

[@VintageKeysStudio]

We have bontempis coming out of our ears here at the moment!

[@paulmcdonough9595]

@@VintageKeysStudio 😊 Just listened again through proper headphones, that sounds Phat!

[@paulmcdonough9595]

@@VintageKeysStudio I imagine that is very uncomfortable, I expect your GP has a cure for it.

[@littlebritain64]

Is that true about asbestos use to insulate the power supplier on Farfisas?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes. It was used in everything until late 70s / early 80s

[@kgbinfo]

Sure, Vox Continentals look amazing, but the truth is that these Farfisa combos sound a million times better.

[@PracticalCat]

The schematics for this thing are sooo hard to follow regarding the routing for all the tone mixdowns and tabs. It seems Farfisa just left bits out and you have to guess.

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes it was common practice to just draw a vague map of where things were and on one tab or switch, and then just said ‘repeated’ but sometimes they didn’t mention the factory selected components - it makes it much more fun though

[@PracticalCat]

@@VintageKeysStudioIt has def been more fun having to join the dots and redesign parts rather than copy the design outright. Love your vids btw👍

[@meneerjansen00]

How does it compare to the Vox Continental? Does it sound "sort of" the same?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Yes - I haven't tried them together, but they are all very similar - Philicordas sounds similar too.

[@meneerjansen00]

@@VintageKeysStudio Thanks. BTW, I saw a Philicorda in a bad shape at my local thrift store the other day. They might have been popular here in Holland because they are probably made by the Dutch Company Philips.

[@iplaymytele]

Son You can PLAY…! You are multifaceted…..🎵👍🏻 And pretty Funny Too Boot……..! 😹🙄🎹👀 ( Jeff Galey Channel )

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Thank you! Lovely channel too!

[@iplaymytele]

@@VintageKeysStudio .. Thank you Kind sir…🙏🏻 Have a wonderful week and weekend ..! Jeff 🎹🎵🎸🎼

[@lindastone6868]

What would Kraftwerk sound like if that's all they had back in the day?

[@VintageKeysStudio]

Probably quite similar I think!

[@littlebritain64]

I am not sure but it is possible that they used a Farfisa in their very first concerts and records!!

[@waldemar.golebski]

You should leave this broken C# and call it FarCisa :)

[@VintageKeysStudio]

HAHAHA

[@richsackett3423]

I knew a guy with a Farfisa but then his mom gave it away.

[@roddykennedy9476]

It has a certain…..something 🤔 But I’m not sure it will be many people’s “go to” keyboard 🫤