Farfisa V

How it works

Frequency division

The Farfisa generates notes with 12 master oscillators, one for each note of the chromatic scale in the highest octave. Divider circuits halve the frequency several times to obtain all the octaves below (plus an extra divider for the lowest C). Consequence: all notes with the same name are locked in phase, polyphony is total and the sound is stable but 'perfect', without beating between octaves.

Waveforms and voices

The signal from the dividers is a bright waveform (between sawtooth and pulse). The 'voices' are not different generators but filters: the tabs choose which footages (16', 8', 4', 2 2/3') to pick up and through which filters to pass them (Flute = low-pass filter that leaves almost a sine wave, Strings and Oboe = more open, nasal filters, Trumpet = filter with brass-like resonance). It is fixed subtractive synthesis, like a synth with filter presets.

Multi-Tone Booster and knee lever

The green tabs of the Multi-Tone Booster (MTB) use a series of their own low-pass filters: at rest they sound like the flutes, but with the knee lever or with All Boost the filters open and the sound brightens, like a manual wah.

Percussion and Repeat

A rudimentary envelope creates an attack with decay (Percussion) or repeats it cyclically (Repeat), producing a mandolin-like effect or a modulated square wave. The bass section (the first octave or two of the keyboard) has its own voices, volume and percussion. Farfisa V emulates at circuit level (TAE) the oscillators, dividers, filters, built-in effects and preamp, and uses the impulse response of the spring reverb of a real Compact Duo.

Character and tone

A bright, nasal and slightly buzzy sound, closer to a 'top octave' synth than to a tonewheel organ: the basic waveform is a hybrid between sawtooth and pulse, and therefore extremely rich in harmonics. It firmly occupies the 500 Hz–5 kHz zone and cuts through any mix even at low volume; the flute registrations and the Multi-Tone Booster with closed filters, on the other hand, are soft and round. The 'sharp' voices (Strings, Oboe, Trumpet) sound acid and fizzy, the 'round' ones (Bass 16', Flute) sweet. Strengths: penetration, immediate character, Repeat and Percussion that give rhythm, bass section on the same keyboard, MTB filters modulable with the knee lever. Limitations: little depth in the lows compared with a Hammond, a timbre that tires easily if used at length in full registrations, no velocity. Compared with the VOX Continental it is more varied (more voices, percussion, repeat, bass section) and more 'synth-like'; compared with the Hammond it is thinner, colder and more aggressive.

Architecture

Original (Farfisa Combo Compact Deluxe)

• Generator: 12 master oscillators, each followed by 5 dividers, plus an additional divider for the lowest C (73 frequencies generated continuously).
• Keyboard: one manual with the first octaves in reversed colors dedicated to the manual bass (natural keys black / sharps white, then assignable gray keys).
• Treble voices (white tabs): Bass 16', Strings 16', Flute 8', Oboe 8', Trumpet 8', Strings 8', Flute 4', Piccolo 4', Strings 4', 2 2/3' with independent Brilliant tab.
• Multi-Tone Booster (green tabs): footages 16', 8', 4', 2 2/3' with their own low-pass filters, All Boost, knee lever to open the filters.
• Built-in effects: Repeat/Percussion, tremolo, 4-combination vibrato (Slow/Fast × Light/Heavy), spring reverb (with tube circuit), swell pedal.
• Bass section: volume, Sharp/Soft, Long/Short percussion; input for an optional 13-note pedalboard.
• Path: oscillators → dividers → footage tabs → voice filters (treble or MTB) → percussion/repeat → vibrato/tremolo → preamp + swell → reverb → output (often to a guitar amp).

What Arturia adds

• TAE circuit emulation of oscillators, dividers, voice filters, effects and preamp (including noise and mains hum), spring reverb as an IR of the Compact Duo.
• Repeat Sync and Tremolo Sync to the DAW tempo.
• Advanced panel: independent tuning of the 12 oscillators (Voice Tune), Bass Wave with 8 waveforms, Tone (24 dB/oct low-pass) and Reso for the bass, Noise Level, Voice Mode Poly/Para, AR Env envelope (attack and release), User Wave with 48 sliders (Additive or Shape) and 12 dB/oct Offset filter, Master Volume with Bass/Treble/Reverb, 9 reverb types, knee lever options (MIDI CC source, Pitch Bend or Aftertouch; MT Booster or Wah mode).
• Effects pedalboard: 5 always-present, reorderable pedals (Flanger, Phaser, Chorus, Analog Delay, Overdrive modeled on two 12AX7s), Fender Twin-inspired amplifier.
• MIDI Learn, macros and presets.

The controls, one by one

Treble Voices (white tabs)

Bass 16'

'Round' voice an octave below, sweet and deep: gives body without nasality.

Strings 16'

'Sharp' voice an octave below: buzzy and full, very present.

Flute 8'

Filtered fundamental, almost sinusoidal: the softest registration.

Oboe 8'

Nasal, woody fundamental, typical of beat riffs.

Trumpet 8'

Fundamental with a 'brass' filter: aggressive, with a peak in the mids.

Strings 8'

Bright, fizzy fundamental: the classic acid Farfisa sound.

Flute 4'

Octave above, soft: adds clarity without harshness.

Piccolo 4'

Octave above, brighter and whistling.

Strings 4'

Octave above, the sharpest: makes the sound 'screamy'.

2 2/3'

Twelfth (fifth of the octave above): hollow, organ-like color.

Brilliant

Makes the 2 2/3' tab brighter (no effect if 2 2/3' is off).

Interaction

The filters are not isolated: different combinations with the same footage sound slightly different (Flute 8 + Strings 8 is not the same as Flute 4 + Strings 4). At least one tab must be on.

Multi-Tone Booster (green tabs)

MT Boost On

Activates the MTB voices and turns off the treble ones: instant switch to another set of sounds (for verse/chorus or solo).

16' / 8' / 4' / 2 2/3'

Combinable footages, each with its own low-pass filters; at rest similar to the Flutes.

All Boost On

Opens the MTB filters all the way, like the knee lever at 100%: bright, raw sound.

Repeat — Percuss

On/Off

Enables the Repeat/Percussion function on the upper manual.

Repeat SYNC

Syncs the Repeat speed to the DAW tempo (red light).

REPEAT rate

With Sync: from 2 whole notes to 1/16 (with triplets). Without Sync: from 0.15 Hz to 20 Hz. Values between 8 and 14 Hz give the mandolin effect.

REP/PERC

Chooses between cyclic repetition (Repeat) and a single percussive attack on every note (Perc).

PERCUSS

Percussion decay: Fast, Medium or Slow.

Tremolo

TREM On/Off

Activates amplitude modulation.

TREMOLO Rate

Speed: without Sync from 0.15 to 20 Hz; 4–6 Hz is the classic combo tremolo.

Tremolo SYNC

Locks the tremolo to the tempo (from 2 whole notes to 1/16, triplets included).

Reverb and Vibrato

SLOW/FAST

Vibrato speed (two positions).

LIGHT/HEAVY

Vibrato depth: Light for coloring, Heavy for the psychedelic 'funfair' effect.

VIB On/Off

Turns on the vibrato (pitch modulation).

REV On/Off

Turns on the reverb; type and amount are set in the Advanced panel.

Bass Manual

BASS MANUAL volume

Level of the bass keys, from about -21 dB to +12 dB: balances left and right hand.

GRY KEYS SEL (TREB/BASS)

TREB: the gray keys play the treble voices (bass zone of a single octave); BASS: the gray keys also play the bass (two octaves).

BASS On/Off

Turns off the bass section and makes the whole keyboard 'treble'.

BASS SHARP/SOFT

Bass timbre: Sharp brighter and more defined, Soft round.

PERC On/Off and LONG/SHORT

Percussive attack of the bass and its duration: Short for a plucked bass, Long for fuller notes.

Effects pedalboard

Management

Five always-present pedals, switched on with the footswitch (red LED) and reorderable by choosing the name: the two effects swap places.

Flanger — DELAY, DEPTH, RATE, RES

Base time, sweep width, speed and resonance (feedback) of the comb filter.

Phaser — RATE, DEPTH, FEEDBACK, STEREO

Speed, depth, resonance and stereo width (summed to mono if the amp is on). A classic on combo organs.

Chorus — RATE, DELAY, AMOUNT, MIX, ST.RATE, ST.WIDTH, TYPE

LFO speed, 0–25 ms delay, depth, mix, relative speed of the stereo channels, width, type 1–3 (number of voices).

Analog Delay — DELAY, FB TONE, FEEDBACK, MIX, LFO RATE, DEPTH

Time 12 ms–1 s, filter on the repeats (dark/thin), number of repeats, mix, modulation 0.05–10 Hz and its depth.

Overdrive — DRIVE, OUTPUT, TONE

Saturation modeled on two 12AX7 tubes, output gain 0–10 dB, tone.

Amp (Fender Twin style) and Swell

POWER

Inserts or bypasses the amplifier.

MASTER VOLUME

Final volume with the amp active.

TREBLE / MIDDLE / BASS

Guitar-amp EQ.

VOLUME

Channel volume: at maximum with low Master it gives the tube preamp distortion.

BRIGHT

More presence, active only at low volumes.

AXIS (ON/OFF)

Microphone pointed straight at the cone (more direct) or angled (softer).

Swell pedal

Pre-effects volume: map it to an expression pedal.

Advanced — Voice Tune, Bass Wave, Noise

Voice Tune (12 potentiometers)

Individual tuning of the 12 oscillators; all at 0 cents = A 440 Hz perfect equal temperament. Small deviations (2–5 cents) give the vintage flavor.

BASS WAVE

Bass waveform: original Farfisa, Saw, Sync (hard-sync sawtooth), Mod (modified square), Square, Pulse (15%), Additive, Shape (from the User Wave). The differences are heard with Bass Sharp and open Tone.

TONE (bass)

24 dB/oct low-pass from 20 Hz to 20 kHz (fully right = bypassed). Too closed silences the bass.

RESO

Resonance of the bass filter: for 'synth' basses.

Noise Level

Noise and hum from aged transistor electronics.

Advanced — Voice Mode and Envelope

AR ENV

Activates the attack and release envelope on the treble voices.

ATTACK

From immediate attack to slow fade-in for pads and strings.

RELEASE

From immediate stop to long tail.

VOICE MODE (Polyphonic/Paraphonic)

Poly: each key has its own attack. Para: global attack that restarts only when all keys are released (like a string machine); applies only to the treble voices. The bass has a maximum of 3 ms attack.

Advanced — User Wave

USER WAVE (Off / Additive / Shape)

Off = original Farfisa waveform; Additive = 48 sliders as sine-wave harmonics (few = tonewheel organ, many = harsh timbre); Shape = 48 sliders that draw the waveform directly.

48 sliders

Levels of the harmonics or points of the waveform; they stay stored when switching between modes and can also be used by the bass.

OFFSET

12 dB/oct low-pass active only with User Wave: 100% all harmonics, 50% about half, 0% only the fundamental.

Advanced — Master, Reverb Type, Knee Lever

VOLUME / BASS / TREBLE

Overall volume and tone of the organ before the amp.

REVERB (amount)

Amount of reverb (requires REV On on the panel).

Reverb Type

Farfisa (Compact Duo spring), Eminent 310, King Medium/Bright, Twin, Boutique, RV-1, RV-2, DEP-5, RSP-550.

KNEE LEVER — source

MIDI CC (stays where you leave it), PB (pitch bend, returns to zero like the original spring-loaded lever) or AT (aftertouch, returns to zero).

KNEE LEVER — mode

MT BOOSTER (opens the highs of the MTB voices, if All Boost is off) or WAH FILTER (wah on all treble voices, not on the bass).

Sound design tips

• Choose the voice type before the volume: the 'round' voices (Flute, Bass 16') sit under the vocals without getting in the way; the 'sharp' ones (Strings, Oboe, Trumpet) concentrate energy between 1 and 4 kHz and should be used for riffs and solos. In a mix with vocals, a single sharp voice is often enough.
• EQ: high-pass at 120–200 Hz on the treble manual when there is a bass; if the Strings are shrill, cut 2–4 dB between 2.5 and 4 kHz; for a 'vintage' feel, a gentle low-pass around 7–8 kHz.
• Bass section: the lowest note is about 63 Hz; the Farfisa bass is thin, so double it with a real bass or use Bass Wave Saw/Square with a half-closed Tone to get body. Balance with the BASS MANUAL volume before touching the EQ.
• Repeat: at synced speeds (1/16, 1/16 triplet) it becomes a rhythmic sequencer; at 10–14 Hz free it simulates the mandolin. Combined with Paraphonic and slow Attack it produces a wave that 'breathes'.
• Knee lever: assigned to pitch bend or aftertouch it becomes expressive and returns to zero by itself; use it like a slow wah on the MTB voices to make the sound grow in the chorus.
• Vibrato and tremolo: Heavy + Fast vibrato is cartoonish, perfect for garage; for modern pop prefer Light + Slow or the tremolo synced to 1/8.
• AR envelope: attack 100–400 ms and release 500 ms turn the Farfisa into a string-machine-style pad; in Paraphonic, legato notes don't retrigger, like a Solina.
• Voice Tune: leaving the 12 oscillators slightly misaligned (a few cents) brings the chords to life; all at zero sounds more 'digital'.
• Saturation: Overdrive with moderate Drive and amp with high Volume/low Master give the garage roar; the amp sums the stereo to mono, so put any stereo effects afterward, in the DAW, if you need width.
• Common mistakes: turning on all the tabs (muddy, tiring sound), forgetting that MT Boost On turns off the white voices, using long reverb on fast riffs (short spring is better).

Presets to recreate

In genres and records

• Garage rock and '60s beat: Domingo Samudio (Sam the Sham) plays a Combo Compact on Wooly Bully (1965) with the Pharaohs; the Farfisa is the main instrument on the Strawberry Alarm Clock's Incense and Peppermints; users include the Blues Magoos, The Blues Project, Country Joe and the Fish and Pigpen of the Grateful Dead.
• Psychedelic rock and prog: for Richard Wright the Farfisa (first a Combo Compact, then a Compact Duo) is Pink Floyd's main instrument from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn to Ummagumma, and live on Careful with That Axe, Eugene; the last studio use is on The Dark Side of the Moon. Hugh Banton uses it with Van der Graaf Generator.
• '60s soul and R&B: Spooner Oldham, a Muscle Shoals organist, plays it on many Southern soul records, including Percy Sledge's When a Man Loves a Woman.
• '70s pop and rock: Elton John on Crocodile Rock, John Paul Jones on Led Zeppelin's Dancing Days; Sly Stone among the users.
• Punk and new wave of the late '70s: Jimmy Destri of Blondie makes it his main instrument; The B-52's, Talking Heads, Suicide; Cabaret Voltaire use Farfisa organs and drum machines.
• Contemporary music: Philip Glass among the users.
• Indie rock, indie-electro and lo-fi: for the vintage character and soft attack.
• Italian light music, liscio and dance-hall: the home territory of the brand, from the Marche region.
• Surf and rockabilly revival: with tremolo and spring reverb.
• Retro soundtracks, horror and B-movies: acid timbres and deep vibrato.