VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Non-Rickenbacker Guitars & Effects

Moderator: jingle_jangle

User avatar
kryan5732
New member
Posts: 35
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:29 am

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by kryan5732 »

No, it's a UK version 4 and a tube Berkeley - I just got it. I don't even play but a few chords but it is just so cool I had to have it. From original owner who played in a group called The Islanders in NY/NJ in the '60's.
wildkippy
New member
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:07 pm

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by wildkippy »

that Hammond S-6 Chord Organ; I remember seeing those things back in the day. you say your's is amp driven and not blower-driven with a fan like the Magnus? how is the sound? I like that organ! cool and cute. if I see one I'm gonna snatch it up. I got a Hammond C-3 & a Vox Continental English model, both running thru a Leslie 330 Pro with a 100watt Peavey Power Head driving the Leslie. awesome sounds.tell me more about that Hammond S-6.
User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by jingle_jangle »

Check out the S-6 by Googling the name...I don't have thwe links handy and dinner awaits...

It is a 100% electronic organ, no blower. Amplified (I'm setting mine up with a 1/4 out)it has a unique sound, not too complex or rich, but nice for some old R & R.

Hopefully I can get one of my cabinetmaker shop techs to do a chop on it; it'll then go into a Tolex-covered cabinet...maybe a set of NCM VOX legs, too. Easy-peasy.
User avatar
jimk
RRF Consultant
Posts: 5355
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:27 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by jimk »

Check it out.
http://cgi.ebay.com/HAMMOND-CHORD-S-6-O ... dZViewItem

I can't play keyboard very well at all anymore. When I was a kid, I wanted to be the keyboard player in a rock'n'roll band so bad I could taste it. I had a cousin who was pretty successful at it. I remember knocking around on his Farfisa. I thought it was great. I used to play the organ solo on "In a Godda Da Vida" on it. He finally graduated to a Hammond B-3

I was just wondering, what was the organ David Cohen used on Country Joe & the Fish's LP "Electric Music For Mind & Body"? Was it a Vox Continental or a Farfisa?
User avatar
kennyhowes
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 5022
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2001 1:03 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by kennyhowes »

I can't believe I'm just now seeing this and jumping in!

In the '90s, when you could find this stuff for pennies, I had it all: a couple of Clavinets, Korg's analog Hammond copies (BX-3, CX-3), a Yamaha CP70, an AceTone TOP1, a WEM Teiscord combo organ, a Kingston organ...and so on. Plus a handful of Wurlitzer pianos (two different wooden student models & a plastic-top). This doesn't count the Moogs I passed on...

My fave of the portable keyboards has always been the Vox Super Continental. I traded a wah pedal for my first one! When that one finally splintered into a million pieces, I tried some different stuff (some of the ones on the list above), but wanted that certain something again, and finally picked up a really clean Super again last year from an old friend in Atlanta.

Here I am playing my original Super Continental in one of my old Atlanta bands, Orange Hat:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUEzfj4ZNmU&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUEzfj4ZNmU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]
User avatar
paologregorio
Senior Member
Posts: 6376
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:56 pm
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by paologregorio »

I bought a Vox Super Continental Organ complete with the original chrome stand and chrome stand case for $300 back in the late 80s. I sold it to the other guitarist/keyboard player in the band for the same price shortly thereafter. We were in a 60s garage band at the time. We had tons of Vox gear; a teardrop 12, a teardrop bass, a 335 style Vox bass, a Super Beatle amp, and a Series 90 amp. Our band name was "Ten Tons of Lies, but our nickname was Ten Tons of Equipment... :oops:
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37497
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by jps »

kennyhowes wrote:Here I am playing my original Super Continental in one of my old Atlanta bands, Orange Hat:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUEzfj4ZNmU&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUEzfj4ZNmU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]
Very trippy, man; now where did I put that bong? 8)
ktop33
New member
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:01 pm
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by ktop33 »

For Vintage Farfisa organ information - specifically, the Professional (gray keys), Professional DUO, and Professional Piano, check out my web site at http://www.ktopits.com/farfisa I have a big collection of photos, videos, documents, and links on the Professional series (1968-1973)

Cheers,
Kirk
Image
User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by jingle_jangle »

When it comes to Farfisa stuff, Kirk is the Man. His website is chock-full of Farfisa pics, ads, and videos. When I bought my first Farfisa Professional Duo back in '05, his was the first that came up on a Google search. Highly recommended!
User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by jingle_jangle »

kennyhowes wrote:I can't believe I'm just now seeing this and jumping in!

In the '90s, when you could find this stuff for pennies, I had it all: a couple of Clavinets, Korg's analog Hammond copies (BX-3, CX-3), a Yamaha CP70, an AceTone TOP1, a WEM Teiscord combo organ, a Kingston organ...and so on. Plus a handful of Wurlitzer pianos (two different wooden student models & a plastic-top). This doesn't count the Moogs I passed on...

My fave of the portable keyboards has always been the Vox Super Continental. I traded a wah pedal for my first one! When that one finally splintered into a million pieces, I tried some different stuff (some of the ones on the list above), but wanted that certain something again, and finally picked up a really clean Super again last year from an old friend in Atlanta.

Here I am playing my original Super Continental in one of my old Atlanta bands, Orange Hat:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUEzfj4ZNmU&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gUEzfj4ZNmU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]
Wow. Where were YOU in '67?

You guys all look like music majors in that video...

I got out some more keyboards today, set 'em up in the driveway, and did a family shoot of the entire 1967 ELKA combo organ lineup: The tiny single-keyboard 100, the odd but practical 200 Duo (I've got two of these, a red and a black), the single 300, and the mighty Panther Duo Deluxe; my example was owned originally by Mark Weitz of the Strawberry Alarm Clock.

Here are some shots:

First, all 4 grouped in my driveway:

Image

Next, the 300; like a Farfisa Combo Compact but more colorful and with more features:

Image

The very small 100 single, entry-level. Not bad for very cheap:

Image

The monster Panther Duo Deluxe, with all the bells and whistles including percussion:

Image

Finally, my favorite, the 42-pound very compact 200 Duo:

Image

With the exception of the Duo Deluxe, which sustained internal damage in shipping from Houston to NoCal, courtesy of hurricane Fed Ex Freight, they are all in giggable condition. The black-topped 200 Duo will be my main gigging combo, with my VOX Jaguar for backup.
User avatar
kennyhowes
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 5022
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2001 1:03 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by kennyhowes »

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
User avatar
atomic_punk
Senior Member
Posts: 5093
Joined: Wed Sep 17, 2003 5:00 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by atomic_punk »

Kenny, that song is GROOOOOOOOVY, man!

Paul, great collection you have there.
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by jingle_jangle »

Thanks, Steve...That's the ELKA part of the collection (actually, I have one more ELKA, but it's a duplicate). I've got a half-dozen Farfisas, a couple of very rare Teiscos, a Baldwin, a Cordovox electronic accordion, a VOX Continental (USA made, one of 300), a VOX Jaguar, a bunch of Lowrey T1s and T2s, a couple of Gibsons, yadda yadda. Total around...nah, I'm not gonna say. My degree of twist will stay under wraps for now. More pics soon...
User avatar
kennyhowes
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 5022
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2001 1:03 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by kennyhowes »

atomic_punk wrote:Kenny, that song is GROOOOOOOOVY, man!
Thanks man! Orange Hat was a fun band.

http://orangehat.com
User avatar
jingle_jangle
RRF Moderator
Posts: 22679
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
Contact:

Re: VINTAGE KEYBOARDS, ANYONE?

Post by jingle_jangle »

Put the Elkas away last night and unpacked and set up this beauty. It's a '71 Farfisa Professional Duo, as used by JPJones, Sly Stone, Sun Ra, and other musicians with strong roadies and urge overkill where sound was concerned.

It really was Farfisa's last gasp before they gave in to the 70s with the VIP line. Weighs about 175#, has lots of bells and whistles including percussion, thirds, quints, and a Slalom pedal next to the swell pedal, that smoothly moves the pitch of the whole keyboard up and down a perfect octave. I run it through one of my bass amps and an RFX rotary simulator.

The bass pedals on this thing, though marked as 16', are really 32' stops, like a church pipe organ, and few amps can reproduce the low C. Engaging the slalom moves it down yet another octave, giving a 64' low C, which attracts large whales for hundreds of miles. So all you're playing are the harmonics.

Two 61-note keyboards and two octaves of bass on the lower manual add to its versatility. It can be set up by one able-bodied man; I did it last night in less than 10 minutes. But a roadie the size of Meat Loaf would be recommended.

This thing is built like a tank. After all these years (mostly studio work, admittedly), it is still in tune and everything--every button, tab, and switch--works as nature intended. I played some "96 Tears", some "Blinded by the Light", and took a stab at "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Reilly" I wondered, do I know any keyboard songs all the way through?

Then I realized it was nearly midnight...

Image

Image

Image
Post Reply

Return to “Forum 51 - The Quest For Tone: by Mike Snow”