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Farfisa is a manufacturer of electronics based in Italy. The Farfisa brand name is commonly associated with a series of compact electronic organ, and later, a series of multi-timbral synthesizer. At the height of their production, Farfisa operated 3 factories to produce instruments, in Ancona in the Marche region of Italy. Farfisa also made radios, televisions, and other electronic items. Today the Farfisa brand mainly produces intercom systems with the company Aci Farfisa which makes and distributes systems for video intercoms, access control, video surveillance and home automation.
[edit] History[edit] Early use in rock and rollWith several compact, easily portable and inexpensive models available, as well as their distinctive sound, Farfisa organs became popular among rock bands and other combo groups during the 1960s. .jpg) One of the first rock organists to play and spotlight the Farfisa, was Domingo Samudio, better known as "Sam the Sham," who with his group The Pharaohs, had their first hit "Wooly Bully" in the summer of 1965. In 1966, a Farfisa was prominently heard in "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" as recorded by the South Carolina-based group The Swingin' Medallions. Many prominent keyboard sounds commonly attributed to the Farfisa were actually from other combo organs such as the Vox Continental -- e.g. ? and the Mysterians on "96 Tears", their best-known work. Rod Argent of The Zombies was pictured using a Farfisa on stage during the band's later years (although it seems the Farfisa never made it onto any Zombies recordings). Likewise, Doug Rhodes of The Music Machine is shown playing a Vox in early video of their mid-60's "Talk Talk", as is the case with the keyboard on "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock. On the recording itself, the shrill high pitched tones towards the end of the song (accompanying the vocal "Sha-La-La" refrain) are more typical of Vox combo organs. The Vox organ sound on Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida" is also sometimes mistakenly attributed to a Farfisa. Spooner Oldham, the house organist of Alabama recording studio Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, can be heard playing the Farfisa on numerous southern soul recordings from the 1960's, notably "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" by Aretha Franklin, among many others. Richard Wright's use of the Farfisa Compact Duo was integral to the sound of Pink Floyd's early albums, such as The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. However, Wright came to more heavily utilize the Hammond organ on later albums, such as The Dark Side of the Moon. Still, Wright continued to use a Farfisa, even on David Gilmour's 2006 tour. John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin used a Farfisa on "Dancing Days" from Houses of the Holy, as well as occasionally using a VIP-255 or a Professional model on stage. Another famous recording is the 1970 A Tribute to Jack Johnson by Miles Davis where Herbie Hancock plays spontaneous licks on a broken Farfisa. [edit] Later useWith the advent of synthesizers, organs such as the classic Farfisa seemed to be headed for obsolescence, but time proved otherwise. In the late 1970s, with older models becoming cheaper, numerous punk rock and New Wave bands (especially those influenced by 1960's garage rock and psychedelia), such as Blondie, The B-52's, Suicide, Squeeze, Human Switchboard and Talking Heads embraced Farfisas as substitutes for more sophisticated keyboards and synthesizers. Their classic sound, in turn, became a staple on multitimbral instruments, first synthesized, then sampled from the originals. Perhaps the most famous of all Top 40 hits that featured the Farfisa was "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John. "Crocodile Rock" is dominated by a Farfisa organ, played by John in a honky-tonk rhythm with carnival-style riffs. The Farfisa sound is today used to impart a stereotypical 1960s-retro essence to music, and has appeared recently on albums by artists such as The Mummies, Dengue Fever, Electrelane, Green Day, Screeching Weasel, Krist Novoselic, The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater, Death Cab for Cutie, The Blood Brothers, Smash Mouth, Apse, Stereolab, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The American Analog Set, Cadallaca, Spiritualized Tom Waits, Yo La Tengo, The Defectors, Neptune Towers, The Charms, Magic Hero vs. Rock People, The Artificial Sea, and The Murder City Devils. Clint Boon of Manchester band Inspiral Carpets was also famous for using a Farfisa, giving the band its signature sound. The Farfisa brand name, meanwhile, continues to appear on contemporary MIDI keyboards. [edit] Series[edit] Compact Series (1964 - 1969)The Compact series had four models. On the Compact Duo dual manual organs, tone and volume were regulated by controls on the F/AR combination preamp, reverb and power supply unit. On most other models the tone controls and a bass section volume were located on an indented panel on the rear of the keyboard. Underneath the keyboards, a knee-high lever could be actuated for the tone boost feature, turned on by rocker levers on the console. All models had reverb except for the mini-compact. Optional feature: 13-note bass pedals (not for the mini-compact). [edit] Mini-compactThe Mini-Compact is the smallest of the Compact Series. It has only four octaves, with no bass on the early models. The later version had a selector switch to choose bass or acute sound in the lowest octave; these models had grey naturals with white sharps in the bass octave. Some of these extended bass models have only 3 voices, while the later models had 6 voices.
The model was used by Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Kate Radley of Spiritualized and by Steve Reich in his piece Four Organs. [edit] Early COMPACT (COMBO COMPACT)Features:
[edit] Late COMPACT (COMBO COMPACT I)Features:
[edit] Compact deluxeFeatures:
[edit] Compact duoMost renowned of the Compact Series, having been used by Al Kooper (Blues Project), Michael MacNeil (Simple Minds), Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Clint Boon of the Inspiral Carpets. Features:
[edit] FAST Series (1968 - 1971)The FAST (Farfisa All Silicon Transistor) Series models had a metal cabinet covered with a washable skin plate and plastic edges, chrome folding legs, retractable carrying handles, and a removable music rack. This model of Farfisa was used by Philip Glass on some of his early recordings. This series had the combo organs (FAST 2,3,4,5,Console), and the Professional (Original, Duo, and Pianos) [edit] Fast 3Features:
[edit] Fast 4Features:
[edit] Fast 5Features, same as FAST 4, plus:
Artists:
[edit] Professional Series (1968 - 1975)Notable Artists: Candida Doyle (Pulp) The Ventures (seen on Hawai five-o clip) These are the top of the line and the last models made by Farfisa - In 1972 Leir Siegler and started producing VIP models, and custom models.
During this same time period, Farfisa also produced a line of effect pedals: the Repeat/Volume pedal (in orange), the WahWah/Volume pedal (in green), and the Sferasound pedal (in blue). There was also a high-end amplifier called the 80 or S-80, which came with speaker cabinettes - either the Twin-80, or the BR-80. [edit] VIP Series
[edit] MatadorThe Farfisa Matador was produced in the Early to mid 1970s. It is a Compact Organ with a built in speaker, and amplifier. Several models of Matador were produced. [edit] Syntorchestra
The Syntorchestra also has separate outputs for each of its two sections. [edit] Transicord
The Transicord came in two models, a standard model and a "DeLuxe" model. The standard model has one row of stop-tabs similar to those found on a Combo Compact organ, and is reported to have a similar sound. The color scheme was grey with light blue and green. The DeLuxe model has two rows of stop-tabs and is black in color. Opening and closing the bellows reportedly engages an effect similar to the "tone boost" knee lever on Combo Compact model organs. The Transicord can also be equipped with the same volume pedal used for many other Farfisa organs. [edit] See also
[edit] External links |
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