Vox Continental, The Fuzztones, and memories

I got a 1960s Viscount Continental (actually two!). I've wanted this organ for a looong time, as the first electric keyboard that I ever bought was a Farfisa Matador L/R in 1984, and always loved that "combo organ" transistor sound of the '60s / '70s. Going through a few classic examples of songs created with this instrument, and some memories of concerts of The Fuzztones in the late 1980s / early 1990s, a "psych garage revival" band that our group of friends and I used to like a lot (still do, great band!)

[@michaelfuria4257]

fantastic post, My first band was formed in 1964, the keyboard player started out with an accordion, LOL, but shortly switched to a Farfisa Mini-Compact...

[@johntammaro]

Dear Ray "Paulo" Manzarek. Love this. Love it so much. Please more on the Vox. Massive thumbs up. I think you should do a full 60 minutes on this.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Ha! I wish :-D Thank you, yes, definitely more Vox Connie videos coming soon

[@mrbigg7255]

Yes, I agree. Love your organ videos.

[@dinorocker8647]

@@SynthManiaDotCom Actually the Animals did use a Vox Continental.

[@mikeytalplacido4887]

Damn! The look of the Vox is eye catching- that inverted color of the keys as well as the red top is really striking! And that clip by Fuzztones defies what live acts back in the days... crowd enjoys "directly" by what they see onstage and not thru... (you know) Lol

[@sunilsolanki]

Can't think of a better home for these gems to go to!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

:^)

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

That Vox is a beauty. It’s one reason I love Nord, that they keep that red look alive. You play it so well! Thanks for the look into it!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you so much, Jean-Pierre!

[@berek61]

I love it. The whole video just made me smile all the way. I lived through that time (60's +) but you revitalised it all thanks Man!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Kyle, thank you! I'm 49 (Gen-Xer) but love the period. Your generation made some incredibly great music!

[@martythevampire1]

Always wanted one of these, such a distinctive look and sound. Glad to know this will be looked after. Congrats Paulo, another great video.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you, Marty!

[@martythevampire1]

SynthMania Paulo, there is a Fender Piano bass in the Vemia Auction running at the moment.....

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you, I'll check it out

[@alexnonstop]

PLEASE, PLEASE! Do a tutorial on garage keyboard! Or anything 60s. Per favore, amico. Thee Fuzztones and that whole NY scene was my teenage years. Soooo much fun.

[@brainguy5132]

That was great! Love those combo organ sounds, I never got to see the Fuzztones live but I did have one of their records.. There were some other great garage rock revival acts in the ‘80s who made use of combo organs, the Lyres come to mind. Also, I seem to recall the keyboardist for Elvis Costello and the Attractions using a Vox. Keep the great content coming, thanks!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you, Brain Guy! Ah, yes, definitely the keyboard player with Elvis Costello had the Continental, lots of cool songs there!

[@Syntox]

I wasn't alive for the 60's but I damn sure am obsessed with this sound. Proud Farfisa owner (and my bandmate has a Vox Jaguar, OW OW OW!)

[@esmoroglu]

Such a meaningful story, beautiful tones…

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thanks for listening

[@hijackjoe]

Haven't seen one of your videos in ages! Great finds all around!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Glad to have you back, thanks!

[@anthonypaloccijr.9243]

Awesome sound. My buddy had a busted Farfisa Deluxe Compact - with the bass keys, incredible basses. He sold for a more contemporary synthesizer. That tone is awesome. Love your stories. Classic SM right here 👌

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Anthony, thanks!

[@georgefromgreece4119]

A wrong move in my opinion

[@vishnunath1524]

You sir just lit the fire🔥

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

:-D

[@wavecast64]

The Fuzztones are one of my favorite bands, you should play The Mummies on your farfisa next. Great video as always!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you, Art! The Farfisa is in Italy, unfortunately, but if I ever find one locally I'll snatch it

[@kvfive]

SM: You gotta show us some pics of yourself ‘back in the day’ I’m a similar age & I know how cringeworthy looking back on old pics can be (fashions & hairstyles) but I for one would love to see them :-)

[@jackpijjin4088]

Hey, if you cringe at your past self, it just means you've really improved over time. ;)

[@kvfive]

Jack Pijjin That’s very true :-)

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Haha :-D I have them all in Italy, don't have many pictures here - one day I'll scan them all

[@Strages_Powers]

Wow, sounds beautiful, Nice buy!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

:^)

[@StevenCalwas]

Great addition to the studio. I'm going through a Vox Continental phase myself, so really enjoy seeing this. Pairing it with a Piano Bass would raise the epic level to 11. Also, seeing the Fuzztones concert reminded me of my own experiences attending late 70's Ramones concerts. Same vibe. Great fun. Finally, the Incense song fantastically combines Lush and My Bloody Valentine. Wonderful.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Steven, thank you, I'm now officially on a hunt for the Piano Bass :-D. Very cool, the Ramones, I wish I could have seen them! Yes, that Incense band is really good -- I love that style a lot

[@awaken10]

Glad it made its way to a good home. Kevin

[@4OPFab]

Great organ, and great playing ! The Fuzztones are a great band too. They played in my neighbourhood in the 80's. A Ramones gig was planned in a festival but they thought it wasn't worth crossing the channel for a small muddy french town so they cancelled. There was a very difficult thing to do at that time, it was to tell a Ramones audience, the Ramones wouldn't play. They were consequences... But the Fuzztones picked up the phones and said they were coming. The legend tells it was great and soothed the Ramones audience. I think Strychnine is a Sonics song by the way...

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you! Very cool story! You're right about Strychnine and I should have remembered it, because I bought the "Here are the Sonics!" record at around the same time I used to go to those Fuzztones concerts in the '80s :-D

[@SynthesizerSam]

Definitely found a good home. So many friends to play with!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

:^)

[@krzysztofwaleska]

Great work! Thank you!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you, Kesek Ld!

[@LouisSerieusement]

So cool video !! Thank you to share all of this with us

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Orangepeak, thank you!

[@dosgos]

You remembered those classics by memory pretty well. At SynthMania there is always an upside surprise!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thanks, dos gos! I haven't played Light My Fire in so long, I'm definitely rusty, I used to know pretty much all the parts, now I can only remember the main melody and the beginning of the solo :-D

[@lerpack455]

Back in the ‘60’s l played one of these. The ‘Z’ legs are put on while the organ sits on it’s front. The 3 part chrome stand has its own carrying case. After the 2 legs, one puts the organ in the up-right position and screws in the inverted ‘V’ which holds everything ridged. l used a Vox AC30 amp. A good organist from that period is the guy in trio, The Peddlers. Listen to ‘Let the sun shine in’ He later switched a Hammond of course.

[@albertank]

Bellissimo video! Evocativo e pieno di bei ricordi! Adoro i Doors più per Manzarek che altro. Comunque, se non erro, anche altri grandi hanno usato questa tastiera. Grazie!

[@jeanbonnefoy1377]

glad you talked about Incense, that short lived (93-99, if I'm right) Japanese female rock band. Their style was really early Barrett Floyd or Hawkwind like revival style.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Agree - I don't think I knew that band before, although I used to a *huge shoe gaze fan in the late '80s and early '90s.... I may have heard them before, but yes, they sound very cool

[@Blueguitar007]

Looks like one band member was a guy.

[@georgefromgreece4119]

Which band is that?

[@need2knowblue]

Thanks, an awesome video 🙏👍

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Glad you liked it!

[@uhoh007]

Incredible!!!!

[@InkyDaCaT]

Well cool, omg they bring back memories. Enjoy!!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

:^)

[@royroger1984]

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Grazie e salutami la patria!

[@MreenalMams]

Would love to see a full episode on Ray Manzarek's work/settings/licks & tricks with the Vox.. also on Rick Wright & the Farfisa & maybe Jon Lord's Hammond.. actually more of the late 60s & early 70s era Organs/keyboards/synths.. Organs are definitely the keyboard instrument/sound that I connect to most, more than any other (even more than pianos)..

[@ralfaellasuerra2301]

Fantastic! Thanx

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thanks!

[@MedicalExamUK]

Great video. You should post more stories like that.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Will do... I have a lot of stories ;-D

[@arthurduarte5212]

this instrument SPEAKS

[@phlattgetit]

Your love and passion for these organs shines in this video Paolo! You are so lucky to have found them. It's too bad that organ sounds are mostly dominated by the Hammond/Leslie sound now. Even the new Vox branded Continental is a Hammond clone. I thought the Animals did use a Connie?

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you! Yes, I've seen many pictures of them with the Connie, but in that song it seems a tiny bit different... maybe double manual version, or studio effects? Not 100% sure..

[@phlattgetit]

I had wondered about that too? Particularly the vibrato on House of the Rising Sun. It feels like the speed or intensity the vibrato changes in places. I have read that some players would customize the vibrato speed or perhaps he's playing through a vibrato amp?

[@persuadersonic]

This is a hot shot!

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

I am very tempted to get the new re-issue Vox Continental that Korg make. I had a go of it at a recent Korg meet up event and loved it. You are lucky as you have an original and one from a vintage band (being about from the early 90's means vintage now as people go up to them with statements like "I grew up on your music") from Japan.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

The Vox Continental reissue indeed sounds great (and it has a lot of sounds)

[@KrasavkinRomanE]

Good.Thank you.Peace

[@jamesflowers874]

I would love to hear the Velvet Undergrounds’ “Sister Ray”, John Cale also used the continental for that

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Definitely - going to do a lot more videos with the Vox, spanning the '60s and '70s and beyond

[@TheArpomni2]

Brilliant vid , probably my third fave keyboard , then again its hard to choose a top 3 , but its there with the Mellotron , ARP Omni , Hammond B3 etc etc , but for a modern keyboard it has to be my Nord Electro as it replicates all these keys so well , maybe side by side there will be alot of difference , but im sure in the mix , even the purists would struggle ?? I had a similar story with the Arp Solina I got in real bad shape , it had a bands sticker on it and some other labels to do with this band , through them stickers I traced two of the band , who where astonished the Solina still exsisted as about 30 years ago it fell off the back of their gig van , they hadnt realised the doors must of sprang open , and just assumed it had been picked up or had bounced into a ditch lol , and believe me I can believe the story , the state it was in , every corner on it was chipped off , made of chip fibre board that crumbles and bloats if it gets damp or wet , well it had the lot , plus wedding , party tinsel bits in it too , apparently they was a wedding , party ,pub band ,

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Great story, Chris! Yes, I understand the Solinas were a staple of all types of bands back in the '70s, so finding one that belonged to a wedding band is a great story - Agree, the Electro sounds wonderful indeed. The new Vox Continental also sounds very, very nice!!

[@this_connor_guy]

Great playing and great stories! I believe Suicide used a combo organ on their first album, so you could bust out some Ghost Rider on that Vox, haha. Any plans to get the new Korg one? Also, don't think I didn't see that Fairlight CMI in the background of one of those shots, haha. Hope to see a video on that!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Hehe, definitely more vids coming on the Vox, :-) The fairlight needs to go to the doctor but I made a couple of videos with it on the channel

[@this_connor_guy]

@@SynthManiaDotCom Good to know, thanks! Hope the Fairlight gets well soon!

[@nicholasfaith8999]

First suicide album was definitely combo organ. Farfisa or Vox (I think it was vox off hand)

[@VisionAssoc]

You are the Boss 👊

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Totally - in this era of political correctness, I identify as a non gender, non binary BF-2 flanger. On Tuesdays. The rest of the week I identify as a non-queer cisnormal PH-2 super phaser.

[@cardigansarecool]

Great video. Can you do any videos on stuff like Young Marble Giants? Not sure if you’re a fan or even how you’d do a video on that, but if anyone could pull it off it’d be you

[@nic-ci_66-77]

The best musician for me was jeff monoman Connoly from Lyres but talking about fuzztones i think of Deb O'Neal.. she was so beautiful and she played so strong!

[@geoffk777]

Very nice! Beautiful keyboard! I'm not that hot on many of the Arturia VST instruments, but they did a very good job on the Vox simulation. If you can(t find or afford an original, the Arturia VoxV VST is great to have.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Agree - I watched the demo video, sounds really realistic

[@RosalvoParadella]

Que maravilha !! 🎹🎶

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Rosalvo, thanks!

[@hujuu]

THAT'S what a gig looks like.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

YUP :-D

[@captdavec590]

I have several Rhodes piano basses; where do do live?

[@DonSolaris]

Hey Paolo! I can actually see you on that Fuzztones concert. You're the pixel No: 8. 😁

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Hey, Don! That's actually my cousin - I'm pixel no. 16

[@samikalastaja]

Wow! Just wow! I think what you need is to find out who can still repair these. I would actually love if you'd tell a bit of how do you do maintenance to your instruments because it's just a matter of time when something needs to be repaired and restored and there are not that many people around who can do it properly and professionally.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

I have the hobby of electronics but I'm really not that great at it, unless it's something easy to troubleshoot. I might "dive" into the broken one and start messing around, for sure :D

[@ezquimal]

Paolo ese es el combo más difícil de conseguir la joya de la abuela. Tengo un amigo que colecciona farfisa y elka pero nunca consiguió uno de esos. Wow.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you, ezquimal

[@ezquimal]

@@SynthManiaDotCom de nada, en Argentina hay de todo tipo de combos pero ese en especial es muy raro de conseguir.

[@machiwoomiapoo]

Sweet

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

:^)

[@3lullabies]

How about Augie Meyers on his Vox in Sir Douglas Quintet/Texas Tornadoes.

[@crolodon8024]

You’re so fucking cool man, keep rocking.

[@richardtester2859]

Did The Fuzztones back Screamin' Jay Hawkins ?

[@liquidair1153]

That’s the organ sound! I love Arturia’s VST version, but wouldn’t it be nice to have the original! And does it beg for some reverb on it...

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Yup, running it through Fender Twin Reverb tonight ;)

[@stefan1024]

Great video, I enjoyed this a lot! I love electric organs, even the lame ones with fake wood. I have a Vox combo organ in my attic (don't know if it's a Continental, I think it has a couple more drawbars than the one in the video but the same iconic red look). I got it for free from a church decades ago, they just gave it away. Maybe I should heave it down (those are heavy!) and give it a try. I remember that some keys didn't work that well though. Are these organs worth much today?

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Thank you! Worth at least 1k usd if everything works, but also depends on the model. This is one of the "classic" models, other models may not be as sought-after and sell for much less...

[@stefan1024]

@@SynthManiaDotCom Wow, that's nice! Thanks for your response.

[@subwaygaragemusic]

Honestly I'm more of a Farfisa guy but I also respected Vox since it was used in many of the Doors' music.

[@richardwalley2862]

Your video quality is much improved

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Amazing the difference a couple of soft boxes can do

[@andreagritti2683]

cool

[@PracticalCat]

Awesome! Combo's rock. I have a Farfisa fast 5 and a Farfisa vip600 (currently busted, going to fix it soon) I used to have a Fender Contempo. The fender sounded cool but had the worst keyboard I've ever played. My two Farfisas are "the square wave type " what I mean is their sound is derived from flip flops divided down and filtered. Much like your matador. They sound great but are not the same as the vox and earlier Farfisa compacts that use pulse waves. It gives them a buzzy sound. I personally like both kinds of combos but just a heads up to anyone who wants a certain sound do your research and choose wisely :)

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Nice! Yes, Farfisas are awesome too but the Vox just has *that sound

[@PracticalCat]

SynthMania sure does :)

[@rick420buzz]

The Vox Continental is also played on "96 Tears" by ? and the Mysterians, and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Yes, great songs!

[@midnightmix2692]

I love vox continentals. I am a huge doors fan. I can't justify buying that organ tho

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

There are many other ways to get that sound

[@edrosa3485]

...now I'm wondering if my Minilogue can do an organish type sound...

[@san5a89]

man can you tell me what's the pedal Doug Ingle uses? if you don't know what I'm talking about I can show you

[@noiselabproject9659]

The core sound is very good but needs chorus/tube drive/Rotary speaker to really bring it alive huh

[@nicholasfaith8999]

How bad off is the spare?

[@shoominati23]

Do you listen to The Link Quartet? You have to if you like these organs!! recommend Italian Playboys if you want to get started with them

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

I don't think I know that band, I'll check them out

[@mima85]

Now you just need a Rhodes Piano Bass and can be like Ray Manzarek :-D BTW The Animals DID use a Connie for House Of The Rising Sun. The sound is exactely the Connie's one, and you can see the Vox in their music video too.

[@planetmusicsamos]

LONG LIVE THE FUZZ !!

[@dosgos]

Incense - Flow from Japan was a cool tune!

[@nusense808]

Wish it was through a Leslie!

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

When I bought it yesterday we indeed hooked it up to a vintage Leslie and it sounds quite cool, but the fact is that 99% of the time people didn't use a Leslie with it. That was sort of the point of having a portable combo organ, rather than a super heavy Hammond plus speaker cabinet. However, I do have a Leslie 122XB in the studio with an interface panel that also takes 1/4" connectors, so I'll definitely do a demo running it through the Leslie

[@ferhatdunden]

Please do more Martin Hannett style recordings.

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

Most certainly! I actually plan to do one tonight, if I have the time

[@ferhatdunden]

@@SynthManiaDotCom Thanks man, you are the best

[@toitoitoy]

Search for Gibson G-101 Manzarek later keyboard

[@SynthManiaDotCom]

If I had unlimited space and money, I would search for *all keyboards.

[@johnny711]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

[@marbike21]

Io ho un eko tiger duo....!

[@StevenCalwas]

Found another Incense song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKKnonWkZc-giNU

[@user-gk3lu1gg9t]

House of the Rising Sun was created with this

[@papauchu9400]

spanish¡???

[@papauchu9400]

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