VOX Continental V

How it works

Oscillators and dividers

Like other combo organs, the VOX generates its sounds with 12 transistor oscillators (one for each note of the highest octave, plus a dedicated generator for the lowest C) and a chain of frequency dividers that produces all the lower octaves. Notes with the same name are therefore in phase with each other and polyphony is total. The original oscillators used germanium transistors, which drift with temperature: hence the slight detuning typical of the instrument.

Footage and tone drawbars

The panel has two types of drawbars. The footage drawbars (16', 8', 4' and the II, III, IV mixtures) choose which octaves and harmonics to add together. The tone drawbars decide the output waveform: ~ (Flute, sine wave for each footage) and M (Reed, filtered square wave). The result is a blend of sine waves and filtered square waves: sweet with the Flute, nasal with the Reed.

Mixtures

II, III and IV are like the 'ripieno' stops of a pipe organ: a single drawbar brings in several harmonics together (for example high fifth, octave and third), giving instant brightness.

Effects and output

Vibrato (pitch modulation), spring reverb and, on the extended models, tremolo and percussion complete the sound. Arturia modeled the circuits with physical modeling and adds a pedalboard, pedal effects, a Leslie and guitar amps at the output.

Character and tone

Bright, thin and 'cutting' sound, purer and more glassy than the Farfisa: the Flute stop (sine wave) is clear, the Reed stop (filtered square wave) is nasal and hollow, with few even harmonics. It sits between 400 Hz and 5 kHz and cuts through the mix easily, but has little low end: the bass is light even with the 16'. The II, III and IV mixtures add a very characteristic 'pipe-organ' sparkle. Strengths: immediacy, clarity in fast lines, iconic 1960s character, simple drawbars. Limitations: static tone without effects (no percussion in the base model, no velocity), easily shrill with many high footages, little depth compared with the Hammond. Compared with the Farfisa it is 'purer' and less 'synth-like', with fewer voices; compared with the Hammond it is colder, thinner and lacks the complexity of the Leslie (which Arturia nonetheless adds as an option).

Architecture

Original (VOX Continental, Super Continental, Continental 300)

• Generator: 12 transistor (germanium) oscillators + octave dividers, plus one oscillator for the lowest C.
• Keyboard: 49 keys (4 octaves) with reversed colors (naturals black, sharps white); the Super Continental has two manuals; the 300 has a 'Continental' lower manual and an expanded upper one.
• Standard Continental drawbars: 16', 8', 4', IV (mixture) plus the two tone drawbars Flute (~) and Reed (M); on the double-manual models the upper manual also has the 5 1/3'.
• Effects: vibrato; the later Jennings model also has tremolo, spring reverb and extended percussion.
• Signal path: oscillators → dividers → key contacts (one per drawbar) → footage drawbars → Flute/Reed wave generation → vibrato → preamp and swell pedal → output (to guitar amp or Leslie).

What Arturia adds (VOX Continental V)

• Two manuals (Upper and Lower) plus a virtual pedalboard with dedicated drawbars, 8'/16' octave and Bass Decay.
• Standard and EXT (Extended) modes: in Extended each manual has separate footages 16', 5 1/3', 8', 4', 2 2/3', 2', 1 3/5', 1' and a third tone drawbar S (String, sawtooth), plus tremolo on the upper manual and percussion on 8', 4', 2 2/3', 1'.
• Open mode: vibrato and tremolo depth and speed, choice of convolution reverb (Spring King, RV-1, RV-2), tuning of the 12 dividers (±50 cents), VOX or Jennings Engine, Background Noise (-90 to -30 dB), Key Contact Age.
• MIDI Mode: Multi, Split, Bass, Lower, Upper.
• FX slot with one effect chosen from Flanger, Phaser, Chorus, Analog Delay, Overdrive and Wah.
• Output mode: Direct, modeled Leslie or Guitar amp (4 amps and 4 microphones).

The controls, one by one

MIDI Mode tabs and EXT

Multi

Upper manual, lower manual and pedalboard on separate MIDI channels (set in the preferences).

Split

On a single channel, the three sections are distributed across the keyboard according to the split points.

Bass / Lower / Upper

The entire MIDI keyboard plays only the pedalboard, only the lower manual or only the upper manual.

EXT (Extended mode)

Switches to the extended version: separate footages, String drawbar, tremolo and expanded percussion.

Upper manual drawbars

16'

Octave below: body. On the VOX it stays light anyway, useful for filling out the sound without mud.

8'

Fundamental: the basis of every registration.

4'

Octave above: clarity and brightness.

II (standard)

Mixture of 5 1/3' and 1 3/5': hollow color, like a pipe-organ 'quint' stop.

III (standard)

Mixture of 2 2/3', 2' and 1': bright ripieno, the typical VOX sparkle.

5 1/3', 2 2/3', 2', 1 3/5', 1' (Extended)

In EXT mode the mixtures are replaced by single footages that can be balanced separately, as on a Hammond.

~ (Flute)

Sine-wave output for each footage: soft, flute-like sound.

M (Reed)

Filtered square-wave output: nasal, penetrating sound, the most recognizable VOX tone.

S (String, Extended only)

Sawtooth output: richer and more aggressive, close to a string machine.

Lower manual and pedalboard drawbars

16', 8', 4'

Basic footages of the lower manual.

IV (standard)

Mixture of 2 2/3', 2', 1 3/5' and 1': brightness in a single drawbar.

~ / M (/ S in Extended)

Tone of the lower manual: Flute, Reed (and String).

Pedals ~ / M (/ S)

Tone drawbars of the pedalboard; the pedalboard is shown or hidden by clicking the floor. When hidden, the first octave of the lower manual plays the bass.

Bass / Effect switches

8' / 16'

Pedalboard octave: 16' for a deep bass, 8' to make it audible on small speakers.

Rev

Turns on the reverb; the amount is set with the Reverb slider next to it.

Vib

Vibrato on both manuals and on the pedalboard.

Trem (Extended)

Tremolo on the upper manual only.

Reverb (slider)

Amount of spring reverb.

Bass Decay (slider)

How long the pedal note keeps sounding after release: short for a plucked bass, long for sustained notes.

Percussion (upper manual only)

8' / 4' (standard and Extended)

Percussive attack on the fundamental or on the octave.

Mix (standard)

Percussion on two pitches (5 1/3' and 1 3/5'): 'bell-like' attack.

2 2/3' / 1' (Extended)

Percussion on the twelfth or on the triple octave.

Short / Long

Decay length: Short for rhythmic comping, Long for vibraphone-style melodies.

Open mode (under the lid)

Vibrato Depth / Vibrato Rate

Depth and speed of the global vibrato (manuals and pedalboard), active only if Vib is on. Typical values 5–7 Hz with low depth for beat; deep and slow for psychedelia.

Tremolo Depth / Tremolo Rate

Depth and speed of the upper-manual tremolo (Trem must be on).

Rev (type)

Convolution reverb from real springs: Spring King, RV-1, RV-2.

Tuning (12 knobs)

Fine tuning of the 12 chromatic notes, ±50 cents (0.4-cent steps, finer with right-click): for alternative temperaments or vintage detuning.

Engine (VOX / Jennings)

Two circuit variants with small differences in tone; functionally identical.

Background Noise

Background noise from -90 dB (clean) to -30 dB (very 'lived-in').

Key Contact Age

Aging of each key's contacts (0–100%): uneven levels and attacks from note to note.

Swell and FX slot

Swell pedal

Overall volume; assign it to an expression pedal.

Empty

No effect in the slot.

Flanger — Delay, Depth, Rate, Res.

Base time, depth (limited to avoid uncontrolled feedback), speed, positive or negative resonance (midpoint = zero).

Phaser — Rate, Depth, Feedback, Stereo

Classic 1970s swirl.

Chorus — Type, Rate, Delay, Amount, Mix, Stereo Rate, Stereo Width

Three types (simple, medium, complex) and all the modulation and stereo-width parameters.

Delay — Delay, LFO rate, Feedback, FB Tone, Mix, LFO Depth

Mono BBD delay from 12 to 1000 ms; FB Tone is a low-pass on the left, a high-pass on the right.

Overdrive — Drive, Output, Tone

Saturation, level and filter of the distortion.

Wah

Wah pedal on CC11 by default; fully forward (100%) is open and therefore neutral.

Output mode

Direct

Direct output (after the FX), with the internal reverb still available.

Leslie — High Shape / High Width

Shape and stereo spread of the high rotor (horn).

Leslie — Low Shape / Low Width

Shape and stereo spread of the low rotor (drum).

Leslie — Speed / Rate

Rotor speed and braking.

Leslie — High Depth

Intensity of the horn's Doppler effect.

Leslie — Level

Output gain.

Guitar amp — Volume, Drive, Reverb, Low, Mid, High

Level, crunch, spring reverb and 3-band EQ.

Guitar amp — Amp Type / Mic Type

Four amp models and four classic microphones, from garage to the big stage.

Sound design tips

• Reed or Flute: the M (Reed) drawbar concentrates energy between 800 Hz and 3 kHz and makes the organ 'speak'; the ~ (Flute) is purer and sits better under the vocal. Mixing them 50/50 is an excellent starting point.
• Use the mixtures wisely: II, III and IV add a lot of treble at once; with distorted guitars, 3–4 out of 8 is enough to be heard without getting shrill above 3–4 kHz.
• Light bass: the VOX does not have the depth of a Hammond; do not try to fatten the 16' with EQ, leave the low register to the bass and cut with a high-pass at 120–180 Hz.
• Vibrato: with low depth (10–20%) and about 6 Hz you get the British beat sound; slow, deep vibrato belongs to horror or psychedelic soundtracks.
• Articulation: without velocity, dynamics depend on the swell pedal, legato/staccato and registration; in ska, play very short notes on the offbeats with Reed and little reverb.
• Leslie on the VOX: the Leslie rounds off the harshness of the Reed; keep High Depth moderate so you do not lose definition in fast riffs.
• Guitar amp: for garage, choose a small amp with medium Drive; remember that the crunch compresses and reduces the dynamics of the swell pedal.
• Deliberate detuning: light Tuning and Key Contact Age (a few cents, 10–20%) add authenticity; overdoing it makes chords unpleasant in modern tracks tuned to A 440.
• In the mix: the VOX tends to mask the rhythm guitar in the 1–3 kHz region; separate them with opposite panning or a small EQ cut on one of the two.
• Common mistakes: too many high drawbars at once, excessive reverb on riffs (a short spring is better), a 16' pedalboard line doubling the song's bass.

Presets to recreate

In genres and records

• British Invasion and beat: the Continental took off with the Beatles' endorsement; John Lennon plays it on Think for Yourself (Rubber Soul) and live on I'm Down, for example at Shea Stadium in 1965; Alan Price uses it up front on The House of the Rising Sun by the Animals; Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five is among its users.
• Psychedelic rock and acid rock: Ray Manzarek of the Doors plays it alongside a Rhodes Piano Bass in the band's early years, including Light My Fire; John Cale distorts it on Sister Ray by the Velvet Underground; Iron Butterfly on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
• Garage rock and 1960s pop: 96 Tears by ? and the Mysterians, I'm a Believer by the Monkees, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, Augie Meyers with the Sir Douglas Quintet; Paul Revere & the Raiders switch from the Farfisa to the Vox.
• Prog and psychedelia: Tony Kaye plays it in the early days of Yes (1968); Pigpen and Tom Constanten with the Grateful Dead.
• Ska revival and 2-Tone: Jerry Dammers of the Specials and Mike Barson of Madness.
• New wave and pub rock: Steve Nieve with Elvis Costello & the Attractions, especially up to This Year's Model; Benmont Tench with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, who plays it through a Leslie on Don't Do Me Like That.
• Indie, garage revival and post-punk: the dry, cutting sound of neo-garage bands.
• Surf, Italian beat and retro soundtracks: with tremolo and spring reverb.